Well since I got talked out of retirement to manage the internet dept for a car dealership by a friend, I find I need a smart phone. Small town and At&t is about all that will reach my house. Any suggestions on what type of phone and plan to get? I've gone 15 years of joy and silence without one.

 

There's a zillion phones, and you'll probably get a zillion different opinions with an open-ended question like that.

If you go with AT&T, there will be a list you can select from. Go to an AT&T store and check some of them out. You'll find something that's a good compromise between price and features, but I doubt you'd go wrong with anything they offer. After all, they don't want you to have a bad experience or you'll run off to Verizon or whatever.

You likely can go either with a pay-as-you-go plan, where you will have to keep track of how much calling you've done and how many minutes or how much money you have in your account, or a 1 or 2-year contract plan, where you pay each month at the end of the month for what you used that month. In a prepaid plan, when your account runs low, you'll have to be constantly adding minutes either through your phone and a credit card or by buying one of those cards at the drugstore or Walmart that come in various denominations, you scratch off to get a PIN, and then you input that into your phone to add minutes.

In my opinion, the pre-paid plans are useful for people who don't use their cell phone very much. For people who use it regularly, constantly having to add minutes gets to be old quickly.

One advantage, though, is that you're not tied into any long-term contract. The disadvantage is that you'll likely have to pay full-price for the phone, which can be several hundred dollars.


I've always gone the 2-year contract route. Yes, I'm tied in for two years, but I've been with the same provider for more than a dozen years now (Verizon), and it's been OK. I get a new phone every time the contract is up because then they'll give you a discount in exchange for signing up for another two years. That means getting a phone that might be $300 or $400 retail, for $50, and, in some cases, at no cost at all, depending on how low-end or high-end you want to go. I've always tended toward the cheap end and spent no more than $50 for a new phone whenever I renewed for another two years.

Like I said, I have Verizon, but both my brother and sister have AT&T, and they've been very happy.

 

Eric, I am amazed and jealous that you got by for 15 yrs without a cell. Being "connected" has a lot of advantages BUT it is hard to get disconnected. I have been on vacation for the past week but not really because I am still connected. I had been with AT&T for 20 + years and just recently changed to Verizon. The only reason I changed was Verizon service was better at my house. I would go with the service provider that has the best coverage in your area. The frustration of dealing with poor service quickly overrides any price advantage. I had the latest wiz bang Android based Motorola Phone and loved it! It is less than 1 yr old and has an Otterbox Case. I will give you a good deal on it if you want to test drive a phone without getting locked into a contract. PM me if interested.
Steve

 

And if you are an AARP member, you could look in to Consumer Cellular. Outstanding rates.

 

I went with a tracfone and got the triple minutes discount. Buying about a years worth of minutes brings it down to something like 4 cents a minute with no monthly fee. Each text sent deducts half a minute.

I don't know how their phone discount compares with AARP but AMAC is a similar organization and they've got a phone discount program too. If you have time to do some research I think there's a lot of good options out there.

John

 

Thanks Jaunty and Steve, At&t is the only provider that works at my house. So likely will stick with them.

Steve, I have no idea what phone you have and I'm so confused on what I really need.

John I've been reading up on the trac phone and straight talk plans. I will never join AARP, but won't get into a political discussion over it. I'll look into the AMAC thing, never heard of them.

 

Eric:

I remember emailing you when we had the NTOC Zone Show for you cell number and you told me you did not have one. I was jealous and amazed. I have had AT&T for several years and it is the best service I have had. I have had Verizon and I think it is second best. My wife and daughter have Sprint and I do not recommend it. I don't talk on my cellphone a lot and don't do very many text messages. When I need it I do find it very handy. I would not be without one.

 

I've got AT&T. I love my Pantech Flex, my daughter loves her iPhone 5, my wife loves her Samsung Galaxy (I have no idea what number it is). Your best bet is to go to the AT&T store or Best Buy and look at what they have, hold them in your hands. Impossible to tell what you will like looking at a picture.

 

I have Virgin mobile and seems to work just about anywhere I am. 300 minutes and unlimited data for 35 bucks a month. I have a smartphone I got for 40 bucks through them. (kyocera Event) Does everything I need from a smartphone.

 

I am looking at switching from ATT and going with straight talk from walmart with no contract... looks like same networks just less hassle than dealing with ATT...

 

I also use AT&T and that exact phone! Hopefully getting rid of it soon, I really want that S5.
My brother and I have 3GB of data each every month, and I never use more that 1.5GB of that. Things like Youtube and downloading apps on data slaughter your consumption, but it's not hard to conserve it if you're careful. Having Wi-Fi also helps! Take it from a social-flower 18 year old.

 

I appreciate all the responses. I've got a few weeks to see if I really have to have one. Leaning towards the no contract plans with AT&T as the provider, because that's only one I can use at my house. Thanks again.

 

I recently switched to Net 10. I'm in the county and have a hard time with signal also but Net 10 piggy-backs on other carriers so I get a great signal. I bought a refurbed Galaxy SII on eBay and I love it. Nice big screen for my aging eyes. I think I pay $40 a month with no contract but use auto pay. I only get 500 MB of high speed data and then it's throttled down but it's enough to check the weather, etc.
I also resisted cell phones but about two years ago the wife bought me one for my birthday. It kinda' ticked me off at first, lol, but now I'm hooked. And if I don't want to be connected, I just turn it off. No law against it

 

Eric? Isn't your new employer picking up the tab on this? If not why bother? FWIW, you guys have some of the best rate structures in the world. I have a smart phone but don't use it for anything more than phone, calculator and taking the occasional picture. Only peeps that have my number are those I want to talk with. I like it that way.

 

Unfortunately, no Alan it's my nickel, if that were the case...