Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Cell Phone Questions

Anybody know a bit about cell phones and the various contracts? I've decided to get a new one after not being very happy with the phone I have, having used it the last few weeks for the first time of any length.

Much of it was just cell phone ignorance, having never used the phone before. Took me a while to figure I had to press Send to send or receive calls. Even after I figured that out the buttons are so small it was hard to press the Send button or dial a number, especially in the dark. I want something easier to handle and with more capability.

I want internet access, which I guess means a "smart phone" type thing, but am clueless as to where to start and can't afford hundreds of dollars. The one in the picture is an LG121G Destiny ($89,99) offered by Tracfone, but am unsure about their terms. This one does have some intrenet (I think). Anyone have one or used one before.

As far as internet goes, do you go for 4G or WiFi, or do you have a choice?

The one pictured says it gets triple minutes for life but breaks those down into text, data and voice so I get the impression it's not as simple as just renewing my minutes each month for $7.00 as I currently do with Tracfone. The minutes clause also stipulates, "Except with Smartphone Only Plans". What's a smart phone only plan? I can't find anything saying what those are and how they're different.


Anyway, suggestions are welcome, especially some explanation of the plans, how they work and how much they cost. If it's too expensive, maybe I'll just stick with the $30.00 phone I have, but I'd rather have internet capability.

14 Comments:

At 8:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Get a moto e on Verizon prepaid from Walmart around 50 for the phone and 45 a month

 
At 8:32 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Thanx, but I don't want to pay that much each month. This could be out of my price range but I'm hoping for no more than $10/mo.

 
At 8:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you are a member of AAA, they have both Apple and Android smartphones from Affinity Cellular (855-252-9760). If you are an AARP member, they have a special offer from Jitterbug which is a very easy phone to use and can be obtained through either RiteAid or Sears.

If you were a former customer of Cal North Cellular, they made an arrangement with Verizon which purchased Cal North to honor all customer's plans FOR LIFE. So my monthly Verizon bill will never change from $14.95.

 
At 8:54 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You could check into consumercellular.com. I know some senior citizens who like it for the basics and low price, starting at $10 per month.

 
At 9:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like my tracphone "smart phone".
With "data for life" I buy a 60 min / 90 day cards ($20).
As long as you have wifi turned on, the phone uses that (most hotspots require a "login"). Voice and no wifi use the 4g signal. Coverage around here is pretty good.

K in Eureka

 
At 9:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Fred, I just bought a $29.99 tracfone/smart phone from Target....no monthly fees....purchased the 120 minute card...X 3 for the life of the phone..so you actually get 360 minutes each time you load the 120 minutes. It is called the LG Lucky. JT

 
At 9:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Call Advanced Cellular Repair in Arcata, Eureka or Fortuna. They have excellent phones and plans with Page Plus Cellular, which uses the Verizon Network. Excellent coverage in Humboldt and USA. I buy an $80 block of usage. 4 cents per minute for voice, 5 cents per text. I can't remember the cost of data, because I only use it when no wifi is available.

 
At 9:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and that $80 is good for up to 1 year.

 
At 9:56 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

"I like my tracphone "smart phone".
With "data for life" I buy a 60 min / 90 day cards ($20).
As long as you have wifi turned on, the phone uses that (most hotspots require a "login"). Voice and no wifi use the 4g signal.


I have the same sort of deal with my Tracfone and am happy with it, except I get double minutes for the life of the phone. I'm just wondering how their more expensive phones work with internet and such.

With my now defunct tablet, I was very happy with the 4G connection. It seemed to work better than wifi and I didn't have to find a wifi connection with it, although there seemed to be conflicts when using both wifi and 4G at the same time.

I want to stay with Tracfone because I can keep unused minutes and use them later. Never mind being so inexpensive.

 
At 11:42 AM, Blogger Julie Timmons said...

You're
at the same crossroads I am. I cant really justify paying the monthly fees for a smartphone because if I want to use the internet I just go home and use my iMac. I can't even imagine trying to deal with a small screen for anything more than phone calls. Or GPS, which I would use twice a year. I'll be following your progress closely, Fred.

 
At 12:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

new tracfones are AT&T service
i hate that , old was verizon
had to get new one in december after i dropped old one in dogs water bowl . got an alcatel 3G almost smart flip phone . has web but i wont use that and camera and has APPs available . can go to FB and twit but im not on either .
i hate it only cause AT&T service suks and not near as many places as my old verizon service was

 
At 12:29 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

"I cant really justify paying the monthly fees for a smartphone because if I want to use the internet "

That's just it. I wouldn't use it that much, but might a bit more if I'm out of town as I would have been last week. I'm not gonna pay$40 or $50 a month for something I rarely use.

" got an alcatel 3G almost smart flip phone . has web but i wont use that and camera and has APPs available "

That's my main worry. That one Tracfone has looks good, but I'm worried how it will actually work in the field. If it could do some web stuff and otherwise work fine, it would be ok to pay $89.00 for it.

 
At 12:31 PM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I might add I have a bum nephew with a Samsung (I think) smartphone. His seems to do everything. He's on it all the time but pays over $50 a month for it, never mind cost of the actual phone. Nice, but not at that price for me.

 
At 5:14 PM, Blogger julie.strub said...

Have you heard of Republic Wireless? I don't have them but here is a good explanation that has me considering switching over:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/20/google-fi-review/

 

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