CDN students: cell phone

[carizma12]

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I'm from Canada and I plan on getting a phone/pda when I get to the US. Anyone know what a good service provider is? I know some of them do a credit check if you want to sign a contract.

I dont know much about phone companies in the US, so any help would be great.

Also, any suggestions for a good PDA?

 

[eyelectric]

I'm from Canada and I plan on getting a phone/pda when I get to the US. Anyone know what a good service provider is? I know some of them do a credit check if you want to sign a contract.

I dont know much about phone companies in the US, so any help would be great.

Also, any suggestions for a good PDA?

Verizon, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint and T-Mobile are the four biggest providers in the US as far as I know (there are others as well). I'm pretty sure they all do credit checks unless you do pay-as-you-go. If you are looking for a PDA, you can buy one without a contract, but the price is usually about double what you would pay if you did sign a contract. I'm actually looking to get a PDA myself before school starts. I think I like the Palm Treo. I know Verizon, Sprint and AT&T all carry different models of the Palm. I like the Palm because you can get it with Windows Mobile. Blackberry is the other big PDA maker and is carried by all four of the big companies. As far as service goes, I am currently with Verizon and I have been with Sprint and AT&T/Cingular in the past. The service was all pretty much the same. I would suggest going through different plans and finding which one suits you best. I would also check out some online reviews of the different phones to give yourself an idea of what to expect. Good luck! I would be interested to know what you decide!

 

[jefguth]

I'm from Canada and I plan on getting a phone/pda when I get to the US. Anyone know what a good service provider is? I know some of them do a credit check if you want to sign a contract.

I dont know much about phone companies in the US, so any help would be great.

Also, any suggestions for a good PDA?

Any of the four big companies should have decent service, but it could vary based on the city you're located in. If you're looking to sign up for a plan (vs/ pay as you go) they will either run a credit check or request a deposit of probably $200.

as for pda's, the only problem with Blackberry is that it uses its own operating system which is not compatible with epocrates (Palm OS, and Windows mobile only).

 

[carizma12]

i am looking for a device that has:

a phone
windows mobile
wi-fi
scheduler
contact list
email
camera (not necessary)

any suggestions?

 

[carizma12]

also, are there any Palm devices that have Wifi?

 

[EyeBaller]

Currently none of the Palm devices have wifi. Sprint carries the PPC6700 which has all the things I think you wanted. But be warned it's not the most user friendly phone out there and it's not pocket/purse friendly (it might not even be suitcase friendly.. this thing is big!).

Why is it you want windows mobile? I just got the Palm 755p and it's great. Palm OS is very user friendly and easy to use.

I agree with jefguth though, stay away from the blackberry, blackjack, moto q, or any other pda that doesn't have windows or palm OS.

You'll have to get a credit check if you are getting a contract, there's no way around this. Call the various networks mentioned here and see what their policy is on Canadians. Hopefully you have good Canadian credit as some may run an international credit check!

 

[jefguth]

Call the various networks mentioned here and see what their policy is on Canadians. Hopefully you have good Canadian credit as some may run an international credit check!

Most likely, when you talk to these these people they are not going to have a clue how to do that. By all means, try a couple of times and you might get lucky, but if not you could just wait until you have a US SSN and then apply. My guess is that they're not so much looking for a long and good history - they just want to see that you don't have any BAD credit history.

 

[carizma12]

how do i apply for a social security number?

 

[jefguth]

how do i apply for a social security number?

You have to have a job offer from your school first, after you have that in writing you can go to the social security admin office and apply in person. Take your passport, and student visa.