Are alternative phone companies worth the switch?
We look at the good and bad
Fernando Vazquez
Issue date: 11/21/06 Section: Life & Leisure
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For about a year or two now, so-called "alternative" phone companies have been targeting youth. The companies in question are Amp'd Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Helio and they're growing in popularity in the modern day wireless party. Here's how they compare with each other and with the traditional plan you already have.
HELIO
The Good
What's good about these companies is the focus on getting you as much bang for your buck as possible. This is the case with Helio. While being fairly expensive for the alternative phone companies, Helio is for people who want the capabilities of a Blackberry or PDA-style phone but don't want to pay for all the airtime used with Internet and data transfer.
Aside from daytime minutes, Helio offers unlimited…well, everything. Upon payment of one of the "All-In" plans (starting at $65 per month) you get unlimited messages (text, picture, and video), Web browsing, data transfers, MySpace Mobile (for all you sad, sad addicts out there), and everything else that you would usually be charged per download/minute.
Helio service provides 3G speed, more or less the fastest Internet/download speed you can get on a cell phone.
The sleek Helio phones, aside from being MP3/video players and 2 mega pixel cameras (which alone is worth the $200 you would pay for the device), also have a large amount of memory (70 MB) and battery life (eight days of standby time).
The Bad
Helio offers a lot but some doubt if they would even use all the features provided by the company. When exactly was the last time you sent a video message to someone? If you have, then whoever you sent it to was probably irritated since most companies charge 25 cents to receive a video or picture message.
The price of the phone ($200) is fair but also pretty steep considering some people's budgets. The monthly minutes are also nothing to celebrate. The fact that you get so many unlimited features with Helio means that something had to take a hit, and that something was the amount of minutes you get per month. The service is definitely not for everyone.
HELIO
The Good
What's good about these companies is the focus on getting you as much bang for your buck as possible. This is the case with Helio. While being fairly expensive for the alternative phone companies, Helio is for people who want the capabilities of a Blackberry or PDA-style phone but don't want to pay for all the airtime used with Internet and data transfer.
Aside from daytime minutes, Helio offers unlimited…well, everything. Upon payment of one of the "All-In" plans (starting at $65 per month) you get unlimited messages (text, picture, and video), Web browsing, data transfers, MySpace Mobile (for all you sad, sad addicts out there), and everything else that you would usually be charged per download/minute.
Helio service provides 3G speed, more or less the fastest Internet/download speed you can get on a cell phone.
The sleek Helio phones, aside from being MP3/video players and 2 mega pixel cameras (which alone is worth the $200 you would pay for the device), also have a large amount of memory (70 MB) and battery life (eight days of standby time).
The Bad
Helio offers a lot but some doubt if they would even use all the features provided by the company. When exactly was the last time you sent a video message to someone? If you have, then whoever you sent it to was probably irritated since most companies charge 25 cents to receive a video or picture message.
The price of the phone ($200) is fair but also pretty steep considering some people's budgets. The monthly minutes are also nothing to celebrate. The fact that you get so many unlimited features with Helio means that something had to take a hit, and that something was the amount of minutes you get per month. The service is definitely not for everyone.
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