Cell phone buying guide

Calculate your usage

Unless you choose a prepaid plan--more on that later--your carrier will ask you to sign a contract. While the contract does bind you to that carrier for two years, and you'll have to pay a fee for breaking the contract early, you will be entitled to rebates on a new phone. Before you sign anything, think carefully about how much you'll actually be using your phone, as usage time is the basis of every calling plan. In short, the more minutes you need each month, the more you pay. And if you go over your minute allotment, you'll be saddled with expensive overage fees.

With most plans, you'll mainly be limited to anytime minutes, which are calls that can be placed during peak periods (typically, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.), while off-peak minutes, which are calls placed during weekends, nights, and holidays, typically are unliprmited. Be sure to think carefully about how many minutes you'll need and pick a plan accordingly.

By and large, you're better off overestimating the number of anytime minutes you'll need rather than paying overage charges. If you find that you've miscalculated your usage, you can easily change your rate plan, although that may result in an extension of your contract. All the major carriers allow you to track your minute usage through their Web sites, and some allow you to do it on your phone.

Figure out what you need

Almost all plans now offer nationwide roaming, though some regional carriers may operate charge for leaving the home coverage area. This practice is becoming increasingly rare, but it's worth confirming that you won't run up a lot of charges during a road trip.

Other options to consider are shared or family plans, which allow you to share your monthly airtime allowance with additional lines for family members and prepaid plans, which allow you to pay for an allotted amount of service up front. When you've used all of your minutes, you have the opportunity to buy more service.

Before you sign on the dotted line

• Know how long the grace period is for trying a service, how long your contract lasts. When your contract expires, your carrier cannot force you to sign a new one, nor can it prevent you from leaving your contract early. Remember that you will have to pay an early termination fee for leaving your contract early, but most carriers are now prorating the fees so that the amount decreases over time.
  
  
• Know how many minutes you have (both peak and off peak) and when off-peak hours begin and end. In addition, know where you can track your usage.
  
  
• Be aware of all extra fees (activation, international calling, overtime, 411 and so on). And if your plan charges for nationwide roaming, pay attention to your home area's boundaries.
  
  
• If you're going to use text messaging, multimedia messaging, e-mail, or Web browsing on a regular basis, it's best to get a message bundle or a data plan. Otherwise, you'll be charged on per-use basis.
  
  
• If you're a parent purchasing a phone for a teenager or a younger child, you may want to consider special handsets with restricted features. Alternatively, you can ask your carrier about how to limit features, such as picture messaging, on other handsets. Some carriers even offer Web-based programs where you can track your child's location when they're using their phone. And on the other end of the age scale, some carriers offer handsets designed for senior users.
  
  
• Get only what you need. Don't be pressured into purchasing a data plan if you won't use it. And if you can't get direct answers to your questions, go somewhere else.
  
  
• Carriers now offer a variety of free calling minutes to a select group of phone numbers. These can include calls to other cell phones on the same carrier, calls to cell phones on any carrier, or calls to a select set of phone numbers--even landlines. Check your carrier for specifics.