Parenting Geekly’s Holiday Extravaganza: T-Mobile’s Phone Shopping Guide
Does your teen/tween have a cell phone on their wish list this year? Does the thought of trying to buy a smart phone send you into a panic attack? Post sponsors T-Mobile are here to help. Here are a list of their tips:

Tips for buying and giving a mobile device this holiday season

A smartphone or tablet is a gift with a personal touch that can help people stay connected long after the holiday season.
Shopping for one doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. Selecting the right device is simply a matter of knowing how to decipher the person’s mobile style, asking the right questions and talking to the experts! T-Mobile has a wide array of 4G smartphones and tablets this holiday season – so there’s something for every type of user. Below are some tips and suggestions to help make your holiday shopping even easier.
Here are some key questions to arm yourself with before your purchase and make sure to review with any sales associate:
  • What does my rate plan cover?
  • What kind of speeds/data am I getting?
  • How much will my monthly payments be and/or other charges?
  • What’s the exchange/return policy?
  • Is my/my recipient’s home and workplace covered by your network?
  • What are roaming charges?
  • What are your warranty/insurance policies?
Helpful Tips:
Below are some tips to keep in mind whether you are purchasing a device as a gift or for yourself:
  • Switching to a new phone doesn’t mean you will lose the information on your old phone. T-Mobile retail associates can use a phone-synching device to seamlessly and effortlessly move your contacts, pictures, calendar appointments, etc. over to the new phone so it is set up and ready to go! 
  • If you make calls to people outside the country, consider getting a prepaid plan to control your costs. T-Mobile offers a variety of international prepaid plans that offer great deals for people in the U.S. who want to stay in touch with people abroad.  
  • Do you want to know which data plan is best for your communication needs? T-Mobile offers a data calculator to help you figure out the plan you need based on your daily usage, check it out at http://www.t-mobile.com/Tools/MBCalculator.aspx 
  • Giving a child their first cell phone, especially a smartphone, can be a big decision for a parent. T-Mobile offers safety and control applications that empower families to keep each other safe and responsible by encouraging individual behaviors that benefit the whole family, and the flexibility to let parents maintain control on their terms, such as: 
    • DriveSmart™ Plus – Distracted driving is dangerous, especially with new drivers. DriveSmart manages distractions by silencing incoming notifications, sending callers to voicemail and auto responding to incoming text messages. With DriveSmart Plus, you get automatic driving detection, parental controls and notification of cell phone activity while driving, providing additional peace of mind 
    • FamilyWhere™ – If you’ve ever wondered where your kids are, this feature is for you. It allows parents to track the location of any phone on their family plan. You can even schedule alerts as a reminder to check where your kids are during the day and view up to 7 days of location history.
  • Not having strong coverage at places where you spend a lot of time can be very frustrating. Wireless carriers can help you avoid that situation by running a personal coverage check to see the strength of the network at your home, workplace, school, etc. 
  • Smartphones have become so advanced they can often serve multiple purposes. Several of T-Mobile’s smartphones have premium digital camera features offering consumers a viable alternative to their digital point-and-shoot cameras. They can also work as mobile hotspots, mobile music players and GPS navigators. Think about what devices you use most and consider a smartphone that can eliminate the need to carry multiple electronics
Don’t Try To Go It Alone – Talk To The Experts
T-Mobile associates are experts at finding the right devices to best fit the needs of every type of customer. All you need to do is
go into a retail store, explain the type of person you are looking to buy a gift for and how they would use their device and you’ll
be able to walk out with the perfect gift that will help the recipient stay connected.
Giveaway Time! 
But wait! T-Mobile wants to make it EVEN EASIER to give your loved one an awesome smartphone! They are offering one Parenting Geekly reader their choice of either a T-Mobile myTouch or myTouch Q. Both of these phones run on T-Mobile’s 4G Network. They are both especially great for someone making the jump in the world of smartphones. They have an intutive Android based operating systems, and tons of features. For more information on the phones check out the myTouch Qhere and the myTouch here.
For your chance to win, you have to “like” Tmobile on Facebook and leave a comment below telling us which phone you’d like and who you’d give it to! (Please be aware that you have to go under the Rafflecopter entry form and actually leave a comment. Don’t just click “I did this” and skip leaving the comment…you can’t win if you don’t follow the rules!).  You can earn an extra entry by following T-Mobile on Twitter and/or tweeting this giveaway on Twitter.

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This advertorial  is sponsored by T-Mobile.  Parenting Geekly was compensated to run this post.