| There's no greater way to win the hearts of | | | | - Multiple phones for family members |
| consumers than to give them something for nothing. | | | | Sprint |
| In our society of advanced communications devices | | | | While the plans that are offered by Sprint aren't as |
| and state-of-the-art technology, one of the best | | | | lofty as those of more competitive cell phone |
| commodities to target for these give-away tactics is | | | | carriers, they do offer some benefits to the |
| the cell phone. From simple port-to-port | | | | consumer, including free cell phones and a small |
| communication to comprehensive electronic office | | | | variety of perks in order to entice potential |
| features, these hand-held units have become a rather | | | | customers to commit to one of their calling plans. |
| luxurious necessity in these "need-to-know" times in | | | | Some of the specials that may be included in their |
| which we live. | | | | packages are: |
| Of course, no legitimate business can expect to | | | | - Free Nationwide Long Distance |
| thrive by giving away its merchandise. Since cell | | | | - Free Roaming (only with phones that are also on |
| phone companies actually make their money through | | | | the Sprint PCS Network) |
| the purchase of calling plan contracts, the phones | | | | - Unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes |
| themselves aren't really an issue. From the carriers' | | | | In addition, special calling plans are also provided, |
| perspective, then, the "free cell phone" strategy | | | | which may include: |
| offers the best of both worlds: consumers are | | | | - Personal calling plans |
| happy, thinking that they're being given a substantial | | | | - Family (shared) calling plans |
| gift, and businesses are making money by selling | | | | - Wide-Area calling plans |
| phone service or specific calling contracts, which are | | | | - Unlimited PC-to-PC calling |
| necessary in order to use those shiny, new phones. | | | | - Multiple phones with family calling plan |
| In order to ensure their victory in the race to gain | | | | - Two lines of service on one bill |
| more customers, some cellular phone companies | | | | - Up to $200 in Mail-In Rebates (allowing for free cell |
| offer packages that even include a rebate. In other | | | | phones plus cash back) |
| words, they'll give you a free cell phone and then | | | | T-Mobile |
| offer a substantial mail-in rebate (usually $25 or more) | | | | The benefits that are offered by this carrier are |
| so that it appears as though they're paying you to | | | | similar to those which are offered by Sprint although |
| take the device. Kudos to the marketing people who | | | | - when compared - T-Mobile seems to do a bit |
| conceptualized that strategy! | | | | better in the area of the numbers of benefits that |
| Verizon Wireless | | | | are offered, translating to more perks for the |
| As one of the leading cell phone carriers, Verizon | | | | consumer. Of the standard benefits that are offered, |
| offers free devices when consumers purchase one | | | | you can expect to find: |
| of a variety of calling plans. These cell phone deals | | | | - No Roaming Charges |
| include your choice of model (several of which are | | | | - Free Long Distance |
| offered) and, in some cases, a mail-in rebate. Other | | | | - Free Voice Mail |
| perks may include: | | | | - Free Caller ID |
| - Free Long Distance | | | | - Free Call Waiting |
| - Unlimited In-Network Calling | | | | Their variety of calling packages may include: |
| - Unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes | | | | - Personal calling plans |
| - Free Roaming | | | | - Family calling plans |
| - Up to $250 in Mail-In Rebates (allowing for free cell | | | | - Unlimited weekend minutes |
| phones plus cash back) | | | | - Unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes |
| Of the various calling plans which are offered, you | | | | - Two lines of service on one bill |
| may expect to find: | | | | - Unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes plus unlimited |
| - Discounts on personal plans | | | | weekend minutes (for some plans) |
| - Discounts on family plans (shared minutes) | | | | - Up to $250 in Mail-In Rebates (allowing for free cell |
| - Free long distance | | | | phones plus cash back) |
| - Unlimited nights and weekends (most plans) | | | | Nextel |
| - Free long distance plus unlimited nights and | | | | Of the many cell phone carriers, Nextel doesn't |
| weekends (some plans) | | | | appear - at first - to have as much to offer as most |
| Cingular Wireless | | | | of the others, but the options that they do offer are |
| Another strong competitor in the area of cellular | | | | rather impressive in some areas, which would make |
| phone systems, Cingular has also cashed in on the | | | | up for the lack of some of the more standard |
| "free cell phones" marketing strategy, offering | | | | benefits that their competitors offer to the |
| consumers a variety of perks and calling plan | | | | consumer. Although they don't actually list any |
| benefits, in addition to state-of-the-art devices and | | | | specific "standard benefits," they do offer special |
| rebates. Among the many "extras" that this company | | | | calling plan packages, which may include: |
| offers are: | | | | - Personal calling plans |
| - Roll-Over Minutes (i.e., you don't lose any unused | | | | - Family calling plans |
| "any time" minutes) | | | | - Multiple phones for family plan packages |
| - Free Nationwide Long Distance | | | | - Unlimited night and weekend minutes |
| - Free Roaming | | | | - Free roaming (within their network) |
| - Largest Mobile Digital Network | | | | - Free long distance (within their network) |
| - Free Voice Mail | | | | - 250 direct connect minutes (most plans) |
| - Free Call Waiting | | | | - Unlimited direct connect minutes (certain plans only) |
| - Free Caller ID | | | | - Up to 25 cell phones ($15 each additional line) |
| - Free Call Forwarding | | | | - Up to $300 in Mail-In Rebates (allowing for free cell |
| - Free 3-Way Calling | | | | phones plus cash back) |
| - Up to $225 in Mail-In Rebates (allowing for free cell | | | | While each of these carriers offers a specific amount |
| phones plus cash back) | | | | of benefits to their consumers - some far more than |
| Available calling plans may include: | | | | others - the calling plans differ according to whether |
| - Discounts on personal plans | | | | you're opting for a personal or family package, and |
| - Discounts on family plans (shared minutes) | | | | the number of minutes that are included in each |
| - Unlimited night and weekend minutes | | | | package for a set fee each month will vary, as well. |
| - Unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes | | | | To see the latest special offers, simply log on to a |
| - Unlimited night, weekend and mobile-to-mobile | | | | major internet search engine and type the name of |
| minutes (some plans) | | | | the carrier in the keyword area. |
| - Primary and secondary line deals | | | | |