1. Start with what you buy. Used cell phones are almost as good as new, and often gently used. You can get last years iPhone 4S (if the iPhone 5 finally releases this year) for a fraction of the price. Just check reputable used cell phone dealers, and remember that certain trade-in chains have HORRIBLE reviews.
2. Only use cell phones when you’re at a wireless hub (at home, work, a coffee shop, book store, etc.). iPhones are already designed to look for the nearest smart phone hub, but it’s a smart way to use Android phones, too! It saves money on that data plan, especially if you’re not on Sprint.
3. Make calls using data. Minutes can be the most expensive part of using cell phones, (so can crazy texting), but it may be cheaper to just use data—and free WiFi—for everything, including calls. (I recommend downloading Google plus and using hangouts to video call your friends!).
4. Secret fourth step: make sure to get CASH for that used cell phone! Even if it’s an older model, it may be worth something, and you’re keeping it out of a landfill!

Police can’t keep up with the amount of reported stolen cell phones—dozens a day in major cities—and are looking for easy ways to help keep cell phones locked.

We’re not talking about normal unlocked cell phones, which break past software to allow multiple carrier use, but preventing tampering with the hardware so it can be resold without hindrances of the past owner.

Currently, criminals can unlock cell phones by replacing the SIM card, which is the only way to currently track smart phones. Cops want to lock cell phones by hardwiring in a “fingerprint” to the cell phone, making the phone itself, and not just the SIM card, trackable to the owner. It would also allow carriers to shut down service to the phone, making reselling it unviable, and hopefully killing the trend of crimes related to smartphones.

Of course, this method requires the sacrifice of all the first people to be robbed. Shutting down the phone would make it impossible for you to unlock the cell phone from your end, (a computer accessing an app on the phone), much less track it, and any crook is likely to ditch the phone anyway once the carrier bricks it.

Better yet, take responsibility to lock cell phones—make sure to check out all the apps dedicated to helping you get your cell phone back: lock the home screen (and wipe away telling finger grease), get GPS tracking that you can access remotely to unlock your cell phone for yourself and block out the thief, and add any other programs that let you control it remotely. Sometimes criminals will sell back to the owner for a reward, which you might be able to post, with a phone number, on your display—with the cell phone locked, of course!

But besides the fundamental need to call 911, used cell phones offer the disadvantaged other free services. Many states offer subsidized plans to activate cell phones, and increasingly there are many health services that send free information to cell phones for those who sign up.

When you donate used cell phones to a battered women’s or to another similar charity, one of the services that becomes available is text4baby, a program that offers preganant mothers and mothers of young children free advice, tips, and encouragement to help keep them and their baby healthy.

Whether it helps educate them so they can take better advantage of the care available to them, or helps those who can’t make doctors visits as often as they should, text4baby is a sucessful program that should be available to all women: which is why donating your used cell phones is important.

Despite being a first world country, (and spending more money then anyone on child birth), the US has a horrible infant mortality rate, and even the maternal death rate has increased in recent years. Although some of that has to do with wealthy older women having babies past their body’s abilities, some of it comes from poorer women, especially imigrant women, who don’t have the resources to support a healthy pregnancy.

Used cell phones coupled with free services like text4baby are an easy way to reach these women, and a first step at decreasing mortality rates associated with birth.

Text4Baby is a helpful tool for all moms; to sign up just text BABY for english or BEBE for spanish to 511411.

Have you used text4baby? Let us know about it in the comments.

The new unlocked cell phone law is also retroactive: all current cell phones have to be given their unlock code by the service provider so that users can have the choice of true mobility.

Locked cell phones are a way for carriers to subsidize cell phones—your phone isn’t really free, you’re signing a contract. Most carriers prefer this method, although Europe has unlocked cell phones (the customer paying full price for the cell phone instead), and some other countries have mandated unlocked cell phones in an effort toimprove customer rights.

In the US, there are only a few carroers that sell unlocked cell phones. It’s actually to the cutomer’s advantage, since it broadens the options in the market. Carriers still want you on a contract—but if you come to them with an unlocked cell phone, you can stay off a contract, and they’ll often offer you a secret, better price to keep you with them.

Of course, there are US movements to give customers similar rights, but the carriers would likely not respond favorably.

More and more, school districts are realizing that students use cell phones regardless of the policies they put into place, and that it’s easier to get the desired results (no disruptions in the classroom) if they make policies that acknowledge the reality of the situation.

If you’re a parent who thinks kids shouldn’t use cell phones until they’re 16 (or 18!), here’s some of the helpful ways teachers have figured out to use cell phones in classrooms:

• To supplement outdated textbooks
• As a calculator
• As a dictionary or theasaurus
• To display maps, art, or other infographics
• As a research tool
• As a vehicle that can store books, newspapers, and magazines

Beyond supplementing older tools, by allowing cell phone use in schools teachers are able to teach kids proper use of such devices including good manners, internet safety, and how to get reliable information.

If your local school is instituting such programs, a great way to show your support is to donate used cell phones or pay-as-you go minutes and data. Not all kids can afford to use cell phones, and donating used cell phones in the hands of every child is a great way to encourage technology in the classroom.

There are many reasons to love unlocked cell phones: having no contract so you can get the best deal, being able to mod the software and delete the carrier junk apps (and then scratching off the corresponding branding), and just being able to say f-you to the companies.

Well, Apple may do all that for you. They’ve already told the carriers a big NO to branding and preloaded add-apps—but they were also recently awarded a patent that would extend those unlocked cell phone like services, AND do the work for you.

Basically, Apple would become a middle-man between the user and the phone companies, leveraging their iPhone popularity for the lowest rates, switching between or mixing and matching different companies without a user ever seeing a dip or change in service. They could even take payments, making the branding, contracts, and other junk associated with all the carriers obsolete.

Of course, unlocked cell phones would still have a place, since not everyone would want an iPhone, so you have to assume that a dual system of some sort would have to emerge, but it’s an interesting future to think about. You’d never have to risk bricking your phone to unlock it again!

Cell phones now help emergency response teams repsond more quickly, as dozens of reports fill in for everything from fires to car accidents, providing opporators with increased details that help save lives.

Of course, not everyone can afford cell phones, especially in this economy. Make sure that you keep your used cell phones out of landfills by donating them to a charity that redistributes them to the needy. Even without a phone contract, used cell phones help people place 911 calls in emergency situations, bringing help to areas where not everyone has a cell phone to call for help!

Used cell phones can also help battered women gain indepence, or used cell phones can be given to soldiers to help them keep in touch with their families overseas.

Pick your favorite program to donate your used cell phones to, or just find a local donation bin in your community.

If you’re not feeling charitable, you can always get Cash For Used Cell Phones. Just fill out the form for a free envelope, and off you go to saving for your new iPhone 4S or the latest from Android and Samsung!

The thing is, there’s an easier (cheaper!) way. Unlocked cell phones work in a very similar way, you just have to change the SIM card yourself.

Unlocked cell phones are phones whose software has been unlocked so that you can use the SIM card of any network with the phone (Sprint is the only major American cell phone company that does not rely on SIM cards, although an unlocked cell phone originally sold by Sprint works on everything).

So, the upside to unlocked cell phones is that you don’t have to pay $70, and you can make calls with your own phone and phonebook without having a silly looking extra phone strapped to the back that elicits silly jokes.

The downside is that you have to keep track of SIM cards and physically switch them in and out of your unlocked cell phone, rather than having them ready to go, as the iPPeel lets you have two extra at all times. Of course, if you’re travelling so much you actually need such a device, there may be a better chance that two isn’t enough.

In any case, unlocked cell phones may be a better option for many people.

Upgraded your iPhone? Sell the old one.

Did you get a new cell phone for Christmas? Don’t throw away your old one!

Used cell phones have life long after their first use, and the metals in them can not only poison ground and water if thrown in a land fill, but some of them are rare and can be valuably recycled.

To remind us of this, Tran Hoang Quan of Westcom Electronics Supermarket in Vietnam spent over 8 months collecting used cell phones in order to string them together and make a Christmas Tree/work of art to remind people that what they are done with may not necessariy be trash.

Get value out of your used cell phones with Cash 4 Phones. Your used cell phone may be turned into a refurbished cell phone that may be more affordable for many people, or unlocked for those who want to save mone with secret no-contract phone plans.

If you don’t want to wait for the free evelope that allows you to send in your phone, you can always donate used cell phones to the local cause most in need. Low income families, battered women, and soldiers are often collecting used cell phones, which can still be used in emergencies, or to help soldiers call home during the holidays.

Start the holidays without junk. Recycle your used cell phones today.

Samsung is the leading retailer for smartphones worldwide (Nokia leads phones in general). If you’re looking to be cool when you travel with an unlocked cell phone, look into Samsung.

Unlocked cell phones allow you to switch SIM cards so you can get the rates of the local cell phone service provider.

When travelling, you can go on roaming…which gets even worse internationally! Prepaying for minutes and texts on a reginonal sim card (or getting a tempoary plan if you need to use data) is a much smarter option, but only if you have an unlocked cell phone!

Make sure that you pick an unlocked cell phone that is manufactured to work globally. Depending on your needs, you might pick a Samsung smartphone like the Galaxy S or go with something simpler like a Nokia.

Even if you’re not travelling this winter, think ahead to summer with your next cell phone purchase. Dream of Asia, of Europe, and of all the exciting restaurants your phone can guide you to (as well as the help it can call in an emergency).

Of course, some people may prefer to travel tech free. Even then, it might be wise to bring at least one unlocked cell phone per group.