I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

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prognastat
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by prognastat »

The big recommendation I have with smartphones is turn off cellular data for as many apps as you can stomach, it'll be good for being able to have a more affordable cellphone bill and improve your social interactions.

Kriegsspiel
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Also have less apps.

plow_2
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by plow_2 »

rfgh wrote:
Fri Jul 06, 2018 1:26 pm
$13/mo for unlimited everything on TracFone? You sure about that?
$13 for limited. It gets 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500mb data that rollover. My fiance and I use hangouts for talk and text and I have wifi at work and home so the limits aren't an issue.

Jason

Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Jason »

One of the engineers in the documentary, knowing intimately the power of design, turned off his color and keeps everything in text.

There was an interesting discussion of how the "infinite scroll" as opposed to the previous single page design is now used in website construction as well as the specific pull of the color red and why it is the universal color of choice for notifications.

To keep the Pink Floyd analogy alive, moving away from the flip phone to the smart phone is similar to the transition from a Syd Barrett centric band to a David Gilmour/Roger Waters centric band i.e. Pipers At The Gates of Dawn to Dark Side of The Moon which provides the case study in the moving away from the hazards of one individual taking drugs to the hazards of surreptitiously marketing drugs to an unsuspecting and naive public and having them take too many drugs. So where before it was Syd Barrett winding up taking care of his mother's garden, we become the acid fried as we continue to purchase the ensuing updates/releases which never recapture the initial experience of the classic but which we defend at the lunch room table because we spent money on them and don't want to admit to our disappointment until "The Final Cut" comes out (which I do admit liking). Everyone takes a break, goes back to their estate until someone gets a huge tax bill and a nostalgia tour is required at which they resell everything you bought and threw out in new formats and "classic" repackaging as innovation can only happen once but can be sold back infinitely.

wheatstate
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Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 4:51 am

Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by wheatstate »

Lots of good advice here.

Mobile Virtual Network Operators(MVNO) are the prepay companies that drove down costs. They all operate on the big networks.
Ting = Sprint network, CDMA network
Airvoice = At&t network, GSM network
Mint = T-Mobile network, GSM network
Pageplus = Verizon network, CDMA network
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U ... _operators

I have had luck with Airvoice, Mint and Pageplus. Verizon/Pageplus has the largest network in many areas. If you are in smaller towns or off the interstate system, Verizon/Pageplus will generally get better service.

Pageplus has a 500 text and 500 min plan for $12 that you could use your same flip phone on.
Pageplus also has a $30 plan with unlimited text/call and 2gb of fast LTE data, if you want a smartphone at the same monthly cost.
https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/

You will need an unlocked phone that operates on the GSM or CDMA network that matches the MVNO.

Good luck and have fun.
Last edited by wheatstate on Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kriegsspiel
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Nobody has fun picking a wireless company. What twisted game are you playing?!?!

Jason

Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Jason »

LOL

It's like giving a list of oncologists to a person with cancer and telling them to have fun choosing the best one.

SavingWithBabies
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by SavingWithBabies »

You could try Straight Talk via Walmart (looks like same offer is online via StraightTalk.com too). They have the iPhone SE 32 GB for it looks like $139. My wife switched from Fi to Straight Talk as they use Verizon in our area and her connection with Fi was not so good. She is happy with Straight Talk and pays just under $40/month for unlimited calls/texts and I think 2 GB of data. So the $35 plan plus taxes/fees. I should note she went from a slightly bigger screen (Nexus 5x) to the SE and finds the screen a bit small. But she seems to have gotten used to it. They do seem to offer the iPhone 6 for just about the same price as the SE (6 = bigger screen, worse/older internals). For your use, 32 GB should be fine.

Frugalchicos
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Frugalchicos »

I would suggest a second hand iphone (refurbished if possible) on Ebay and get Lycamobile or a similar service. I pay $21/month with unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data (don't care since I always have access to wifi).

In regards to the storage, I have 16gb and never used more than half of it.

FruGal61
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by FruGal61 »

As an update, I bought a new iPhone SE 32 GB for $49.00 at AT&T. This was after I learned that Verizon and probably most of the other carriers are no longer going to activate older flip phones. The $49.00 deal was for the prepaid plan which is $40 a month for 8 gb of data and $30 for 1 GB. I started off with 8 GB and can always change to the lower GB if I want to. The prepaid plan is not much more per month than what I was paying with my old flip phone for 700 minutes and unlimited texting so it seemed like a no-brainer and definitely cheaper than doing a postpaid pay off the phone (for $349.00) in 24 months situation.

Since I have an Ipad and a Mac Air, the iPhone is pretty easy to use and so far, so good! I use WiFi whenever possible. I just have to figure out how much data I actually used in the first month to see if I should decrease to the 1GB plan. I don't think they offer anything in between 1 GB and 8GB.

After 6 months of continuous use, the phone reportedly can be "unlocked" from AT&T and I can go to another carrier if I choose.

Hristo Botev
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Hristo Botev »

Just came across this chain, FruGal61. FWIW, I also just bought the SE. I was looking to downsize from an iPhone 7 on an expensive (~$74/mo.) AT&T unlimited plan. Unfortunately the iPhone 7 would only work on AT&T and T-Mo networks. So what I ended up doing was buying an unlocked iPhone SE from Apple for $350, minus a $200 credit I got from Apple for trading in my iPhone 7. And since I have Comcast for my Internet, I was able to sign up for Xfinity Mobile, which has a plan utilizing Verizon's cell network that is theoretically free (unlimited calls and texts and up to 100mb data). It's then $12 per gig for data after 100mb. So far I've been able to keep below the 100mb data limit by turning off cellular data for almost all of my apps, relying on wifi at home and work.

Nomad
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Nomad »

I've had my smart phone a couple of years, its a Moto G4 and its pretty good for what I need.
However, I think they now make them to basically wear out in a short time scale.
The power button fell out? I can still make it work by shoving something in the hole :)

FruGal61
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by FruGal61 »

@Hristo: Good deal you got going there! My significant other has Comcast for internet, I'm going to have to look into this...

So far, I like the SE a lot. And it looks like it was a good time to buy it since Apple reportedly discontinued the SE (and some other models) a week or two ago. And now I don't have to fear the Joneses looking down their proverbial noses at my ancient decrepit flip phone. :D

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Chris
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Re: I still have a dumb phone...considering a smart phone!

Post by Chris »

Nomad wrote:
Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:06 am
However, I think they now make them to basically wear out in a short time scale.
The power button fell out?
Use a screen off app to reduce the usage cycles on your power button :)

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