My phone is broken. I’ve managed to smash the glass cover for the camera lens and the battery won’t stay charged. I’m plugging it in nearly once a day now, and it beeps angrily at me when I try to make phone calls. The juice is gone – it has been since July.
I have a saving grace: according to Verizon it’s time to upgrade my phone. We all know what that means – deep, deep discounts on new phones to bait me into renewing my two year contract. And I took the bait – but I didn’t make the same mistakes this time around.
Just a little refresher – here are the five mistakes I made when buying my last phone:
- Not asking myself “Do I need a new phone?”
- Not carefully evaluating what features I needed and wanted.
- Rushing in.
- Not checking reviews.
- Charging it on a credit card that I couldn’t pay off.
Did I end up totally screwed last time? No, but those mistakes did hurt me. I ended up with a phone that soon went out of production, and was never able to find a replacement battery for it. And I could have had a cute LG Chocolate for the exact same price.
Determined not to be a silly goose this time around, I deliberately avoided all five mistakes. Sort of.
Ok Steph, do you need a new phone?
Yes! A bit. Well, “need” is an interesting thing. I do need my phone for work and in order to keep using it I need either a new battery, or to switch to a different phone. In the end I got a new phone – but only because it was free.
Features!
The sole reason I upgraded last time was that I was sick of being the only person without a camera phone. Dumb reason, right? Especially since I’d just bought a new digital camera a few weeks earlier. But having that phone for a year an a half taught me what I do (and don’t) use in a phone. All I really need is a phone that calls and texts, and I like to have the camera function, but it’s not necessary.
Rush In!
Opps. Failed this one. I spent less than day and a half debating phones, and never stepped foot in a store – I did it all online. What can I say? I’m impetuous.
Reviews!
I checked the reviews on CNet this time. In fact, they’re the reason I picked the Samsung Juke (free) over the Motorola Krzr K1m ($20). The Juke has far better reviews (and did I mention the free part?).
Credit card? We don’t need no stinking credit card!
Free, with free shipping. My mom decided to get me the $5 belt clip as a gift. Booyah.
Bonus: Declined the insurance plan. Because it’s basically a scam.
$5 a month and a $50 deductible on a phone that retails for $80? No thanks. Not when I have two old backup phones sitting around.
Oh Mr. FedEx guy, I can’t wait till you bring me my new phone tomorrow! 🙂
Right now cell phone have various feature other than camera digital. We cannot catch up with new feature everyday. Anyway I also broke my cell phone and I still do not buy a new one.
I tend to ask my boyfriend what cellphone is better whenever I wanted to buy a new cell. I also search for some reviews to make sure that I get the cellphone that I really want.
I gotta bookmark this site it seems very beneficial extremely helpful
i personally made the same mistakes two weeks ago when i bought a new cell phone from blackberry that like you i managed to smash not the glass cover for the camera lens but the screen of my phone so now i ask myself was it worth it i don’t think because i paid a lot of money for that phone. guys read this article and don’t make the same mistakes.