Before you activate that new iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 3, you should consider which carrier to use it with.  Both of the new iPads come with a special Apple SIM card that allows users US and UK users to switch between wireless carriers on the fly without removing the SIM card.

Apple's iCloud is an easy and convenient way to back up photos and other data from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.  It has a few shortcomings though:  only 5GB is available for free, and it is only accessible on Apple devices (though limited functionality is available through web browsers).  5GB fills up pretty quickly, especially if you take lots of pictures or have multiple device backups.  One way to conserve iCloud space is to turn off photo syncing and instead automatically sync photos to Dropbox, Google Drive, Google+, Flickr, or other free cloud storage providers.

With a free texting app you can send and receive short messages and pictures over wifi or cellular internet that won't count against your texting plan.  Some apps can send text messages to phone numbers, while others will only work with other devices that have the same app installed.  Some apps also have the ability to make and receive free calls.  Here are some of the most popular contenders for the title of best free texting app

Whether you're on a prepaid plan or paying full price because your contract isn't up yet, here are some things to consider when buying an iPhone 6 contract-free.  There are actually more models of the iPhone that are available unlocked and will work with multiple carriers.  See which one is right for you.

Hopefully this overview of the best prepaid cell phone plans will help you drastically lower your bill and ditch two-year contracts.  There are a lot of other benefits to using prepaid cell phone plans:  they run on the same 4G networks as the big carriers, you won't be charged lots of extra taxes and fees, and since there aren't any contracts you can change your phone or cancel your plan at any time.

Well, I finally did it.  I moved my number out of Google Voice and got a normal cell phone plan, and I couldn't be happier (well except that my monthly bill will go from $30 to $50).  I ported my number to Google Voice 18 months ago to use my iPad mini as a phone with just a tablet data plan.  I eventually got another phone, the Android Nexus 5, but I kept using Google Voice with a tablet data plan because I really got accustomed to making and receiving calls and texts over wifi on my smartphone, tablet, and laptop.  This was especially handy in areas with bad cell reception.  And you couldn't beat the price: I varied between tablet data plans that cost $9-$30 per month.

Straight Talk vs Cricket Wireless is a battle of two great prepaid plans that run on AT&T's LTE network. The Cricket brand was relaunched by AT&T and AIO was folded into it. Since then, Cricket has added several new plans and increased the amount of data in other. Straight Talk is a joint venture between TracFone Wireless and Walmart and offers a smaller number of great plan. Although both plans run on AT&T's LTE network, one big distinction is speed. Cricket limits speeds while Straight Talk does not. Read on to see how else these two plans compare and which is the better choice for you.

In this Google Voice review I'll go over how I've used its many unique features over the past year with my Android phone, iPad, and laptop.  I'll also look ahead to the future of Voice and how it may be changing in the months to come.  There's a lot to like about Google Voice, but there are also some big shortcomings.  Read on to find out if it's for you.

Have you ever thought about getting a data only cell phone plan?  If used with free calling and texting apps, it's a great way to save a lot of money on your smartphone bill, and you won't have a contract either.  To my knowledge, none of the major nationwide carriers offer a data only cell phone plan.  However, it is possible to use a SIM card from a tablet in your smartphone.

The best family cell phone plans can save your family a lot of money.  All four of the major carriers and some prepaid carriers offer discounts for adding lines to a plan.  The plans are all structured a bit differently, and network coverage is always important.