Let me alter Angela's cell phone question a bit.  I would like to know how much you are paying monthly (excluding taxes) for your cell plan and what features/applications you have on it.

The reason is that all carriers seem to charge (nickel and dime) for mobile applications and data usage, and those add to the total monthly costs.

I'm currently paying $35 for a 300-minute plan with free nights and weekends from Verizon.  It's a two-year old plan.  Verizon charges additional for text messaging, internet, etc., so those are additional charges on top of any voice plan. 

Are any of you getting TXT messages, internet surfing, generous data usage, large number of call minutes, and GPS/location-based services for under $50 per month?

I have 4 other people on my plan.  We share 2500 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, and unlimited text messages for around $150 a month.

After the first bill, which was like $80-$90, I pay around $30-$40 a month. I have one of the most basic plans though, I get 400 or 500 anytime minutes and unlimited moble to moble, which is why I got it as my other family members are on the same network. I know I'm only allowed so many txt messages before I get charged but I don't send any or recieve many.

My phone bill runs me anywhere from $80 - $90 a month.  This only happened when I got my new phone (a Sanyo SCP-8400).  My plan is only about $55/month.  But since I added unlimited internet usage, unlimited text messaging (which is *very* important to me), and the best insurance package Sprint offers, it pushed my monthly bill up considerably.

^ Ugh, Sprint.  I had the WORST time being shackled to that company.  I hope that you have a better time.

Same here. The reception is fine, but the company sucks balls. Fat, sweaty, hairy balls. My contract is up in two months... finally.

T-mobile

600 minutes, unlimited nights + weekend for $40 before taxes, which somehow always ends up being $50+ after taxes! Anyway, I think that phone companies are like politicians, they're hated for good reasons.

cheers,

-avatar!

I have T-mobile as well.  1500 anytime minutes per month, for under $45 (including taxes).  I also have an extra 50 anytime minutes every month since I've been with them for a while.  My actual phone usage rarely tops 300 minutes a month, but I've been in the 1000 minute range occasionally in the past.  I still haven't seen another plan that I prefer to the one I have, and while I'm no longer under contract, I'm not in a big hurry to sign another one.  The service is fine, once I upgraded beyond my freebie phone to a Sony Ericsson with a decent antenna.

It looks like most of you have basic voice plans with no internet or text messaging functions, so I'm not the only one.  I appreciate the feedback.

LOL!  I anticipated this type of response once I mentioned Sprint!  Everyone hates them.  Fortunately, I haven't had a bad experience with them in six years they've been my carrier.

T-Mobile

700 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends: $39.99
400 text/picture messages: $4.99

Total: $44.98 before taxes / $49.84 after

My phone (T-Mobile Dash) is a Windows Mobile Smartphone. It has the ability to jump on to whatever WiFi happens to be available. I don't pay anything extra for this service. (I've read on some forums where other T-Mobile customers don't have my kind of luck. There are two internet plans to choose from. One is $5.99, the other $29.99.)

P.S. I have nothing but nice things to say about T-Mobile service.

55.60$ or so for the last couple years.  Unlimited Nights & Weekends, free In-Calling (and In-Texting) to any Verizon customer, 500 texts per month.  I don't use it for much, and don't have much to complain about.  Verizon pretty much has a monopoly on North Jersey, you don't even see Sprint or T-Mobile until you get into New Brunswick area.

i have the basic vonage $16 a month plan, and i think i barely get my money's worth out of it. the best part is i dont have to worry about annoying ringing when im out...

I have Virgin Mobile and I pay $7/mo.  Or rather, I pre-pay $7/mo.  Everything costs per minute or per text message, but I don't use it very much, and I've never run out of the pool of money in my account (your pool can grow up to $450 I think).  This kind of plan would suck for someone who needs to use a cellphone a lot, but it's great for me.

My bill is about 100 dollars, or actually maybe cheaper if you consider exchange rate.

I have Type M plan which is 6600 yen, and has an allowance of 4000 yen (roughly 142 minutes a month)
Insert family plan discount and yearly discount (I am on my 4th year with DoCoMo now) I get 41% off the basic fee, so the total is 4084 yen.
I also have Pake-hodai, which is unlimited internet/mail/downloads.  That is 3,900 yen.
So then, with the initial imode charge of 200 yen, my phone bill should be 8184 yen per month.
However, I tend to slightly go over by occasionally calling home on my cell phone or by using video phone, or by using the built in digital wallet (10,000 yen limit usuable through the built in IC card, basically I can buy stuff at Tower Records, etc, by just touch my phone to the register sensor) which gets charged back to me in my bill.
I also pay for my wife's usage, so that's an additional 4000 yen.

The one nice thing in Japan is there was no lock you down plans.  Unfortunately, Softbank has come in and switched to a western style contract system, which other carriers are following suit, which means new owners have to pay 10,000 to 20,000 yen for cancellation fee.

On the other hand, the phones are great.  I have a 3.2 megapixel camera with anti-shake built in with the ability to video call, email, surf the web, watch digital tv (one seg) use a digital wallet (saifu keitai), get on the train with the built in ic-card, listen to music, open pdf/xcl/doc files, gps, and 3g roaming built in.  From winter DoCoMo's new line will all include 3g/gsm roaming with HSDA as well. 

I do miss unlimited minutes, but then again, no one talks on the phone here, they just email!

T-Mobile and Sprint tend to have a bigger presence at strip malls in NJ.  For some reason, both rarely advertise on billboards like Verizon does.