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Are
you frustrated
with all the choices you have to make when choosing a
business cell phone and service plan? It doesn't have to be
complicated.
Assuming you aren't looking for the latest ubergizmo cell phone, the
following
three steps are all you need to help you pick the cell phone that's
right for
your business.
Step
One: Figure Out the Cell Phone Coverage You Need
Step
one involves figuring out where you are going to be using your new cell
phone. Do you work in the city or the country? Also, do you often
travel aboard
and intend to use your phone around the world?
If
you work primarily in US metropolitan areas, you don't have to worry
about whether you need a GSM, CDMA or TDMA phone--they all work pretty
well. On
the other hand, if you work in rural, remote or undeveloped areas, your
best
bet is a CDMA or TDMA phone since these providers have the best
coverage in
rural/undeveloped areas.
CDMA
and TDMA providers include Verizon Wireless and Sprint-Nextel.
On
the other hand, if you intend to use your cell phone while abroad, GSM
is
the communications standard used outside of North
America.
If you purchase a GSM phone so that you can use it abroad, you need to
make
sure the phone is purchased "unlocked", which means that the phone is
not tied to a specific network. With an unlocked GSM cell phone, you
can easily
swap out the SIM card (a white chip usually behind the battery) with
local
country, prepaid SIM cards to avoid expensive roaming charges. These
local
country SIM cards are often available in corner stores in most
countries.
In
the US,
GSM providers include Cingular and T-Mobile.
Step
Two: Figure Out the Cell Phone Rate Plan You Need
Once
you've figured out where you are going to be primarily using your new
cell phone, the next step is to figure out what business rate plan is
the most
economical for your needs. Most providers offer different plans based
around
buckets of minutes that are allocated between different time periods in
a day
and/or week.
If
you are going to be using the phone primarily during the day, you'll
need
a plan that will give you the maximum number of minutes when the sun is
up. On
the other hand, if you are going to be using your new cell phone
primarily on
the weekends, you'll need a plan that gives you the maximimum number of
minutes
on Saturday and Sunday. Those are the two extremes--other plans offer
some
combination of weekday daytime, evenings and weekend minutes.
If
you are unsure of your calling patterns, take advantage of the free
first-month promotions offered by many providers to figure out when you
make
your calls and then switch your plan accordingly if necessary. Many
phone
companies will analyze your cell phone usage if asked to and will
recommend a
plan that minimizes your monthly cost.
Step
Three: Buy Your New Cell Phone
If
you are going to be buying a GSM phone because you intend to travel and
use the phone abroad, stick to tri-band/tri-mode phones. These phones
can
operate on a multitude of frequencies that various operators abroad may
use.
Otherwise, don't worry about whether the phone is tri-band/tri-mode or
dual-mode.
Other
than that one consideration, choosing a cell phone is all a matter of
taste. Generally speaking, if you enter into a one-year or two-year
contract,
the phone provider will often give away a cell phone that would
otherwise cost
many hundreds of dollars. That's usually your best bet but be careful
of
early-termination clauses that can impose a penalty of $200 or more.
Visit Ebay Gadget
Store at :
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& Pocket PC
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