Living without a smartphone

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 I see a resistance to tech from the 60 yo set I know. No matter how it will help them they won't have it.

My 95 year old aunt, a retired nun, texts all the time. She's amazing. She kept up with all the tech as best she could and gets great fun out of it.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 I see a resistance to tech from the 60 yo set I know. No matter how it will help them they won't have it.

My ROMEO group, mostly men 65 to 82 years old, ALL have smart phones and use them for texting, calls, uploading photos, etc. Some had flip phones but dumped them during the last couple of years. Most of us meet daily (early mornings - weekdays).

[O2Bfree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcgonig My 95 year old aunt, a retired nun, texts all the time. She's amazing. She kept up with all the tech as best she could and gets great fun out of it.

One of my mom's friends, who's 97, loves using her tablet to stay in touch with her family. My mom rails on her, "She spends hours on that d@mned thing every day!" Well, her friend is confined to a wheelchair, what else does she have to do?

Mom herself refuses to learn how to use a computer, but I'm not going to go techno-Nazi on her about it. I don't mind managing her few online accounts, sharing the granddaughter's online communications, and Googling stuff for her now and then.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 I see a resistance to tech from the 60 yo set I know. No matter how it will help them they won't have it.

Strange, because personal computers have been around more than 30 years.

Of course they became more prevalent and took off with the web but that was mid 90s.

So anyone who's 65 now would have been around 45 then.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcgonig My 95 year old aunt, a retired nun, texts all the time. She's amazing. She kept up with all the tech as best she could and gets great fun out of it.

I meet my parents and their friends for dinner on occasion...virtually all of them have smart phones and they use them to share pics, text, for navigation, etc. They can't get their grandkids to talk on the phone, but they can text and trade pics with them.

[harllee]

OK I am one of these over 60 year olds without a smartphone (I am 67, DH 68). We retired at age 50 and live well but we have a pretty strict budget (we spend money on what we really enjoy like travel). We are pretty tech savvy, have an iPad, MacBook, smart TV, etc. Our issue is budget. We currently pay $50 per month for 2 dumb phone lines with Verizon, unlimited talk and text, no data. We bought our current phones for almost nothing a few years ago. Our phones have to be on the Verizon system because at our mountain cabin Verizon is all we can get (even Verizon is hard to receive sometimes here in the mountains.). We use our dumbphones quite a bit --we talk on them a text alot. We have no landline. We use the iPad like a smartphone when we travel and pay $20 per month for Verizon data.

I am willing to look into a smartphone if it would fit in our budget of $50 per month, I am sure the smartphone would be handy for maps, Uber, etc. Several people on this thread have said there are cheap smartphones and plans out there. I have not been able to find such cheap phones and plans, certainly not from Verizon. Would it be possible for us to get 2 smartphones with unlimited talk and text and a little data for $50 per month? I would not want to pay anything out of pocket for the smartphones, the cost of the 2 phones themselves would have to be included in the $50 per month. Thanks!

[kgtest]

the cost of the latest and greatest smarty has now creeped up to over $1000. I paid $600 for my phone after DW washed my old one...I paid about the same for DW replacement iphone after I drove off with it on the bumper...within a week of eachother.

The old phone was MS, and my signal was terrible at the end. With the new phone, signal is better.

Anyone remember what a landline phone cost? I remember when those super big "cordless" phones came out and I could pickup my neighbors channel and subsequent conversation. We've come along ways from the 90s.

I wouldn't be able to fly my drone (well) or control some of my camera's without the smartphone. And more and more events are requiring an APP to validate the tickets barcode. I had two events last year where I had to borrow DW iPhone just to get into the event with that proprietary android/iphone App the venue used.

I think soon enough the question will be, what can't you do with the smartphone?

I'll tell you what, without internet, the phone is not smart at all in most situations.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee OK I am one of these over 60 year olds without a smartphone (I am 67, DH 68). We retired at age 50 and live well but we have a pretty strict budget (we spend money on what we really enjoy like travel). We are pretty tech savvy, have an iPad, MacBook, smart TV, etc. Our issue is budget. We currently pay $50 per month for 2 dumb phone lines with Verizon, unlimited talk and text, no data. We bought our current phones for almost nothing a few years ago. Our phones have to be on the Verizon system because at our mountain cabin Verizon is all we can get (even Verizon is hard to receive sometimes here in the mountains.). We use our dumbphones quite a bit --we talk on them a text alot. We have no landline. We use the iPad like a smartphone when we travel and pay $20 per month for Verizon data. I am willing to look into a smartphone if it would fit in our budget of $50 per month, I am sure the smartphone would be handy for maps, Uber, etc. Several people on this thread have said there are cheap smartphones and plans out there. I have not been able to find such cheap phones and plans, certainly not from Verizon. Would it be possible for us to get 2 smartphones with unlimited talk and text and a little data for $50 per month? I would not want to pay anything out of pocket for the smartphones, the cost of the 2 phones themselves would have to be included in the $50 per month. Thanks!

For both of you it would be tough to find a plan for under $50 a month.

T-mobile offers 2 lines with unlimited data, talk and text for $70 for users over 55 but their coverage may not be as strong in your area as Verizon. If there are T-Mobile stores near where you'd be using your phones most of the time, you can go in and see if there's good coverage.

In most large metro areas, they have good coverage.

https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/t-mo...B&gclsrc=aw.ds


I believe there are MVNOs which use Verizon and offer lower priced plans.

Straight Talk Wireless, available online or in Wal Mart stores, used to offer specific options with either AT&T or Verizon but now, it's not clear which network they offer.

They have a number of plans which are $50 or less but it would be only for one line and it wouldn't be unlimited data. But I'm not sure how much they allow in the way of tethering or personal hotspot.

With personal hotspot, you no longer need to subscribe to the Verizon data plan for your iPad.

https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/por...p/serviceplans

I just Googled "verizon mono" and this page lists a number of plans under $50/line.

https://bestmvno.com/compare/verizon-mvnos/


Your biggest outlay is going to be a phone. There are cheap Androids out there.

iPhones are expensive. They start at $349 for an iPhone SE, which has a 4-inch screen and uses chips which are 3 years old.

Move up to a 5.5 inch screen of the 6S Plus and it starts at $549.

You can likely find used models at better prices and maybe some carriers, including MVNOs, will have even better promotional pricing. You have to shop for it.

You can buy any phones on an installment plan but that would add $20-40 a month to your plans, depending on what you get.

[ivinsfan]

Verizon's a tough one, we need to use them out here on the farm. I looked high and low and couldn't find a good lower budget option. I ended up just being the third phone on my DD and SIL's plan..they didn't even make me split the bill 3 ways they are just charging me the 25 dollar add on fee for a phone line. We share data and always have leftover at the end of the month.

If you have a family member or close friend on Verizon this might work. They don't see who you call but they can see the amount of data you use. I use so little my SIL is always telling don't be afraid to use more data, we have plenty.

[explanade]

Verizon has an app. which will tell you how much data you're using.

With Personal Hot Spot or tethering from your phone's data plan, you wouldn't need to keep paying for iPad data plan.

[audreyh1]

I'm glad my Dad has always had a computer and emails just fine. We sometimes use FaceTime with him. But he has had a computer since the late 70s (old Apple computer then) so it's not been anything "new" for him.

He never really did use a cellphone, nor a smartphone. He doesn't go anywhere on his own anymore, so he doesn't need one.

[audreyh1]

My iPad - I just tether from my phone now.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee OK I am one of these over 60 year olds without a smartphone (I am 67, DH 68). We retired at age 50 and live well but we have a pretty strict budget (we spend money on what we really enjoy like travel). We are pretty tech savvy, have an iPad, MacBook, smart TV, etc. Our issue is budget. We currently pay $50 per month for 2 dumb phone lines with Verizon, unlimited talk and text, no data. We bought our current phones for almost nothing a few years ago. Our phones have to be on the Verizon system because at our mountain cabin Verizon is all we can get (even Verizon is hard to receive sometimes here in the mountains.). We use our dumbphones quite a bit --we talk on them a text alot. We have no landline. We use the iPad like a smartphone when we travel and pay $20 per month for Verizon data. I am willing to look into a smartphone if it would fit in our budget of $50 per month, I am sure the smartphone would be handy for maps, Uber, etc. Several people on this thread have said there are cheap smartphones and plans out there. I have not been able to find such cheap phones and plans, certainly not from Verizon. Would it be possible for us to get 2 smartphones with unlimited talk and text and a little data for $50 per month? I would not want to pay anything out of pocket for the smartphones, the cost of the 2 phones themselves would have to be included in the $50 per month. Thanks!

Your combo of a dumb phone + iPad with Verizon data package is the equivalent of a smart phone.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee OK I am one of these over 60 year olds without a smartphone (I am 67, DH 68). We retired at age 50 and live well but we have a pretty strict budget (we spend money on what we really enjoy like travel). We are pretty tech savvy, have an iPad, MacBook, smart TV, etc. Our issue is budget. We currently pay $50 per month for 2 dumb phone lines with Verizon, unlimited talk and text, no data. We bought our current phones for almost nothing a few years ago. Our phones have to be on the Verizon system because at our mountain cabin Verizon is all we can get (even Verizon is hard to receive sometimes here in the mountains.). We use our dumbphones quite a bit --we talk on them a text alot. We have no landline. We use the iPad like a smartphone when we travel and pay $20 per month for Verizon data. I am willing to look into a smartphone if it would fit in our budget of $50 per month, I am sure the smartphone would be handy for maps, Uber, etc. Several people on this thread have said there are cheap smartphones and plans out there. I have not been able to find such cheap phones and plans, certainly not from Verizon. Would it be possible for us to get 2 smartphones with unlimited talk and text and a little data for $50 per month? I would not want to pay anything out of pocket for the smartphones, the cost of the 2 phones themselves would have to be included in the $50 per month. Thanks!

Very close. I use Google Fi cos I do a lot of international travel. Excellent reception everywhere I've tried it and great data rates too. It uses either t mobile or Sprint or US Cellular when in the US.

https://fi.google.com/about/faq/

Unlimited calls and texts for two people is $35/mo.
Data costs $10/gig and you only pay for what you use.


https://fi.google.com/about/plan/


You can get one of their phones for 199 or $8.28/mo. It's the Moto G6 and it's an excellent mid range phone.

https://fi.google.com/about/phones/

So a little over 50 if you include two excellent phones and use no data, but only $10/gig more if you do.

[harllee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet Your combo of a dumb phone + iPad with Verizon data package is the equivalent of a smart phone.

That's what I have always thought, and we like the larger screen on the iPad better than a small phone screen. But I just thought I would ask about these great cheap smartphone plans several people have mentioned. Someone mentioned Tracfone, does anyone have experience with them?

[harllee]

Looked at Google Project Fi and put in the address of my summer home (where we spend 6 months of the year) and there is no coverage so unfortunately Google Fi is out. Actually the Google Fi coverage looks pretty nonexistent for most all of western North Carolina.

[bloom2708]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee OK I am one of these over 60 year olds without a smartphone (I am 67, DH 68). We retired at age 50 and live well but we have a pretty strict budget (we spend money on what we really enjoy like travel). We are pretty tech savvy, have an iPad, MacBook, smart TV, etc. Our issue is budget. We currently pay $50 per month for 2 dumb phone lines with Verizon, unlimited talk and text, no data. We bought our current phones for almost nothing a few years ago. Our phones have to be on the Verizon system because at our mountain cabin Verizon is all we can get (even Verizon is hard to receive sometimes here in the mountains.). We use our dumbphones quite a bit --we talk on them a text alot. We have no landline. We use the iPad like a smartphone when we travel and pay $20 per month for Verizon data. I am willing to look into a smartphone if it would fit in our budget of $50 per month, I am sure the smartphone would be handy for maps, Uber, etc. Several people on this thread have said there are cheap smartphones and plans out there. I have not been able to find such cheap phones and plans, certainly not from Verizon. Would it be possible for us to get 2 smartphones with unlimited talk and text and a little data for $50 per month? I would not want to pay anything out of pocket for the smartphones, the cost of the 2 phones themselves would have to be included in the $50 per month. Thanks!

Totalwireless.com will get you close to $50. Verizon towers/coverage.

$57 with auto-pay for 2 phones sharing 15GB data, Unlimited calls and texts.

You could test the waters with 2 iPhone SE. Total Wireless has great deals on iPhone SE. Still a good phone and not such a shock to the system because it is smaller.

TW is available at all Walmart. You can do auto-pay and at times there are discounts on refill cards bought in store.

I stick with Verizon or AT&T unless you spend most/all your time in a Sprint/T-Mobile area.

You would of course have to pay the $99 or price x 2 for the iPhone SE from Total Wireless. $10/month? Close.

[explanade]

Google Project Fi uses T-Mobile and Sprint.

Main advantage is using data while overseas.

[aja8888]

Cricket Wireless has a plan for $100/month that includes unlimited text, data, and calling for 4 phones. Cricket uses AT&T towers.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee Looked at Google Project Fi and put in the address of my summer home (where we spend 6 months of the year) and there is no coverage so unfortunately Google Fi is out. Actually the Google Fi coverage looks pretty nonexistent for most all of western North Carolina.

Means that T Mob and Sprint have no coverage there. So it would have to be Verizon or AT&T for you.