Cells phones-talk to me slowly, and in little words, please!

[mickeyplanner08]

OK, so my husband's work is going to offer them a stipend towards a personal phone and cell plan.

I am so overwhelmed! I currently am using T-Mobile pre-paid, but I'm thinking I would like to upgrade and be able to talk and text.

He needs: work e-mail access, to be able to talk on the phone, occasional web access. Currently he has a Blackberry from Nextel.

I need someone to explain a few things to me-but I'm lost when we start talking smart phones and such.

Can someone please answer a couple of questions for me. I know that I can access the internet with even my basic pre-paid phone in a pinch. But, if I get a cooler phone, can I use it on my wireless network at home and if wi-fi is available out and about and not get a data plan for my phone?

We've been pricing everything online, but have not dared to venture into a store yet-I'll admit it, I'm intimidated. I'd like to at least have a little bit of an idea of what I'm talking about before I go in. Can anyone help me, please?

 

[mrseace711]

Not sure if your talking about getting a plan or not. We canceled our T-Mobile plan last year we were paying close to $200 a month and did not have fancy phones =/ I decided on Virgin Mobile prepaid plans. I have a LG Optimus its an android phone and love it! I currently have the $40 plan which is 1200 mins plus unlimited text and internet. My husband who is not a big talker and sometimes texts yet likes to look at sports updates and check the news on his phone has a LG Rumor Touch with a $25 a month plan he has 300 mins and unlimited text and internet. We do not have a contract and know exactly what our phones are going to cost us every month.

 

[bonoriffic]

Can someone please answer a couple of questions for me. I know that I can access the internet with even my basic pre-paid phone in a pinch. But, if I get a cooler phone, can I use it on my wireless network at home and if wi-fi is available out and about and not get a data plan for my phone?

Most smartphones have wifi, which you can use instead of the cellular network. However, a smartphone will require a dedicated data plan from the provider. If you think you will frequently use wifi, or not really do too much on the internet, you can go with the cheapest data plan. More expensive plans just allow for more usage, and wifi does not count against that.

Wifi out and about is limited. I would not rely on that unless you absolutely know you will be in locations that will have wifi. Keep in mind that just because your work has wifi, that does not mean your phone will be able to access it.

Before buying any smartphone (other than Blackberry as that already works for you) check to make sure your husband can get his work email. Some corporations require a third party application (which may cost $30+) to gain work email access on a phone. For example, some corporations email is not compatible with Android without an extra app.

 

[sam_gordon]

Let me see if I can help...

First, iPhones & Android phones (the two most popular types of 'smart phones') SHOULD connect to Wifi (home or out and about). I mention 'should' just in case some model doesn't, just something to double check.

BUT, the smart phones that I know of will require you to have a data plan... usually around the $30/month range. Verizon now caps the data at I believe 2Gig a month (not going to be an issue unless you do a lot of video streaming). I don't know what ATT, T-Mobile, Sprint caps at.

BUT, if you are somewhere where Wifi is available, a) it does not use any of your data rate and b) should help your battery life.

I just got a smart phone July 4 weekend. Before that, I had a 'feature' phone. The phone was fine for texting & calls, and could get on the web but wasn't very easy to navigate on the web. I switched to a feature phone (Droid X2) so I can have:
A) Larger screen
B) Better user interface
C) More availability of apps (software).
D) Access to email when I want it

My suggestion... go to CNET.com's cell phone buying guide.

Basically your decision is going to be:
A) What phone
B) What carrier

Good luck!

 

[mickeyplanner08]

So I went and visited Sprint and AT&T today. It's still a little overwhelming My husband thinks that he wants an Android phone, but now we need to figure out if that is compatible with the work e-mail system.

Sprint seems to be cheaper. I know cheaper is not always better, but this is a new venture, and we are on the Budget Board, after all!

 

[Fire14]

So I went and visited Sprint and AT&T today. It's still a little overwhelming My husband thinks that he wants an Android phone, but now we need to figure out if that is compatible with the work e-mail system.

Sprint seems to be cheaper. I know cheaper is not always better, but
I don't know where your at in MI but my brothers are both on Sprint and it seems every other week someone is complaining about phone issues or service issues, I personally have verizon and never had issues while visting anyone up there. My dad and his GF switched from At+t d/t poor service. So maybe talk to folks in your area with various services to ask about reception etc.

 

[bonoriffic]

Best Buy has usually unpublished one day sales with select smartphones free with a 2 year contract. I'm not sure which carriers Best Buy services, Verizon and AT&T and maybe another. The phones offered aren't the absolute latest, but still fairly new and go for the $149 range.

One such sale was yesterday, the next is supposed to be 8/22. There is no catch, Best Buy is selling you the same contract at the same prices you would get by visiting the corporate branded store.