Koodo Mobile

[Yank In BC]

Anyone have a plan from these guys or heard anything about them? They offer a fairly good North America Plan (but then y0u must pay an extra $5 per month for both call display and voicemail) that is what I need.

[Soundy]

What I've been able to find is that they're a good cheap deal, but there's a couple gotchas.

Main one is, the phone is cheap when you get it with your package, but if you ditch Koodo later, you basically have to pay off the phone, and since it's locked, you won't be able to use it on any other provider. As one guy put it:

Basically If you get a phone like KRZR, which is $150, what happens is 10% of your monthly bill goes to paying that phone off. If your monthly plan is $30, $3 goes to paying that phone off. $3 a month means $36 a year, which means you have to be subscribed to them for 4 years and 2 months if you don't wanna pay for the phone. If you decide to leave early, you pay for what's left and you get to keep a useless phone.

From looking at their site, looks like the KRZR is a $200 phone; you pay $50 up front, so that leaves the $150 you eventually pay off with your bill (as above). Apply the same plan with the other phones they offer, I guess.

Depending on what features you need, there are a number of other pay-as-you-go packages out there you might want to look into. Virgin Mobile is one, Solo mobile another, Petro Canada has their own line (nice thing with theirs is, unused minutes don't expire for 6 months!), Bell and Rogers each have their Koodo-style pay-and-talk plans as well.

This site may be helpful: http://www.wirelesswave.ca/compare_rate ... ovinceID=2

[MacNews]

Don't forget Costco and Save-On, it seems everyone these days has their own pre-paid cellphone plan.

[Yank In BC]

Thanks guys

It wasnt really the no contract that got me looking at them as much as the North America Long Distance for 30 bucks. The big 3 it costs a good 100 for less then 500 minutes, and I spend alot of time on the Sea to Sky calling Long Distance to Canada and the States. As well as ending up on the Island in the interior and way the heck up in the barren land of Prince George

[Toppy Vann]

What I've been able to find is that they're a good cheap deal, but there's a couple gotchas.

Main one is, the phone is cheap when you get it with your package, but if you ditch Koodo later, you basically have to pay off the phone, and since it's locked, you won't be able to use it on any other provider. As one guy put it:

Basically If you get a phone like KRZR, which is $150, what happens is 10% of your monthly bill goes to paying that phone off. If your monthly plan is $30, $3 goes to paying that phone off. $3 a month means $36 a year, which means you have to be subscribed to them for 4 years and 2 months if you don't wanna pay for the phone. If you decide to leave early, you pay for what's left and you get to keep a useless phone.

From looking at their site, looks like the KRZR is a $200 phone; you pay $50 up front, so that leaves the $150 you eventually pay off with your bill (as above). Apply the same plan with the other phones they offer, I guess.

Depending on what features you need, there are a number of other pay-as-you-go packages out there you might want to look into. Virgin Mobile is one, Solo mobile another, Petro Canada has their own line (nice thing with theirs is, unused minutes don't expire for 6 months!), Bell and Rogers each have their Koodo-style pay-and-talk plans as well.

This site may be helpful: http://www.wirelesswave.ca/compare_rate ... ovinceID=2

Soundy, thanks for that site. I have not known there was such a site out there and we all know that phone charges in Canada are ridiculous. I will be passing that along to my friends and family. How do you know so much about phones??

[Soundy]

Thanks guys

It wasnt really the no contract that got me looking at them as much as the North America Long Distance for 30 bucks. The big 3 it costs a good 100 for less then 500 minutes, and I spend alot of time on the Sea to Sky calling Long Distance to Canada and the States. As well as ending up on the Island in the interior and way the heck up in the barren land of Prince George

That's a pretty good plan... just pointing out some of the fine print you need to be careful of. If you're going to keep the phone for a couple years (and/or go for one of the cheaper ones they offer), the "catch" I mentioned probably isn't a concern... but still something you'd probably want to be aware of

Don't forget to wave at LFITQ on your way to PG

[CartWheelFan]

All I know about them is they make really sh**y commercials!