How to get the best cell phone deal - Money Talk$

KEEPING in touch with your loved ones and business associates has never been easier. The proliferation of cellular or wireless phones has made communicating on the go commonplace.

While wireless phones are convenient, finding the right calling plan can be a nightmare if you don't know what to look for. Competition among companies in the wireless industry can be fierce--and confusing, especially if you've never had a wireless phone before. How do you wade through the morass of providers, plans and phones? Experts say finding the best deal at the best price can be made simpler by doing research and shopping around.

Decide how you're going to use your phone.

After you've decided to purchase a cell phone, you need to decide how you're going to use it. Different plans are available for different types of users. Some people use it for business all day, every day. Others will use it just for themselves and for emergencies. And some families want every member to have one so that they can stay in touch. Basically, you have to understand what type of user you're going to be, according to experts.

"Those groups of people need different kinds of plans," says David Heim, deputy editor of Consumer Reports, which recently did an in-depth cell phone study and report. "There's no one type of plan that's right for everybody."

Figure out when you'll use your phone.

Once you've determined what type of user you are, you can then decide your calling times and patterns. Are you a weekender or an emergency user? Do you travel a lot and want to use the phone for business?

These are all questions you should ask yourself before you even begin to think about choosing a service provider, says Chicagoan Jesse Hinton, who handles business accounts for a major wireless company. Most companies structure their plans around the time you'll use your phone. These companies will sell you a bucket of minutes based on how often or during what time of day you're likely to use your wireless phone.

One plan may call for a large number of night and weekend minutes, with a smaller number of "anytime" minutes. That would be ideal for social use, but probably wouldn't work as well for a businessperson.

"If you want to use your phone for fun on nights and weekends, you want a plan that's got the greatest number of night and weekend minutes included," says Heim, who is based in Westchester County, N.Y. "Otherwise, you will wind up paying anywhere between 15 to 40 cents per minute for any time above your allotment."

Hinton agrees and says that having too few minutes is one of the most common mistakes people make when buying wireless service. He says you want to tailor your plan to your lifestyle, and not only avoid getting too few minutes, but also avoid getting too many minutes.

"People look at the price instead of the package," says Hinton. "If you use minutes you don't have, it's more expensive in the long run."

To most people, 100 "nighttime" minutes may seem like a lot. But with service providers charging you for each incoming and outgoing call, minutes add up. Remember that you're paying for air time, not just for making a call. You also have to understand that service providers "round up" when calculating the minutes. So, if you're on the phone for 20 seconds, you get charged for a full minute.

Choose a service provider.

Once you've determined how you'll use your phone and how many minutes you'll need, then you can choose a service provider. Specialists say it's important to remember that wire less systems in the United States are rarely compatible with one another, meaning that if you buy a phone first and then pick a provider, the phone may not work on the network.

Talk to friends and associates who have wireless phones to see which carrier works best in your neighborhood or work environment. Heim even suggests talking to someone who drives or walks the same streets as you do to decide which provider to choose. It's all about coverage and reliability. Coverage and reliability mean you can use your phone without interference, especially dropped calls, and that you can use your phone where your provider says you should be able to use it.

The local plan covers the smallest area and is generally the least expensive. For any call outside that area, you must pay a long-distance charge. You may even have to pay a roaming charge if your provider doesn't have service in that area. A regional plan takes in a broader area, perhaps your local area and the surrounding counties. A national plan tends to be the most expensive and the most extensive of the three most common plans. The provider treats every call you make as a local charge--you don't pay roaming or long distance charges.

Choose a cell phone.

The final step in securing the best cell phone deal is getting the phone itself. Most often, experts say, you get a phone through your service. But some retail outlets sell wireless phones. You just have to make sure the phone is compatible with the service plan you want. Major carriers all have a good selection of phones, ranging from the fairly simple and not-too-expensive to the more expensive, more technical models, says Heim.