Smartphones

Arbitrary_sl said:

I've yet to ever own a smartphone but this Spring I've decided it's time to join the modern age. I don't have any idea what I'm doing and am hoping some of you more tech savvy individuals can assist me. I am only interested in two things -

1. Price
2. Can search eBay good

I don't care about camera or video or games or any of that. I want to be able to have a means with which to look something up on eBay and I don't want to take it in the butt to do so. My current cellphone is a little prepaid tracfone that doesn't even come close to using the amount of minutes I get per 90 day card. Any assistance would be appreciated.

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i'm a smartphone/phone hater, i fucking hate all these people walking around like little borgs and it especially drives me nuts when everyone is videotaping a concert or sunset or whatever instead of just enjoying it. I had a flipphone until this year, just in the car for emergencies, i probably talk on a mobile less than 5 minutes a month and almost never text.

i did finally break down and get a smartphone this year, i suggest ringplus if you are a cheap bastard.RingPlus Mobile

you need to find a cheap-ass sprint cdma phone, i bought a bunch of Kyocera Hydro's at Target when they were on sale for $10 each. Once every 2-3 months ringplus offers the free plan, its 100 mins/100 SMSs/50MB of data month, totally free. Outside of that free plan they have other limited plans from $2-20/mo. They do piggyback off the sprint network and their uptime isn't anywhere near 100%, so I wouldn't recommend it for business or anything like that. Remember when you are at home or practically any business area you can jump onto free Wifi for data, so data usage can be kept nearly 0 unless you wander out in the countryside a lot.

Freedompop and Ting are similar services. They are all "virtual" mobile companies that run off the big guys networks (Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mo) and you generally need to bring your own phone to it, but you can buy cheap ass older android smartphones off ebay or new in stores and pay almost nothing per month.

Deathwing_sl said:

Curious, how can a phone be "antennae ready" but not "frequency ready"? I thought those two were intrinsically linked.

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Just presuming that from what some people said earlier in the thread, could have misunderstood - the whole thing is not something I claim expertise in.

LachiusTZ_sl said:

My only real concern is this HTC One M8 I just bought, at Sprint, can't be used if I want to go to att or verizon. I have 12 more days were I can return it, with no questions, for a full refund. So, after reading the last few pages, should I go buy one on Amazon etc, return this one, and have the third party one activated?

Also, the guy at the store had maybe 20 Framily IDs written down, so I was able to jump on one as the 8th person. But fuck me if I want a phone I can't use anywhere else... Makes the whole "no contract" thing pointless.

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The phone will indeed be locked to Sprint. Unless you want to stay with them as a provider, you may want to return the phone.

You can't just buy a 3rd party phone and have it activated on Sprint through that framily plan. They have a database of phones that are OK to be activated on their network, and there is no way you're going to be bringing an outside phone to them. Same goes with Verizon.

All this talk about Sprint, works out well considering my very much not tech savvy mother just purchased a Sprint iPhone off Craigslist, and is confused why she can't get it to work on Walmart's (TMo) $40 unlimited plan.

The dude that sold it to her gave her just enough information to be dangerous, and told her about unlocking it. However, unlocking it, would only allow it to be activated on Verizon, the only other CDMA network, correct?

She's adamant about using the Walmart (TMo) $40 unlimited plan, because that's the same price she's paying now for their dumb phones, and she wants to get into this whole smartphone thing.

I'm on Verizon, and she is just "shocked" at the $160 a month that my wife and I pay for our Verizon service. She just couldn't do that.

So I ask, what are my options for her? I told her to re-sell the iPhone for a profit, and start over getting an iPhone (has to be iPhone) that's right for the network she wants to be on... Tmobile. Any other options she has?

LachiusTZ_sl said:

So, what I am looking for does not exist... Fuck it then, I'll stick with it.

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Correct, as it stands right now - even the Google Play edition M8 won't work with Sprint - just T-Mo and AT&T. Now if you're not tied to the M8 (although I can't blame you if you are, it is the best phone out there IMO - people that say GS5 is better are just flat out wrong IMO) I'd check into it, but Ibelievethe Google Play edition of the Nexus 5 will work on Sprint plus the others - just not VZW.

Nexus 5 will work with every major US carrier but Verizon | News | TechRadar

I definitely consider the M8 worth being tied down to Sprint (especially if the T-Mo buyout happens - Sprint will be a very cost effective network that's fricking huge if so) - but the Nexus 5 does fit the bill for being able to hop networks.

Crone_sl said:

All this talk about Sprint, works out well considering my very much not tech savvy mother just purchased a Sprint iPhone off Craigslist, and is confused why she can't get it to work on Walmart's (TMo) $40 unlimited plan.

The dude that sold it to her gave her just enough information to be dangerous, and told her about unlocking it. However, unlocking it, would only allow it to be activated on Verizon, the only other CDMA network, correct?

She's adamant about using the Walmart (TMo) $40 unlimited plan, because that's the same price she's paying now for their dumb phones, and she wants to get into this whole smartphone thing.

I'm on Verizon, and she is just "shocked" at the $160 a month that my wife and I pay for our Verizon service. She just couldn't do that.

So I ask, what are my options for her? I told her to re-sell the iPhone for a profit, and start over getting an iPhone (has to be iPhone) that's right for the network she wants to be on... Tmobile. Any other options she has?

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You cant unlock anything from CDMA to CDMA network (sprint <-> verizon) - I do not know much about iPhone models, but if its a world phone then it has GSM, just what bands etc of it I do not know- and that effects compatability with domestic plans etc

quick articleHow international is the iPhone 4S 'world phone?' | Macworld

My Pre 3 from verizon was a world phone CDMA+GSM, but its sim was locked into Vodaphone (verizon's global partner) I could unlock it- if I did then the sim slot now works with whomever I put in there, not just vodaphone as it would when locked. However the Pre3 did not have complete domestic fewq's of GSM.

There are many forums etc. out there that explain it all way better than I can- and also have listings of all the freqencys etc that each carrier uses and what phones have what etc.

so... if that iphone she bought was a verizon iphone, that is also a world phone, that also has had its sim unlocked you can then place it on the tmobo prepay plan - service quality not-withsanding as thats dependant on what bits and peices are inside for the antenna freqs etc etc.

Most "world phones" are really only meant to give you voice and maybe some 2g/3g data while outside of where the phone was meant to be- thats why you end up with missing frequencys- and there are GSM frewqs we use over here not used elsewhere- so those would be only on the domestic variants of those phones etc.

BTW - Craig, if she decides to keep the phone - if she hopped on my Framily it would be $35/mo as an FYI. (And got another 4 supposedly joining so might be $25/mo soon)

Note that's before taxes/fees which are probably $7 or so on a single line though, but right now almost the same rate although her coverage area could be terrible for Sprint perhaps. So if she's willing to look at other no-contract options like that (Also she might want to look at Ting and the other Sprint affiliate posted earlier - pretty sure both can take iPhone 4) she might have a great rate sticking with it.

There's a TON of options with a Sprint model phone - even though the lack of transferring it around does suck - its not THAT limited.

Ya, it's an iPhone bought from Sprint. Original owner apparently swapped it out for a brand new one because of some warranty issue, and decided they didn't want an iPhone anymore. So the person is selling the brand new, still in plastic iPhone to my mother. It's an iPhone 5s.

I was thinking about the Framily stuff, and would be very easy to hop on someone's plan, and get all of the benefits, I just don't know if they feel comfortable doing that. I'll talk to her tonight.

Thanks!

Framily stuff is your own bill, no commitment to anything else - only thing is could be chaotic if people drop out of the plan (although if you find one at over 7 to join any fluxes between 7-10 don't effect the billed amount) - it sounds weird but there's really nothing to be uncomfortable about - the only downside is if the Framily suddenly drops a ton - but that seems likely to be a rare occurrence.

And Ting and other secondary carriers do use Sprint phones in case you missed that. (I think 5S as well, but I'm too lazy to delve too far on my own)

Wimax is almost literally long range wifi, and is almost exactly like cdma in its functionality and network control. The sprint controlled pay per month plans like boost used to not allow sprint phones on them, but that was like years ago... glad to see sprint rental companies are taking them, I wonder if they have a bad list also or if u could use some old bad esn phone on them.

meStevo_sl said:

So much for activating my BB Storm to do an Edge upgrade w/out giving up my Note 3... battery is kinda bulging outward and won't turn on.

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Verizon? - just get the storms ESN and do it online- once its in the system it will show that as your phone on your account- no actual need to turn the phone on etc lol and why would you give up your phone to do EDGE? the only time you have to do that is if you are doing another edge plan before you have paied off the full amount of the phone and you have to trade it in to pay off the remainder and start fresh. All EDGE really is, is a 0% installment plan and a implied 50% value for trade in at 1 year of your 2 year payoff plan. After the 24 payments you have paied the phone in full its yours.

Ahh the phone is under contract... okay... fine line there- as the contract is technically for the "line of service" not really the phone- but you are paying the subsity fee on the line, for the phone- I was off contract so I dont know about their rules and policy to going from a active contracted line to EDGE.

swap the line to the storm in the my verizon online thing- once your account then shows XXX phone/line is BlackBerry Storm - go to the verizon store and be like "I want to make this line XXX thats my BB storm EDGE" and see what happens if no go- just swap it back to your note3 and go about your day

meStevo_sl said:

Yeah, figure if I do it in person it probably needs to work, if that's the case I'll need to get my Nexus back to stock and do it w/ that. I could keep it but in the end it was a disappointment of a phone due to battery life and really don't care to keep it.

If I really cared I suppose I could order this -Amazon.com: BlackBerry D-X1 Battery for BlackBerry Storm 9530: Cell Phones Accessories

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indeed, usually it has to function for almost all forms of trade in... still give it a shot, if they in store are like 'why are you trading it in if its broken? did you just swap this phone?!" or other implyed thing (I really doubt they are going to look at device history- or can) just tell them that you left it in the sun in the car the other day and the battery did this (swelling) and thought now would be a good time to go ahead and upgrade!