Help a luddite buy a cell phone
 

I have never had a cell. I have resisted, because I refuse to be always on call. I have a phone at my desk at work, and one at home. Other that that, you can't reach me, which is exactly how I like it.

But the all-in-one package from Time Warner (cable, phone, internet) is getting out of hand. Yet another rate increase; we're spending close to $200 a month for all three. And that doesn't include premium channels, either.

So in order to cut the cord, I need an alternative phone service. Since the local landlines suck (one reason I switched), going back to one isn't very reasonable. The other alternative is a cell.

I know next to nothing about them. I do NOT want any Apple products. Sorry, but I just don't buy into the "pay more for the same thing" mindset. I do think I want a smart phone, and suggestions for different provider plans will be gratefully accepted. I certainly do not need the latest whiz-bang gadget out there, but I also don't want to start out too far behind the curve.

Also, when online shopping for plans, I run into the quandary as to how much to get, minutes/data wise. What is a typical middle aged male using for data per month?

Suggestions? Products or providers to avoid? Pitfalls to watch out for? Buy online or go to BestBuy/RadioShack/Walmart to get one and sign up for a plan?

I have an iPhone 4s and I hate it. I have hated it since the year and a half that I've owned it. I recommend a Galaxy S4.

I have an HTC One and use T-Mobile (fam plan) for both my wife and I. Happy with phone + service + cost.

While it's very hard to do, and all of the coverage maps lie unless you actually drill down to the lowest level, you need to check coverage I.E. data speed in the places you'll use it.

If you don't want a cell phone then go to the BasicTalk VOIP service.... $9.99/month and damn fine quality.

I have an HTC Sensation 4G that I can sell you uber cheap and I'll load whatever the latest Android flavor on it (prob 4.3). I just have it sitting in a drawer as a backup. PM me if interested.

iPhone isn't that expensive...I've never had to touch it software/hardware wise, and it's no more expensive than any other smart phone. $199 for the newest and greatest 5s (although some [not apple] are starting at $299) and $99 for a (barely) downgraded 5c. Very user friendly.

That being said the features are getting a little boring, and in terms of smart watches, OSs, remote controls, cameras, etc, they're falling being the times. It'll most likely be the last apple phone I buy. imessaging is really nice, but I think others have them. Uses wifi to send texts, not data/messaging plans. Something to consider for you.

If you avoid using data when not on your home or work wifi, I'd think a minimal data plan is fine. If you start listening to pandora or streaming a video on data, it'll really increase your data usage. Browsing A forum isn't too bad. I'm spoiled with unlimited data though from AT&T.

You need to goto the local Verizon and AT&T store and spend about an hour in each playing with different phones. This way you can get a feel of what the differences are between brands on operating systems on them.

Anyone use Ting? Suggested by a friend, and seems pretty decent.

just go to ting.com and get the best phone you can for the money (htc one). you pay 500 up front but come out ahead in 6 months i bet.

Looking at phones on CL. Lots of them say "clean". How do I know that is the case before I buy?

Just get this one.. and then activate on t-mobile unlimited everything for $60/month. Works on ATT as well.

https://play.google.com/store/device...s_5_black_32gb

I would say almost this exact same thing. The phone may seem a little more expensive to begin with, but you get great options as far as plans go.

First I would recommend that phone. Second I would recommend you get a free simcard from T Mobile with one of these plans, preferable the $30 plan to test out the reception for where you live/work/etc.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/p...FWUV7AodxmsA3Q

Then I would could call up Time Warner and tell them to go fuck themselves. I recently cut my TimeWarner bill from over $100 to $14.95+tax. I bought my own modem and now just have the most basic cable internet, 2Mb DL/1Mb UL and it works just fine for watching Netflix, streaming football and ABC/CBS/whatever .com station for shows.

Worst case scenario, you hate the whole cell phone experience, you're out $30 for the month of cell service and you sell the phone to someone for a few bucks less than you bought it. Also if T Mobile doesn't work for you, AT&T offers pre or post paid options that will probably have better overall reception and will work perfectly with the nexus 5.

I'm on Cricket, using an HTC V One. Low end of the spectrum smartphone that I bought on sale for $90 through Cricket. My service is $55/mo for unlimited talk, text, and data. No contract, and autopaying your bill saves $5/mo. I've been on their service for about 2 years and see no reason to change over to another service. The only place I don't have cell service is up in the high country here in CO, where a lot of other carriers don't have coverage either.

My gf is on it, too, but does not like smartphones. Her basic flip phone was $25 new, and is $35/mo for service.

"Clean" mostly only refers to either Verizon or Sprint Phones. On those carriers, lost or stolen phones can be marked as such and will not have a clean ESN. Those phones will then not be able to be activated on the carrier it was marked dirty for. Also almost all phones in the US are carrier locked. So if you by chance bought a phone on CL originally used on T mobile and tried to activate it on ATT, there's a chance it wouldn't work without some hacking. Same thing with pretty much all carriers and phones.

Just another reason why buying the Nexus 5 would be a good idea. Works out of box on ATT, T Mobile, and the newer Sprint frequencies.

But if you live in BFE and end up needing Verizon, good luck finding a cheap plan.

if you get an android based phone you can run shadowdash ms on it and datalog as well as have gauges. of course you'll have to get the serial to bluetooth adapter.

As for plans.. I'm moving to virgin mobile once my verizon contact runs out. Prepaid Unlimited Cell Phones - No Contract Phones & Plans | Virgin Mobile (they are piggybacking off sprints network)

I ditched our land line and have Vonage for the home phone. Vonage is great for international calling. I use Virgin mobile for my phone $35 for 300 minutes and unlimited text and data. I have Ting for the wife's phone. Ting.com is a pay as you use service provider. Buy a (Sprint-compatible) used Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4, register on Ting, profit.

Big fan of T-Mobile prepaid here. Wife has a Nexus 4 and is on the $30 a month plan for unlimited data and 100 minutes of talk. Just keep a some extra cash on your T-Mobile account and it will automatically deduct at $0.10 a minute. Just make sure you get good coverage in your area.

Also have an Obi box for free home phone use through Google Voice, but that's going away in May of 2014 (the free Google Voice hookup, not Obi). Still, it's not hard to find a good VOIP provider for a couple bucks a month.

I honestly do this professionally.

1. How many talk minutes to you use on average per month? Round up.

2. Are you looking for more then one device? If so question #1 for every additional line.

3. Generally I asked about your location but being that I am from Buffalo and I know Rochester pretty well I can say AT&T and Verizon should both serve you fine, T-mobile IDK about and Sprint probably not.

From my experience most people use less then 2gb of data per month. Obviously that changed significantly if you plan on using your phone for Netflix or Hulu.

Friend offered me a HTC EVO for 60 bucks, with charger, case and holster. Only works on Virgin, which uses the Sprint network. Will not work on Ting, which also uses the Sprint network. Dammit, I want to use Ting. But $35 a month for unlimited data from Virgin is tempting.

My problem right now is not having any idea how much data I'd need. Texting: 0. Minutes: less than 50 a month. Data: no clue.

Oh, and while that Nexus 5 looks nice, I'm not paying $400 for my first phone. Maybe as an upgrade, but I need some experience first.

Ive done the iphone thing. They ARE user friendly, but they get boring. AND, they are extremely fragile. I broke 3 of them... but i am rough as hell on phones. Ive had nothing but HTC phones with Gorilla glass ever since, and they are pretty tough. Havent broken one yet. (knock on wood) AND, they never cease to amaze me. They are JUST as user friendly, but Are VERY powerful, the newer ones are anyways, you would be amazed at what these things can do. My current phone is the HTC DNA, Has a SnapDragon Quad Core, and of course, gorilla glass. lol (I DONT like however the fact that THIS phone doesnt have expandable memory, or a removable battery...) Dont get the DNA. lol
Im picking up the Galaxy Note 3 in 2 weeks though. My first SmartPhone outside of the HTC family.

I'm using Virgin (in the Rochester area; live in Naples, work in Victor.) Actually, I've been on the Sprint network for years. It works fine....

And $35/month is nice.

Pick the network 1st, then the phone...
 

There are some great suggestions in this thread. I would frame the decision as follows:

1. If you just want a land line, drop everything but internet from TW and use a VOIP product. This assumes your TW Internet is stable and relatively low latency. I use OOMA here, primarily because the wired phone service was so unreliable. The mountains of Colorado are brutal on outdoor wiring. Another decent VOIP solution is to pair Google Voice (free) with a OBI 100:


2. If you still want to go Cell, look at the providers network at your house. At my home, any of the GSM based services won't fly (Tmobile and ATT) due to mountains between me and the towers. Once you have a carrier, the advice about which phone above is solid. Personally, I refuse to pay the Apple tax anymore, and I think the Google Nexus devices directly from Google are the best value.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide and how it works out!

Sign up for automatic billing and they give you $5 off; $30 a month is nicer. I've had virgin forever, can't beat the price.

This is interesting.

I've been using Vonage for the past 8 years or so, and am perfectly happy with them. But if I can save a few bucks...

It needs to be pointed out that the free service via Google Voice will be ending in May as Google plans to drop XMPP support.

OBi boxes can still do any other regular VOIP providers for a couple of bucks per month.

Obihai Technology, Inc.: Important Message About Google Voice and Your OBi Device

Ah, well, screw that then. I shall continue to pay Vonage $25 a month.

Callcentric offers free US numbers based in NY for incoming calls.

Free Phone Number

And many cheaper rate plans than $25 a month for outgoing calls.

Rate plans

Originally, the plan was simply to replace the land line. That, and keep the number I've had for nearly 30 years. By doing so, I can drop the all-in-one plan from TW and drop to about 50 a month for just internet. But I have since decided that VOIP doesn't really save me that much over having a cell, and I want one. A cellphone also gives me the ability to access the web from work, which is very limited otherwise.

The friend's used cell coupled with Virgin (thanks for the tip, pdexta) sounds like a good solution. I don't get coverage at the in-law's house, but I don't now, so it's really not a big deal.

Look at BasicTalk voip service. It's owned by Vonage and $9.99/month. No free overseas calling though (maybe not at all, not sure).

The Evo is ancient. $60 is cheap but for $100-150 on the used market you can get some solid phones. The Evo will work for a bit though to get your feet wet. Then buy a Nexus and go with straight talk on their unlimited plan. Cheap and good.

I work for an electronics company now... unlocked Iphones (S5) go for +700 bucks. We sold one today for 760something (bidding). This world makes me sick. :/

Hmm. $12.40 a month after taxes and fees, and the box is free.

Why, that's one extra bottle of Old Crow Reserve bourbon I could be buying each month!

I'll probably do that. Lord know my old Vonage box is getting on in years. Come to think of it, I believe the NiCad battery in my house phone is probably around the same age. Not sure how that thing still has any life left in it, but it does...

[/threadjack]


Someone mentioned the Galaxy S4 earlier. In the past, I've had cheap Android phones. With my new job, they asked what phone I wanted, and I jokingly said "an S4," whereupon the guy nonchalantly unlocked a drawer and handed me one. This phone fucking rocks in every way imaginable, but I have to admit that if it were my own money, I'd still be using the ole' $119 Huawei Prism II.

Android phones today have gotten to about the place that store-bought desktop PCs hit ~15 years ago, in that even the very cheapest of them are good enough for most everyday uses.

I realize this is an INCREDIBLY difficult concept for people with cell phones to understand, but you don't HAVE to answer the phone.

I have a cell phone for MY convenience.

I let 90% of my non-work calls go to voicemail, then I call or email back at my discretion.

Bought the HTC. Went with Virgin, for the unlimited data. Phone is kinda clunky, as it has an Otterbox case on it. But it's the first one, so I need to figure out what I really want before I go hog wild.

Phone is now activated. I've never been so happy to pick up the home phone and hear no dial tone! Cable modem, new dual band router and Roku3 were purchased online last night. Therefore, cable and phone through Time Warner will be terminated at the end of the month. I spent $350 (including the phone), which is about a month and a half of the package I have now. As of January, my monthly cost will be 55 for internet access and 35 for the phone. So, less than half of current.

Good brand.

I had an HTC Espresso slide for quote some time, and while it was an entry-level phone which eventually underwent SMEF after about 3 years of hard service including being dropped many times and left outside in the rain, it was perfectly serviceable during the time that I had it as my primary. Neither the fastest nor the sleekest, but solid and reliable.

Testing out the new (to me) phone. I don't know how people use these damned things all the time.

Why?

Hehehe. Yeah, that sounds about like when I first started using the Espresso after having only had cheap flip-phones previously.

Give it some time- it's a whole new OS and a totally different GUI paradigm. Think of it as a computer that happens to also have an app which makes phone calls

Phone was activated the 17th. In the three-four days I've had it, minus half a day yesterday for the holiday party, I've used almost 600Mb of data. Nearly 10% of that was surfing and DL apps for the phone. I was also streaming Pandora all day yesterday. I suspect usage will drop off once the newness of it wears off.

Bought a different case for it. While the Otterbox feels like it's nearly indestructible, it's also bulky. New case it much thinner. Cost with 2 screen protectors was a whopping $3.45, shipped.

Ensure you have an internet plan and check what the limit is.

Tiny screen, pain-in-the-ass touch screen keyboard. Takes me at least twice as long to read (scrolling/zooming) and 3-4 times to reply. I really prefer a full size desktop for surfing.

Virgin Mobile. Unlimited text and data. 300 minutes of talk, which is about 10-15 times what I'll actually use.

Oh, absolutely no question there. I have one of the larger, higher-end Droids on the market today, and I still only use it for "general" web surfing when I happen to be sitting on the toilet. (Banning a retard from MT while sitting on the can in the men's room at JFK airport is a wonderful source of amusement.)

It's more of a convenient way to access email, use Gmaps, look up train schedules and route maps, and do other computerey-type things in places where I don't have a "real" computer.

Roku3 hooked up and streaming. Disappointed that Redbox is $6 a pop, vs. the buck it costs in the store. Anyway, it's time to cut the cable.

So now that you have a new fancy phone, have you sat down and watch pr0n on it yet?

Nexus 5 or nothing. Android phones from Samsung and HTC are moving away from the consumer these days and into the corporate market quickly. Pure Android or nothing.

Are they all that much? We use Amazon Prime and VUDU a lot on the Roku and some of them are that pricey, others are not.

But even at $5-6, it's worth the extra to not put down my Woodford Reserve to go grab a movie on Sunday afternoon.

Although now that we've been without cable for almost 4 years, I'm considering getting it again for sports. I'm tired of going to a bar or a friends house just to watch the Thunder.

Well, duh. That's what they're made for, isn't it?

Haven't explored the Roku too much. Kid is still watching the cable, which is paid for up until mid January. I do know there wasn't a hell of a lot that wasn't pay as you go unless it was really old stuff.

Given that my last two phones have been an HTC Espresso and a Samsung G4, I'm genuinely curious as to what you find objectionable about them.

Both companies have been shitting on devs and customers with regard to promised updates. This comes as no surprise to me, my first Samsung phone (Samsung Moment) took longer than the 1 year I had the phone to get an upgrade from cupcake (1.5) to 2.0 dispute 2.0 being released before I bought the phone. The same thing happened with more than one of the galaxy series, though I wasn't dumb enough to be fooled twice.

Samsung is becoming the new Apple in that people are wanting them dispute knowing zero about them, they just run into the store screaming GALAXY!

Lol who waits that long for official support? I'm sure you could have flashed a way better than stock 2.0 rom onto the phone the day you bought it. I have no idea what the factory SGS3 rom is like literally flashed a new rom onto it within a couple hours of buying it.

But this thread is about a luddite, why are we talking about android phones. The luddite should be buying a nokia feature phone or an iphone.

Proprietary drivers. There were 2.0 Roms, but nothing worked. Same as any phone, same thing happened with my HTC Evo. Once the officials stop coming, good luck getting camera and GPS working.

Huh. Guess I never really paid attention to whether or not I was running the absolute newest release of... whatever. Only thing I really cared about was "does this work and do what I want it to?" The answer was typically yes.

I'm sure there are a lot of great devices out there, and some are probably more hacker-friendly than others. I've gotten to the point where I really don't care about that anymore.

iphone5s 64gb /thread

I'm no apple fanboi, but this phone is great.

I use my phone for calls (duh), emails, taking pics of jobs, reading blueprints, figuring concrete, buying and selling online, etc etc etc.

Other phones are probably just as good I'm sure. Depends on taste and/or following the crowds. Read up on them and pick the one that suits YOU best.

I guess I don't really understand the need to put huge quantities of data on my phone. My HTC has 1.1 gig internal, and 7+ gig in a micro SD card. I have yet to fill it beyond about 260Mb. Sure, there are only a few photos, no videos and not a lot of apps. But I don't really need them, as I sit in front of a real computer about 12 hours a day.

Newest release? Latest revision? Bah. Let someone else be the upgrade guinnea pig; I'll suffer with last week's latest & greatest.

HTC is a bitch to root, Samsung implemented Knox which screwed up an unknown number of things, Samsung also keeps changing hardware (requires custom hardware ISL files for multiple components), and on Sprint I've been driven insane by advertising. I want pure Android, no marketing, no additional security features. HTC sense is tolerable at best, TouchWiz is unusable, worse than IOS. Now that I'm back on an OEM ROM, my phone asks me to update my software every 30 minutes, switches me to S-Voice everytime I attempt to use Google Voice, I can accidentally click "voicemail to text" and then I get to call Sprint and cancel the trial, I get "Sprint zone" updates all the time...the list of crap goes on and on.

You don't have Sprint, where I never have service and I'm always pissed-off.

There's weird shit going on right now with Samsung, HTC, and Sony. There are an increasing number of people who root, run a custom ROM, yet cannot get root R/W access in a file browser. Most of us Samsung S3 users with a build date later than 2013 need root access to change camera ISM files because our cameras now only work on TW ROMs.

I would kill to get Slim back on this phone, TW is draining my will to live.

I had a problem with my S3 getting root access the last time I flashed, I had to re-flash the slim rom again. Theres one build slimrom newer than what I have, but I'm waiting for a kitkat based slimrom.

I am rooted with CWM through ODIN. On any Slim 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4b3 I cannot R/W system directories to replace with the right camera files. On the phone, rooted on OEM TW, I can access these files R/W. No one knows how to fix this and only a few of us have this problem so far, but anyone who gets a refurb phone seems to have this problem. We are not yet running KNOX and I have not installed the OTA 4.3 from Sprint, I don't plan on it either.

I'll probably wait until the Nexus 5 gets cheap enough to buy and replace this thing.

The 4.4b3 for D2SPR is pretty damn stable and I'd run it if I could get the camera to work.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Roger. Super informative thread.

Anyone use the S4 mini? I prefer a smaller phone so I don't feel shit on me.

edit: my dream phone
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1387994950