# Opinions on cell phones



## oldman

My wife and I are considering changing our cell phones and our plan. Right now, we have the old style flip phones. All we do is make phone calls and text. We were looking to get 'smart' phones and also upgrade our plan. The new phones are really nice and are being offered free. As of today, we pay about $114.00 per month for our plan, which gives us unlimited talk and text. Because we don't download movies or games, which we do on our tablets, I really don't see a need to pay the extra money for a new plan. The new plan would cost us $145.00 per month. These numbers are with all the taxes, fees, etc. included. 

I think my wife and I are getting tired of hearing our kids and Grandchildren tell us how "old school" we are and that we need to throw away our flip phones and get into the 21st century. I tell them that being old school is great. BTW, we have Verizon as our carrier. 

Any thoughts?


----------



## SifuPhil

Have you checked out Consumer Cellular? They have a good rep, have smart phones available for decent prices and their plans are dirt cheap. I was going to go with them myself, but I wouldn't be able to use the phone I had just bought with their service. If I were looking for a new phone I'd definitely go with them.


----------



## oldman

Good idea. Thanks.


----------



## Son_of_Perdition

SifuPhil said:


> Have you checked out Consumer Cellular? They have a good rep, have smart phones available for decent prices and their plans are dirt cheap. I was going to go with them myself, but I wouldn't be able to use the phone I had just bought with their service. If I were looking for a new phone I'd definitely go with them.



I have had Consumer Cell for 3 years and love the options.  My wife texts and calls but I only call,  You buy your phones at Sears and sign up there.  Our plan is 2 phones 600 minutes/1000 texts costing $38.58 with our AARP discount.  You can change the minutes and texts as needed with no long term contract.   I was paying $135+ with a major provider and 3 phones.


----------



## SifuPhil

Son_of_Perdition said:


> I have had Consumer Cell for 3 years and love the options.  My wife texts and calls but I only call,  You buy your phones at Sears and sign up there.  Our plan is 600 minutes/1000 texts costing $38.48 with our AARP discount.  You can change the minutes and texts as needed with no long term contract.  I up or lower my minutes at will.  I was paying $135+ with a major provider and 3 phones.



I guess that the - what? - $12/mn. option is just for a few calls a month, then? I've forgotten what their plans were when I looked at them a few months ago. 

I just know that for the limited usage I put my phone to (mainly as a two-part authorization for certain websites), $55/mn. seems a little high. When I get a few spare bucks I'll probably shift over to CC.


----------



## Son_of_Perdition

Sorry Phil, I was making my OCD changes to my original response when you quoted me.  I was looking up our actual monthly charges and wanted to clarify that I only had 2 phones rather than 3.  I then changed the context to my lame liking.  Sorry.


----------



## ClassicRockr

We had "flip" phones up until last year, when our renewal became available thru Verizon. My wife talked me into us getting iPhones (4s) for a very low price ($200 for both of them). We will NEVER go back to a regular cell phone! We love what our iPhones can do! We thought about changing cell phone carriers, but then found out they couldn't guarantee the coverage (our apartment to wife's work) like Verizon does. There's an old saying that goes, "cheaper doesn't always mean better" and we have found that to be true a few times. So, we stick with Verizon. Actually, we use our iPhones for driving directions instead of our GPS. Our GPS doesn't get Internet updates, like our iPhones do. Seven years ago, we got rid of our Landline b/c we just didn't need it anymore. When we go to bed, we put our cells on "Vibrate" and turn off. It's nice not to get woke up in the middle of the night with a "I'm sorry, I got the wrong number". If there's a family emergency, we'll find out about the next day. We live States away from family anyway. 


Actually I kid with the younger generation and say "we are Seniors and have iPhones"........they are either shocked or say "cool".


----------



## Denise1952

oldman said:


> My wife and I are considering changing our cell phones and our plan. Right now, we have the old style flip phones. All we do is make phone calls and text. We were looking to get 'smart' phones and also upgrade our plan. The new phones are really nice and are being offered free. As of today, we pay about $114.00 per month for our plan, which gives us unlimited talk and text. Because we don't download movies or games, which we do on our tablets, I really don't see a need to pay the extra money for a new plan. The new plan would cost us $145.00 per month. These numbers are with all the taxes, fees, etc. included.
> 
> I think my wife and I are getting tired of hearing our kids and Grandchildren tell us how "old school" we are and that we need to throw away our flip phones and get into the 21st century. I tell them that being old school is great. BTW, we have Verizon as our carrier.
> 
> Any thoughts?



My flip-phone works fine for me as all I do is phone-calls.  My neighbors have every gadget there is, and after a time, they just sort of get tired of it all.  Lots of stuff just lays around not being used anymore.  Phones are always used, but unless you want to spend that much money, first of all, and it would be practical for you and your wife to have "new technology", or fun.  I think it's a personal decision.  I can't say I wouldn't have more if I had more to spend.  But it is good to know I can be just fine with a pay-as-I-go flip phone (mines the gophone plan with At&t)denise


----------



## Lon

Although I consider my self to be Computer Literate and have a PC and I Pad, I am cell phone stupid. I have no need  or desire to constantly text or be on a cell as some folks seem to enjoy. I have a cell to make an receive calls and that's all I want it for. I spend on average 200 minutes a month and spend $30 monthly.


----------



## Mirabilis

Lon said:


> Although I consider my self to be Computer Literate and have a PC and I Pad, I am cell phone stupid. I have no need  or desire to constantly text or be on a cell as some folks seem to enjoy. I have a cell to make an receive calls and that's all I want it for. I spend on average 200 minutes a month and spend $30 monthly.


I'm in this category too lol.  I actually switched from an android to an old-fahioned qwerty because it is easier to text but I rarely use it.


----------



## Meanderer

View attachment 8734


----------



## rkunsaw

We use our phones for both making and receiving calls. I also look at mine to see the date and time. No need for a watch anymore. I have no need or desire to do anything else with a telephone.


----------



## zogburr

Go to greatcall.com and view their phones for seniors.   They advertise in the AARP magazine and have a good reputation.   We have their newish flip phone called the Jitterbug5 which we use for calls and texting.   The phone is made by Samsung and is of high quality.   They also have the Touch 2 Android phone.   There are no contracts and you can cancel at any time.  Seems to be a good company.


----------



## SifuPhil

One thing I've noticed with several of these low-cost companies is that while their _calling_ plans may be inexpensive, they charge an arm and a leg for their _phones_. 

If you're looking into these plans you might also want to investigate whether they allow you to bring your own phone to their service, and then purchase the phone from Amazon or eBay or some such place. I've seen hundreds of dollars in cost differences when you do this, especially with the higher-end phones.


----------



## Falcon

I've had Virgin phones as long as I've had a cell phone.  Make and/or take calls only.  No contract and $35/mo.

I can see no use for texting ANYBODY.


----------



## Lon

After considerable nagging from daughter, grand children and others to get an I Phone, I have done so with AT & T as well as cable TV and Internet. The I Phone will be my only phone. I have been using computers since the early 70's and it has been a real task to learn all the features of the I Phone, but so far, Im lovin it.


----------



## SeaBreeze

No advice here, just have an old model flip phone from Tracphone, haven't had any others to compare it too.  Only need it for emergencies or short contact with my husband, no camera, internet capabilities, etc.  Not a big talker, and definitely not tied at all to my cell like some others are.


----------



## oldman

Lon said:


> After considerable nagging from daughter, grand children and others to get an I Phone, I have done so with AT & T as well as cable TV and Internet. The I Phone will be my only phone. I have been using computers since the early 70's and it has been a real task to learn all the features of the I Phone, but so far, Im lovin it.



I caved too. I got a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. I have been working with it to get up to speed with all of the features. Verizon charged me $1.00 for the phone and sent me an on-line tutorial in .pdf form. Like you said, so far, it has been a lot of fun playing with all of the features. I wished that I would have had this phone when I worked. My company gave all of their pilots iPhones, but I only used it to send and receive calls and listen to voice mails.


----------



## ClassicRockr

One thing to *ALWAYS* remember folks, when it comes to cell phone service companies........make sure the company will guarantee that you can call and receive calls from inside your home. It's not fun having to go outside in undesirable weather to get or make a call. The old saying "cheaper doesn't always mean better" can definitely go with cell phone service companies. We have been with Verizon for 7 years and I don't ever have a problem getting a call from my wife at her work or calling her. Two years ago, we gave it some thought about switching from Verizon to Metro PCS, but they wouldn't/couldn't guarantee the phone coverage/range. Didn't want to stop Verizon and go with them and have "coverage" problems. Verizon isn't cheap, but is reliable for coverage.


----------



## Grumpy Ol' Man

My wife and I have AT&T.  She had a flip phone with Verizon for a few years.  Our daughter had a family plan with Verizon and added my wife at $10/month.  The daughter and her family dumped Verizon so we had to do something else.
I am required to have a smart phone with data plan for work.  The firm pays me a healthy stipend that used to cover most of my approximately $110/month phone bill.  I have had AT&T for over 10 years and have good coverage anywhere I go.  When we went to the local AT&T store to get my wife a phone and add her to my account, we lucked into a great sales rep.  He sold us a smart phone for her for $79.95.  Then, he manipulated my account to where both phones, unlimited talk and texts, and 1 gb of data cost us $75.00/month.  
Both our phones are Android operating systems.  Neither one of us will ever utilize all the features available.  

I still say that the day I retire I will go toss my cell phone in the closest lake and never be tempted to have one again.  (I know I won't.  If nothing else, they are great for emergency situations.)


----------



## Jackie22

I've had an I Phone 4 for a while now and love it, I'm on my granddaughters AT&T plan for $10 a month, I'm planning on upgrading to the 5S, just as soon as they come down in price which should be very soon with the 6S coming out very soon. I really like texting too....now, I need to let the land line go.


----------



## LogicsHere

I wouldn't care how "old school" anyone tried to tell me I was. Smart phones are a complete waste of money especially if you have an internet connection at home. My TracFone cost me $50 when I bought it and I spend $105 a year for 800 minutes.  I don't need to be connected to the world 24 hours a day. At $145 a month annually that makes up 3 maintenance payments on my co-op. My tv/internet/phone bundle provides free Wi-Fi so I'm good.

I'm the same way with my tv and my computer monitor. I'm still using a traditional tube tv from 1999 because it still works and my computer monitor is one of the 40-50 lb crts, but it too works.  Will not buy new ones until I absolutely have to.  I know that doesn't help the economy right now, but when I do need to spend the money, it will be there for me to spend.


----------



## ClassicRockr

Just depends on what a person wants......some "high tech" stuff or staying "old school". For a few things, wife and I still go by "old school", but when it comes to the electronic stuff we have, it's "high tech" for us. I didn't think to highly of getting a couple of Smart Phones (one for each of us), until after we got them. Being able to get on the Internet ANYWHERE is pretty darn cool. Seeing how my favorite PGA golfer is doing at a Championship by going to my PGA App is cool. Having the BR (Bleacher Report) App is cool as well. 

For those that don't want this type of phone or other "high tech" stuff, that's completely up to them, but I sure wouldn't say anything bad about those who like that stuff!

As always, IMO........LOL!



LogicsHere said:


> I wouldn't care how "old school" anyone tried to tell me I was. Smart phones are a complete waste of money especially if you have an internet connection at home. My TracFone cost me $50 when I bought it and I spend $105 a year for 800 minutes.  I don't need to be connected to the world 24 hours a day. At $145 a month annually that makes up 3 maintenance payments on my co-op. My tv/internet/phone bundle provides free Wi-Fi so I'm good.
> 
> I'm the same way with my tv and my computer monitor. I'm still using a traditional tube tv from 1999 because it still works and my computer monitor is one of the 40-50 lb crts, but it too works.  Will not buy new ones until I absolutely have to.  I know that doesn't help the economy right now, but when I do need to spend the money, it will be there for me to spend.


----------



## Jackie22

I agree, ClassicRockr, I enjoy the maps and GPS also keeping up with the weather and stock market, being able to read my books anywhere....and listening to Pandora radio.


----------



## Meanderer

SeaBreeze said:


> No advice here, just have an old model flip phone from Tracphone, haven't had any others to compare it too.  Only need it for emergencies or short contact with my husband, no camera, internet capabilities, etc.  Not a big talker, and definitely not tied at all to my cell like some others are.


You are in good company!

View attachment 9767


----------



## Vala

I got my first cell after putting my husband in a care home so the home could be in contact with me.   I signed up for T Moble to go online and got a $135. flip phone for $35..  I buy 1000 minutes once a year which averages around $8 a month.  Most people can't use a service like this but I don't use the phone very often.  I did carry it in my right pocket for 3 1/2 years as a life line in case I fell.   Then I had cancer in the right kidney.   Then I got a land line and don't carry the cell except for trips.

My opinion of the is they are dangerous to your health.  Read the safety warnings in your manual.


----------

