Cost Basic service plans are comparable to average landline phone bill. However, major billing sore points for cell phone customers are roaming charges and over minutes charges. The average customer has really gotten used to 5 cents, 7 cents and 10 cents per minutes charges on their landline long distance bills. Cell phone carriers can charge 35 cents or 45 cents each minute over your anytime allowance. It's always better to have too many cell phone minutes rather than too few. The extra $10 or $20 for a plan with more anytime minutes is a much better option than a $180 cell phone bill at end of month.

Also, see if there is a plan available minimizes roaming charges. Roaming charges in some areas can be as high as 65 cents per minute. You can minimize your roaming charges in one of two ways:

Get a plan with no roaming charges. Another option is to get plan that alerts you when you are roaming and gives you option to not send or receive calls. If you are Sprint PCS customer, you will receive an alert on your cell phone when you receive a call and you are roaming. Change your plan if needed, but get one that maximizes your usage time and minimizes your extra costs.

If you get a great service, minimize your extra charges and avoid roaming fees, making switch from a landline to a cellular phone is a great option.

Lighting Take pictures where there is lots of light. Some of newer models have a built in flash and this makes a tremendous difference in quality of pictures.

Compatibility Your camera phone must be compatible with your network. Check with your service provider if you are in market for a new phone. If you are purchasing a camera phone with a cell phone plan, web retailer should have some kind of comparison chart to show you which phones are recommended or supported by your network. Look for MMS capability. Multimedia Messaging is required to send photos out and to receive them from other cell phones.

Batteries Flashes can suck life out of your cell phone battery. The longer talk time on your cell phone, better it will be able to stand up to all of your camera phone extras.

To get best value on a camera phone, purchase a brand that is known for having best cell phones. If a company spent their time and research efforts on producing an excellent phone, they will do same when it comes to making camera phones. As with other electronics, you get higher quality, better sound and better pictures as price goes up.

However, great deals on camera phones can be found on web. Know facts about capabilities of camera phones, decide how much you want spend and shop around. If you’re on a budget, you can get a camera phone in $50 to $150 price range if phone is purchased with a service plan.