Smart Phones

[Dentam]

I have never owned a smart phone and will be purchasing one this month. I have absolutely no clue about all the different options, payment plans, etc.

Please help! I have used a basic flip phone forever and don't use over 400 minutes each month. I'm hoping to find an affordable smart phone option that will allow me to catch up with the times. I started looking online but I'm finding it kind of overwhelming.

Thanks in advance!

 

[crazelion]

I think perfect candidate for tracfone android smartphone. You can ATT service ,Verizon Service, or Sprint service. My kids all have Verizon service tracfones that I got for 10 bucks. They all have triple minutes for life. That mean I buy 120 minute card they 320 minutes for that month plus text and 320 mb data. Also I would check out HSN or QVC because they have LG Ulimate plus 1200 voice , text, data for whole year.
http://slickdeals.net/f/8449339-tra...hone-1200-minutes-texts-data-85-more-free-s-h

I have ATT pre paid service for 45 bucks that gives unlimited/talk and 2.0 gig data. I just recently bought ZTE Max 2
http://slickdeals.net/f/8446853-16g...phone-no-contract-smartphone-80-free-shipping

I love it. I had a Zte before. The only reason that I change because it was on last legs. It has drop in water and mud.

I refuse buy a Iphone because that is a mortgage payment for me.

 

[ceecee]

Agree with above post, I have Tracfone service. I just got my first Smart phone from Ebay, picked out the one I wanted on the Tracfone site. Then switched over my # when I got the phone.

 

[Dentam]

I've never heard of Tracfone - will look into it!

 

[Narnia_girl]

If you can get the most recent issue of Consumer Reports, they walk through all the providers and give recommendations. I thought it was a helpful article.

 

[hsmamato2]

well a basic smartphone can be easily purchased at a box store, like Target,along with a simple prepaid plan from one of the providers like straight talk,etc. You shouldn't expect to pay more than about 40 per month on a full data plan, with use of cell data + wireless wherever it's available. That said, I used to own different inexpensive android phones,vs. an 'older' iphone (4s) and there is no comparison with the ease of use betweent eh iphone and other options, it's much simpler to use. That said, it depends on how much you want to spend on your device. But decent smartphone service is getting cheaper,and most companies will be fine for the abovementioned price.

 

[Dentam]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm kind of leaning toward an iPhone now (probably a 5s) even though it's not the cheapest option. My reasons for this are that I already own a macbook and am comfortable with the quality of the brand, the iPhone 5 and 6 are supposed to have great cameras so I wouldn't have to replace my little camera that has a crack in the lens, and they have pedometers that would come in handy also.

Now I just need to find the best company to go with - Verizon looks pretty spendy so I'll keep researching. This is all so new to me and I'm definitely not looking forward to the monthly bill, but if it can save me money in other ways maybe that'll ease the pain a bit, lol.

 

[zoemurr]

We've gotten iphone 5s from ebay for $210 or so. We have them on Tracfone. We are light users and mainly in wifi. We spend about $100 a year each.

 

[Dentam]

We've gotten iphone 5s from ebay for $210 or so. We have them on Tracfone. We are light users and mainly in wifi. We spend about $100 a year each.

I was just looking at these on amazon but some reviewers said the phones didn't work well or were obviously used and scuffed up, etc. I'll look into it some more. Thanks for the tip!

 

[zoemurr]

I bought two right before Christmas. Look for a seller with a return policy and 100% positive reviews. We did have a problem with one of them and I went through ebay to get my money back. Took a bit of time but it all worked out. Good luck!

 

[Narnia_girl]

My first Smartphone was a iPhone 5s and I love it. You'll be able to use several apps that help save money so that's another benefit. (Ibotta, Checkout 51, mPlaces, Snap, Shopkick)

 

[Dentam]

Thanks again everyone! I think I've decided on AT&T with their lowest data plan and I'll buy the phone up front using part of my tax return. I looked into purchasing one on eBay or amazon but I just don't want to deal with the hassle if it turns out to be a lemon that way.

Looking forward to using all of the money saving apps!

 

[J.Casto79]

You would be better off running into a Walmart and getting their StraightTalk service. The iphone 5S is I believe $300 through them versus $450 at AT&T. Also, for the same price, you get 2gb of data through StraightTalk versus 300mb through AT&T. StraightTalk is a virtual carrier, they don't have their own towers. They lease space from AT&T and Verizon, if you ask for an AT&T compatible phone, you'd have the same coverage, and more data for the same price while paying less for the phone.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-Apple-iPhone-5S-4G-LTE-16GB-Prepaid-Smartphone/33152936

 

[Dentam]

You would be better off running into a Walmart and getting their StraightTalk service. The iphone 5S is I believe $300 through them versus $450 at AT&T. Also, for the same price, you get 2gb of data through StraightTalk versus 300mb through AT&T. StraightTalk is a virtual carrier, they don't have their own towers. They lease space from AT&T and Verizon, if you ask for an AT&T compatible phone, you'd have the same coverage, and more data for the same price while paying less for the phone.

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely check into this! I wonder if Target has anything similar. I'm not a huge fan of Wal-Mart and haven't been into one in years.

ETA: checked Target's website and it looked like all their iPhones require a 2 year contract with Verizon or AT&T. Guess I'll be going to Wal-Mart for the first time in a LONG time! Thanks again for the tip!

 

[ibob52]

Also, for the same price, you get 2gb of data through StraightTalk versus 300mb through AT&T.

AT&T GoPhone (prepaid plan) is the choice I made 3 years ago.

We are *now* paying $40.00 a month (30 days) The $45.00 plan includes Unlimited-Talk-Text-Data

The first 2GB of *Data* are at a higher speed then it continues with unlimited Data at a slower speed.

We are doing *auto-pay* so we get $5.00 off the $45.00 . . So it is $40.00 a month (no extra fees etc) * *

* * oops . . no longer true as of . . January 1st 2016 . . add $2.47 (tax ?) . . total = $42.47 a month * *

 

[Dentam]

AT&T GoPhone (prepaid plan) is the choice I made 3 years ago.

I didn't think these were available with iPhones - am I wrong about that?

 

[Fennella Brewer]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm kind of leaning toward an iPhone now (probably a 5s) even though it's not the cheapest option. My reasons for this are that I already own a macbook and am comfortable with the quality of the brand, the iPhone 5 and 6 are supposed to have great cameras so I wouldn't have to replace my little camera that has a crack in the lens, and they have pedometers that would come in handy also.

Now I just need to find the best company to go with - Verizon looks pretty spendy so I'll keep researching. This is all so new to me and I'm definitely not looking forward to the monthly bill, but if it can save me money in other ways maybe that'll ease the pain a bit, lol.

I just got my first smartphone last week after my 11 year old flip phone gave up the ghost. I chose the iPhone 5s for the same reason as you. Besides my iMac, I have an iPad; therefor, I didn't have to worry about a steep learning curve. Although, there has been a bit of one, for the most part, it is pretty easy. I am in Canada so I can't advise you on a plan. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[ibob52]

I didn't think these were available with iPhones - am I wrong about that?

I can confirm that iphones work on AT&T and the AT&T GoPhone service plans.

We have been putting the sim card from one iphone to another iphone . . for the past 3+ years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will say I am thankful that StraightTalk paved the way with a cheaper rate plan.

It took a few years for AT&T and the other major phone companies to start to lower their prices

to where they could compete *price wise* with ST.

 

[ariel71]

One thing to keep in mind in addition to picking a carrier and type of plan is the storage capacity of the phone. Will you want to have a lot of music on your phone and/or save videos, movies or photos? Since this will probably be your phone for a while (you don't sound like you'll be one to upgrade often - I'm not either), I would not recommend a 16GB phone. It is surprisingly easy to fill up those 16GB (and iOS takes room, so you don't get the full 16GB for storage). I have individual apps that take up 1GB on their own; an audiobook I downloaded from the library was 2GB. I know it costs more, but go with the 32GB.

ETA, no one's really mentioned data usage in detail, so you need to carefully consider how you think you will realistically use the phone and where you'll be when you do. You'll probably be using it more than you might anticipate. If you're home most of the time and will be on wifi, data usage isn't as big a deal (depending on your ISP). If you'll be out and about, giving it to a child to use when you're running errands, using it on a commute, etc., you'll need to factor that in. Streaming video is the big offender.

 

[Dentam]

One thing to keep in mind in addition to picking a carrier and type of plan is the storage capacity of the phone. Will you want to have a lot of music on your phone and/or save videos, movies or photos? Since this will probably be your phone for a while (you don't sound like you'll be one to upgrade often - I'm not either), I would not recommend a 16GB phone. It is surprisingly easy to fill up those 16GB (and iOS takes room, so you don't get the full 16GB for storage). I have individual apps that take up 1GB on their own; an audiobook I downloaded from the library was 2GB. I know it costs more, but go with the 32GB.

The only thing I plan to have on it are photos and I am assuming I can easily download those onto my mac. I have my iPod for music already. I'll check into how much more a 32 GB phone will cost.