need help with cell phone choice

[justintime]

My cell phone is about 7 years old. Surprisingly, I haven't had any problems with it, but I decided that I am way behind the times, and maybe now is the time to get a new one. I am starting a new job that doesn't have internet access, so I would like a phone with internet so I can be able to check if there are any last minute changes to sports schedules, etc. I would also like a phone with a camera, since my current phone doesn't have that. A friend recommended a Droid, but that isn't offered by ATT, which is who I have. She then suggested an iphone, but when I looked at the ATT site, I see that there is an iphone 4 and an iphone 3. I am really clueless when it comes to these kinds of things. I haven't really kept up with reviews on the different kinds of phones, so I could really use some advice. I don't want to pay a lot of money for a phone that is terrible. I won't be paying full price though, since I am eligible for the upgrade price on whichever phone I pick.
Any advice or comments good or bad on phones you've had would be appreciated.

 

[jenseib]

I have a droid through nextel which is owned by Sprint.
I have heard, but don't know first hand, that AT&T is now starting to charge for online use or very limited use is allowed with the package....so you may want to switch companies.
I happen to love Sprint/nextel...but maybe shop around and see what works best in your area and then the best deals. I have unlimited direct connect (a nextel feature) unlimited data package (onlime use) unlimited cell phone to cell phone calls...any carrier and 1500 minutes (to?from landline phones )a month that we share with 3 phones.

 

[clh2]

What about a Blackberry Curve? I've had one since May, and LOVE it!

It has...texting, e-mail, internet access, a GPS, a camera, and of course a regular phone just to name a few.

While it may seem odd to have a GPS on a phone - we recently got stuck needing it, to to an accident blocking a main intersection, and the subdivision we detoured through just went 'round and round". While we do have a regular GPS too, since we "knew" how to get where we were going, we didn't have it with us that day.

Now - getting a new phone at that time pretty much terrified me (my old phone was almost 5 years old) I actually narrowed my choices down to 2 phones, and then asked my 16 YO DD to just pick one for me. She said I would be less frustrated with the Curve. Interestingly enough, DD picked the "other" phone for her, I think it was a "Moment". I love mine, she loves hers.

We have internet at work, but it is too locked down to access e-mails. I love having personal e-mail access at work again. Otherwise - there is no way to get the activity change info. Plus - now that DD is driving, I like her to text me when she is leaving places and arriving at places.

 

[jenseib]

Oh yeah, I have unlimted texting too.

 

[Nayan]

Ask your neighbors, friends and coworkers which carrier they have and how the reception is. That should be your first decision. Quite a few folks have IPhones and love everything but the reception. I have an LG Prime from AT&T and I love it, plus AT&T has great reception in my area. I had Verizon and they were very good as far as reception goes as well, but I found they were just too expensive for the amount of time I use my phone so I switched.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

My DD had a blackberry curve with AT&T until she got married. She was on my family talk AT&T plan so she left the phone with me and husband picked her up on his Verizon plan.....they are now waiting until his contract runs out so they can go back to AT&T....she loved her blackberry curve. I think the data package was $30 a month.

 

[mommy2princesses0309]

I loved my iPhone but sadly gave it up because AT&T is so expensive! Between the minutes plan (I had the smallest plan, 300 minutesand it was $39.99 a month) and the data plan and the taxes and fees I was paying over $100 a month!!! I even found it cheaper to cancel my contract, pay the $125 early cancellation fee and Change companies. I have virgin mobile now. The text/data isn't 100% reliable, text has been down twice in the month ive been with them, but I pay $25 a month for 300 minutes (I rarely talk on my phone ) plus unlimited web, text, messaging

 

[sillylily]

I have an iPhone 3GS, and I love it!! It has become my favorite assistant for planning WDW trips. I have an app for Disney dining, an app for line wait time, and one with full maps of all of the parks. However, if you are not a texter, internet surfer or gadget junkie, something more along the lines of a Samsung Impression or an NV Touch may be better suited for you.

 

[Brer Shay]

I loved my iPhone but sadly gave it up because AT&T is so expensive! Between the minutes plan (I had the smallest plan, 300 minutesand it was $39.99 a month) and the data plan and the taxes and fees I was paying over $100 a month!!! I even found it cheaper to cancel my contract, pay the $125 early cancellation fee and Change companies. I have virgin mobile now. The text/data isn't 100% reliable, text has been down twice in the month ive been with them, but I pay $25 a month for 300 minutes (I rarely talk on my phone ) plus unlimited web, text, messaging

I'm with VM to and am planning to switch to the $25 plan. Can you tell me which phone you use and if you recommend it? (Sorry to hijack)

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm obviously not in the same phone league as some of the other posters, but if you haven't changed your phone in 7 years, you may be similar to me.

We just recently swapped our Motorola Razrs for Pantech Eases at Walmart. They were $28.88 each since we were due for upgrades. I researched them pretty thoroughly and found they generally got very good reviews. The lady at Walmart said they never had anybody return them in the 30 day period (unlike some of the others). It has been very easy to use (has the touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard for texting, and is very intuitive).

We have a family plan with unlimited texting, and I was able to add the internet to my daughter's phone for only $10 a month. I believe the new smart phones cost more than that.

Just a thought...

 

[MickeyDisneyFan]

I had the original iPhone that I hardly used any of the data or even phone minutes so I cancelled the contract and bought an iPod touch and a cheap phone from net10.

I pay around .04 per minute, they keep rolling over as long as you keep adding time.

Check out this thread for more details http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1025611/

 

[Minniemouse07]

I have a Motorola Droid (on Verizon) but have friends that use the Captivate on AT&T. The Captivate is a Samsung phone that runs the Android OS.

Both of my friends that have a Captivate love it.

AT&T does have a different data structure than the other carriers though and you don't get unlimited data (which I do get with my Verizon contract).

I love my Droid... works great and my Verizon reception is first rate!

 

[bridget]

I have an iphone 4 that I got in June with AT&T. I had never had a data plan before. I signed up for the $15 a month data plan and that has been way more than enough (have wifi at home).

I am a very, very happy AT&T customer.

 

[brittsmum1998]

DD & I have Virgin Mobil. I love it, I pay 25$ per month, 300 minutes and unlimited text, data etc.

MY dd12 has the blackberry curve and pays $35 per month for the same features above plus whatever else you get w/ the curve.

The cost of both is much cheaper then Verizon was and we have many more features.

So far we are both very happy with the service.

 

[torinsmom]

If you are looking for something with AT&T, I would do the Iphone; they are lots of fun!

I just switched our service from AT&T to Virgin Mobile as well. Our bill went from $115/month to $65 month for more minutes, and unlimited data and texting. My son is using a Qwerty board phone he got when he did VM pay as you go a few years ago. I bought a $19.99 phone that has everything I need. The reception is beating what we got through AT&T.

Marsha

 

[mommy2princesses0309]

I'm with VM to and am planning to switch to the $25 plan. Can you tell me which phone you use and if you recommend it? (Sorry to hijack)

I have the LG Rumor 2 and I love it!

 

[brittsmum1998]

I have the LG Rumor 2 and I love it!

I have the same and love it.

 

[jenseib]

What is qwerty?

 

[horseshowmom]

What is qwerty?

A standard keyboard like on your computer (look at the first line of letters - starting from the left the keys are "qwerty").

 

[jenseib]

A standard keyboard like on your computer (look at the first line of letters - starting from the left the keys are "qwerty").