Saved by the Bell: A Guide to Student Phones

Aug. 1, 2007 — -- Most students don't want to hear the words " back to school."

One thing young scholars can take solace in is the new gear that comes with back-to-school shopping time. With notebooks, textbooks and backpacks taking care of the academic part of school, students still need the socializing supplies -- the cell phone.

Here are a few of the latest phones that stand the test of the academic lifestyle, all the while keeping parents' pocketbooks intact:

Sidekick 3

Provider: T-Mobile

Price: $200

The Sidekick franchise has been popularized by actors and athletes lugging around their "hiptops" in the public eye, and sales have been strong as a result. The third installment features a full keyboard to text, e-mail and IM to your heart's content. The Sidekick 3 also comes with a 1+ megapixel camera and MP3 support. Also, 1,000 minutes of monthly talk time costs around $40 in addition to another $30 for the unlimited sidekick data and messaging young people can't seem to live without.

LG enV

Provider: Verizon

Price: $150

Verizon's answer to the Sidekick, the LG enV also includes a full keyboard for the text inclined. The enV also features a high-resolution, 2 megapixel camera, which may come in handy for nights on the town. The phone does support VCast, Verizon's streaming music and video service, so you can pump the tunes or watch a clip of your favorite show through the enV's stereo speakers. With Verizon's America's Choice plan, you can get 450 minutes and unlimited texting to anyone for $60 a month.

Samsung Upstage

Provider: Sprint

Price: $100

For the music aficionado, there is the Upstage by Samsung. The Upstage provides a special flip-over design in which one side lets users chat, text, snap photos and watch videos. On the flip side, the phone doubles as an iPod nano-esque MP3 player that lets you wirelessly download songs for 99 cents a pop. The MP3 player also supports Bluetooth headsets, so college students can take it anywhere, including the gym to work off the "freshman 15." For $40 a month, users can get 450 minutes, including unlimited night and weekend calling; unlimited texting is $10 more. For an extra 15 bucks, users can get music, TV and streaming Sirius satellite radio.

BlackBerry Pearl

Provider: AT&T

Price: $100

For those youngsters who have too much on their plate, the BlackBerry Pearl can help keep them organized. With access to e-mail, texting, instant messaging and Web browsing, the Pearl is the company's most consumer-friendly offering to date. The Pearl has full video and music capabilities as well as a digital camera, and the phone supports Bluetooth. Rate plans for talk time start at $40 a month for 450 minutes, including rollover minutes with an extra $35 to $45 a month for the BlackBerry messaging service.

These days parents would be advised to invest more in messaging and data services than more talk time, as texting and video services are heavily used.

"Keep in mind that the place where carriers really get you these days are in the data and texting areas, and these are what teens love to do the most," said Rich DeMuro, senior editor and tech guru at CNET. "Talk time has become cheap, but the e-mail, IMing and texting is where they make the big add-on bucks."