Poll - Smartphones

[Gosso]

"The Company" pays for mine.  I barely use it though.  I really should only be using a "Pay-as-you-go" system, since I never use the data and don't make a lot of calls.

[hoost]

The company pays for ours, but we would have a smart phone plan anyway.

[dualstow]

I have a dumb phone which I pay for.
Wife has an iPhone which I pay for.

[Bob]

I have a HTC EVO 4G, my wife has a Windows Phone, my son has an iphone, all on a family plan with Sprint.  I know people don't like Sprint but our Sprint service has been fine. No complaints. 

It is a new world we live in.  Last Christmas, we were in Las Vegas for a day to attend the Las Vegas Bowl football game.  While having lunch at Coco's, my wife was texting her girlfriend in Tacoma, Wa, my son was texting his girlfriend who was back in San Antonio where we live, and I was texting my friend who lives in Winchester, Va - all in real time, sharing pictures we had just taken.  What great technology!

As I will be 60 later this year, none of us who are currently in our 50s or older, could ever have imagined this sort of technology when we were growing up.  While I won't be here, it makes you wonder how people 50 years from now will look back on this time frame and wonder how our current generation ever survived with such antiquated technology!

[smurff]

I have a dumb pay-as-you-go LG phone (Blackberry-style keypad) with Virgin Mobile.  I use an Ipod Touch on free WiFi to do the things I want from a smartphone.

[blackomen]

I use a Samsung Intercept from Virgin Mobile..  $25 (USD)/mo.

I'm running it rooted and overclocked..  gonna drain whatever juices are left in it and will upgrade to an HTC EVO 4G or iPhone 4s from my provider ($35/mo) when this phone dies.

[Greg]

I use a Samsung Intercept from Virgin Mobile..  $25 (USD)/mo.

I'm running it rooted and overclocked..  gonna drain whatever juices are left in it and will upgrade to an HTC EVO 4G or iPhone 4s from my provider ($35/mo) when this phone dies.

I've got the same plan (yay Grandfathering plans) for the Motorola Triumph. I'm going to hold onto this until the phone dies or they take off the $25 plan. Then I might move up to the 4G.

[Tortoise]

I've been a smartphone holdout for a long time, but I'm thinking about finally caving. An iPhone would be nice, but I have a choice to make.

I can either wait for the iPhone 5 to be released (possibly in late September... who knows), or I could just take advantage of an offer through Verizon and buy an 8 GB iPhone 4 (not a 4S) for a mere $20.

I'm leaning toward the $20 iPhone 4 option. I'm thinking it's more than enough phone for what I need it for--basic web browsing (especially for navigation) and e-mail, and not much else. I'm not much of a gamer, and Siri seems like more of a novelty for me than a necessity.

What do others think? Any iPhone users out there who think an iPhone 4--no matter how cheap--is no longer a good phone to have due to impending obsolescence?

[Pointedstick]

If you're going to buy an iPhone (no matter what and when), buy it through Virgin Mobile to save bucketloads of money: http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com ... racts.html

[Storm]

I've been a smartphone holdout for a long time, but I'm thinking about finally caving. An iPhone would be nice, but I have a choice to make.

I can either wait for the iPhone 5 to be released (possibly in late September... who knows), or I could just take advantage of an offer through Verizon and buy an 8 GB iPhone 4 (not a 4S) for a mere $20.

I'm leaning toward the $20 iPhone 4 option. I'm thinking it's more than enough phone for what I need it for--basic web browsing (especially for navigation) and e-mail, and not much else. I'm not much of a gamer, and Siri seems like more of a novelty for me than a necessity.

What do others think? Any iPhone users out there who think an iPhone 4--no matter how cheap--is no longer a good phone to have due to impending obsolescence?

I wouldn't get the iPhone 4 now.  When iOS 6 comes out with the new iPhone, some of the features won't work on the 4.  You won't get turn by turn GPS navigation, for example.  You also won't get Siri, which is the voice activated personal assistant.

If you want a cheaper iPhone, I believe Sprint is selling the 4S right now for $49 with contract.  This phone will still run the latest software and have all the features for another year at least.

[AgAuMoney]

Two smartphones, both cheap LG android.  Mine, and the Mrs just inherited a castoff from my oldest.  Also 3 cheap 'feature phones.'  All on prepaid (no contract) with no fixed daily cost.

Wife's parents (both retired) just this week upgraded from cheap feature phones to Galaxy S3's with data plan.

[Pointedstick]

Two smartphones, both cheap LG android.  Mine, and the Mrs just inherited a castoff from my oldest.  Also 3 cheap 'feature phones.'  All on prepaid (no contract) with no fixed daily cost.

Wife's parents (both retired) just this week upgraded from cheap feature phones to Galaxy S3's with data plan.

How does a prepaid smartphone work? Do you prepay for texts and data just like you do minutes?

[MachineGhost]

How does a prepaid smartphone work? Do you prepay for texts and data just like you do minutes?

Texts are usually charged like .10 a minute per text received or sent (usually one or the other is free).  I've only seen flat rate pricing for unlimited data on prepaid plans.  Boost Movile charges $50 a month for BB or Android.

[AgAuMoney]

Two smartphones, ... on prepaid (no contract) with no fixed daily cost.

How does a prepaid smartphone work? Do you prepay for texts and data just like you do minutes?

Yup.

There are different approaches.  T-mobile (my carrier) offers the "no fixed daily cost" approach I use.  I get 1000 minutes for $100 (usually discounted 5-10%) and they are good for a year and accumulate and are good for another year every time you add more.  Texts are 10cents/ea (used to be free ).

T-mobile also offers prepaid plans more similar to those of other carriers when you decide how much you want to pay.  For example, $1/day includes unlimited texts but you pay 10cents/minute for talk.  Or for $50/month or $2/day you get unlimited text and unlimited talk and unlimited (slow) data.  Those are the final prices.  No boatload of additional fees and taxes or surprises on a bill.  (Some states or localities may charge sales tax on the 'refill' cards.)  Pay more and get more...  There are a lot of options but unlike 'contract' plans you know up front all the cost.

[Storm]

There is some really good news for the ERE folks and money savers in general on this board:  Our smartphone options are getting better.

First, Republic Wireless just opened their doors to the public and are now offering $19 a month service to most anyone that meets their criteria:  Have wifi at home and work and don't use too much 3G minutes or data (stay within wifi range most of the time).  They also limit you to a single Android model phone that can't be rooted and runs an older OS.

The second, and I believe better option is called Ting.  This company is really cool and actually seems like they are really listening to their target market and trying to not rip their customers off.  First of all, whatever plan you choose is simply an estimate, and if you go over your plan or under your plan, they simply bump you up to the next plan, or down to the cheaper plan automatically and bill you based on what you really use.  How refreshing is that?  Also, their prices are very reasonable.  Buy your phone up front, and they have some decent phones to choose from like HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Galaxy S3, then just pay your monthly fees, no contract. 

For example, you could buy a top of the line phone, Samsung Galaxy S3 32GB, for $528.  That sounds expensive, but it's actually what the phone really costs!  Other carriers hide the phone in your expensive monthly bill, which is why they can give you a $600 smartphone for $99...  Then, based on 500 minutes a month, 100 texts, and 500MB month data, I would pay only $31 a month plus tax/federal fees.  They charge no "recovery fees" or other BS.  Only $6 a month for an additional device.  Tethering and mobile hotspot is free, and just uses your data plan.

I really like this idea.  Finally a wireless carrier that is fair and honest about what the service really costs.  At $30 a month vs. $90-100 on AT&T/Verizon/Sprint, the price of a $528 device pays for itself after about 9 months.  They use the Sprint network, so coverage might not be as good as AT&T or Verizon.

Check this out to see how much your plan would be:

https://ting.com/plans

[Xan]

Along those lines, the Google Nexus 4 phone is entirely unlocked, and apart from missing LTE (which it has to in order to be unlocked), it's one of the best and most featureful phones out there, and it's only $299.  From there you can get some really good deals on service, Ting looks like a good option, or T-Mobile also seems to have some really good bring-your-own-phone pricing.  I'm particularly looking at that $30/month, 100 minutes, unlimited data (5GB at full speed) plan:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

[Storm]

Also, if you are currently using an AT&T iPhone, and would like to switch to unlimited plan for $45 a month, here are explicit instructions on how to do that using a pre-paid Straight Talk SIM:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1237616/

Good luck and happy smartphone using!

[Storm]

Along those lines, the Google Nexus 4 phone is entirely unlocked, and apart from missing LTE (which it has to in order to be unlocked), it's one of the best and most featureful phones out there, and it's only $299.  From there you can get some really good deals on service, Ting looks like a good option, or T-Mobile also seems to have some really good bring-your-own-phone pricing.  I'm particularly looking at that $30/month, 100 minutes, unlimited data (5GB at full speed) plan:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

Unfortunately I believe the Nexus 4 sold out within less than 30 minutes of going on sale.  Most likely Google is not carrying enough inventory...  It is a nice phone, and Nexus means you will continue to get Android OS updates, which a lot of other phones will never get.

[flyingpylon]

I have also been looking at Ting recently and it sounds like a great deal.  I agree that it appears to be a better option than Republic Wireless (and also backed by a larger parent - Tucows)

Cellular data usage seems to be the determining factor.  With Ting, you will pay more for cellular data than you will via Virgin Mobile, for example, where data and text is "unlimited" for $35/mo (but voice minutes are limited).

Of course, if you are willing and able to use WiFi for the majority of your data you can limit the amount of cellular data you have to use and pay for.  Republic and Ting are similar in this regard though their pricing models are different.

The other factor is phone selection.  If you or your family "has to have" iPhones, you'll be limited to something like Virgin Mobile which offers the iPhone 4S.  Personally, I have and am happy with an Android device ("free" via Verizon through work), but I fear I'm losing that battle with the rest of the family.

[Kriegsspiel]

I'd recommend against the Straight Talk, if anyone was considering it.  It's basically garbage.  The network coverage is limited unless you are in a major city, data is sketchy.  I just ordered the Airvoice SIM card since I have an old iPhone 3 with a broken lock button.  I don't really use data now that I have home internet, so just using WiFi with a smart phone is fine for me.  Anyways, I got the $10 plan.  I checked my talk and text usage and I'm well within the limits for that plan, so I'm saving $40 a month compared to the Straight Talk plan that I couldn't even use

[RuralEngineer]

I was adamantly anti smart phone until my in-laws surprised me with an iphone for Christmas last year.  Now I find myself fairly addicted to the convenience of having internet access at all times.  It's fully replaced my digital camera, mp3 player, old cell phone, and Garmin GPS.