Cellphones

[hansolo77]

Hey guys! Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm in the market for a new cell phone. In my history, I've only ever had 2. The first one was a 'gift' from a coworker who got a new one and let me have hers. I only had it for a month then dropped the service cause I lost my job. That was like 15 years ago. More recently (about 5 years) I had a no-contract flip phone I got from Walmart. It was ok, just had basic calls and a built in market you could by stuff like ring tones through, but no texting. I stopped using it because I discovered they not only charged 10c a minute for calls, but they also charged 99c a day just to have it active. A total ripoff. I put 5 dollars on it and didn't use it for a week, then I found there were no minutes left; I was like WHAT?! When I figured out about the 99c daily charge, I stopped adding money to it. When we had our fire a few years back, I actually lost the phone buried under a pile of burnt debris. So I haven't had a cell phone since. Now I'm wanting to get another one. I know what features I'm looking for, but not sure what I should get as far as service plans and stuff. I want a smartphone, capable of texting, talking, playing games (of course!) and web browsing. I know there are phones out there that have no contract (but you drop $300 for the phone) and there are phones that offer unlimited service plans. I'm just not sure what exactly I want. My brother bought an iPhone a few months ago and still uses it even though he doesn't have a contract. He can talk/text via an app he downloaded, but he needs to be near a wi-fi source. I like Apple's i-devices like the phone/pod/tab but I'm not sure if it's worth the price. Plus you're limited to Apple marketplace. There are other phones that are Android OS, which I'd be willing to give a go if it was cheap enough. So I'm basically asking what's a good smartphone with a fair priced service plan. No contract would be preferred just incase I lose my job (thats why I had the other one), but I don't want to have it use up all my money I added to it to be used just to have it active.

So whats good?

Also, I work at Kroger (Grocery Store Chain) only part-time so I can't really have the latest greatest. One advantage from working there though is I get a discount on their iWireless display which has phones and (unlimited) plans. Does anybody use them, are they any good?

[Adultery]

I liked the Galaxy S until I got the S3. Was a good phone to get my feet wet and u can probably pick one up cheap.

My plan is huge so I can't speak on that (pretty much maxed out).

[KRC]

I couldn't really comment on price plans as I'm not in the U.S but I think android would be the way to go, you can get a pretty decent handset that basically does everything you want/need and more for pretty cheap, Samsung galaxy s and s2, Sony's xperia series are decent to.

[celly]

I switched to the iPhone earlier this year from Android and it slowly grew on me. More so after i jailbroke it and slapped some emulators in there. In my area, Califronia, there are a few different local carriers that offer unlimited service for one base price. Boost and Metro PCS. Not sure if they got those back east for you but something to look into. I have Sprint with an unlimited everything plan for $79 a month only counting lan line minutes (750 minutes which I never touch since all calls are to cell phones). This is steal considering my friends who also have smartphone get raped every month for data charges and overages.

[hansolo77]

Yeah I totally feel the same way. I'm probably going to get an unlimited plan for a flat rate price, I'm just not sure what a good carrier would be, and what phone I should get. I have an iPod touch, and I think it's great but it seems like Apple just wants to gouge the market with their phone. Plus, I heard some horror stories about the carrier they offer.

[Draco1962]

I don't have a smart phone but do have T-Mobile and have had them for about 4 years now. I am a former Bellsouth-Cingular/AT&T subscriber. Since AT&T took over, the customer service stinks and they were recently rated the worst in a recent report of the major carriers. T-Mobile, while not perfect, has been far better IMO. I think you may want to look about locally as coverage areas will vary by carrier. I am sure there are some sites that do comparisons of carriers by area that may be useful.

[lingpanda]

Hey guys! Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm in the market for a new cell phone. In my history, I've only ever had 2. The first one was a 'gift' from a coworker who got a new one and let me have hers. I only had it for a month then dropped the service cause I lost my job. That was like 15 years ago. More recently (about 5 years) I had a no-contract flip phone I got from Walmart. It was ok, just had basic calls and a built in market you could by stuff like ring tones through, but no texting. I stopped using it because I discovered they not only charged 10c a minute for calls, but they also charged 99c a day just to have it active. A total ripoff. I put 5 dollars on it and didn't use it for a week, then I found there were no minutes left; I was like WHAT?! When I figured out about the 99c daily charge, I stopped adding money to it. When we had our fire a few years back, I actually lost the phone buried under a pile of burnt debris. So I haven't had a cell phone since. Now I'm wanting to get another one. I know what features I'm looking for, but not sure what I should get as far as service plans and stuff. I want a smartphone, capable of texting, talking, playing games (of course!) and web browsing. I know there are phones out there that have no contract (but you drop $300 for the phone) and there are phones that offer unlimited service plans. I'm just not sure what exactly I want. My brother bought an iPhone a few months ago and still uses it even though he doesn't have a contract. He can talk/text via an app he downloaded, but he needs to be near a wi-fi source. I like Apple's i-devices like the phone/pod/tab but I'm not sure if it's worth the price. Plus you're limited to Apple marketplace. There are other phones that are Android OS, which I'd be willing to give a go if it was cheap enough. So I'm basically asking what's a good smartphone with a fair priced service plan. No contract would be preferred just incase I lose my job (thats why I had the other one), but I don't want to have it use up all my money I added to it to be used just to have it active.

So whats good?

Also, I work at Kroger (Grocery Store Chain) only part-time so I can't really have the latest greatest. One advantage from working there though is I get a discount on their iWireless display which has phones and (unlimited) plans. Does anybody use them, are they any good?

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ I have a pay as you go plan. Plans start at $35 a month. I'm grandfathered in at a $25 a month plan. They use the sprint network. No complaints.

[hansolo77]

Do they charge for having the phone active on top of minutes? Thats what took me out of the market years ago because I added $5 to my phone, didn't use it (Should have been 50mins) then on day 6 it sayd there was no time left because they charged me 99c a day to have it active regardless if I used it or not.

[lingpanda]

No charge for just having a phone. I was in the same boat with a Tracfone. Switched and I don't miss it.