Cheap cell phones: More mobile for your money
The LG LX5500 is free with service.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)Everyone loves to hate cell phone contracts, but if given a choice, I'd bet that many people would gladly sign one in exchange for a cheap cell phone.
If that logic applies to you, there are quite a few options available when the economy is sputtering, and even when it is firing on all cylinders. Yes, you're stuck with a carrier for two years, but you can walk away with a phone that may wind up costing no more than a night at the movies. And in some cases, that handset might even be free.
The exact deals will change frequently--it all depends on what the carrier wants to push at a given time--but you could receive a nice new handset for next to nothing. Check out our list of some of the latest cell phone bargains.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
