Cell Phones and Plans

  • Sharon
    Moderator
    SE Metro
    Posts: 5473
    #1280686

    So my FH and I are due for new cell phones and plans soon and we’re excited to finally get smartphones! We have dumb phones now and I’m not really sure how these fancy new smartphones work with data plans. And I hate talking to salespeople, so I’m asking you guys! I have a couple of questions:
    1) Is it really worth getting the unlimited data plan that Sprint offers? Both my FH and I are nerds and we’re on the internet a lot and I just don’t want to have to keep track of data usage. And I definitely don’t want to have to pay for going over our limit. Verizon has plans with 1 through 10GB of data use. How do you determine what you’ll need?
    2) How is data usage even calculated? Let’s say I log into IDO and put up a post or reply to a post, how much data does that use? Or is data only used when you download something? Is looking at a photo album on Facebook considered downloading all the photos?
    3) Which smartphone do you recommend? I loved my old Razr flip phone years ago so I’m naturally very interested in the Razr smartphone, but that’s only available through Verizon. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Galaxy and I believe Sprint does have that one.
    4) Finally, how durable are these smartphones? Do find they’re more, less, or comparable to dumb phones? I’m a bit of a klutz and I’d need a durable one if they make one.

    Thanks everyone in advance for your input!!

    jonboy
    Wausau, WI
    Posts: 445
    #1141864

    Sprint unlimited data plan is excellent.
    IMHO

    jiggin-rake
    inver grove heights, minnesota
    Posts: 857
    #1141867

    Everytime i go up north sprint service is terrible compared to my buddies verizon phone. Heck i dont even get service in the cities.

    fishiowa93
    Eastern Iowa
    Posts: 52
    #1141872

    I recently got the verizon plan. I get 2 mg of data every month and I came pretty close last month, but Im in college so I use it a lot. 2 mg was way more than I thought it was going to be. I have an iphone, and highly recomend them. Feel free to ask any specifics.

    wannaplay
    Posts: 149
    #1141879

    T-Mobile has the best phones/plans/service in the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa/N&S Dakota. I would recommend insurance on the phone if you tend to drop things…LOL

    mwal
    Rosemount,MN
    Posts: 1050
    #1141880

    Do you have WiFi internet at home? We use our phone at home a lot and do all of our data stuff using the WiFi so it does not count against the plan. It is hard to guess how much you will use going from dumb to smart phone since the novelty effect will have you using it all of the time for awhile.

    Mwal

    chomps
    Sioux City IA
    Posts: 3974
    #1141885

    I have WiFi at home and work, it’s in most restaurants and hotels also. I have a 4mb plan with Verizon, I hardly go over 1mb per month. So when my wife gets her smart phone I think I will pay more and stay at a 4gb plan. Sometimes it seems as though it’s a pain in the butt to have one, but I need one for work and the navigator works better than my GPS. I have a HTC, played with a few phones and I’d say the Galaxy and Razor s or maxx are good phones also.

    timschmitz
    Waconia MN
    Posts: 1652
    #1141898

    Sharon, my girlfriend is a sales rep for Verizon she could answer any questions you have. I’ve had Verizon since before we started dating and I have exceptional coverage from Lake of The Woods/rainy river all the way down to the middle of nowhere Iowa. I have a iPhone 4S with a 4mb data package and I hardly ever go over 2mb a month. Pm me if you’d like Brooke’s contact info.

    cnv25
    LaCrosse, WI
    Posts: 70
    #1141908

    1) Sprint’s unlimited data plans are definitely going to be worth it if you’re frequently on the internet. Two smartphones on Sprints Everything Data Share 1500 plan would come out to $149.99 before taxes, which is the same price as Verizon’s Share Everything plan with 4GB of data shared between two smartphones. The main difference between these two plans would be that on Sprint’s Everything Data Share 1500 plan, you would have 1500 shared minutes between both phones, which will include Any Mobile, Anytime. What that means for you is that any calls you place to any cell phone on any wireless carrier will not use your minutes, and in addition to that, you will have unlimited nights and weekends starting at 7 PM. This will essentially mean that they only time you will use those anytime minutes is when you’re calling a landline phone from the hours of 7 AM to 7 PM from Monday through Friday. With Verizon’s plan, you would have unlimited minutes, however, then you would have to monitor data your data usage between two smartphones

    2) Data is calculated based on how much information is actually downloaded to the phone. All carriers measure data in kilobytes and depending on what you use the internet for will depend on how many kilobytes you use. It is not measured in time increments. Example: viewing email with no attachments 20kb, web page look up 500 kb, streaming music about 60 mb/hr, streaming video about 250 mb/hr. To clarify, downloading information does not mean physically saving pictures or other media to your phone, as this can include anything from loading a webpage, to loading up the news feed on your Facebook app. Calculating that exact amount is a little more difficult, as it can vary depending on the content being downloaded as pictures and other media will generally use up more data. Pulling up a photo album on Facebook, for example, is going to be determined by how you view the photos, with less data being used by viewing the thumbnails of them instead of pulling up the full image. I will include a grid at the end of this e-mail that gives average amounts of data used for commonly performed actions on the web.

    3) There are a number of high end smartphones I would recommend considering. A large part of smartphone choice is something that is based on personal preference. Personally, I own the EVO LTE, and it does a good job fitting all of my needs, however, not everyone may like that device based on few different features of the phone. Some of the high end phones that I would suggest considering would be the Samsung Galaxy S III, the LG Optimus G, the iPhone 5, the Galaxy Note II, the EVO LTE, and the Motorola Photon Q. I would recommend looking at these devices at a Sprint store, as it would give you the opportunity to get some hands on experience with the phones to see which device you would prefer.

    4) The one downside to smartphones is that they are not nearly as durable as the dumb phones. In recent years, the screens have become more durable, but are still more susceptible to getting cracked compared to the dumb phones. If you’re concerned about possibly damaging or breaking the device, I would suggest looking into an Otterbox case for the device, as those cases are very durable and built to try and prevent any damage from being inflicted on your device.

    Sorry about the novel

    mnfish
    Lake Elmo MN
    Posts: 1104
    #1141928

    Straight Talk is what I use. $45 mo unlimited no contract. I have an iphone 4s. Walmart sells them and they can set you up. Have had mine for a year now and only a few issues. The service is actually AT&T. Even says 4G on it.

    icenutz
    Aniwa, WI
    Posts: 2540
    #1141931

    If you want to protect the phone get a lifeproof Fre case, they are only for iPhones and iPads but you can use your phone under water!!!

    http://www.lifeproof.com/en/

    Otherwise get the Otterbox case, the Defender is their best but it is bulky.

    I have had all 3 major carriers and Verizon is by far the best for coverage in Wisconsin.

    ironheadr5
    Northeast, Iowa
    Posts: 373
    #1141963

    I have 2GB and never go over..

    85lund
    Menomonie, WI
    Posts: 2317
    #1141997

    My wife and I have the samsung galaxy s 2 and we both hate them. Less than 6 months and they are both acting up. Sprint wants $50 bucks a phone to send me new ones when its under warranty with samsung. I told them to kiss my My next phone will be the iPhone or the droid razor max. The razor max phones are getting 3-4 days on a charge. That’s is pretty sweet if you ask me.

    Wade Boardman
    Grand Rapids, MN
    Posts: 4453
    #1142124

    Regarding plans. We have Verizon’s 4GB plan. We have NO internet at home so we do all out our Social Media, Fishing Forum, E-Mail, etc etc etc on our 4GB plan. We keep an eye on it and do little streaming. Usually with a week to 10 days left before the end of the cycle I check it and see we have only used 2.5GB. So then we stream and whatever we want to use up the rest of our allowance. It hasn’t really been an issue for us.

    Assuming you have internet at home. 4GB would be plenty for you. Unless you are a streaming fool. We cannot really stream movies in the car while traveling for example. So that is where we are limited.

    I just recently went with the I-Phone since we have an apple ecosystem at home. I must say to this point I have been impressed with what is instantly available to me. Not to mention all the cool toys and apps.

    As far as coverage. My fiance’ and I are the last ones to loose cell service when we head to our cabin up near Crane Lake. All our friends with other service providers loose service minutes if not hours before us.

    Sharon
    Moderator
    SE Metro
    Posts: 5473
    #1142556

    Thanks everyone for your thoughts. This is why I love IDO, great honest opinions! We decided to stay with Verizon (they really do have great coverage in the remote places we visit) and we got the Razr phones. I had an old Razr flip phone years ago and I LOVED it. I have found Motorola to make durable phones. We did get the Otter boxes too though, just in case. Now… to start downloading apps!!!

    rvvrrat
    The Sand Prairie
    Posts: 1840
    #1142649

    Quote:


    We did get the Otter boxes too though, just in case.



    Hope you bought them over the net and not at a Verizon store…big savings…

    Wade Boardman
    Grand Rapids, MN
    Posts: 4453
    #1142659

    Quote:


    Quote:


    We did get the Otter boxes too though, just in case.



    Hope you bought them over the net and not at a Verizon store…big savings…



    No question. When I got my iPhone the guy was trying to shove all kinds of stuff down my throat. I finally had to tell him just give me the phone. I will buy all my other accessories elsewhere at a discounted price.

    smithkeith
    Waterloo, Iowa
    Posts: 889
    #1142664

    The mark up on the extras has to be huge!!!! Wife got a new phone and the sales person wasn’t happy when I told him I buy all the extras on ebay. Told him how much I paid for a new battery that was the exact same thing as the one that came with the phone. He said he knew of someone who bought a battery on ebay and it exploded. Bull s**t!!!!!!

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