There are a lot of benefits that are offered by the major cell phone carriers today that many people don’t take advantage of – simply because they’re unaware of them. Among these is the opportunity to write online cell phone reviews, with the promise of some type of compensation, such as a free phone or specific accessory. While it may seem that these carriers are taking a financial loss in order to provide free equipment, it’s actually a rather clever way to sell their service plans. Once the participants have received their “free prize,” they’re then faced with having to acquire the necessary service plan in order to use the phone.

Cell phone carriers such as Cingular wireless, Motorola wireless, Samsung, T-Mobile wireless, Nokia, Verizon wireless, Sony Ericcson, Siemens, Sprint, AT&T and Nextel often utilize such a program in order to draw more consumers into their customer base using this common “carrot-on-a-stick” marketing tactic. For those who were looking for a new cell phone, anyway, this is an extra perk that saves them the trouble of scoping out their own cell phone deal.

On the positive side, those who participate in online cell phone reviews have the advantage of reading reviews that have been written by others, and can compare specific carriers and their service plans, as well as the phones that are being introduced by the various write-ups. Since research is a critical element in the process of determining the best type of cell phone service that you’ll need, these reviews can save a vast amount of time and offer a wealth of information that you might, otherwise, have had to spend hours – or days – unearthing.

Online Cell Phone Review Websites

• www.epinions.com - Opportunities to both read and write cell phone reviews are available on this website, in addition to similar surveys that can be inspected or taken by eligible participants. A form is provided in order to write a review, and a specific number of characters is given in order to accomplish the task. By writing a brief, concise report, your comments will be added to the database, and a star value will be assigned to the particular cell phone carrier that you’ve reviewed.
View – The Most Popular Cell Phone: Sometimes you figure the majority is right. It doesn’t mean you are a follower, afraid of sticking out, it means that if others have done the research, this must be the right choice.
• www.mpedia.com – This site is actually a public forum that allows you to read and write cell phone reviews once you’ve joined the group. There’s no fee attached, but you must choose a login name and password in order to become a member of the community and enjoy the benefits that it has to offer. Of the many chat rooms that are contained within this particular forum, the one for cell phone reviews is clearly marked, so it’s quite “user friendly”.
• www.cellphone-reviews.net – Although there may be a bit more navigating to do in order to write and submit a review on this site, the pathway is clearly marked, and you can choose to write your assessment of a particular phone by simply clicking on the header for the specific model. This site offers the extra perk of providing clearly written instructions on how to write a review, in case you have any questions before you begin. Once you access their web address, simply click on the “Cell Phone Reviews” tab, then click on the particular model of phone that you’d like to review and click on the “Write an Online Review” link in the middle of the page. You’ll be able to post your own comments, in addition to reading those which have already been submitted by others.
View – Look out for cell phone deals that include a lot of free gifts with the mobile phone. A nifty hands free kit or pouch is always nice to have.
• www.discusswireless.com – This, too, is set up as a public forum, but the difference is that each chat room offers reviews for a specific brand of cell phone. By choosing a user name and password, you can click into any of the rooms and read or write reviews for any of the models that are intrinsic to that brand of cell phone. There’s no cost to register, and you’ll have the additional benefit of joining rooms that also deal with other cell phone related services, features and issues.

Brand-Specific Sites for Posting Reviews

In addition to the more generic websites that offer the chance to read or post reviews, specific carriers often afford the same opportunity. In many cases, by simply visiting a carrier’s website, links will be given that guide you to an area that allows you to post your review or read those that have been posted by other users.

How to Write Cell Phone Reviews

Once you’ve established where to go in order to submit a review, you’ll need to know the best way to present your opinion so that other readers will have a clear picture of what it is that you’re trying to impart. Here are a few things that you’ll need to keep in mind before committing your words to that cyber-page:

• Be specific about the make and model of the cell phone that’s being referenced in your review. Don’t simply use the manufacturer’s or carrier’s name – include the name and model of the particular phone that you wish to discuss.
• Don’t try to fill your review with a lot of technical jargon. Most people who read reviews are looking for straightforward information that they don’t have to use a dictionary in order to decipher.
View – Adverse effects on health: – In Cell phones the data transmitter and receiver use microwaves for the purpose. Or you can say two cells gets connected through the microwaves.
• Only offer necessary information; don’t get into the habit of trying to fill up a particular amount of space with words in order to meet the required amount of characters. Most sites don’t require a minimum amount of characters, but many do have a maximum ceiling. Be brief without sacrificing critical information.
• Focus on features or services that will impact most cell phone users. In other words, if you’re discussing a cheap long distance plan, that’s fine. If, on the other hand, you’re talking about the fact that you don’t happen to like the particular color of the phone strap that you have, that’s not going to be of much help.
View – Figure out how to turn your cell phone to silent/vibrate (nobody wants to hear ‘My Boo’ or ‘Drop it Like It’s Hot’ because you can’t operate your phone).
• Try to stick to the facts without adding a lot of emotion-based attitudes. Objectivity is really the goal, even though you’re speaking from personal experience. After all, there are all kinds of reviews, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all helpful.

Whether you’re writing from personal experience or from information that you’ve gathered from others, be sure to present only the facts when you decide to write a review, and please remember that professionalism is always appreciated – and, in most cases, required.

About the Author

Samantha Goode is a freelance technology writer who loves to provide tips to consumers shopping for cheap cellular phones, cell phone ratings and cell phone reviews.

Most Americans have cell phone plans with contracts that call for a certain number of minutes per month.

For example, your plan might include 450 minutes per month. If you go over that limit, you pay extra for the extra minutes. Use fewer than the 450 and, chances are, you lose the minutes you didn’t use.

An alternative to this kind of plan, that’s becoming increasingly popular with some Americans is a prepaid plan, often called pay-as-you-go. In this type of plan, you pay in advance for a certain number of minutes, then use them at your own pace. The advantages to this is that there are no surcharges, and you never have to worry about going over an allotted number of minutes.
The way these plans work is that you contact a service provider, and load minutes into your account. There is no contract and no big penalty if you drop out.

You could talk 500 minutes one month, and 200 the next. You will find that with some of the cell phone service providers, your unused minutes expire at the end of the month in which you purchased them. However, with others, you can roll over your the unused minutes – so long as you buy new minutes the next month.

This concept makes good sense for a lot of people. For example, there are many Americans who carry a cell phone for use only in emergencies or for short calls home. So even those plans that offer 250 minutes don’t make sense for them. There are also families who want to control how much time their kids spend on their cell phones. And if you’re on a budget, a pay-as-you-go plan will save you money as there are never those weird surcharges that can run up a $39.95 plan to more than $50.00 a month.

Most of the major carriers have new or expanded versions of prepaid plans. If you feel that one of these plans might make sense for you, contract several different companies for information as there are vast differences in pricing. For example, some carriers charge a flat fee per minute. In some cases the cost per minute goes down, the more minutes you buy.

On the other hand, there are other companies that charge much less per minute, buy levy a daily rate regardless of use. Some of these plans allow roaming and some don’t. Finally, unless you already have a handset that works with the pay-as-you-go plan you have chosen, you will probably pay more for the cell phone itself. This is because wireless companies heavily subsidize these phones, knowing that their customers will be locked into their service for 12 or even 24 months.

The major downside to prepaid plans is that you will most likely pay more per minute. For example, the Cingular GoPhone plan costs $0.25 per minute. In comparison its Nation 450 with Rollover gives you 450 anytime minutes for about $0.08 per minute (plus 5,000 nights and weekend minutes and unlimited calls to toher Cingular subscribers). Of course, requires a two-year contract and any minutes over the 450 per month will be billed at a cost of $0.45 each.

Monthly service plans are probably still the best bet for most people. But if you feel you are using your cell phone less than 300 minutes a month, or just prefer to not have a contract or a monthly bill, a prepaid plan just might be what the doctor ordered.

Here’s another good idea. Plan to vacation this year in Denver. A Denver vacation offers the best of both worlds. It has all the fun things to see and do you find only in a big, bustling city and it’s only minutes away from the spectacular scenary and vistas offered by the Rocky Mountains.

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Douglas Hanna has lived in the Denver metro area for more than 30 years and has written more than 100 articles on Internet marketing and on Denver and Colordo.

We are putting cell phone towers in the forests for safety, tourists and Forest Service Workers. Sounds like a good idea alright. They will also help when fighting fires, as they add a net-centric component to the ever-increasing fire fighting technologies to extinguish the big ones. Of course some will complain as they are hiking thru paradise or fly fishing that someone’s phone rings? Yes, but if you get injured, lost or the weather gets you, well then you will be darn happy to see four or five bars on the signal strength won’t you?

Currently the National Park Service is taking solicitations from telecoms to build these cell towers in the parks. Some believe there will be safety concerns while people travel on the meandering wined barely two-lane roads, others see it as a way to get the public to come out and see the great attributes of our national parks and protect people who come to visit. Likewise more eyes and ears and cell phones means safer forests, quicker response times, less deaths and bad public relations.

Other things which have not been discussed in the possibility of migrating animals tripping sensors and those sensors calling into a central computer tracking the endangered species and alerting authorities of potential problems with chronic waste disease, auto accidents from deer strikes or wolves and bears getting too close to camping areas. Additionally the abundance of microwaves although very minimal power could have an effect on life in the forests and perhaps even stimulate the brains of larger predator mammals, which could make them smarter or allow them greater cognitive abilities. The waves might increase or decrease reproductive rates. The fact is we do not know what will happen. But being able to pinpoint accident victims, those caught in avalanches, stuck in weather, in the path of fires will be an absolute plus indeed. Being able to quickly quadrangulate the exact location using 3G wireless technologies can help us manage our forestlands better and prevent catastrophe. Think on this, as it appears no one else is.

Lance Winslow