I feel like I must be the last person on earth who doesn't have a cell phone.  I'm a single mom, full-time student with a teenage son.  We're both out and about so much that I think it would be a good idea for us to each have a cell phone so that I can let him know if I'm running late or he can let me know if he wants to go somewhere. Not only don't I have a cell phone right now, I've never had a cell phone so this whole thing is new to me.  I'm trying to figure out what I want and what would work best for us.  I do not want to be locked into a contract.  I'll still have my landline; these phones will just be for emergencies and quick calls.  Occasionally we drive up to Vegas or down to Tucson but mostly we stay in populated areas so I don't foresee coverage being a problem (but then, being a cell phone newbie, maybe there's something about that I don't know!). I was thinking about going for AT&T's GoPhone with mMode and choosing the plan with 80 minutes/month.  I think that should do us fine (unless the teenager revels in his new found cell capacity and overdoes the minutes but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it).  I understand that the minutes don't roll over and that you could be charged twice in a month if you go over your minutes (or at least I think that's what all the fine print says). Wal-Mart's monthly ad came out the other day and they have an Alltel Prepaid Nokia 3585I phone (25 cents/minute) for $70. Can anyone give me some ideas as to whether or not one might be better over the other, or should I be looking at something else entirely? Also, if I get a GoPhone (which is a Nokia 3595) or the Alltell phone, would I be able to use those phones should I decide at some point in the future to go with a service like Sprint, Qwest, Verizon or something like that?  Or are those phones tied specifically to those plans?  I live in the Phoenix area - I don't know if that makes a difference or not in my considerations. Thanks for any and all help! Tiffany