Nokia 8290 + accesories for $45 otd with 1 yr plan at pac bell.

[dtran42]

Rol, what do you mean they hook you up w/ a free faceplate? According to the guy, he charges 50$, which i got down to 45$ after talking to him for a bit, the 45$ comes w/ the phone, 2 faceplates included in the retail box, leather case, car charger, and handsfree set. The home charger also is included in the retail box, so did Tony hook you up w/ an extra faceplate? Or just the red and the blue faces...? I think this is a good deal, i might just cancel my norcal 408 # and get a 310 # and sign up for a contract under my name...thanks man, i think i'm gonna head out to the MP/Alhambra area again sometime next weekend.

 

[rol]

Dtran: I did get a free aftermarket faceplate with this plan; it was one of the el cheapo ones, but it was still a free faceplate- comes in a variety of transparent colors. But everyone's mileage may vary.

 

[yipperzz]

fazman: i have nextel. and personally i think it sucks sh*t. drop rates pretty bad. it was worse than when i was with pacbell. but i like nextel because all incoming minutes are free. and i actually get reception inside my house. i also agree that the checking your voice mail from your own phone sucks too. but i don't see paying 85 bucks a month for nextel as neccessary for a student/worker like me. i'd rather just get pacbell. my friend had at&t and he had good reception. but it was rarely ever in digital mode. always in analog because the digital couldn't pick up. i hear verizon's tri mode is really nice, but not that cheap either. personally i've had a pacbell for a year and half, and a nextel for a year. and i think i'm going back to pacbell as soon as possible.

 

[cgclausen]

I have verizon, in seattle for what it's worth, and I have only had great reception. In my home it almost never drops below 4 out of 5 bars. I have never experienced a dropped call either. Verizon actully isn't very expensive. I founf it's rates very competitive. I'll give you that they don't offer the best phones on the market but I have to admit I am quit satisfied with my Qualcomm 860. The best part is it cost me 9.99 after rebates and everything.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Cellphones are like Cable Modems, once you get one, you can't go back. =)
If you are in teh SoCal area, you can go to any number of stores in Monterey Park and pick up and 8290 with basically all accessories for about $50 OTD.

 

[tran1981]

can't reach him. Is there any other #.

 

[rol]

just try him later on
he is usually at one # or the other
but i cant say i really know when his business hours are

i am not in contact with him
so i dont know his email address
but you can try calling him to ask him
or if someone asks him, maybe they can post it here


like i said, i met this guy the one time i got my phone so i really do not know too much more information than is posted here; but i am more than willing to try to help to the limited extent that i can

 

[Wax]

Does anyone know of any deals that you don't need to activate the service for? I'm with pac bell and they won't let me have any kind of rebate on the phone until I've had my service for at least a year. Any suggestions?

 

[cgclausen]

If you can't reach this guy or live somewhere else here is a better deal from buy.com. Check out my thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=251640

 

[jimmygates]

I tried to buy a 8890 from LA since it's hell of alot cheaper in LA then in the Bay Area. ($600 compared to $300????). Anyhow, I tried to get the number in LA first, then I would change the number when I got back to the Bay area. Turns out, I couldn't do this as I signed a contract with the phone dealer that I would not make ANY changes to the account for 6 months. That means, no # changing and no DOWNGRADE in calling plan. The only thing you can do is UPGRADE your calling plan. I talked to the manager for 30mins asking why this is so. Turns out, the reason most places in LA sell the phone for cheap prices is they make money off commission from Pacbell by selling you the phone/number. These stores are actually selling the phones to you at sometimes below their cost. The catch to that is, the dealer would have to keep the customer (You) signed up for at lease 6 months in order for them to collect on their commission. If you change # from 1 region like LA to the Bay Area, Pacbell considers that as a termination/reactivation of your account and would require you to stay with them for 1 year again from the time you change your number. Since changing the # would be considered account termination, the PCS dealer gets no commission. The place I went to holds your credit card info for 6 months for their protection. Just my 2 cents on the deal.


-Jimbo

 

[zeppelin]

rol-
Thank you so much for this deal. I got out of my suck@ss Sprint phone and got the Nokia 8290 for $40 (including tax!!) Out The Door. Yip ... you heard right. And it included a car charger, another faceplate, belt clip and hands-free kit. The lower price reflects a promotion this month PacBell is offering. I don't know anything about it ... the salelady just said "I can give it to you for $40 because of .. blah, blah, blah" and I just said "ok, ok, ok". As an added incentive, Pac Bell is offering 1000 Weekend minutes, Free Long Distance and Free Mobile-to-Mobile for the first 3 months. After that you choose either 1000 WE minutes or Free Long Distance/Free Mobile-to-Mobile.
This phone is better than the 8260 (AT&T: TDMA) in that it features:
1)GSM (so it works everywhere, including European countries)
2)Voice Dialing (say a name, it dials it)
3)Infared port for modem purposes
4)Interchangeable faceplates (8260 does not have interchangeable faceplates for the time being)
5)Smaller than the 8260 (as if the 8260 weren't small enough)
I'm sure there are disadvantages to this phone over the 8260 (i.e. triband), but weighing everything in ... the 8290 was a clear choice.
Even if people are under contract with other cell phone providers, this is what I'd suggest: Eat the service cancelation fee.
Egay your phone (esp. if you have a Nokia ... they usually have a good resale value)
And get this phone (or the 8260). It's so cheap now ... why wouldn't you get this?


Just a warning though ... it seems you have to go in person to buy and activate the phone. And you must be a new customer (i.e. you're not currently a Pacbell subscriber).

 

[GMaximus]

I'd be careful about buying this phone if reception is very important to you...I am in the Bay Area and recently got one w/ Pac Bell Pac Plus, and the reception leaves something to be desired...dont get reception in many restaraunts/stores where i would with my old Startac...dont know if its the phone or the service...i'm even outside sometimes with no hills around and would get 0 reception...

 

[Hoeboy]

i agree. i get pretty poor reception in buildings and sometimes none period. outside i would get full reception or sometimes only fair reception. can someone explain the nature of GSM signals? i know that digital enters and bounce around buildings thats why you can get reception inside buildings, but GSM is better so whats the deal?

 

[szymcom]

Zeppelin,

Actually the US version of GSM (called GSM 1900) is not compatible with the European versions (900 and 1800). Therefore, you wouldn't be able to use your 8290 in Europe. The only phone that Nokia makes that you can use around the world is the 8890.

Szymon

 

[zeppelin]

szymcom,
Fine! Rain on my party. You are right. Is this something that might work later in Europe? I was looking forward to taking my trip to Europe packed with my cell phone. Oh well.

 

[tran1981]

It's pac bell, they have terrible service in bay area. I have to end up getting the nokia 8260 because of pacbell sux services.

 

[goober529]

dammit!! i'm already a Pac Bell subscriber... wat kinda deal can i get if i start NEW service (new phone number and stuff) and cancel my old one?? grrrr.....

 

[sygyzy]

That is simply amazing. Last year I got the 6190 with a $150 rebate and still paid $150. Remember, this was basically the hot top of the line phone last summer. Not the cheesy 5190 that everyone has. They locked me into a 1 year contract. I called back this summer to begin yet another 1 year contract on my same phone. I was born and raised in Monterey Park but now attend school at UCSB. Any Gauchos here? Anyways, I can tell you my experience with service. I can get excellent Pac Bell service anywhere except in the hills of Monterey Park and in Santa Barbara. This is a shame since I go to school here. Reception on campus is horrible, they must be sending out jamming signals. Reception as soon as I step off campus is excellent. Have used it as far north as Pismo Beach, Solvang, San Luis Obispo and as far south as San Diego. Let a friend borrow it for the WTO protests in Washington D.C. and they worked there too.

AT&T gets more weekday minutes but the weekends bite. I really believe that Pacbell is the best. I have done comparative shopping on rates and I still like Pacbell.

I wish I had this phone! Thanks for listening.

 

[Probedude]

attn: sygyzy
Ex gaucho here, graduated in 1989.
I now work over at Calient Networks near Uniax, Raytheon, Ericsson, etc. Use to work across from the airport at Applied Magnetics.

So, Pacbell sux in SB/Goleta? Too bad, I'm really close to going to Monterey Park to get a phone but I need good service in SB/Goleta.

 

[AtriumBruin]

for those of you interested in the ATT plan at this place, the 8260 is $30 out the door. I just called up because the ATT plan is better for me. The differences are as follows:

ATT: 30/month gives you 250 anytime minutes and 500 free weeknights/weekends. they might have a mobile to mobile option but i didn't look deeply into that because i wouldn't use that feature. roaming is not free. You get the 8260 for $30

PacBell: 30/month gives you 120 anytime minutes and 1000 weekend. roaming is free, and there's the mobile to mobile option. You get the 8290 for $45 (note how 8260 isn't the same as 8290)

The reason i need att is because I know that a lot of my UCLA friends have pacbell and they get "system busy" signals all the time. Pacbell can't handle all the ucla students jammed into 4 square miles with pac bell's current systems, i suppose. The free mobile to mobile thing has bogged down their system. Students calling friends and family all the time.. I figured if it's always busy, i won't be able to use my 1000 free weekend minutes or use mobile to mobile that conveniently! Someone called in and said it would take them 6 months to a year to fix.

I'm going with ATT because I get more anytime minutes, and their 500 free minutes include weeknights. I also won't have to deal with the "system busy" problems, that can get frustrating. Hope this helps some people out.

 

[sygyzy]

ATTN: probedude

I live in San Rafael, if you know where that is. I just got a job with www.expertcity.com located on Hollister and Patterson (I think, near the hospital). Hey if you go to Monterey Park take me so I can visit home Pacbell sucks here IF and only if you are on campus. Elsewhere it's fine.

 

[DannyLove]

cool, thanks for that piece of info AtriumBruin. For some time i've been really wanting to get my first cell phone, so i decided to do some research. (more like public opinion). I go to school at cal poly pomona, and my friends told me that pacbell really sucked over there. It always dropped them or there were no signals for a long time. Then i spoke to some representative for sprintpcs and they actually had me going until i read this thread. I was convinsted that sprint was the way to go. I think your opinion really helped out on my decision. So you went to this guy in Monterey Park? Now i'm considering ATT. Does anyone want to give me any other information regarding signals around the POMONA area? thanks, thanks a lot people.

 

[AtriumBruin]

dannylove, i'm heading out to monterey park tomorrow. you can go to www.att.com
i think it's the digital advantage plan under the wireless section.
remember, for the 250 minute deal, there's no free roaming and no free long distance. (i dont' know what they consider to be long distance. i need to sort that out tomorrow and figure things out). They have a 120 minute deal for the same price (30/month), but what it lacks in the "anytime" minutes, they pay back in features, like free roaming and free long distance. 500 free weekend/weeknight as well. and best yet, they support the nokia 8260, while sprint doesn't =) . It depends on what you need. I'm not sure if your reception is good or not in pomona, but i know that at UCLA, pac bell is often busy. People eventually get through, but I think i would find it annoying.


correction! !

my friend Croton brought this to my attention. Long distance and roaming is only when you leave your coverage area! But the coverage area spans all across california! so as long as i'm within it, it's not considered roaming nor long distance! so no additional charge, even though i have the 250 minute plan for 30/month. I can go almost anywhere in Nor Cal or So cal and not be charged roaming or long distance. Even in nevada and arizona in popular parts

 

[MTam]

For those in the bay area, the best price I've found for the 8290 is $149 plus tax at Parrot Cellular. Also, for anyone wanting pacbell service, you'd better get it before Nov. 4 because that's the day they're scrapping their digital pcs plans, which is way better than the personal plans that they're replacing it with. The digital pcs plans give you free long distance and 1000 night and weekend minutes while the personal plans give you either/or. They don't include a car adapter though, but it doesn include the free faceplate as well as the hands free kit.

 

[sygyzy]

I was about to ask if service was required but I just found that it was. Sorry!