You know what they say: ‘There are no free things in life’. This statement is best emphasized by ‘purchasing’ a cell phone, which is in fact given for free. This ‘free’ phone is offered to those that sign a contract (usually for 2 years) with a carrier, that will require you to pay a certain amount of money every month. This is the subscription for receiving services from that company. In other words, you get the device for free indeed, only that by paying $30 per month or so, you will end up paying the phone twice or even more that its actual cost.

Free Cell Phones For Low Income (Source: gadgetplug.com)

So our recommendation is to not search for free phones, even if you may have a low income. If you don't want to spend too much money with phone conversations and phones in general, you should get a cheap device and a prepaid plan from any carrier you want. In the United States, for example, for less than $30 per month you can get a prepaid plan with thousands of minutes.

Free Cell Phones For Low Income (Source: img.ehowcdn.co.uk)

However, if you want to be chic, you can get an Apple iPhone, which is offered by Apple for free; obviously, we are talking about the first generation iPhone. This happens with other brands as well. When a certain brand releases a new type of smartphone or tablet, the smartphones/tablets released earlier by the same company become cheaper and in some cases, they are offered even for free. The trick is that you will sign a contract, like we have said earlier, with a carrier, and you will be forced to pay a minimum amount of money each month. So be careful what you ‘buy’, because nothing is free.

Free Cell Phones For Low Income (Source: installerapps.com)

Another advice would be to get cheap phones from trustworthy sources. Don't get so eager of writing your personal data online and also giving your credit card details to unknown companies. You may discover that some phones are offered for $5 or $10. In general, a phone like this can be considered ‘free’. What that company really wants is to get your e-mail address, postal address and why not even your credit card details. If you find a $5 in a local store, don't hesitate and grab it, but if you find something like this online, don't even think of buying that product, because most likely it is a scam.

Also, you need to pay attention to those phones that are sold for $100 or $200 by unknown sources. The situation is even worse, because besides giving them your personal details, you will also pay $100 or $200 in vain, without receiving the product. To avoid this, you should buy only from the sites of the manufacturers of those products you want to buy and also from huge retailers, such as Walmart, Target, TigerDirect, Tesco and so on.

Most likely, if you are using a smartphone, you have a favorite brand of electronics and also a preferred carrier. We like for example the services offered by T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. We don't have enough space to speak about every family plan offered by these companies, this is why in this article, we will discuss only about T-Mobile and in the next ones about those offered by Verizon and AT&T.

Cheap Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: pocketberry.com)

We have selected T-Mobile for today, because we were requested to write about the cheapest family cell phone plans offered in the United States. Well, this is the company that offers them. The available family plans offered by T-Mobile are included into several categories, all of them being known under the name of Classic Unlimited Plans. All family plans include 2 lines to start. For $30 per month, you can add another line (of maximum 3 lines).

The T-Mobile family plans include minutes you can use anytime, unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile calling, unlimited nights and weekends and free domestic long distance calls across the United States.

Now let's see the most recommended family plans offered by T-Mobile. The first one is the unlimited – ultra with smartphone mobile hotspot service ($219.98 per month). By purchasing this plan, you will benefit of unlimited data for enjoying HD entertainment, games and music. You will receive up to 10 GB of data per month. Other family plan that includes data is the unlimited – premium with smartphone mobile hotspot service ($159.98 per month). This will offer you unlimited data for sharing video and streaming entertainment; unlike the previous data plan, this one offers only 5 GB of data.

Cheap Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: blogoscoped.com)

If you don't want to surf the Web, but only to talk and text, T-Mobile offers you the Classic Unlimited – Talk + Text plan, which provides unlimited domestic messages and nationwide calling for 2 lines. To get this voice and messaging plan, you will sign a 2-year agreement; by signing this contract, you will have also the possibility of receiving great discounts on some phones. The features of this plan are: unlimited whenever minutes and unlimited messages, but no data. This is available for 2 lines only. By adding another line, you will receive unlimited minutes and messages only by paying $30 per month. You can also pay $10 per month, but you will receive only 500 minutes; messages are also unlimited in this case.

Every carrier offers affordable cell phone plans, as long as you know what you want and don't sign a contract that will make you a slave for one or two years. You have to know what you want, a single line plan, a family share plan, a prepaid plan, a plan for your kids and so on. Verizon, for instance, offers some of the cheapest cell phone plans, but this is available only for those living in the United States.

By entering VerizonWireless.com, you will see what are the available plans offered by this company. You can learn more about plans by visiting verizonwireless.com/plans.shtml. Find the right plan for you and learn more about voice, messaging and data. What do you really want from your cell phone? Do you text, talk, surf the Internet? Or do you do all these and everything in between? Don't worry, Verizon has got you covered.

Affordable Cell Phone Plans (Source: digitalconqurer.com)

Besides the separation made earlier: cell phone plans for children, single-line plans, plans for seniors and so on, there is also another one, made this time by minutes, messages and data. Today, we will mention the most popular voice and messaging plans.

Affordable Cell Phone Plans (Source: ak1.ostkcdn.com)

With Verizon, you can talk how you want, when you want. You can benefit of the services provided by the America’s most reliable carrier. When we say ‘minutes’, we take into consideration several of the categories mentioned in the previous paragraphs, such as single-line plans, family share plans, prepaid plans, 3G monthly plans and others. Verizon offers for example, in the case of a single line plan, 450 anytime minutes for $39.99 with an overage rate of $0.45 per minute. For 900 anytime minutes, the user will have to pay $59.99 ($0.40 per minute for the extra minutes). In case of a family share plan (minimum 2 lines), for 700 anytime minutes, the cost is $69.98. A prepaid plan comes with unlimited minutes for only $50. This is available for one month only. And a 3G monthly plan, designed for smartphones and BlackBerrys is $44.99 per month for 450 anytime minutes.

If you love messaging, you need to find that plan that allows you do some serious texting. Luckily, with Verizon this is easy. Verizon recommends you stay focused on sending quick updates, videos and photos to your connections while letting ‘your thumbs do the talking’. In the case of a single line plan, you can pay as you go, meaning $0.20 per text message, or $0.25 per message that contains photos and/or videos. If you want to benefit of 1000 messages, you will pay $10 per month. For $10 more, you will have the possibility of sending unlimited messages within a month.

The most common way when searching for reviews about certain product is to enter the site of a huge retailer, such as Amazon.com, and look for a specific section regarding that product, where people that have bought it, speak about it. For example, if you enter Amazon and write ‘mobile phone’, you will receive a list with more than 450000 results related to this topic. Not all of them are mobile phones, some of them are chargers, adapters or cases, but at least at the beginning you will see only mobile phones. We will now mention a few of them and present the opinions of those that have bought them.

Samsung Galaxy Prevail Android smartphone ($149.99)

Cell Phone Ratings And Reviews (Source: ecx.images-amazon.com)

This product has received 4 stars from 123 customers. The good things about this product are: its price, great plans designed for it (without contract), good speed, an attractive design and clear sound. Among the not so popular features we can include the fixed focus low resolution camera (2.0 MP) with no LED, the use of the CDMA network and the runtime provided by the battery.

Samsung Exhibit II 4G Prepaid Android phone ($199.98)

Cell Phone Ratings And Reviews (Source: ecx.images-amazon.com)

Like the previous phone, this one too benefits of a rating of 4 stars, this time coming from 183 customers. Let's see what they have to say. Most of them ask how it is possible to wish for an iPhone, when this thing is on market. You will definitely need to catch your breath when receiving this phone from Samsung. Its best feature is given by the freedom of using prepaid plans and with the T-Mobile plans, you can stop the service anytime you want, without paying any fee. Another great feature is represented by its 3.7 inch screen, bigger than the one of the iPhone 4S. Plus, there are more than 400000 applications to choose from. A problem with this smartphone can be the one generated by texting. Other small issues are mentioned on Amazon, but in general there is nothing that cannot be repaired or updated, if it is about software.

HTC myTouch 3G unlock Android phone with 3G support, GPS and touchscreen ($139.99)

Cell Phone Ratings And Reviews (Source: ecx.images-amazon.com)

Obviously, like any smartphone, this HTC myTouch uses a touchscreen. However, those from HTC wanted to emphasize this, because they really use an amazing display for this phone (see more on Amazon.com). But this product received 3.5 stars on Amazon from 53 reviewers. The reason for this is the fact that in some cases the phone was not unlocked when customers received it or it was locked to a specific network, that could have been the preferred network of the person buying the phone. First-time smartphone users will find this product great, especially if they don't use the Internet or use it rarely.

What are the best family cell phone plans? This is a question asked by family members that have more than 3-4 relatives to talk with every day. To answer this, we have created a short list with the most important networks that provide family plans in the United States, in the Beverly Hills area to be more precise. Networks taken into consideration for this article are Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile.

Best Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: boxtone.com)

We will start by presenting a few words about the Verizon plans. To benefit of a family plan, first you need to have at least 2 lines. All minutes mentioned in this article are available from a Verizon line to another Verizon line. The first family plan we recommend is Nationwide Voice 700. As you can imagine, this plan offers 700 minutes, that can be used anytime. For this plan, one has to pay $69.98 per month. The same rate will be charged if you extend an existing contract, but also if you sign a new contract with Verizon. Other plan offered by this company is Nationwide Voice 1400 ($89.98). The statement mentioned earlier is available in this case too. Nationwide Voice 2000 is $99.98 per month, with new or renewed contract. If you want to benefit of messages as well, we recommend you the Nationwide Voice & Messaging 700; this means you will receive 700 minutes and unlimited messages. This plan is $99.98.

Best Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: cdn.gottabemobile.com)

When it comes to Sprint, the best family cell phone plans are: Talk For Family 700 (2 lines), which is $69.99 per month, Everything Messaging Family 1500 – $99.99, Everything Data Family 1500 – $129.99 (if you are interested in receiving a data plan too) and Everything Messaging Family 3000 – $149.99. All plans have an activation fee and also an early termination fee for every line you use. Unlike the previous carrier, on wirefly.com, the services provided by Sprint are not that appreciated. This company has received 2 stars out of 5 for their customer care and cost/service plans.

Best Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: hotcellularphone.com)

Nextel offers the same family plans as Sprint, have the same prices and benefit of the same ratings from their customers. More info on wirefly.com/plans/.

Best Family Cell Phone Plans (Source: androidandme.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com)

In the end, some details about the plans offered by one of the best carriers in the United States, according to the rating provided on the aforementioned site. In terms of customer care and cost/service plans, this company really stands out. The cheapest plan offered by T-Mobile, because this is the carrier, is Classic Family 1000 (2 lines), which is $59.99 per month. This plan offers 1000 minutes from a T-Mobile number to another T-Mobile number. Classic Family 2000 is another excellent plan offered by this company and it is only $79.99. And with the last plan, Classic Family Unlimited Talk & Text ($99.99), users are able to speak and text without limits.