Purchase Decision at the Time

¶ … purchase decision at the time that I received this assignment. My mobile phone contract had expired and I needed to renew my contract and select another cell phone. Usually, I would have simply stuck with my existing provider and selected a phone based on which phones came free with contract renewals. However, the nature of my cell phone usage recently changed. Previously, the majority of my cell phone usage was text messaging with some phone calls, but that has changed. Now, I find that I need to use my cell phone to place many more phone calls, most of them during the hours restricted by most cellular providers. Furthermore, having seen how my friends who have I-phones and similar devices can utilize their phones as miniature computers, I have decided to ensure that my next phone as similar connectivity options. Therefore, I concluded that I would need to buy an I-phone or one of the similar phones put out by competitors. That meant that my options would be the T-Mobile My Touch, the I-Phone serviced through at&T, and the LG Dare serviced through Verizon. In addition to determining what type of phone I would need, I also needed to consider my cell phone plan. I knew that I needed unlimited calling to at least five numbers, unlimited texting, unlimited internet usage, and at least 400 anytime minutes. I also wanted to make sure that the cell phone service was reliable for that network in my area. In fact, because I have friends with problems with Sprint cell phone service in my area, I did not even consider Sprint as a service provider.

Having identified my basic needs, I took my first step in information gathering: I went to the product websites to compare products. I made up two lists. The first list compared the specifications for the phones. In the next list, I compared the cell phone plans that were compatible with the phones that I chose. There was only a negligible price difference between the phones and plans that I selected, so that I was able to eliminate financial concerns as a motivator for my selection.

Next, I began to look up coverage information on the cell phone providers. Many of the providers had maps showing coverage, and I looked at the areas where I live, as well as the areas where I most frequently need to use my cell phone. Furthermore, I went to http://www.cellreception.com/, a website that shows cell towers for service providers as well as gives access to local-user reviews, so that a consumer can tell if their provider has good coverage in a local area. I decided this approach was better than looking at national reviews, because the highest-ranked service provider in the country would not do me any good if it provider poor coverage in my area. What I discovered is that all three of the major companies had good reception for almost all of my high-frequency calling areas. However, I enjoy a lot of outdoor activities, and one of the companies had several dead spots in a nearby state park. Because I might need to use my cell phone in an emergency in that area, I was able to eliminate that company based on the dead zones.

Left with a decision between two major carriers and two basic phones, I began to talk to my friends that had the phones. I discovered that many of the things I initially liked about the I-phone were duplicated in T-Mobile's My Touch phone. Furthermore, many of my I-phone using friends reported dissatisfaction with at&T's service, and, since I-phones are locked and can only be used with at&T, I decided to go with the My Touch phone and T-Mobile's service. Once that decision was made, it was time for me to select my specific phone. With my research done, I went into a local cell phone store, so that I could actually touch the phones and determine the exact model of phone that I wanted.