SERO - The formerly best cell phone plan (still good deal if you want a Blackberry).

djkunai

djkunai

Banned
I just got sick of always seeing people asking about what the best cell phone plan is. Hands down, the best rates you could possibly find is SERO (however, coverage is YMMV).

SERO stands for Sprint Employee Referral Offer. Here's what you get
  • Unlimited Text Messaging
  • Unlimited Nights & Weekends starting at 7pm
  • Domestic long distance
  • Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
  • Unlimited Web/Data Access
  • Unlimited Picture Mail (with compatible devices)
500 anytime minutes for $30 / month
 
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[quote name='BustaUppa']think it's safe to go jogging with a Palm Centro? I have an armband holder that I could use. Since it doesn't have moving parts (e.g. spinning hard drive) it should be fine, right?

I'm gonna start loading up an SD card with some music to run to... but I also just realized that i can get Internet radio on this thing! this deal gets crazier all the time![/quote]


As long as you have insurance hell why not!

Got tired of the PalmOS so i'm switching my treo755p for the moto q9c, which I've heard alot of good things about. As much as I liked the 755p it just had a outdated feel to it.

edit- just got off the phone with them, wow what a horrible setup they have. Basically had to do the order twice. Just a heads up, if anyone is planning on switching their phones within 30 days, Have a sprint employee email handy. I was asked for the sprint employee email that referred me and I hadn't a clue. I tried the [email protected] and was told they can't take that over the phone. So I told them to wait while I looked for it, did a quick google search and found one. Was abit nervous they were going to push me but it went smoothly after that. Again just a heads up for those that are planning on switching phones.
 
[quote name='homeland']

edit- just got off the phone with them, wow what a horrible setup they have. Basically had to do the order twice. Just a heads up, if anyone is planning on switching their phones within 30 days, Have a sprint employee email handy. I was asked for the sprint employee email that referred me and I hadn't a clue. I tried the [email protected] and was told they can't take that over the phone. So I told them to wait while I looked for it, did a quick google search and found one. Was abit nervous they were going to push me but it went smoothly after that. Again just a heads up for those that are planning on switching phones.[/QUOTE]

YMMV on that. I didn't have to give them any information when I ordered my new phone.
 
I have a Q and hate it. It's pretty cheap (mine was $80), but you get what you pay for.

You have to download a Windows Mobile 6 registry editor just to change the settings you want. The CPU's slow so it lags pretty often. Media player (both included and third party apps) suck for it. Mine randomly reboots sometimes, about once every two weeks, and sometimes I'll have trouble turning it back on. The battery life indicator shows 3 bars until it's almost dead, then quickly goes to 2, 1, then dies. Battery life lasts about 3 hours of talk time, and for at least 2 and a half of that it'll claim 3 out of 3 battery bars. You'll find youself often going into Task Manager and manually closing all background apps just to prevent the lag. There's also a lag in when a call is received and when the incoming call screen shows up, so if you get a call while sending a text message (which happens often to me) it'll deny the incoming call before you ever get a chance to know there's an incoming call.

I'm not sure what else Sprint has available right now, but get something higher up than the Q.
 
Okay, apparently I have 2 referrals through my account.

xxx-xxx-5787 xxx-xxx-6980 05/22/2008 Approved 06/05/2008 xxx-xxx-5787 xxx-xxx-3953 05/29/2008 Approved 06/05/2008

Interesting.
 
[quote name='Koggit']I have a Q and hate it. It's pretty cheap (mine was $80), but you get what you pay for.

You have to download a Windows Mobile 6 registry editor just to change the settings you want. The CPU's slow so it lags pretty often. Media player (both included and third party apps) suck for it. Mine randomly reboots sometimes, about once every two weeks, and sometimes I'll have trouble turning it back on. The battery life indicator shows 3 bars until it's almost dead, then quickly goes to 2, 1, then dies. Battery life lasts about 3 hours of talk time, and for at least 2 and a half of that it'll claim 3 out of 3 battery bars. You'll find youself often going into Task Manager and manually closing all background apps just to prevent the lag. There's also a lag in when a call is received and when the incoming call screen shows up, so if you get a call while sending a text message (which happens often to me) it'll deny the incoming call before you ever get a chance to know there's an incoming call.

I'm not sure what else Sprint has available right now, but get something higher up than the Q.[/QUOTE]


I got the Q last week, and I am having a lot of lag issues like that.Sometimes , I even had to take out the battery for shutting down the phone when it crashes...so if u better have the Q9c I suggest get it, I personally will change the phone in a couple of days, it is almost unbeareble, how buggy the phone is....and the battery life sucks badly, really bad...so get another phone not the q9.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']Do you have to switch phones over the phone, or can I just go to the Sprint store to upgrade?[/quote]


If you use the sero program you have to exchange over the phone, you can not exchange in store. They send you the new phone with next day just like when you got your first phone and you just have to mail back the original phone with its box (they give you a shipping label for ups so u don't have to pay anything.
 
I have another question. My phone has a walkie-talkie type thing built into it. Can I direct connect to people with Nextel with this feature? Also, will it cost me anything if I can?
 
My contract with Verizon ends in August. But I am tempted to switch over for this plan. I do have a question for the people that own PDA (more blackberry specific). Which plan did any of you get? And is the BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) really worth the $99 (simply everything plan)? Or am I best off with the "exclusive direct offer" (1250 min, $50) plan? I'm really new to the Blackberry thing and I know I will need a phone w/what they do.
 
[quote name='Psykodelik']My contract with Verizon ends in August. But I am tempted to switch over for this plan. I do have a question for the people that own PDA (more blackberry specific). Which plan did any of you get? And is the BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) really worth the $99 (simply everything plan)? Or am I best off with the "exclusive direct offer" (1250 min, $50) plan? I'm really new to the Blackberry thing and I know I will need a phone w/what they do.[/quote]


I don't have a BB but everything I've read is expect to pay the extra $30 for the BIS ontop of what you would pay for SERO. Which is basically a redundancy since you already get unlimited data in your plan. The only plus that BB has is they connect to your work email account better?
 
what kind of email? yahoo/msn/google/aol ? I'm sure they all do. The 2 most popular phones it seems are the centro (wife has it very nice phone and simple to use. Press one button and it brings up all your email accounts) and the moto q9c (which i'm getting)
 
Don't get a Blackberry- a Treo does everything they do, and a Blackberry forces you to pay $30 extra a month.
 
[quote name='djkunai']Don't get a Blackberry- a Treo does everything they do, and a Blackberry forces you to pay $30 extra a month.[/QUOTE]


I am going to change my Q for a Qc, any advise for a better phone than that, at around the same prices....I want to use the data capability of the phone to the fullest, and with the moto Q it is not as good as I hoped for web browsing , the Qc is an improvement, but I want to be sure, thanks in advance!
 
[quote name='djkunai']Don't get a Blackberry- a Treo does everything they do, and a Blackberry forces you to pay $30 extra a month.[/QUOTE]I don't know much about Blackberries but I am inclined to agree with this poster. I didn't technically get a Treo but I got a Palm device (Centro, which seems to be a cousin of the Treo) and I've consistently been surprised by all of the stuff I can do with it so far. I use Gmail and they give you two separate programs you can use with it, plus you can always use the mobile web version. You can set it up so that a single button press takes you straight to your Inbox. You can refresh it manually or you can have it automatically retrieve mail in the background (which consumes a bit of battery power I believe).

You can do all of this while PocketTunes plays music in the background... using the side button to start and stop playback when your'e in a different application. Ha! I love this thing.
 
[quote name='Dro']This plan does require a 2 year contract right?[/QUOTE]


Yep this plan requires a 2 yr contract, but for the price, it's a no deal, I am paying 30$, 7 $ insurance, and 8$ for taxes+, totalling 45$ monthly for;\:

SERO F&F 500- $30.0
Plan Features:

* Sprint Fair & Flex
* Caller ID
* Adjustable Anytime Minutes
* Call Waiting
* Three-way Calling
* $30.00 Minimum Monthly Charge
* Voicemail
* Nationwide Long Distance Included
* Unlimited Night & Weekend Mins. Included
* Nights: M-Th 7PM-7AM Wknd: F 7PM-M 7AM
* Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (pcs to Pcs)

NOTE that it does not says unlimited data/web, but it is included in SERO, so for that price, if u dont use the phone that much, it is a great plan for a phone with unlimited web/data services.
 
Okay--I'll admit I didn't read all 11 pages, but will a SERO account work like a Family Plan (does Sprint even have Family Plans?) so that I could add someone to the $30/$50 SERO plan for like $10 or something for the additional line? --> Answer: No, it's only an individual plan.

Also, anyone know if you can transfer your current number to the SERO plan (I'm on a different carrier at the moment).
 
I'll have to think about it a Iphone looks nice, but $2000 for both years lol. Is internet atleast surfable?
 
Sorry for all these questions. So we this Sero plan. After taxes and everything how mutch is it really per month? Also can I also talk with AT&T people.

I still don't know which one to pick. Any Ideas? Just need it to handle some light internet surfing/email/text messaging/instant messaging.

I prefer if you can help me out through aim
just add me elghett0vaquer0
 
[quote name='Dro']I'll have to think about it a Iphone looks nice, but $2000 for both years lol. Is internet atleast surfable?[/QUOTE]


I am just using the phone primarily for surfing the net at work, and yes, the internet is surfable, but as I stated before the MOTO Q , is not as a good phone, and is buggy, I was thinking about getting a Qc but , just got off the phone with a sales rep, and he told me the MOGUL 6800 was a better phone than the MOTO Q, so I will change it for the mogul 6800, it seems it is better than the MOTO Q.And the speeds are good for the internet.
 
[quote name='Dro']Sorry for all these questions. So we this Sero plan. After taxes and everything how mutch is it really per month? Also can I also talk with AT&T people.

I still don't know which one to pick. Any Ideas? Just need it to handle some light internet surfing/email/text messaging/instant messaging. I'll think Ill go with Palm treo

I prefer if you can help me out through aim
just add me elghett0vaquer0[/quote]
Mind answering this :)
 
[quote name='Dro']Mind answering this :)[/QUOTE]


AS I stated before, I am paying 45$ with a 500minutes plan, 30$, 7$ insurance and 8$ taxes and state regulations, that is in PR, so my monthly bill is 45$.with unlimited data /web surfing!
 
[quote name='hcamacho']I am just using the phone primarily for surfing the net at work, and yes, the internet is surfable, but as I stated before the MOTO Q , is not as a good phone, and is buggy, I was thinking about getting a Qc but , just got off the phone with a sales rep, and he told me the MOGUL 6800 was a better phone than the MOTO Q, so I will change it for the mogul 6800, it seems it is better than the MOTO Q.And the speeds are good for the internet.[/quote]

I've heard good things about the mogul, but I've also heard its kind of slow and not sure if its getting the windows mobile 6.1 update that the moto q9c has already received.
 
I think I will get this definately its so cheap for all the stuff I get. I'm gonna get the Palm Centro from what it looks like anyone else have it?
 
[quote name='WiiNet']Okay--I'll admit I didn't read all 11 pages, but will a SERO account work like a Family Plan (does Sprint even have Family Plans?) so that I could add someone to the $30/$50 SERO plan for like $10 or something for the additional line? --> Answer: No, it's only an individual plan.

Also, anyone know if you can transfer your current number to the SERO plan (I'm on a different carrier at the moment).[/quote]


Of course you can transfer your number its called porting. What you do is, don't cancel your current carrier, sign up with sprint and tell them you need your number ported. within 24 hours your number will be on your new phone.
 
[quote name='Dro']I think I will get this definately its so cheap for all the stuff I get. I'm gonna get the Palm Centro from what it looks like anyone else have it?[/QUOTE]I got the Palm Centro last week. It's my first "smart phone" so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I can definitely say that I'm loving it so far. Going from a Verizon phone (enV) to this is really a huge jump. Whereas Verizon is obsessed with having complete control over everything on your phone, the Palm just has a much more "open" feel to it.

- Web browsing works very well. Touch screen control combined with some menu keys make browsing pretty simple, and an accessible bookmark page really helps with navigation.

- The music player is nice, and it lets you play a bunch of Internet radio stations. The music will keep playing when you switch to other applications; at that point you can use the phone's side button to pause and resume playback. Very nice!

- Anytime you text someone, it'll show all the messages that have gone back and forth between you and that person. So you can easily scroll up to view the rest of the "conversation." It makes a series of texts look like an AIM chat. Think of it as being simliar to the "Wall-To-Wall" feature on FaceBook, if you're familiar with that.

- for some reason they put TWO email programs in there. "VersaMail" seems harder to configure but "Sprint Mobile Email" works great. I can jump to my Gmail inbox with a single button press.

- There are four shortcut buttons. One is always mapped to your list of Applications. The other three can be assigned 2 shortcuts each. You can also configure a shorcut for a long press of the phone's side button.

- Finally I gotta address the Palm Apps. If you just look around there's a TON of stuff that you can put on here. Sweet gaming apps too. I'm already able to play NES and GameBoy Color games on my Centro. Even more impressive IMO is the ScummVM emulator - this one lets you play old LucasArts adventure games! I couldn't believe my eyes when I was playing Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max on my PHONE (with touch-screen controls!). Anyway look around and you'll find a TON of stuff. I wanna look into some custom alarm clock apps next.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']I got the Palm Centro last week. It's my first "smart phone" so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I can definitely say that I'm loving it so far. Going from a Verizon phone (enV) to this is really a huge jump. Whereas Verizon is obsessed with having complete control over everything on your phone, the Palm just has a much more "open" feel to it.

- Web browsing works very well. Touch screen control combined with some menu keys make browsing pretty simple, and an accessible bookmark page really helps with navigation.

- The music player is nice, and it lets you play a bunch of Internet radio stations. The music will keep playing when you switch to other applications; at that point you can use the phone's side button to pause and resume playback. Very nice!

- Anytime you text someone, it'll show all the messages that have gone back and forth between you and that person. So you can easily scroll up to view the rest of the "conversation." It makes a series of texts look like an AIM chat. Think of it as being simliar to the "Wall-To-Wall" feature on FaceBook, if you're familiar with that.

- for some reason they put TWO email programs in there. "VersaMail" seems harder to configure but "Sprint Mobile Email" works great. I can jump to my Gmail inbox with a single button press.

- There are four shortcut buttons. One is always mapped to your list of Applications. The other three can be assigned 2 shortcuts each. You can also configure a shorcut for a long press of the phone's side button.

- Finally I gotta address the Palm Apps. If you just look around there's a TON of stuff that you can put on here. Sweet gaming apps too. I'm already able to play NES and GameBoy Color games on my Centro. Even more impressive IMO is the ScummVM emulator - this one lets you play old LucasArts adventure games! I couldn't believe my eyes when I was playing Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max on my PHONE (with touch-screen controls!). Anyway look around and you'll find a TON of stuff. I wanna look into some custom alarm clock apps next.[/quote]


I'm really looking forward to getting my new phone as I really wasn't impressed with the apps on the palm. Hoping switching to a windows based phone will provide more function
 
So I just read through all 14 pages of this thread... And my mind is boggling. :drool:

Could I ask for a recap of all the extra coupon codes and savings you can get with Sero? Like the 50back and what not? And while I'm at it, could some one explain to me the referral program again? I know I read you could get something like $300 a year from it....

Also, which Sprint employee email address should I use?


And finally, could someone recommend me which phone to get? The features I'm interested in are:

NFL Mobile
I want to be able to surf the web and check my email(Gmail)
Built in camera
GPS
Bluetooth


I'm not really interested in texting, so a fancy keyboard phone is something I don't really need...

If someone could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. This plan sounds so awesome, but it'd be my first cell phone and cell phone plan, so I wanna be careful.

Thanks.
 
[quote name='Malice']So I just read through all 14 pages of this thread... And my mind is boggling. :drool:

Could I ask for a recap of all the extra coupon codes and savings you can get with Sero? Like the 50back and what not? And while I'm at it, could some one explain to me the referral program again? I know I read you could get something like $300 a year from it....

Also, which Sprint employee email address should I use?


And finally, could someone recommend me which phone to get? The features I'm interested in are:

NFL Mobile
I want to be able to surf the web and check my email(Gmail)
Built in camera
GPS
Bluetooth


I'm not really interested in texting, so a fancy keyboard phone is something I don't really need...

If someone could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. This plan sounds so awesome, but it'd be my first cell phone and cell phone plan, so I wanna be careful.

Thanks.[/quote]


Sure, first you can't use the coupons when you sign up online, the website will automatically reject them. Also those codes are YMMV meaning some reps will put them in, others wont.

What you get for the $30 is
500 anytime minutes
nights are free after 7pm and weekends are free aswell
unlimited data (i.e instant messangers such as aim,yahoo,msn) and internet
unlimited text - to anyone on any network, doubt that means internationally though

and if you want there is $7 for insurance.

The referral program is very simple. Once you get your phone activated dial #733 and then follow the directions. It will ask for the sprint phone number that referred you and once you dial it in, your all set. Both parties get a $25 Visa gift credit card. Basically you can get up to 12 referrals a year for a total of $300

you can use [email protected] or if you want a real one pm me.

From what you are looking for I would suggest looking into the moto q9c, mogul and the Touch. The palm phones do not have GPS and I think there is a hack for the mogul and touch to activate theirs. They all have the sprint tv with NFL channel, bluetooth and camera, though the Centro and 755p do not have flash.

I would suggest checking out cnet or youtube for user reviews, I found them really helpful.

If you have anymore questions don't be afraid to ask.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']I got the Palm Centro last week. It's my first "smart phone" so I can't really compare it to anything else, but I can definitely say that I'm loving it so far. Going from a Verizon phone (enV) to this is really a huge jump. Whereas Verizon is obsessed with having complete control over everything on your phone, the Palm just has a much more "open" feel to it.

- Web browsing works very well. Touch screen control combined with some menu keys make browsing pretty simple, and an accessible bookmark page really helps with navigation.

- The music player is nice, and it lets you play a bunch of Internet radio stations. The music will keep playing when you switch to other applications; at that point you can use the phone's side button to pause and resume playback. Very nice!

- Anytime you text someone, it'll show all the messages that have gone back and forth between you and that person. So you can easily scroll up to view the rest of the "conversation." It makes a series of texts look like an AIM chat. Think of it as being simliar to the "Wall-To-Wall" feature on FaceBook, if you're familiar with that.

- for some reason they put TWO email programs in there. "VersaMail" seems harder to configure but "Sprint Mobile Email" works great. I can jump to my Gmail inbox with a single button press.

- There are four shortcut buttons. One is always mapped to your list of Applications. The other three can be assigned 2 shortcuts each. You can also configure a shorcut for a long press of the phone's side button.

- Finally I gotta address the Palm Apps. If you just look around there's a TON of stuff that you can put on here. Sweet gaming apps too. I'm already able to play NES and GameBoy Color games on my Centro. Even more impressive IMO is the ScummVM emulator - this one lets you play old LucasArts adventure games! I couldn't believe my eyes when I was playing Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max on my PHONE (with touch-screen controls!). Anyway look around and you'll find a TON of stuff. I wanna look into some custom alarm clock apps next.[/QUOTE]

I remember that feeling when I got my Treo 680. I had many Palm Pilots in the past, but now, I had a phone with a palm pilot in it, it was awesome. I do love the way Palm handles text messages. Also, yes, the palm does have an 'open' feel to it, because it's not actually a phone, it's a palm pilot, so it's not bound by the rules of your company. You can do anything you want on it.

With the palm having all this, it's almost impossible to decide between it and the Rumor. The only thing I like about the rumor, is big buttons. But that's enough to make or break the deal. Meh, I get paid next Friday, I have til then to decide. :hot:
 
What happens if you dont have social security#? Also when I want to apply the $50 credit code do I call after I order my phone?
 
[quote name='Dro']What happens if you dont have social security#? Also when I want to apply the $50 credit code do I call after I order my phone?[/QUOTE]

Everybody has one, just ask your parents. At 17, you should have it memorized. Also, you need to be at least 18 to sign up for this, so just make your birthday one year earlier. I did it, and haven't had any problems yet.

EDIT: Also, I've been meaning to ask, is Sprint TV part of this plan?
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']Everybody has one, just ask your parents. At 17, you should have it memorized. Also, you need to be at least 18 to sign up for this, so just make your birthday one year earlier. I did it, and haven't had any problems yet.

EDIT: Also, I've been meaning to ask, is Sprint TV part of this plan?[/quote]

No. You get the free sprint channels. Not all of them.
 
Would anyone happen to know of a good alarm clock application for Palm OS? The one that comes with the phone really sucks. I figure I've got a ton of options but I'm just wondering if any program is generally regarded as the best.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']Would anyone happen to know of a good alarm clock application for Palm OS? The one that comes with the phone really sucks. I figure I've got a ton of options but I'm just wondering if any program is generally regarded as the best.[/QUOTE]

I never really found a good one either. I just got used to the Palm one. Took me a few days, but I got it down.

And BTW- if you haven't downloaded this yet, it's a MUST HAVE.

http://www.little-john.net/
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']I never really found a good one either. I just got used to the Palm one. Took me a few days, but I got it down.

And BTW- if you haven't downloaded this yet, it's a MUST HAVE.

http://www.little-john.net/[/QUOTE]Oh yes, I've been wowing people with Little John Palm already. :cool:

The Palm alarm is the one in "World Calendar," right? Do you have to reset the alarm every time, or can you set the time once and have it repeat every day of the week? Also from what I could tell, it only lets you set the time in 5-minute intervals. Unless I'm missing something or I'm just looking at the wrong app!
[quote name='homeland']never used it but seems very popular http://www.pocketgear.com/en_US/html/display_product.jsp?id=prod6502324 $14.99 though. blah[/QUOTE]Yikes! Thanks for the info but yeah, I doubt my CAGness will allow that!
 
no you have it, the world clock is where the alarm is. Also I suggest to get minitones, its free and allows you to make mp3's on your sd card your ringtone.
 
[quote name='homeland']no you have it, the world clock is where the alarm is. Also I suggest to get minitones, its free and allows you to make mp3's on your sd card your ringtone.[/QUOTE]thanks, I'll definitely want to use that one.

Heh, this alarm thing is the ONE area that seemed to be better when I was with Verizon. Of course I had to hack the filesystem to do it, but I was able to add an mp3 ringtone, then set an alarm to recur every weekday and use the mp3 ringtone as the alarm.

Palm has much better POTENTIAL when it comes to alarms but it looks like you have to pay up to maximize that potential. Looks like there's plenty of free options but I'll probably have to settle for default alarm sounds. Good to know I can get the ringtones all hooked up though!
 
If someone needs a referral feel free to PM me. My first post in this thread, would be nice to get a free $25 gift card as well as get you one.
 
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