Expert: Roberto Serrano - 2/15/2008

Question
Hi,
It has come time to replace my cell phone which I had for the last 4 years and I'm planning to switch carriers but with so much out there I'm confused. After talking to people I found that att has the best coverage in my local area . I went to a store and found a few phones that I was interested in, I wanted the pantech duo, treo 750 or even a 8310 blackberry but when I was in the att store, the rep told me that I needed to purchase a special data/smart phone plan for these phone. Basically I wanted this offer of unlimited talk, test messaging, email and web access for a great price but according to the rep I couldn't use this plan on any of the smart phones. I was wondering if I could just get one of the regular 3g phones or broadband access phones that they offer at a discount with new activation of plan and later buy an att or unlocked phone on the internet and just slip my sim card in from my new phone and  enjoy all the benefits of the new service with a smart phone like the pantech duo or treo. I really like the  BB curve but I guess I'm forced to purchase a blackberry data plan for that phone. Can I use the sim card from the new phone that has unlimited talk, text, and web (3g) and use it in the pantech duo or treo and still  text, and used the mobile web?

Answer
Hello Lance,

I need to know what carrier you currently have if you have Verizon, Sprint or any company that does not use a sim card you will not be able to use the Black Berry Curve. One thing that I want to let you know is that At&t has discounts for certain companies like Hewlet Packard receives 25% off Postal Service receives 22% off Coca Cola receives 28% off and other companies also have discounts these discounts are called fan discounts if you want to contact me directly at my email rbserranojr@aim.com I can help you with a company discount if one applies to your company. As far as the internet plan its optional you do however have to have the internet plan to get the rebate. Also if you want to be able to use the unlimited internet and text messaging you will need the data and text package. Another thing you can do is port your number from your carrier over to At&t that way you get to keep your phone number from your current provider. An unlimited text messaging plan and unlimited data is $49.99 and $39.99 any applicable discount gets taken from the rate plan only. As far as using a sim card with the pantech duo the cell phone has to first be unlocked you can take your phone to a local shop and get the phone unlocked or do it through some ebay stores. I hope I have answered your questions and if you have any more questions please feel free to ask. I will be glad to help you out with any more questions I can also help you if you provide me more about what current provider you have and what your rate plan is how many minutes you have and any additional information you can provide me. Thank you