Cellphone Dying - What's the Best to Replace it With?

I think my cellphone has finally died.

If I do have to purchase a new one, what's the best for my situation?

I live out of range, keep it switched off & don't give out the number. I just use pre-pay. I always carry it in my vehicles (private car & horse truck going to shows) for emergencies & occasional use when in range. Have a 12V charger in each vehicle (in the truck I plug charger into a cig lighter connection to the 12V battery which runs light etc in the horsebox).

I don't have calls forwarded from the landline to cellphone when I'm away. If I'm away all day on a business day I ring the message service for the landline phone & if need be use the cellphone to phone anybody.

I don't have family so there aren't demands from there.

I'm happy to continue as with pre-pay.

What's the latest & most economical buy? I'm on Vodafone & presume that I would just transfer the SIM card (is that correct?) and the number to the next phone.

Vodafone gets slightly more coverage out here. Coverage is very intermittent here & changes spots by the hour. Sometimes can get coverage at the dining room table but moving it round over the table brings up seven different receiver locations.

Any advice would be great.

ask at rd1 those stores sell phones, or at least I have seen cell phones in racks in a store a few times, and being rural I would expect them to only carry the better reception models. No point in getting a gee-whizz thing that only has week antennas that need to be in town to see anything so a rural supplies store should have some hints on what is best in rural coverage.

Toast;287653 wrote: I think my cellphone has finally died.

If I do have to purchase a new one, what's the best for my situation?

Check out the range of phones here Toast; I think you'll find they compare favourably to Vodafone or Telecom's offerings:

https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/shop

Toast;287653 wrote: I'm happy to continue as with pre-pay.

What's the latest & most economical buy?

If you are happy on Prepay, there is only one place to be, if you want the best deal. Check out the calling rates here:

http://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/pricing

Toast;287653 wrote: I'm on Vodafone & presume that I would just transfer the SIM card (is that correct?) and the number to the next phone.

In the case of 2degrees, if you buy a Handset from them, they give you a SIM card for free.

Otherwise, if you buy a handset somewhere else, then you can buy a SIM card at your nearest Supermarket or Shell/BP/Mobil Petrol Station or Dick Smith Electronics or Warehouse Stationery for $2 and it has $2 of credit on it. Then you buy a $20 topup voucher, or any amount that you want. With your very low usage, and 2degrees very low calling rates (less than half Vodafone or Telecom's prepay rates) $20 will last quite a long time.

If you want to keep your existing Vodafone number, you can transfer it to 2degrees and they will GIVE YOU $5 extra credit for doing so!!!

Toast;287653 wrote: Vodafone gets slightly more coverage out here. Coverage is very intermittent here & changes spots by the hour. Sometimes can get coverage at the dining room table but moving it round over the table brings up seven different receiver locations.

Any advice would be great.

This is the cool thing: 2degrees uses Vodafone's network except in the major cities where they have their own.

So, you would still be using Vodafone's network out where you are; you would just be paying less than half as much to do so

Oh, and every time you top up with $20, 2degrees gives you:

- 100 Free TXTs to use within the next 30 days
- 22c per minute calling to landlines for the next 30 days

As I say, if you are a happy pre-pay customer, 2degrees is the only way to go

GrantK;287657 wrote:
As I say, if you are a happy pre-pay customer, 2degrees is the only way to go

Unless you are a big txter...and the majority of your friends are on the same network. All my friends are on Vodafone, and i send about 1500 txts a month, so vadafones TXT2000 ($10) cant be beaten...

and you can swap your 2degrees sim for a vodafone sim in the same phone and then you have the best of both worlds.

Just switched from Vodafone contract to 2 degrees prepay.

I took advantage of their free sim card offer a while back, use it in my vodafone phone and yes, it uses the same network. I'm not a great texter, usually only need phone incase of emergency (or if I loose the OH when out shopping) so 2 degrees suits me great!

Good advice from other but in addition it is worth getting a phone with Bluetooth option. This is very useful for hands free kits if you are using in in a vehicle, and allows it to 'talk' to other devices such as GPS and computers. Mine downloaded it's entire directory list to the GPS in the car so now the GPS is our 'hands free kit' :cool:

Organix;287708 wrote: Good advice from other but in addition it is worth getting a phone with Bluetooth option. This is very useful for hands free kits if you are using in in a vehicle...

Yes, I second Organix' advice about Bluetooth. I have recently bought one of these:

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=HHALGL0500

It sticks to your windscreen and recharges via solar power. Much better than the sun-visor type which are great when the sun-visor is up, but what about when you have it down whilst driving into the sun. Then your speaker/microphone are pointing at the windscreen

The LG500 will keep itself recharged as long as your vehicle is parked in the sun for a few hours every few days. When I first bought it, I needed to plug in the cigarette lighter power adaptor which comes in the box. Left it for a few hours and it was fully charged. Since then, haven't needed to use the power adaptor at all.

If I leave the vehicle, my cellphone switches back to normal mode, then when I get back in again, it gives a couple of beeps and reconnects itself automatically. So easy to use, and can also connect to 2 different cellphones at a time. Handy when you swap drivers during a trip

I have also seen these LG500 Hands-Free Kits in the Telecom shops at the same price of $179. Recommended to anybody who doesn't yet own such a device.

I just today brought a Samsung from 'Dick Smith' for $99 with blue tooth and paid a whole $2 for a 2degrees sim card after being on Telecoms network for years. I am also transferring my old Telecom ph # to @ degrees. No contract, cheap calls and txting and lots of freebies.

Being lazy and not doing the research but does it make calling from other phones to your 2degrees phone any more expensive? I ask because my daughter does not have a landline so I do the "phone me please" txt to her and she rings me - on her Vodafone contract mobile.

DiDi;287950 wrote: Being lazy and not doing the research but does it make calling from other phones to your 2degrees phone any more expensive?

To call a 2degrees mobile from a landline costs the same amount as any other mobile. Exactly how much that is, depends on the Telco. whom you rent your landline from, and the calling plan that is in effect.

Calling a 2degrees mobile from a Telecom mobile will cost the same as another Telecom mobile, or Vodafone mobile because Telecom have dropped the on-net/off-net distinction on their mobile plans.

Calling a 2degrees mobile from a Vodafone mobile will vary in cost according to the plan which is in effect. Obviously, the 2degrees mobile cannot be selected as a "Best Mate" even though it may be using a ported 021 number. That could be a possible issue if your daughter has a Vodafone Contract Mobile with your number selected as a Best Mate, assuming your mobile is currently with Vodafone. If not, then it shouldn't make any difference at all.

Clear as Mud???

Thanks for all this info, everybody.

The Two Degrees deal sounds pretty good. Phone for $99, is that correct? Also, will I be able to take my present number & pre-pay credit with me? I'm with Vodafone.

Thanks.

Toast;288058 wrote: The Two Degrees deal sounds pretty good. Phone for $99, is that correct?

There is a page showing the low-end phones. The cheapest one is $79 and there are a couple of models @ $99.

I tried to post the link for you, but it doesn't work. You will find the phones in the Online Shop.

Toast;288058 wrote: Also, will I be able to take my present number & pre-pay credit with me? I'm with Vodafone.

YES, you can take your number, and 2degrees will give you a $5 credit for doing so.

NO, you can't take your Pre-Pay Credit with you. Given that your phone is dying, I would use it all up quickly before you take your number to 2degrees. After that, you will lose it

I got mine from Dick Smith...$99 and its a bluetooth but otherwise fairly basic.

Thanks everybody. Went to Dick Smith's today & bought $79 Nokia phone/Two Degrees something or other. Tsfrd SIM card & number. May have lost some contacts through not saving to SIM card but have most of them on my home A-Z anyway.

Modern version of phone that had just died. Paid $200 for it on sale early 2004.

Had to buy another car charger because smaller hole for charger.

Thanks for advice.