hejduk Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Do you recommend unlocking the phone first? Before approaching an ATT store for example. That's tough to answer... Honestly, some of the ATT employees have no clue what is going on, or have no clue what "unlocking is". So you may or may not run into an employee being willing to activate an unlocked phone. I guess my answer here is just to try it. What's the worst that can happen besides them saying "No"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curlygrrl Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Excuse my ignorance, but as someone like myself not technically proficient is that something I need to do in order to have my current phone work under ATT? That's tough to answer... Honestly, some of the ATT employees have no clue what is going on, or have no clue what "unlocking is". So you may or may not run into an employee being willing to activate an unlocked phone. I guess my answer here is just to try it. What's the worst that can happen besides them saying "No"? Edited June 28, 2011 by Curlygrrl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hejduk Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Excuse my ignorance, but as someone like myself not technically proficient is that something I need to do in order to have my current phone work under ATT? No worries. Sometimes you have to unlock, sometimes you don't; it depends if the handset was/is tied to another carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunninlynguist Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I bought my flip phone back in 2005 and still have it. Crazy, I know. However, it's definitely showing its age now (shutting off randomly during calls) and I need to upgrade. T-Mobile is making things difficult - my upgrade options suck for some reason and it seems every smartphone requires a data plan. Anyone upgrade their phone recently? All I want is something simple and I'm not looking to spend money on the upgrade, nor do I think I should have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barilicious Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I think the Swype feature on most touch screen keyboards is infinitely easier and quicker than a full keyboard and definitely when 3 letters were on 1 number. Swyping is definitely the best way to text, imo. A few things to add: No one mentioned the fact that texting is infinitely easier on the old phones. Fewer keys to memorize, and you can text one-handed without looking at all - quick as lightning. Touch screens and full keyboards are TERRIBLE for texting unless you want to look at the phone the whole time (no more texting while driving). I also don't understand why anyone would purchase a data plan with LIMITED data...? That seems kinda pointless to me. The first time I heard that some carriers offer limited data I scratched my head in wonder. T-Mobile is all unlimited. Another thing - the plans are the same price if you don't get a data plan. I have had androids for years, and just use wifi at home or school if I really must get online. To me the reason for a smartphone is downloading and playing music. And maybe checking email/facebook between classes (I never had a computer during undergrad). Buy last year's model online for a lot cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poco_puffs Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I think the Swype feature on most touch screen keyboards is infinitely easier and quicker than a full keyboard and definitely when 3 letters were on 1 number. Swyping is definitely the best way to text, imo. Old school texter, here. Swype and I do NOT get along. Spelling errors happen in both of them, but I think they're more predictable/decipherable in old-school texting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogopo Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I would like to credit this thread for finally pushing me over to the smartphone camp. I will get one when I get to the States. Now.. to decide between iPhone and Android... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardeningGrad Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Just got my Droid Incredible 2... now to learn how to use it properly... one of my new favorite haunts, the Chronicle of Higher Education's ProfHacker blog has some great tips for using smartphones in academia. happy connectedness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hejduk Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Just got my Droid Incredible 2... now to learn how to use it properly... one of my new favorite haunts, the Chronicle of Higher Education's ProfHacker blog has some great tips for using smartphones in academia. happy connectedness! Prof Hacker is great! Read it all the time, and highly recommend to everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eat.climb.love Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I bought my flip phone back in 2005 and still have it. Crazy, I know. However, it's definitely showing its age now (shutting off randomly during calls) and I need to upgrade. T-Mobile is making things difficult - my upgrade options suck for some reason and it seems every smartphone requires a data plan. Anyone upgrade their phone recently? All I want is something simple and I'm not looking to spend money on the upgrade, nor do I think I should have to. If you don't mind switching companies, there are also companies that do cheap monthly plans sans contract. VirginMobile and MetroPCS, come to mind but I am sure there are more. I know Virgin has this plan where you get 1500 minutes, 500 texts for $30. And the phone is ~30. There are other plans but that is the one advertised. (http://www.virginmob...paylo-plans.jsp) My dad has MetroPCS and it is GREAT but concentrated in certain areas of the country. I would totally switch to it if my future city actually had service. These companies actually do still sell regular phones! And since the hype is all about the Smartphone, the flips are about 30. Edited July 7, 2011 by eat.climb.love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psych21 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I had the most old school phone before grad school, and when I started my PhD I got a Blackberry. I love it. Best part? Emails. Oh, and I have it with Virgin Mobile, which means I pay $35 a month with no contract. I'd say get some Android phone on Virgin, they are cheap and your monthly bill will always be $25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwkwardPants Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Smartphone: LG Optimus V (phone cost: $200) OS: Android Carrier: Virgin Mobile (Sprint network) Plan: Unlimited Data, Unlimited Text, 300 talk minutes Price: $25 per month Contract: No What more could you ask for? This is exactly what I have, and I couldn't be happier. The LG Optimus V is a great phone (does everything I could possibly want), and it's only $150 on the Virgin Mobile website. I'm actually paying less now per month for a smartphone with unlimited data from Virgin than I was for a regular flip phone with no data from Verizon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadian Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I just got my first smart phone as well, the Samsung epic 4G. So far it has proven to be extremely useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newms Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 This is exactly what I have, and I couldn't be happier. The LG Optimus V is a great phone (does everything I could possibly want), and it's only $150 on the Virgin Mobile website. I'm actually paying less now per month for a smartphone with unlimited data from Virgin than I was for a regular flip phone with no data from Verizon. This is a really good deal - $25 for unlimited data is hard to beat! And it looks like Virgin Mobile will be getting a new phone this month. I'll definitely consider this option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garibaldi Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Can anyone help with information for a blackberry user? I've had a blackberry for the last 2.5 yrs and mainly use it for email. But I'm not happy with it as a device as something always goes wrong with its tracker, so I have to repeatedly get it replaced which costs money. I'd like to dump it but then the cost of getting a new phone prevents me from doing that. I'm an international student who will be going to the US next month The way I see it, I have 4 options: Option A: Dump my blackberry, and get a new phone on contract in the US. I'm leaning towards getting a simple post paid phone, and not a smartphone. What Elgen said really resounded with me. I already have an ipod touch. Option B: Dump my blackberry, and get a new phone in the US. Buy it outright and use with a pre-paid sim card. Again, what Elgen said made sense. All I need is a phone that allows me to receive and make voice calls, and that too only when I'm on the move. For all other times, I can use skype. Option C: Dump my blackberry, and get a smartphone on contract in the US. Doing this will only make sense, if this is only 5-10usd more expensive than Option A. The GPS and internet services of a smartphone are attractive, so I'm willing to pay a little bit more. Option D: Unlock my blackberry so I can use it in the US. But my question is, Can I? Can I get a pre-paid sim (from whom? will any of the mobile service providers work?) and start using that? Do pre-paid sims allow you to use data services such as email? Roughly what charges will I be looking at on a per month basis? Really confused.. esp with regrads to Option D. I want to go with the option that'll provide me with the most value for money, but dont know how to figure that out. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooma Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Guys, I'm moving to the US in few days and I find the plans/packages so confusing. I'm not a phone guy, I don't talk much, however, I use my iPhone extensively over the internet. So, ideally, I would prefer a Pay for the go plan for the voice/messages and an unlimited plan for the data, does such configuration exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktel Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Effff Canada and their expensive cell phones and rates. We need more providers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long_time_lurker Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Guys, I'm moving to the US in few days and I find the plans/packages so confusing. I'm not a phone guy, I don't talk much, however, I use my iPhone extensively over the internet. So, ideally, I would prefer a Pay for the go plan for the voice/messages and an unlimited plan for the data, does such configuration exist? Virgin Mobile and MetroPCS have the best plans for unlimited data. 35 for Virgin and if I recall correctly, 40 for Metro. Neither as far as I know use the IPhone though. I was in the market recently so this is as of a week or 2 ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long_time_lurker Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 If anyone is a light user like me, Boost Mobile is the cheapest. You only have to put on $10 every 3 months. My wife got that one. I am going to use the data so I pay 35 cents a day to use the web. Calls (I haven't made any yet) and texts (I've done 7) are only 10 cents a minute which is way better than AT&T which charged 25/20 cents and made me add 25 bucks every 3 months. If your phone is attached to your ear or thumbs then this isn't for you but I've only spent $4.90 in August. 13 or so bucks a month (10.85 for the web and a few minutes of calls and a few texts) is hard to beat for unlimited web. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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