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# How Cheap is Your Cell? Techland Compares Plans

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/70opcIG0.m3u8" -->
## Video: How Cheap is Your Cell? Techland Compares Plans

[Watch (HLS stream): How Cheap is Your Cell? Techland Compares Plans](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/70opcIG0.m3u8) (2:00)

![How Cheap is Your Cell? Techland Compares Plans](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/70opcIG0/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2010-04-08. Techland's gadget critic Doug Aamoth compares which carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint) gives you the best bang for your buck._


---

Jul 27, 2023 1:22 PM UTC

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## Transcript

I'll show you a bunch of different plans from all the different cell carriers today. And you could choose the best one based on your needs. Now, if you're new to cell phones, let me be the first to say, " Welcome to Earth. My name is Doug ." Before we get started, I just wanna talk about T- Mobile real quick. They've got two plans you can choose from, Even More, and Even More Plus. Even More is a standard two- year contract cell phone plan. Even More Plus is no two- year contract. Its services are a little bit cheaper, but you have to pay full retail price of the phone. So, when applicable, I'm gonna show you both prices.

Now, let's take a look at individual cell phone plans. So, cheapest individual voice plan, we're looking at kind of a toss up between Sprint and T- Mobile. Sprint's got one for 30 bucks, you get 200 minutes. T- Mobile's got one for 30 bucks, you get 500 minutes. That's the Even More Plus plan, so there's no two- year contract. But you do have to pay full retail price for a phone. Big talker, big texter. Let's take a look at unlimited voice and text plans by carrier. T- Mobile, again, is a very aggressively- priced 70 bucks for Even More, 60 bucks for Even More Plus. Now, if you wanna get the most for your money out of this crazy thing we call mobile world, you're gonna wanna look at a smartphone and an unlimited individual smartphone plan.

And you can see Sprint and T- Mobile are in a dead tight here. I'm gonna give the edge to Sprint because Sprint's 3G network is available in more areas, it's faster, and it's arguably more reliable. Now, let's take a look at family plans. " Oh, dad. You're such a good dad for getting four phones ." T- Mobile, if you're looking to get in to a cheap family plan for four phones, the Even More plan is pretty good. But add the teenagers to your family plan? You're gonna want to get unlimited texting. As far as free forward plans go, T- Mobile comes in at 200 bucks for Even More, 160 bucks for Even More Plus.

Now, Sprint is interesting. They have an aggressively- priced family plan with unlimited texting, but it's not unlimited voice. It's 170 bucks for 3, 000 minutes. If you wanna go truly unlimited talk and text, it's gonna cost $ 370 a month. So, that's a look at several cell phone service plans by price. Hope this information helps. No need to thank me with cookies. I'm just happy to do my job as a technology enthusiast and cookie lover.

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