It’s time for a new cell phone. Your old one isn’t what it used to be. How do you decide which phone to buy? Are some cell phone deals better than others? Is there a carrier you should avoid? What do you need to know before you buy your new cellphone?

Keeping your number is probably very important to you. Most people don’t like to change their cell phone number and alot of people don't realize they can keep their cell phone number when they find a new cell phone deal. Luckily number portability is the law – as long as you still have the old number you should be able to take it with you even if you switch to a different carrier. So if keeping your number is important to you then contact your existing carrier to make you sure you can keep it.

Before you decide which phone is right for you find out which cell phone carriers have good reception where you live. If you live in a big city you can usually choose any of the major carriers. Don’t rely soley on coverage maps. Instead, ask people who live and work in your area which carriers have the best reception. Don’t sign up with a carrier unless you know that they provide good reception in the places where you spend most of your time. This includes your home, work, business trips, and vacation destinations.

Cell phones are in fact just an advanced version of the old walkie-talkies we all came to love as kids and are not always going to have 100% perfect reception. And, when the cell phone salesman at the local dealer is about to close his sale the last thing he is going to do is wreck it by telling you that the local mall is a dead zone! (an area where cell phone has poor or no reception)

The worst case scenario is after you’ve signed a one or two year contract, you then go home, or to your office or on vacation only to discover the new service plan you’ve just signed is worthless because you have no coverage.

Unfortunately, you realize too late that most of the places you make your calls from are dead zones, so much for the carrier coverage map. A good tip is to always try out a friend’s phone in the places where you talk the most!

Also remember that most carriers will give you 2 weeks to 1 month to try out your coverage before you get locked into a new cell phone deal and contract. Use this time span wisely, trying out your new phone in key spots and if there are any problem do not hesitate to contact your new carrier and if need be cancel the contract. Do not be timid, most of us learn by trial and error. Better to find out sooner rather than later and be locked into a contract you can’t get out of.