Should I bother upgrading my dumb phone?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I haven’t upgraded my phone in about five years. I’ve got an LG VX-3800, and a pretty basic calling plan - unlimited talk and text for $60.00. The thing is, I hardly ever use my phone. I have no social life to speak of, and I don’t even get reception at work. And when I do use it, I’m almost always calling, not texting. I only recently added unlimited texting because I made some new friends who prefer to text, and it was costing me a bundle. Beyond that, I’ve got a 1-year-old who loves playing with my phone. I try to keep that to a minimum, but it’s handy to entertain him in a pinch, and if he breaks it, I’d rather it be one that’s cheap to replace.

On the other hand, if I had a smart phone, I’m sure I would use the hell out of it, if only for Googling stuff. I’m not particularly interested in an iPhone, but a Droid could be lots of fun. I’m just not sure that would be worth the price of a data plan.

So: should I upgrade now, or wait? If now, then to what? If wait, then when? And is there any point to upgrading to a smart phone without getting a data plan?

Go!

2

What carrier are you on? I know you said you aren’t interested in the iphone, but the 3GS is about to be free with contract, so you would just have the data plan there.

A smartphone is very handy to have with kids. If you are stuck with a wait that you know will go beyond the limits of their patience, you can pass it to them when they start to get too antsy and buy yourself some extra peace and quiet. There are plenty of educational games that are great for kids 2 and up. It’s also good for handling questions. When my daughter asked if fish could fly, I pulled up some pictures from Wikipedia and a video of flying fish on you tube. I’ve also used it to look up extra lyrics to bedtime song requests.

You could get by with just wifi and no data plan, but I think it is worth it. General internet access outside the home is a nice luxury, like the ability to check reviews and comparison shop while at the store. However Google Maps has saved my ass enough times on the road that I would rather not do without the data plan.

3

Also sounds like you aren’t shopping around much. PagePlus (Verizon reseller) is about $8/month for a dumb phone you don’t use much and $30/month for a smartphone.

4

I don’t know about blackberries or iPhones, but I bought my Android phone without upgrading my plan to include data (I have a long-discontinued-but-grandfathered-in “Basic” plan: 60 minutes for $19.99), over the big red warning messages that the phone required a data plan. Turns out, in order to just turn the thing on for the first time, you need a Gmail account (couldn’t even use my old pre-Gmail Google ID). You can’t skip that first prompt to log in.

Fortunately, they let me keep my cheap plan and just add data for $30. They also told me I could cancel the data after activating the phone and it would still work for talk and text, but I quickly learned that without a data connection, there’s not much point in having a smartphone in the first place.

5

If it helps perspective at all, my CTA unlimited ride pass is $86 a month. My smartphone with unlimited data plan is $86 a month. If I was really strapped and needed to cut one out of my monthly budget, I would sooner walk.

Access to all information at all times is invaluable to me.

6

I think it’s a good idea to upgrade to a smartphone if you can get one cheap or for free (which you can, with a contract). Even if you’re a casual phone-user, there’s still stuff like GPS and weather apps that are extremely handy for anybody. QWERTY keypads (or touchscreens!) are great, too. And it’s nice to have a phone that can play decent-sized games or browse the web, if you’re ever bored on a train or at work.

Even if you decide to stay with a dumbphone, I think you’re overpaying for what you’re using. If you aren’t still in a contract, you need to shop around. I’m paying about $38 a month for my current plan, which is 300 minutes + I forget how many texts. 300 or 500? Doesn’t matter, since I never use all of my texts or minutes. And I’m DAMN lucky to have that 300-minute plan, it’s an old one of T-mobile’s that I got grandfathered in. They don’t offer it anymore. It’s like 500 minutes, 1000, or unlimited now.

You could go pre-paid, if you truly don’t use your phone much. But I’m not educated enough to wax about pre-paid options. Also I don’t think there IS such a thing as a pre-paid smartphone. But I could be wrong.

If you decide you want a smartphone, and you’re willing to enter into a 2-year contract, you can get a free smartphone through pretty much any carrier, I think–not the latest model, but there still seem to be some decent options. I don’t know which has the best prices at the moment, though. T-mobile has been good to me, but since they’re being bought out by AT&T, I’m planning to let my contract expire. Then I’ll shop around for a free smartphone+2yr contract somewhere else.

If you still want a smartphone but DON’T want a contract, you could get one through Virgin Mobile. Their unlimited data+minutes+text = $55 a month, according to their website (that’s super cheap! T-mobile’s comparable smartphone plan appears to be $80). Of course, since there’s no contract, you have to pay upfront for the phone. But their lowest end smartphone is only $90 right now. It’s not the best smartphone out there, but it’s probably still better than yours or mine :slight_smile:

Virgin Mobile probably has the best setup for casual phone users (which you, like me, definitely sound like). No ETFs to worry about since there’s no contract. And I know my uncle went with Virgin phones for himself and my cousin over a year ago, and they both really seem to like them. I may quite possibly go with Virgin when my T-mobile contract expires (especially if their “unlimited everything” plan stays so cheap compared to the big dogs).

7

Oh, and I’m still looking around, because this thread got me all interested. It looks like Cricket also has some decent plans, they’re similar to Virgin’s no-contract setup. You can use a wider variety of phones with them, but there don’t appear to be as many plan options as far as talk minutes. Still, they’re worth a look (especially if you’re going to get unlimited minutes no matter which carrier you choose).

8

Verizon, since forever.

Yeah, I’m a little embarrassed that I tend to “set it and forget it”. I just checked my plan again, and I actually have their minimum voice minutes (450), but it might as well be unlimited, for me. That’s still $40, which is kind of sucky, but the real problem is that I really did have unlimited text minutes for $20, rather than the minimum of 250 for $5. Switching that now. I swear, though, that when I made the switch a couple of months ago, I chose the lowest-price option for everything. Or maybe I was on crack; it happens.

Yeah, that’s what I figured. I thought there was a chance I was missing something non-web-related that was really cool, but no. So I’m only upgrading if I actually want a data plan.

Oh, me too. Thing is, I’m almost always at work or at home. And I don’t even get reception at work. But I do emerge from my cave now and then, and it would be nice to have the internets. I just don’t know if it would be nice enough to be worth the cost.

Indeed.

So my next question is, if I decide to upgrade, how much data do I need for this to be worthwhile? If stay with Verizon, for example, my options for data are:

  • pay-as-you-go for $1.99/MB
  • 75MB for $10
  • 2GB for $30
  • 5G for $50
  • 10GB for $80

I’d automatically take the lowest-price option, but since my current usage is 0MB, I’m not sure what I can actually do with 75MB. Would using Google Maps or Wikipedia for ten minutes just eat that up? If I’ll need even 2GB for it to be worthwhile, I might just go with Virgin.

Hmm.

9

According to my usage history, I rarely use above 800MB a month. I don’t do a whole lot of streaming video or music, but it was $5 difference to limit myself to 2GB so figured it’s worth it in case I suddenly want to watch Netflix in bed. I use Internet every day, for sure. Posting from phone right now. For you, maybe try the 75MB if the penalty for going over isn’t bad. Like my carrier charges $10 if you go over the 2GB limit, and give you an extra 1GB for that $10. You can always upgrade or downgrade your plan once you figure out your average.

10

Weird, I was just talking offline w/ another doper about how glad I am I just upgraded to an iPhone and 1 minute later here’s this thread. BTW, he’s in total agreement. Screen resolution, better camera, cool apps like weather w/ doppler, flashlight, CNN live, the maps, surfing, bigger keyboard, etc.

Generally, I HATE cellphones. But this is so much more.

11

Also keep in mind the downside to switching to a smartphone. I’ve seen friends, former roommates, and even my husband switch to a phone that is basically a computer and get sucked out of life and into their phones. I have to remind my husband when we reach our stop on the train now because he is so immersed in playing angry birds that he’d practically end up out of state before he realized he missed his stop. Years ago I had a roommate that upgraded to a blackberry from a dumb phone and stopped showering because that shower was 15 minutes of time she could have been on her blackberry doing entertaining stuff. I finally had to hide her phone from her and make her bathe.

If you don’t get sucked into computer games and such it might be a fine purchase. If you can’t walk away from Farmville without worrying about who will feed your virtual cows then the phone is the equivalent of buying a crack pipe.

12

Yeah, that could legitimately be a problem. Not for Farmville, but my husband just might divorce me if I spent any more time on the Dope. Which I certainly would.

13

What carrier lets you buy a smartphone without a data plan???

I mean, short of purchasing an unlocked one at many times the initial cost.

If you’re going to go just with wi-fi, then get an iPod Touch.

14

Just remember a ‘free’ phone that needs a $30/month data plan for the next two years actually costs $720.

Now maybe you understand why the cell phone companies give them away.

15

I agree with this suggestion. And the OP mentions that she’s spending sixty bucks a month on the current dumb phone. That’s a lot. My brother is really frugal, so I think he got a prepaid phone from T-Mobile for my nephew. It’s actually a smartphone, but they buy something like 1,000 minutes for a hundred bucks and since my nephew uses it minimally for calls, that lasts for months.

Also check if you can get a discount on the cell phone bill through your employer. I’m getting a twenty percent discount on mine.

16

Yeah I get a group discount through my company, as well. It fluctuates based on how many T-mobile customers work where I work in a given month, but is usually around 10%. I had to re-up my contract to take advantage of it, though, so be careful to read the fine print.

17

I agree with those who say your current plan sounds very expensive for what you get, and will be even more so if you upgrade and add data.

You could port your phone number over to Virgin Mobile, get on their $35 a month plan that gives you 300 minutes talk time a month and unlimited text and data, and buy one of their smart phones. This plan should be more than enough talk time for you. If I were buying a new smart phone with Virgin Mobile, I’d want the Motorola Triumph, though their LG Optimus V is very good, and more within my budget. I currently have the almost-smart LG Rumor Touch, which is adequate for basic Web surfing, using Google Maps, and the like.

18

+1 to you getting boned on your phone deal. I have a sweet deal for a dumbphone w/ unlimited text, but I don’t think a smartphone is worth it unless same price as current deal. Grab a netbook for a few hundred and a portable wireless USB “plan” for better functionality and not that much money.

19

Actually, the plan T-Mobile’s been pushing recently is $49.99 for unlimited talk/data/text. They also have a 1000-minute option for $39.99, which is the first time I’ve seen something better than my grandfathered-in $19.99 plan plus $30 data.

The catch is that you need 2 phones to get that price, so it’s still $79.98, but you’ll have an extra for the kid :). The only reason I’m considering it is because I will be needing a second phone next year. And, of course, it’s a “Limited Time Offer” so it might not exist anymore when it becomes relevant.

And, of course, “unlimited” data with T-Mobile is 2GB at 4G, then only 2G speed after. They do offer a $15 upgrade to get 5GB before getting throttled.

I’ll add the disclaimer that I haven’t looked at anything other than T-Mobile, and still 8 months left on the contract I used to get $220 off of this here MyTouch 3G (purchased 1 day before the iPhone 4 was announced…gotta love my timing).

And after writing all the above, I notice they also have an individual plan for $49.99 with 500 minutes and unlimited data & text (also a “limited time offer”). So $30 less and you don’t need to get the kid a phone.

20

I have a kyocera dumbphone (just phone calls and a camera) that I give Virgin mobile $20.00 per month for the right to make 200 minutes of calls (and unused time rolls forward provided I top up every 30 days). Perfect for my needs.

If you MUST text, check out what my daughter does: $40/month gets her 1000 minutes of talk, unlimited text, and 500MB of internet browsing/email. And for $25 she could have 200 minutes, unlimited text and 200MB of browsing/email. This on a phone she picked up at the supermarket for about $70.

My life isn’t your life, of course, so maybe you have a real need for the things a smartphone can do. If you decide that you don’t, you can do a lot better than $60.00/mo.