Upgrading phone, any suggestions?

[TheVBs]

Hi there! Seeking out some more great advice. My phone is a dinosaur - it's only a phone in other words. People are texting me, assuming that I can receive and respond to them, and I can't do either. It's finally reached a point where it's causing scheduling problems with the girls activities, and I'm facing the fact that I should upgrade. I'm completely lost though! I currently have Sprint, and I've been very happy with their service. Right now they're offering a free Samsung Conquer 4G with a 2-year contract. Haven't been on a contract in ages! I also pay just $35 a month for my service right now, and I have no idea what kind of costs I'm facing with a new phone. They also have iPhones (look too pricey, Motorola, Blackberry and a few brands I've never even heard of. Any advice would be most appreciated! Thanks!!

[Scar]

I can't help you on this, but can I have your old phone when you're done? People sometimes text me but I don't want to open it because it costs 20 cents each time. I'm looking to downgrade. :cool:

[Reedy Creek Buccaneer]

Save your money! Cell phones are a waste! I can pay for my next Disney trip with the money I save per month!

[DizneyRox]

Don't confuse your phone with your contract. Sprint if I'm not mistaken considers themselves to be a premium brand, switching may be able to get you a better deal.

ATT, Verizon, and Sprint all have the iPhone, which is probably the best smart phone available today. Initial cost is higher, but I always say, you get what you pay for.

There are a number of reports ing the net these days about failure rates on Android based phones being pretty high, malware on the rise, etc. For all I know, they could be funded by Apple. I don't care, in my experience, my Apple devices just work. My Android tablet is another story. Many friends with the latest Android phone have been back and forth with Verizon with bad phones, etc.

Get the features you need. Phone minutes, texting plan, and Internet. I don't have a texting plan, I use Google Voice for texting, works great. It uses my data plan to send/receive texts. Saves me $20+ a month. Be careful though with low cap data plans, the overage penalties are sometimes severe.

Personally I think ATT 200M plan is a joke. I watched a YouTube movie or two once and noticed I was 40M in the hole afterwards. Grand I'm grandfathered to the Unlimited Data plan, I don't worry about data on my phone. Even though "unlimited" is really 5G, it's never been an issue.

And yes, cost of ownership on most smartphones is pretty steep. I think were at like $2800 or so for a two year contract. Again that's voice and data, no texting. Two iPhones.

[Disney Hungarian]

Hello, my name is Sean, I am a phone junkie.

Seriously, I started with a company beeper. I have had a bag phone, car phone, nokia phone, flip phone, PDA phone, Blackberry, Motorola Droid, and now I have the iPhone 4s.

To the OP:
Do you want a smartphone? One that you can talk, text, surf and play games on.

[TheVBs]

Thank you all for the input! I really appreciate it!

Sean, now that you ask, I've realized that I actually don't want a smartphone. I'm sure I'd enjoy one if I had it, but I just don't really need it.

So, here' s my current plan. I can enable my phone to receive texts - I had it disabled because I only got ad texts AND I was paying for them. :mad: But, if I can receive texts and possibly manage an "OK" response, that might be enough.

My cell phone plan is only $35 a month with 300 free minutes, which I don't even come close to using. I worked hard to beat monthly bills down, and I don't think I'm ready to bump up the cell phone.

If this plan doesn't do the trick I'll upgrade my phone. And, yes Scar, if I do that you're welcome to my old phone! :D

[sixshot19]

There is only one answer. Iphone. And they sell cool cases at the disney store. And if you really want connect your world get a Mac computer to. So user friendly and easy to use. And no I don't work for Apple.

[magicofdisney]

Beware, at least with AT&T, that if you get an iPhone, you're required to have the data plan.

I think it's best you simply activate the texting on your phone. I would go with the unlimited. You'd be surprised how quickly those text add-up, especially when you're texting "OK" 50 times a month. ;)

[Janmac]

Out here where we live, the only available service is ATT, which does limit the phone that you get. Our granddaughter's Blackberry does not work out here - we have no 4G network. Verizon doesn't work well at all - unless you're in a particular spot. Sprint has even fewer spots.

Last time we had a contract our old monthly plan was no longer available - similar to yours - and we were "upgraded" to something with twice the minutes, and at twice the cost. We currently do not have a contract.

When I'm looking for a new phone, I search for reviews and pay attention to whatever features seem important. My husband needs an easily readable screen and an intuitive menu. My sister wants the same, but also a QWERTY keyboard so she can text easier. Neither cares about shopping on line.

There's a cell phone review site that I like but don't remember the url until I see it in the search results. Something about c-net I think.

Have you heard of the Jitterbug phones? They are geared toward senior citizens in their advertised simplicity of use and, one presumes, low cost. Perhaps that would be something to look into.

Btw, ATT told me we could not have iPhones. :confused:

Jan