Why Buy A Cell Phone When There Are Free Ones?

If you are shopping for a cell phone with ringtones, you may have heard about so-called free cell phones that are available from certain providers. While a free phone is always preferable to one you have to pay money for, these phones are very rarely free. Sure, the actual phone itself may not cost you anything, but you'd better believe you're going to get roped into paying for something. Your ringtone, wallpaper and other options may cost extra, so read the fine print.

One reason you will see free cellular phones advertised is because the companies require some sort of membership commitment. For example, you may sign up for a free phone, then find out you are contractually obligated to keep the provider for a certain number of years. The provider may be expensive, but if you are in a contract with them there is little you can do about it without breaking your contract and tarnishing your credit.

Another catch in the world of free mobile phones is the rebate offer. You may try to get a free phone only to find out the company means the phone is free after your rebate has been processed. While this may not sound so bad, mail in rebates can take a long time to complete. It can take months to receive your rebate check, that is if you followed every procedure to the letter. It is estimated that only a small percentage of consumers redeem these rebates because they make an error or miss the deadline. Therefore, rebate offers should be undertaken with caution.

The better option to most free cell phones is a cheap cell phone with prepaid minutes. With prepaid minutes you don't have to worry about expensive memberships or hidden charges. You can get all kinds of great ringtones and wallpapers for most any phone these days. Your ringtone is the sound that plays when a call comes in. These days the most popular type is the truetone, which is an original piece of music. Most modern cell phones have this capability. If your phone doesn't come with the extras you want, you can usually download them online for a reasonable fee.

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