Smart Phone Questions

[NeilV]

I hate carrying a cellphone, and I have never texted. I am reluctantly thinking that at some point I need to take the plunge and get a smart phone with a data plan. Are there any tech savy beekeepers out there who have any advice about what phone/plans I should get. If I'm going to do this, I'd like a good phone with a decent plan for a decent price. I'm all ears.

[Barry]

I like the iPhone since I'm a Mac guy. Integrates well with my laptop. I hate AT&T, but since the phone was free and it was an AT&T service phone, I didn't have a choice. Seems like Verizon has better service. I spend right around $100 per month. There are no decent plans. They're all obscene!

[Mbeck]

+1 for the iPhone . I added free mobile to mobile and use very few minutes.

[Barry]

I get free M to M and unused minutes roll over to next month. Since most of my calls are to other cell phones, the voice part of the package price is nothing. Your data plan is where the cost is.

[jim lyon]

I love my iPhone and Verizon service but all things equal sounds like the droids are every bit their equal. Like Barry, I am a Mac guy and the phone integrates so well with my desk top and iPad. The people that write those plans have figured a way to wring every last penny out of you though. I pay $280 a month for a 3 phone family plan with unlimited data and 10 times more free minutes than you ever use. If you go with a smaller plan they just charge you more for data and you can end up paying even more. Then there are the free upgrades you are eligible for. Translation: sign here and we've got you locked in for 2 more years.

[Barry]

I am a Mac guy

I just knew it!

[odfrank]

If you don't like cellphones and don't text why take the plunge? Sit in a chair and watch your bees, and keep a simple cheap phone and plan. .
I need a smart phone for business because everybody wants to email these days. My daughters communicate with texts.
I was with Nextel and had a Blackberry with Direct Connect, but Sprint is closing down Nextel so I tried a Motorola Admiral with Direct connect. It was a poor phone so I went with a Samsung Galaxy III with no Direct Connect. It will wash the dishes and launder my underwear but is a slow learning curve to learn all of that. Some say it is the Android competition to Iphone. We pay $250+ a month for two smartphones and three phones on Sprint's unlimited family data plan. But as has been said, cellphone carriers are the rapists of the business world along with Comcast cable, ATT and the oil companies. I might soon add Google to this list. So wear three underwears, a padlocked chain for your belt, and don't turn your back or bend over at the cellphone store. The business reps at Sprint are some of the biggest liars I have dealt with in my 40+ years in business.

[ScubaMark]

Not the biggest fan of iPhone. The technology and quality is great, but the prices are insanely high. I use a Straight Talk No-Contract Android. $45/month Unlimited Text, Talk, & Internet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK_SZEGy8Dg While you can use any smartphone you can find that will take an AT&T SIM, you can pick up the Samsung Galaxy on eBay for about $100.

[MacNachtan]

I have an LG Optimus IV phone with the Android operating system through Virgin Mobile. I pay $25 per month and get 300 anytime minutes and unlimited text and data. No contract. Service is good where I live and fine just about everywhere I visit, even my parents' house in the mountains of Central PA. Virgin mobile piggybacks on the Sprint network. I think the starting rate for my plan is more like $30 per month now (I got grandfathered in). You pay for the phone up-front, but don't get screwed on a contract.

[Beecher]

I hate carrying a cellphone, and I have never texted. I am reluctantly thinking that at some point I need to take the plunge and get a smart phone with a data plan. Are there any tech savy beekeepers out there who have any advice about what phone/plans I should get. If I'm going to do this, I'd like a good phone with a decent plan for a decent price. I'm all ears.

I am in a pretty similar situation as you. I am not very interested in having a smart phone, but I feel like I need to get with the times and get one. I have had a flip phone that works well for making calls, but it cannot access the internet like smartphones do. I have begun to look into different types of smartphones and plans, but I am confused with all of the options available and not sure how much data I should get with the plan. What did you end up going with? Do you have any suggestions for phones and plans for a first time smart phone buyer? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[odfrank]

I get more and more disillusioned with my Samsung Galaxy III. The physical handling of it is pathetically difficult. It will wash the dishes and fold your laundry but to make a phone call you have to make four motions. Even answering a call is hard. The buttons and touch screen are so sensitive that you 100 times a day get taken to the wrong screen or wrong place. I tried handing it to a person three times to take a picture once I had it ready, and with each handoff the screen went blank. We gave up. Yesterday my daughter who has an iphone took it from me in the car to use Telenav, and again each time she handled it the program closed down. I downloaded YELP who promptly used my contact list to propose numerous YELP friends to me. All this Google stuff is incredibly invasive of your privacy and raids your phone for your personal information. Google placed photos of my contacts on the Google contact list, and some of those folks don't even know how their photo got on the internet. SCARY

[Barry]

So what did you end up getting Neil?