Decide what plan to use or subscribe to. There are two types of plans namely: postpaid and prepaid. Postpaid are those that go by monthly bills. Use according to the amount of monthly bill that you can afford or wish to avail, and usually you get free minutes to go with it, plus that they also come with lower rates. Prepaid, on the other hand, is the type of plan that either goes by the "loading centers" or "loading stations" and/or by call cards that you need to load that particular amount on the phone/line number assigned to your cell phone. This usually lets you decide when you wanted to use the phone for calls or not, then you're not paying on something you're not using.
Browse through search engines, read reviews, and ask other users to what is the best phone. By researching and further reviewing the kind of phone you'd want, then you'll be able to come up with the detailed specifications for the particular models (research usually would include: price; reseller/dealer location; features warranty; availability).
Shop for your phone. Cell phones are available from malls, online, from another person (hand-me-downs), or from any participating dealer. You have to canvas who has the best deal first, and what are the additional accessories that may be included and/or has a discounted price.
Look at cheaper alternatives to the phone you want. Let's say that you want the brand new MOTOKRZR. For half the price you can get the w370, which is essentially a KRZR without the extra features. Before you buy, ask yourself: Do I really need the camera, web browser, and all the other features?

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Tips

Make sure that you're comfortable with how you navigate the cell phone you chose.
Remember to always keep the warranty information of the unit, and submit registration information where necessary. Also, ask for warranty information from the reseller as well as the duration of their return/replacement policies.
If your still not sure about a phone to choose you should check out the following useful link.

Warnings

Remember to always check for seals and genuine stickers on the box and on the unit itself to make sure that your new mobile phone is legally sold, and is has not been tampered in any way.
Also get unlimited nights and weekends. So that way you can text or calls to the boyfriend or the family.

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