Phones ....sigh...AGAIN

I am "thinking" I should finally get a smart phone everyone wants to "text" me, and when I tell them I can't do that they look at me funny.
So maybe after all these years I should upgrade....(my first phone was a Bag Phone, if any of you are old enough to remember those)
I now have ATT flip phone (hateful POS that is NOT user friendly) and was thinking that I should go to METRO PCS, for $50 a month get un limited talk text and data(? not sure about that) I don't make a lot of calls( maybe 4 a day?) and my son (big techie) says that the LG motion would be perfect for me
Any thoughts weather this OF could master this thing....(O.F. LIKE 77 yo f)

 

Well, it depends on your needs, and on others available terminals on the plan that you want.
I have a thing for these later windows phones, but on the android bunch maybe motorola RZR MAXX is a good one for you... Because I think that the only thing you'll regret by passing on a smartphone is drastically reduced battery life. While the stamina of normal phones is measured in days with moderate usage, the one of smartphone is usually measured in HOURS! They are incommensurably more useful, so I suggest for going for good battery life.

 

If you get one, have them help you get it set up. Make that a requirement. As well as have them provide some training on it. No matter what you get it will be useless if you don't know how to use it.

I just got the iPhone5 on Friday. Even though I've had an iPad for 18 months, there is a learning curve although significantly less since I am familiar with the iPad.

 

Well I don't see how iPhones are more user friendly than Android phones...
If you stick with the built in ROM and everything you cannot mess up so easily... in the end the differences are minimal, except that IF YOU WANT you can customize Android phones much more...
The real game changer are Windows 7.1 and 8...

 

I'm with Borla - the iPhone will be better for a novice IMO. However, it can also be extreme overkill so the sons recommendation isn't bad either.

after switching to android and using it for a while, I'm switching back to iPhone. Why? I just don't like the file structure or code implementation in the android system. Yes, I got fed up with the Galaxy Nexus and it's horrid reception. Yes, I like my S3 for the most part, but it just doesn't have the "feel" of the iPhone. Maybe it's the apple fanboi in me.

 

I cannot say, I have not felt so much of a difference between the two, if used properly...
I choosed HTC Desire HD over iPhone for a variety of reason, and the user interface seemed pretty neutral to me... It mostly depends on your needs, and by the options given by the carrier

 

You don't need a smart phone to text someone. Any phone should be able to do that.

 

True, but finding a phone with a QWERTY keyboard that isn't tied to a data package is the tricky part. For the money, the Metro PCS package mentioned in the OP would seem to make sense for a low volume user looking for easy texting. Besides, after playing around with it, DAKA may end up enjoying the added connectivity.

 

I think I am going to go with METROPCS and an LG MOTION...the salesperson in this store "promised" to help me (It's not a really busy outlet)

 

End of discussion, for .99 (and about $25 a month added to the family phone plan) I am getting an i phone 4...

 

Which service provider?

 

We have UVERSE, which covers TV, Internet, Home phone and Wireless and is a"family plan"...so, we are supposedly getting a better rate...then again who knows. The billing is so complicated that it would an accountant to figure out what would be the least expensive way to go...so...here I am again with ATT..actually our service is pretty good...
Now comes the fun, going from 80's tech...flip phone to 2012 tech.. i phone...and I am not the techie type...so I hope my wife can set this up and show me "how to"..........ueh vey..

 

iPhone4 for 25$ a month added to your pre-existing plan? For how much time?

 

Ah ha, I'm not in charge of the "bills" but I think we have unlimited talk and message, and a fixed amount of "data", out 1st phone is $60, and the second phone is $9.95, that was my flip phone, I think the i phone added $25 (or 30) to the bill
About 10 years ago I did a very "smart" move, I hated doing the bills and I could never get the checking account right, so one day she asked me how
much was in the checking account and I said about $2000, she said WHAT, don't you know the amount?
I said I kinda' keep track of the amount in my head, when she looked at the check book and saw that here was no running balance listed, she took over the checkbook and the bill paying and I opened a checking account for my own use...my hobbies,......my car restorations, cameras, guns craig's list etc....
Best day of my life..... How much is in "my" account ??? About $800. (more or less)

 

NO BANKING OR INVESTMENT INFO ON THE INTERNET....In fact no bill paying, nothing...

 

I have an Android phone, but I'm pretty sure iOS has similar free personal finance apps. Put in your starting balance, punch in what you deposit and what you spend, just like balancing a checkbook.

 

For the past three years, Grancey and I have had Droids with Verizon. We signed up with Verizon 10 years ago, so we were grandfathered in on our Droids from our old unlimited data plan. However, they're phasing out all of us "unlimited people" now, which has caused us to rethink our options.

Here's what we've come up with: Switch our phone service from Verizon to Consumer Cellular, which would reduce our combined monthly phone bill from $175 to $35. With Consumer Cellular, we wouldn't have all the apps from our Droids, so we wouldn't be paying for very much data space (basically only phoning and texting). However, to make up for the lost apps, we've each bought an iPod Touch, which connects wirelessly to the internet practically every damn where we go. So, we can still keep using the same apps, but by connecting through the internet instead of the cellular tower. And the best part is that there is no monthly fee to pay to Apple for using an app on an iPod.

 

I agree with the notion that smartphones aren't the be all, end all of phones for everyone.

I use a combination of a normal dual-SIM Samsung mobile with a Samsung 10.1" tablet. Couldn't be happier.

Between 2006 and 2010 I had a SonyEricsson smartphone phase, but I got fed up with those stupidly short battery lives.

Really annoying to have to recharge the damn mobile every 7-10 hours.