After all that researching and discussing . . I’m keeping my old phone and getting a new battery. Vince talked to AT&T – I didn’t . . and according to him, if we pay up front for the new phone, then we lose some kind of $15/month discount. They want us to do some kind of payment plan and that ends up being $650 in the long run. If we pay $199 up front and lose the $15 discount for two years, it comes to $559. A new phone doesn’t mean that much to me. If I HAD to get a new phone, I’d buy something old and obsolete I guess. No way am I spending $500+ for a cell phone.
We can only use AT&T so . . the old iPhone 4S will be what I use for a while. I may take Vince’s old 5S but I’ll probably just keep using what I have.
Maggie says
Yes I was so annoyed with the way they have that set up! It really seems like a ripoff, but we need to stay with ATT too because of my husbands work.
Katie Z. says
That, my friend, is crazy. I’m glad you checked it out, and it is ridiculous. And… Another reason I only have a pay as you go!
Susan says
Yeah, that’s why I’ve had my current phone for five years, and don’t plan to replace it anytime soon. I have another one that my son used, same model, so I have a back up. =) All the new and improved things mean new and improved plans which cost too much, plus the phones are full of things I don’t want to use my phone to do! I was looking at one today, and all the ad was about the apps and the browsing and the quality camera – everything except about the PHONE!
glen in louisiana says
I just recetnly got a phone that gets internet. My old phone was a million years old and just was a phone-phone. I liked that.
glen
Pam in KC says
That big buck price tag on the new phones is why I don’t currently have a ‘smart phone’. But I’ve been stewing on this for a couple of years and I’m nearly ready to take the plunge. I made a list of the apps I’d like to have and have justified it to myself as buying a ‘tablet/computer’ that happens to make phone calls. I’m finding it a bit easier to swallow — although I still haven’t plopped down the money, so maybe I’m not quite as ready as I thought.
Norece says
I bought my iPhone off craigslist. It works great except the on/off button doesn’t work. It is a iPhone 4s and I have had it for a few years. Only cost $75. Took it to ATT and they put a sim card in it for me at no cost. No way am I paying hundreds of dollars for a cell phone. I have had nothing but positive results with items we bought off craigslist.
Connie says
I’m never sure how it happens, but every time we go in to update our plan to save money it ends up costing more. We’ve stopped going in unless something dire happens.
Brenda says
I have an old “brick” phone that is nearly 20 years old. All it does is make calls. I wish it were a bit lighter, etc, but every time I go shopping for a new phone, these old brick phones that are NOT “smart phones” apparently are not made any more. That’s all I want… a phone to use to dial OUT (not in, as I don’t want to become attached at the hip to my phone like most people seem to be).
I will say that I bought a “smart phone” at Christmas time, from a home shopping channel. It was a $600 smart phone, which cost me $129. It connected to the internet, could text, could do everything (not sure if it could take pictures, but it probably could). I could send and receive email. I had the use of it for 30 days, otherwise it needed to go back.
On day #2, I was disgusted with it. It kept receiving my emails, and who in their right mind wants to type on a phone? I attempted to browse the internet. Who can see what they are doing, when a screen is maybe 2 inches square? I’m used to a 17″ laptop screen or 27″ monitor on my desktop. Son-in-law showed me all the “apps” I could have. What’s the big deal with apps? Give me a pen and paper to write a shopping list. I don’t need a tiny screen to type a shopping list with one finger.
Then day #3, I went to the store to see what it was going to cost for air time for this thing, when purchased for a year. By the way, this “deal of the day phone” had triple air time for life. What a deal, huh? Went to the local discount store (big box store) where they sell air time for ALL makes and models.
Flat $500 / year for air time for this “deal of the day”. That is unlimited phone, text and internet. They thought that was a “deal”. My current brick phone is a flat $99/year through TracPhone. This “deal of the day” was also going through TracPhone, so my plan could be “updated”.
Where’s the deal in that? Currently paying $99/year for phone. Can’t remember how many HOURS of phone the $99 gives me, but unused minutes roll over into the next year, and I currently have over 5,000 hours of unused minutes from years past.
If I can’t use 5,000 hours of time now, WHY would I want to “update” to $500/year for “unlimited” phone, text and internet? I don’t want to text and I don’t want the internet.
BTW – I already have the internet as part of the car, and I have “apps” on the car. Do you think I use the car’s internet? You already know the answer.
How tied to the rest of the world do we need to be? I just want my own little corner of the world, and often want to be left alone to enjoy it.
Brenda
Linda Steller says
Hey! Keeping what you have and are familiar with is always nice. I got my phone for ‘free’ when I renewed my Verizon contract for 2 years. It didn’t add any cost to my calling plan, so I guess the phone was free. Actually, I think it was $30 and I had to send in for a $30 rebate.
Ila says
I know you’ve made your decision…upgrading phones can be expensive! But…before you hang on to old(er) technology, you might want to look at Amazon’s Fire Phone. They’re marked down – not because it wan’t a good phone, but because they didn’t really understand the market. When it first came out you were limited to AT&T and I think that’s what stopped a lot of people from buying it. Here’s a link
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-Phone-32GB-Unlocked/dp/B00OC0USA6/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1429581480&sr=1-1&keywords=fire+phone
Hope that helps you be happy with your decision. I’m always a “what if” shopper 🙂
JudyL says
I haven’t seen many great ratings for the Fire phone compared to the Samsung or iPhone. I’m a “what if” shopper too so sometimes buying nothing is better than buying something and wishing I had bought something else. I’ll watch and if I see AT&T change their pricing procedure, I’ll get something then.