Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Looked at iPhone 4
I carry an antique Motorola Razr right now -- so antique that there is no way to transfer photos directly from it to anything else. I have to send them to another phone number. So I looked at the possibility of upgrading my phone. Verizon has a free iPhone 4...but it turns out that even with the 300 MB/month data plan, it comes to either $62 a month (if I believe the web page) or $80 a month (if I believe the live chat operator on their website). Either way, that's a bit rich for me. I think I will stick with my antique for a while longer.
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I must be more of a fogey than you.
ReplyDeleteI do not text (I think of it as a regression back to the days of the telegraph; talking is much quicker.)
I do not take photos; all the pictures I like are between my ears.
I use a phone as a phone, and the ones I like the best are rugged, flip-type with big numbers that announce themselves as you push them.
You should check out the 'no-contract' phones at Wal*Mart.
ReplyDeleteSome of them are pretty nice and they have unlimited talk, data and texting.
For the price of 4-5 months of Verizon iPhone 4 you can get a no-contract Samsung Galaxy S2 that's roughly comparable on T-mobile from WalMart. The S2 has a better camera (8 vs. 5 MP), longer call life (18 vs 7 hours), and a bigger screen and more memory. My daughter loves her S2 much more than her friend's iPhone.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I can't do an iPhone. I need too much internal storage because I use the phone to video stuff or take a ton of pictures when the kids and I are out doing stuff and I don't have other equipment with me.
I spend about $100 a YEAR on my TracFone. I have a camera for taking pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love the concept of a smart phone, it is not something that we need. If you poke around at your providers web site long enough, you may find a "dumb" phone. We just exchanged our phones about 8 months ago without having to upgrade to a smart phone plan.
ReplyDeleteA second option is that you purchase a used cell and use your SIM card to transfer your information.
If your Razr is CDMA, you should check out BitPim, a free phone data transfer tool. I've used it to get pictures and MP3s in and out of Verizon phones with similar restrictions.
ReplyDeleteYou could look into Virgin Mobiles contract free iPhones. You buy the unsubsidized phone, the iPhone 4 is 550, and the 4S is 650, but the monthly rates are pretty low for the plans. They start at about 30 dollars a month and go to about 50 dollars depending on how many minutes you need, but all the plans have "unlimited" text and data. I think Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint network. Cricket mobile has similar deal as well.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to Wal-Mart's offerings, the company behind that (one of Carlos Slim's ventures, which has some moral implications) has gotten a clue and you can get just a SIM card from them by ordering on the web. When my father did this with an iPhone 3GS a few months ago, the word was that if you keep below 2GB/month they won't cancel your $45/month "unlimited" plan.
ReplyDeleteI have been carrying the same Motorola Razr phone for over 5 years now. I'm on my second battery and thinking I am about due for a third. Everyone tells me that I need a smart phone. I'm not sold on the idea yet. My phone is a phone. I only send and receive about 250 text messages a year. So it works just fine for that. If I need pictures or videos - that is why I bought a decent camera and camcorder.
ReplyDeleteCheck out Republic Wireless. They have an Android phone (Motorola XTC) that runs over Sprint's network or over WiFi.
ReplyDelete$20/month w/ no service contract. The phone costs ~$250 (and you must get it from them).