Time for a new cellphone Smartphone maybe?

[Lakewood90712]

My current old ATT go phone is ready for the scrap bin , and I need something that will quickly let me know of e-mails. I don't use a lot of personal cell minutes.

Verizon is the only cellphone system that will work at my house and moms house without walking halfway down the street at each location. I am also getting into a situation where I need automatic notification of E-mails. I am using Verison DSL at home and for E-Mail. Happy with the DSL from verizon.

For mobile broadband , I am using a sprint 3-g usb modem with my netbook. A little pricey $60/mo , but 100% reliable. Sprint and ATT cellphone service almost never works at the same locations with great sprint 3-g service ATT 3-g has poor results at both locations Verizon LTE is suposed to have good signals at both locations.

I want to be armed with info before going shopping. Cellphone Guru's , I need help here. Thank's in advance

Mod's , If I missed a recent thread on this , feel free to zap this thread.

 

[W2R]

I am definitely NOT a cellphone guru. But, I got a Verizon iPhone recently, and it's lots of fun. I am having a ball with it. With a new contract, it cost $199 plus $29.99/month for an unlimited data plan. I don't connect my computers to the internet through it, though I think that can be done somehow.

As for e-mails, it does show how many unread e-mails I have.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I'm certainly not a cell phone junkie. I have the basic Verizon cell phone (LG) but DW has a Verizon Droid (Samsung). It does everything but wash your socks. Unlimited email, texting, 500k ringtones, etc, etc, plus it is a GPS if you need it. Get rid of your Garmin. DW loves it because instead of manually texting messages, she can speak into the phone and it will be sent out as a text if she wants. You should just go to a Verizon store and ask about it. Like W2R said, it was also about $200 to purchase but ours was buy one-get one so mine was free.

 

[Nodak]

I have a Motorola Droid X with Verizon and love it. I too have the $29.99 unlimited data plan and use my phone for quick internet access so I don't have to lug my laptop around.

 

[Mmm Rrr]

Verizon's stopped offering their unlimited data plan for $30 on 7/7. I subscribed right before because they are supposed to grandfather the price even when you upgrade your phone. I wasn't in the market for a Smartphone but my DD insisted I jump in to get the price guarantee. She got me a good deal on a used Samsung Android (planning to upgrade to an IPhone 5 when they come out) and I am amazed and how much I am using and enjoying it.

 

[Lodell]

It took me over a year to decide to get one because I just didn't want to spend the money for the data plan. Once I decided to get a smart phone, it took some time for me to decide on which phone to purchase. I got the iPhone with AT&T, and to my surprise I love it.

The iPhone does everything. I check email from my 3 email accounts. I down loaded the Kindle on it for free, which comes in handy when I don't want to carry my Kindle. I listen to my i-tunes and audio books. I can even download movies on it. I have some Aps that I just can't do without. I'd be lost without my iPhone. It's funny, but I use it for everything but talking. I rarely talk and text on the phone. It would be nice if AT&T had a plan with fewer minutes so that I could save a little money.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Verizon's stopped offering their unlimited data plan for $30 on 7/7. I subscribed right before because they are supposed to grandfather the price even when you upgrade your phone. I wasn't in the market for a Smartphone but my DD insisted I jump in to get the price guarantee. She got me a good deal on a used Samsung Android (planning to upgrade to an IPhone 5 when they come out) and I am amazed and how much I am using and enjoying it.

Unlimited data for $30 / MO. ended 3 weeks ago .............. I'm late to the party again, and the punch bowl is empty

 

[convergent]

I'll give you some food for thought, but no specific recommendation since smartphone choices are very personal and/or geography specific.

Any smartphone is going to require a data plan.

Data with Sprint is going to be a lot more economical than AT&T or Verizon which seem to be similar. Other lower tier providers should be less.

The iPhone is a very easy to use, and elegant solution with the best app availability and you can walk into any Apple store for support. Any of the Android devices are going to be a little more confusing for a casual user and the market is a little more fragmented, but it is a good option if you are wedded to some feature you can only get with one of them.

If you already have broadband data for your laptop with something like a MiFi (mobile hotspot), then another option is to get an iPod Touch and use it with your hotspot. From an "app" standpoint, it will run just about anything that you can run on the iPhone. The exception would be GPS apps.

I would encourage you to go in the store and play with them to see which one you feel most comfortable with.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Has anyone come across a rock-bottom data plan for someone who only needs a phone very occasionally ?

The plans I see start at $30/month, Which is more than I could justify.

Right now I have a prepaid (voice and text only) plan that costs me around $6/month.

Is there anything like that that includes a data option ?

 

[Gotadimple]

Has anyone come across a rock-bottom data plan for someone who only needs a phone very occasionally ?

The plans I see start at $30/month, Which is more than I could justify.

Right now I have a prepaid (voice and text only) plan that costs me around $6/month.

Is there anything like that that includes a data option ?

If you have T-Mobile coverage in your area, you can get service on a pre-pay basis. Once you've spent $100 on air time, the cost amounts to $0.10 per minute. If you want a smart phone, you can have that too. Airtime is pre-paid, access to the net is free via Wi-Fi, or you can buy a day pass for unlimited data for $1.49 per day.

Web access on a monthly routine basis is $30.

Rita

 

[Midpack]

Are you people retired?

I just traded in my work 24/7 razzle-dazzle smart phone with all the bells-n-whistles (cost them about $99/mo) for a simple Net10 phone that's going to cost me about $15/mo. It has voice, text and data (albeit data plan so slow and limited that I doubt I'll use it very often). Sheeeeesh...

 

[Gone4Good]

I've resisted the whole smartphone thing up until this point, but may finally jump on the bandwaggon. The main feature that may get me to switch is the ability to make calls using international Wifi. We're planning a 2 month backpacking trip through Central America, which will hopefully be followed by several more such excursions everywhere in the world. We'll need the ability to call home and can do that very inexpensively using Skype and free wifi. A smartphone will also come in super handy on the road. We currently rely extensively on the internet to plan our domestic travel. A smartphone would give us the same conveniences in a more portable format.

 

[ls99]

I'm sure they are great for folks on go go.

It was roughly 5 years ago when I had to give up my analog bag phone, with a cigarette lighter plug for power. They killed the analog network which I thought worked just fine.

Replaced by a Verizon talk only phone. I think three years ago dumped it in favor of pre-paid talk only version of Tmobile. Which I will keep until forced off by the merger with whoever bought them.

In three years I used 28 minutes of connection time. Currently have 98 minutes available. So far my total cost: $120.- from the beginning.

I like cheap......... in some things. But then again, I'm married.