Most affordable cell phone and plan?

ezbtr

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I think my co. Bberry is cancelled? Looked at a bunch of phones, just want a durable phone that can text(I dont text that much) and call, maybe basic internet, nothing fancy - already have AT&T at home for internet and CATV, I may contact them for a discount
 

southkogs

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Hey Heinz - for an individual plan, even Verizon is offering some attractive options. When you get into multiple users it becomes more complicated. The wife and I wound up going on the Straight Talk pre-pay stuff. It's worked very well for us so far.
 

bruceb58

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If you are doing a family plan, T-Mobile is the best.You need to check the coverage.

If it's just one phone, Straight Talk. $45/month.

if you want a basic phone that is unlocked and you can bring to a GSM plan, these aren't bad. Lady in my office has one:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...eywords=moto+g

Just so you know, any plan with a contract that i selling you a more expensive phone for a lot less money, You are actually paying the full cost of the phone over time and actually paying way more for the phone in the long run. Way better paying more and getting an unlocked phone that you can take anywhere.
 
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rogerwa

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Amazon is selling their Fire phone right now for something like $230. This is a fully functional smartphone and it comes unlocked with a free year of Amazon Prime (accounting for the $99 prime membership the phone price is only $130). Use this with a Net10 Wireless ($45/mo unlimited talk text and 3 gb LTE) with the AT&T sim could be a good deal..

FYI, Straighttalk and Net10 are essentially the same except ST is only offered via Walmart. They are both offered by Tracfone.
 
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ezbtr

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went with AT&T again, swapped good working Bberry, got unltd text, calls and data for $45 a month, at least didnt have to pay for a new phone, plus already had protective case, car and USB chargers, etc :)
 
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sublauxation

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I got a cheap $40 3G prepaid smart phone(LG brand) from Target that does more than I'll ever need. I pay $40/month with unlimited text and calling and by setting up autopay I get GB of data.
 

MTboatguy

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I just picked up a Nokia Lumia 635 for $69 at Walmart and just bought a $25 prepaid card from Att, 250 minutes, free texts, when I have had it 6 months I can take it anywhere and get a plan.
 

bruceb58

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Actually it is pretty nice, I was hesitant, but after using it a few days, I like it, lots of features and really easy to learn.

I heard it's biggest drawback is number of apps but for me, I don't use a lot of apps anyway so probably not a big deal. It likely has all the apps that I actually use.
 

MTboatguy

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I guess it depends on what apps you are using, I know MS has been making new apps available for it, and this one actually has quite a few included already. I don't use a lot of apps so it really is not a big deal for me. I liked the fact that I could use the phone with other services after a certain amount of time, we have a company that sells a 2000 minute talk plan and free text for $80 bucks a year, which when we are not traveling is way more than enough for us.
 

bruceb58

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Yeah, I just looked at there are a few apps I use a lot that aren't offered. Thees are Strava(hiking biking), dropbox(I can't believe they don't have that yet) and my remote thermostat app.

I take it you have a GSM phone right?
 
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aspeck

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Call me old school, but I wish I could go back to JUST A PHONE ... no camera, I already have one of those ... no texting (did you see they now have texting that you can add voice to ... oh my, wouldn't it be better to just CALL! UGH! Call and talk to me, let me hear your voice!) ... no data ... I have an ipad for wifi use, a laptop, and a desk top. When I am out of the office I really do not want to get emails and use up my time surfing the web, I want to be with people! ... just give me a phone that I can make and receive calls, period!
 

bruceb58

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I use text messaging all the time but it is not to have conversations. Most texts are that I am on my way or to send an address or things like that. I also get a lot of texts that are automated that packages have been delivered or other types of alerts.
 

bassman284

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Call me old school, but I wish I could go back to JUST A PHONE ... no camera, I already have one of those ... no texting (did you see they now have texting that you can add voice to ... oh my, wouldn't it be better to just CALL! UGH! Call and talk to me, let me hear your voice!) ... no data ... I have an ipad for wifi use, a laptop, and a desk top. When I am out of the office I really do not want to get emails and use up my time surfing the web, I want to be with people! ... just give me a phone that I can make and receive calls, period!
I've got one of those. Well sort of. It's an Alcatel 510A. You could text or surf with it I guess, but you wouldn't want to. I use GoPhone.
 

bruceb58

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I have the Google Nexus 5. Hard to find now but at a little over $300 for an unlocked full featured phone that is the first to get the Android updates, it is hard to beat. I also not sure if I would ever get a phone that doesn't have wireless charging. Just lay the phone on the charger.
 

thumpar

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The one thing I have seen with the Windows phones is that they are the best integrating in to an Exchange server. I have an iPhone and love it but they are spendy. We have Sprint with 3 iPhones. We pay almost $200 for unlimited everything. I use a lot of data as a tech so the unlimited data is needed.
 

bruceb58

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I have 2 exchange servers that I log into. Easy on both Android an iOS.
 

thumpar

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I have 2 exchange servers that I log into. Easy on both Android an iOS.
I have used both also. On the android I found that unless you have an app like Touchdown it can be hard to work with. On iOS is is not bad. The Windows phone was the easiest and had the best interface to work with exchange though. Other than that I am not a fan of the phone because of the limited support by the major app makers. I know there are apps out there but not as many as the android and iphone have.

A credit union I do work for is in the process of getting a mobile app developed. They were asked what platforms they wanted to support and passed on the windows phone support. One of the main reasons is they don't even have an available windows phone to test with.
 
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