Got a letter from AT&T saying my phone won't work much longer.

[Alex2507]

Do not do contracts !! Do math instead.

I'm another dumb phone user. Once I got out from under contract I discovered T-Mobile has a pre paid deal where 100 bucks gets you 1000 minutes. That lasted about 7 months. Customer Service wouldn't tell me about that option. It was all contract, contract, contract. Anyway I'm on my 2nd hundred dollar bill with them. It's been close to a year total. I just checked and I have another 90 minutes to jibber jabber. I guess I need to fork over another 100 bucks. It all works out to <$20/month for me.

The only thing is that you have to bring your own phone to the party. I really don't want to spend an 'unlimited' amount of time talking, texting or sexting for that matter.

The real problem with the smart phone deal is the size and battery life. Guys at work have those things laying about on chargers. I have no idea how they manage to ever keep them on their person. The Galaxy deals are so big that they don't really fit into any pocket which is cool because many, many, many men in Boston needed an excuse to carry purses anyways. nttawwt

 

[Rickster71]

The real problem with the smart phone deal is the size and battery life. Guys at work have those things laying about on chargers. I have no idea how they manage to ever keep them on their person. The Galaxy deals are so big that they don't really fit into any pocket which is cool because many, many, many men in Boston needed an excuse to carry purses anyways. nttawwt

I unwillingly gave up my flip phone, the keypad died.
Agreed, if saving money is the biggest consideration, then a flip phone or no phone is the best bet.
Everyone has a different need, for personal use to business; there's something for everyone.

Putting it in a way you'd understand:
It's like the difference you saw going from the DVD to the Blu-ray version of Broke Back Mountain.

If they leave all the features on, like data, wi-fi it does use up power.They probably don't know how to shut them off.
Most have a power saving mode.

At first I felt the same way about the phones being too big. After living with one for a while it wasn't a bad trade off at all considering all the features. (if we use/need them)
A belt clip or a pocket in cargo shorts always works.

 

[Pyrrho]

I'm another dumb phone user. Once I got out from under contract I discovered T-Mobile has a pre paid deal where 100 bucks gets you 1000 minutes. That lasted about 7 months. Customer Service wouldn't tell me about that option. It was all contract, contract, contract. Anyway I'm on my 2nd hundred dollar bill with them. It's been close to a year total. I just checked and I have another 90 minutes to jibber jabber. I guess I need to fork over another 100 bucks. It all works out to <$20/month for me.

The only thing is that you have to bring your own phone to the party. I really don't want to spend an 'unlimited' amount of time talking, texting or sexting for that matter.

The real problem with the smart phone deal is the size and battery life. Guys at work have those things laying about on chargers. I have no idea how they manage to ever keep them on their person. The Galaxy deals are so big that they don't really fit into any pocket which is cool because many, many, many men in Boston needed an excuse to carry purses anyways. nttawwt

It is really a great deal for anyone who does not always use their phone. For me, 1000 minutes is usually more than I need for a year. But one still needs to buy more minutes before a year has passed to extend the "life" of the minutes one has. This last time I just spent $10, which, if I remember correctly, gave enough additional minutes that it comes to $0.35 per minute, but I still had over a 1000 minutes from the last time I renewed, so it seemed silly to pay $100.

Obviously, one can talk more often than I do to still have a great deal, as your example proves.

I have found my coverage to be as good as AT&T in my area (because I know someone with it), but I had better coverage with Verizon before. The thing is, 2 months with Verizon cost me more than T-Mobile for a year, and most of the time, the difference in coverage has not mattered. If I go hiking away from town, I have had areas where T-Mobile does not give me a signal where I had one with Verizon, but with some of my hiking, there is no signal from anyone.

 

[Rickster71]

That reminds me, speaking of signal and reception.
My smart phone gets a good signal in places where my flip phone wouldn't even ring.

 

[j_garcia]

Send them a letter back saying your payments won't be working for them much longer

 

[BMXTRIX]

I rocked the RAZR for years. My upgrade from it was the iPhone 4S, which I guess is a bit over 2 years old now. So, not that long ago I was using the same.

It also had the battery issue, so I ended up jumping on eBay and found a extended life battery and bought a new battery cover which matched. My main reason for the switch to the iPhone was my happiness with my iPod Touch. The ability to get email, maps, etc. anywhere really sold it to me, nothing else and then Verizon got the iPhone and that was that.

I'm also a big proponent of staying away from Sprint and recommend others to do the same for a similar screwing over by them.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I'm also a big proponent of staying away from Sprint and recommend others to do the same for a similar screwing over by them.

Why da-f nobody listens to me? I said Ting, not sprint. Ting does use Sprint network, but you not dealing with Sprint but with Ting Customer service.

Ting has wholesale agreement with Sprint and they legally running THEIR OWN service on sprint network.

If your local coverage is good, then forget about any issues you or any one here, had with SPRINT customer [dis]service directly.

I would never recommend going to Sprint directly as their plans is extremely overpriced if you don't need much.

 

[j_garcia]

I had a RAZR for about a year and it broke. Then I went to some LG touchscreen dumb phone - looked smart but wasn't, but that gave me enough comfort with that form of phone to go to a DroidX and I could not have been happier. Had I not dropped it and damaged the screen after almost 5 yrs, I would still be using it. I actually like my S4 a more than the DroidX though.

 

[Hi Ho]

I bought A Moto X during their cyber monday off contract promotion. I was sick and tired of Samsung bloatware on my Galaxy SIII and the custom ROMS just weren't stable enough. I LOVE my Moto X! Absolutely the best phone I have ever owned. Anyone thinking of upgrading their phone should not overlook the Moto X. This is the first time I have ever paid full price for a phone off contract and I have no regrets. Touchless control, driving assist, active notifications, battery life, and the overall design are all awesome. I can get through two full days of moderate use without charging and even heavy use (5+ hours screen on time) doesn't kill it before the day is over. Pure android is THE way to go if you're looking for an Android phone. No more of this TouchWiz, HTC Sense, or Optimus UI please.

 

[lsiberian]

I bought A Moto X during their cyber monday off contract promotion. I was sick and tired of Samsung bloatware on my Galaxy SIII and the custom ROMS just weren't stable enough. I LOVE my Moto X!

How long until it stops working? I've never had a Moto that lasted the 2 year contract.

 

[Hi Ho]

The Moto X is the first phone fully designed since Google bought them. Past products don't concern me. I have a warranty and insurance. Every smart phone I've owned has had to be replaced under warranty at least once.

 

[Nemo128]

I use GoPhone. I buy 1000 minute cards for <$80, comes out to less than 8c a minute. I buy whatever decent phone is available when I want. I'm eyeing the Moto G right now to replace my Samsung Exhibit II. I don't have a data plan. I use wifi everywhere provided by my ISP. I also use GVPhone or GrooveIP apps to make VoIP calls for free over wifi. In total, spend $78-80 a year on phone service with free text messaging (that I receive once I'm back on wifi) and unlimited data (when I'm within my ISP's wifi network).

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The real problem with the smart phone deal is the size and battery life. Guys at work have those things laying about on chargers. I have no idea how they manage to ever keep them on their person. The Galaxy deals are so big that they don't really fit into any pocket which is cool because many, many, many men in Boston needed an excuse to carry purses anyways. nttawwt

Battery life is what kills me. I am on my phone all day either emailing, texting or talking. 99% is work related and I couldn't do my job without a smart phone. I am lucky if I can make it to noon on one battery. I am fine since adding a Mophie but that added another $100 to the cost of my phone. I don't have to pay for the service plan and never have but still....