Maybe the prices are different where you live, but I have phone with SBC and internet service for only $68. a month, total. I don't know for sure about long distance because I only make one long distance every 3 months or so, no charge for local. When I signed up it was 2 cents a minute for LD, which was very cheap at that time..

No way I'd pay $120 per month....

But it is a cell phone with unlimited minutes. I thought $120 was a super deal for mobile phone service. No?

NO, not a good deal. Unless A)you really value Internet and yakking time. Or B)Your company is paying the tab.

A plan like that is a little excessive for personal use.

Mine is 39.99 for 450 weekday minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and free long distance and free mobile to mobile (so I can talk to family on same carrier). And carry over the unused minutes. That's plenty. For 99.99 I could jack it to 6000 minutes, but I cannot fathom averaging 5 hours of phone time those 20 weekdays a month. Yikes. Can you look at old bills and figure out how many minutes you really use?

Your unlimited Internet and data access is probably running you $40 a month. And the cost of that Internet phone is buried somewhere in your service plan contract. Do you need mobile Internet? I cut mine off because I rarely used it.

$120 is worth it only if you can afford it and that's what you want to do with your money. It pobably is the going rate for unlimited minutes, Internet and data. But it is nuts anyway.

"I thought $120 was a super deal for mobile phone service. No?"

No.

I agree. $120 a month won't be a good deal no matter how you think about it.

Sheesh! I don't think I have spent $120 in the last YEAR on cell phone service! And that's paying for three cell phones! (and sometimes more) Come to think of it, landline, 3 cells, plus long distance totals less than $400/yr I'm pretty sure.

To me a phone is a tool, not a lifestyle. I just don't understand when I see someone get so hung up on phones like some friends of mine do. They need the fancy phones, bluetooth and all the bells to do what? Make a phone call. Different priorities I guess. But I'm getting away from the topic here I guess.

To clarify, OP is talking about Internet on his phone, not home internet service. That's fairly new and quite pricey. And unnecessary for nearly everyone.

So yes, $120 is in the ballpark for an 'unlimited minutes, long distance, data and Internet' cell phone plan.

But it is still nuts.

My husband and I have Cingular..or is that AT&T..or who is it now?? We pay $80 a month for two phone lines, rollowever minutes and free calls to each other, which has been useful. Over the summer we paid $30 dollars a month for internet use on the phone (Blackberry) and it was WONDERFUL. For those of us who do any sort of driving, traveling, or business-- even the slightest amount!-- the internet really comes in handy. We were able to check on accounts, check the weather, and check for answers to questions I had sent out on various emails in a flash. It sure beat having to fire up the computer (think electric bills for that desktop, too!) every time I wanted to do just one quick, liiiiiittle thing.

Jane

I appreciate the comments here. I usually average about 5000 minutes a month on my cell plan - so I thought 120 for unlimited minutes was a good deal since verizon charges $199.99 for 6000 minutes.

I also noticed on helio plans page they start the plans at $40 a month for 500 minutes with unlimited nights and weekends and mobile to mobile. The $65 plans come with 500 minutes and unlimited internet, GPS & google maps.

Getting that stuff plus minutes is in my book, a great deal. Hey - we could visit gardenweb on our phones then :)

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.hellohelio.net/plans.htm

Yikes, Thowell. That is 20 hours of phone time a week!!!! Actually 20 hours a week just during Mon-Fri daytime! You really spend half your weekdays on the phone? Wow.

Given that, it may well be the right plan for you.

I really am out of touch. (in more ways than one apparently).

Not a good deal. My landline with DSL, and my cell phone, with 3000 anytime minutes and free texting, comes to about half that.

Wow bud_wi which provider do you use? I need that plan!!

celticmoon - yeah I do. A lot of it is for business calls and mostly to other people who aren't on Verizon. I tried out a lot of providers, sprint, verizon, t-mobile, cingular, but this plan from Helio really fit my lifestyle and budget :D

The neat thing here is that bud_wi has posted a good deal as well. I would like to know who that bundle deal is through though. Anyone else have information on saving money on phone service?

Bud_wi didn't say the phone had Internet.

celticmoon - Good point on the internet, as the hellohelio.net cell phone service comes with built in internet on most of the plans.

Here is a link that might be useful: the service plans

Interesting thread...I did some searching and found a site that has some reviews on the phones that helio produces. I haven't heard anything negative about the company or phones yet. It seems very interesting though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Helio Reviews

well, Helio just dropped the unlimited everything and anytime minutes price to $99 a month. Geesh.

Here is a link that might be useful: www.HelloHelio.net

This thread is bordering suspiciously on spam. Wouldn't be surprised if thowell works for the company or somehow gets discounts from Helio for posting here.....

And no I'm not a troll. I just never post on this particular forum. So there.

I thought it was spam right from the first post.

I can think of a few easy ways to save money on telephone services.

You can save money by owning rather than renting your telephone handsets, both for landline and mobile services. Landline telephones are cheap and rarely go wrong. Mobiles don't need to be changed every year either.

Also, many landlines have extra services you pay for monthly. £3.99 a month for an answerphone service looks small, but it's almost £50 a year. You could buy an answerphone for much less and keep it for years.

Anyone who has extra services on their telephone line should look at their yearly costs and think about how much they use these services. I believe a lot of people are paying for services they never actually use.