Posted by pat/WA on 10/23/11 3:47pm
Msg #401359

smart phones

any suggestions on what to buy?

Reply by jba/fl on 10/23/11 5:41pm
Msg #401363

What do you want from your phone? What do you want to pay per month? I began looking by letting someone give me a sales pitch from the various services - then began to narrow it down to my needs.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 10/23/11 6:58pm
Msg #401365

Who is your current carrier and do you want to stay with them? Sometimes your current carrier will make you a deal to keep you. Also, if you have had your plan for a while, it may be grandfathered in and they will just add the fees for the data plans.

If you change to a new carrier, then you get to change to their new rate also and that could be more expensive for you.

The current crop of smart phones are simply amazing. They have more than what I ever use. So you have to decide what you want. If you just want to store contacts and send texts and have a couple of amenities like Yellow Pages and be able to surf the web a little, then a not-so-smart phone may be a less expensive alternative, especially when it comes to the fees for the data plan. If you want something to hold in your hand that has more power than the desktop computers of just a few years ago, then you can get those also, but it will cost substantially more.

I would try your current carrier first, unless you think they are that horrible. Consumer Reports and other magazines rate the carriers from best to worst, but when you look at the scores, only a few fractions of a point separate the top from the bottom, and which carrier is best is highly geographical.

Good Luck.

Reply by Notarysigner on 10/23/11 8:15pm
Msg #401368

Re: smart phones also if you have

more the one phone in the family asked about "bundling" the service to share ONE data plan between the phones. For example I have the unlimited data plan which I use all the time but also my wife and son share the plan at no extra cost ( actually it is $5.00 more per month) for their phones. Same for Long Distance.

Reply by Claudine Osborne on 10/23/11 8:53pm
Msg #401376

Re: smart phones also if you have

I have Sprint and use the Samsung Intercept phone..I'm not impressed with this carrier or the phone. Lots of issues with them. My son and daughter in law have the same phones and data plan and just upgraded so we will see if they have any more issues. My husband and I share the dataplan and its about 140 a month. I'm no techie and I can use this Android phone. I do like being able to get my emails quickly when I'm on the road.

My husband had the Samsung Moment until today. He ordered a new phone today too due to the same issues as my son. I had my phone reset to factory settings and seemed to have taken care of my issues. We have made a lot of trips to the Sprint store and its not very close to us. Did not have these problems with Alltel but we did not have smart phones either..Good luck!

Reply by topflyt on 10/23/11 8:54pm
Msg #401377

Re: smart phones also if you have

What's the difference between a smartphone and an Iphone? Is the smart phone better because it is inheritly more intelligent than I because I can only rely on my Iphone for wisdom?
Is that possible? (But of course!)

Reply by Claudine Osborne on 10/23/11 9:14pm
Msg #401386

Re: smart phones also if you have

My daughter has an IPhone and thats going to be my next phone..I have to wait 1 more year So much easier to use and the screen is bigger and you can make the fonts bigger for us that have vision problems..I have a smart phone she has the smartest phone..of course I think my phone is already smarter than me!

Reply by JAM/CA on 10/23/11 10:13pm
Msg #401392

Re: smart phones also if you have

I love my Droid X. I have Verizon and never have a problem. It is a learning curve, but well worth it, plus Verizon has classes at their stores for free. I didn't take the classes, just figured it out on my own.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 10/23/11 11:18pm
Msg #401398

Samsung Galaxy through Boost Mobile $45/mo. Unlimited

everything-talk, text, web.
It's paid monthly in advance, and there's a special program I belong to...pay on time every mo for 6 months, I get a $5 monthly payment reduction.
New clients start out at $55, but still a steal for everything.
The phone is now selling new for $179, but you can find good used ones for half that amount.
So glad I switched from Verizon (monthly total was about $179/mo for ultd Blackberry)

Reply by HisHughness on 10/23/11 11:46pm
Msg #401401

I am techno-phobic

I don't have an iPhone, or a Blackberry, or a Galaxy, or even a little-bitty Asteroid. Hemorrhoid, yes, but that's all.

However, I have to concur on the Boost service. I've been using the same Motorola flipphone now for three years, and am an exuberant Boost booster. I've had fewer dropped calls than with any of the other three services I've had, voice quality is fine, and only rarely do I encounter a dead zone. If the smart phone(s) Boost has available will suffice for your needs, I would heartily recommend.

Boost also has one other advantage that outweighs all the other benefits, as far as I am concerned. It doesn't require one of those #@!*&%# contracts. I originally signed on to Boost basically as a protest against the whole contract idea, and have never regretted it.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 10/24/11 12:40am
Msg #401403

I also signed on to Boost basically as a protest

I was protesting high monthly fees and 2 year contracts.
Verizon was charging $30/month just to add the web.
I am glad I made the switch, as I have not regretted it either.
And, the smart-phone really isn't as difficult as is seems, and I learn something new about it or the services almost daily.
I Love APPS! Although I haven't had this phone very long, the learning curve is short for people like me who think they prefer the plain-jane phone.
There are so many conveniences, that some days I wonder what I did without the smartie.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 10/24/11 1:48pm
Msg #401457

This boost plan sounds like the Straight-Talk plan

which I now have and I love - always a signal, $30/month for 1000 minutes, 1000 text and 32mb internet (text and web I never use on phone). Not a smart phone but a refurb regular with slider keypad...cost me $20

Soooo much better than my $90/month Verizon plan for 400 minutes..

Reply by MW/VA on 10/24/11 3:21pm
Msg #401482

Same here. I have a Droid X. I-phones probably do a little

more, but I don't need all that anyway.

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 10/24/11 11:44am
Msg #401439

An IPhone is a smartphone... n/m

Reply by SouthernOK on 10/23/11 11:45pm
Msg #401400

iPhone 4 business plan unlimited data $45/month n/m

Reply by Roadie_MD on 10/24/11 11:25am
Msg #401438

Re: iPhone 4 business plan unlimited data $45/month

what carrier is that with, Southern?

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 10/24/11 11:47am
Msg #401440

My smartphone is an IPhone and my monthly

bill is approx $72.00/month with unlimited phone, data, texting, etc.

Reply by pat/WA on 10/24/11 1:23pm
Msg #401456

smart phone

I do not have a lot of expectations. I would like internet access, and email.
The carrier I have been with for 2 years is A T and T
Any help will be appreciated.