Low budget cell phone, MP3 player, camera, GPS, No data..?

[J-Dubya]

I don't need or really want a mobile data plan. There are times in my life where I prefer not to be connected, and I would prefer not to pay for extras that I won't use.

I would like to have basic cell service, a good mp3 player, GPS would be cool, and a decent camera. Is there an earlier gen device out there that would fit this bill? Presently, my wife has me on a prepaid plan with AT&T; I used my cell phone for 13 minutes in the last three months.
jws

 

[TheStu]

I don't need or really want a mobile data plan. There are times in my life where I prefer not to be connected, and I would prefer not to pay for extras that I won't use.

I would like to have basic cell service, a good mp3 player, GPS would be cool, and a decent camera. Is there an earlier gen device out there that would fit this bill? Presently, my wife has me on a prepaid plan with AT&T; I used my cell phone for 13 minutes in the last three months.
jws

Why not get any old phone and then something like an iPod Touch? None of the dumbphones out there are going to have a decent camera, or good MP3 playback. The Touch doesn't have GPS though.

 

[Roland00Address]

Why not get any old phone and then something like an iPod Touch? None of the dumbphones out there are going to have a decent camera, or good MP3 playback. The Touch doesn't have GPS though.

If you go this route you could also buy an old smartphone and just put it in airplane mode (turn off mobile data) and only use wifi.

-------------

I understand your request J-Dubya but you may also want to consider the wal-mart t-mobile plan. For 30 dollars a month you get a 100 minutes of cell phone and 5gbs of HSPA (4g lite) data.

You did say you only use 13 minutes of call time in the last 3 months.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tmobile-30-Wireless-Airtime-Card/15443357

 

[s44]

Yeah, I'd suggest an old smartphone. You could even run it off a prepaid SIM as long as you leave mobile data toggled off.

Then again, I think T-Mo's $30 Wal-mart plan should be a reasonable minimum investment for anyone using cell service.

 

[God Mode]

Used t-mobile smartphone with the $10 monthly pay as you go plan. Prepaid is the way to go if you don't want surprise overage bills. You may consider a separate GPS though as most phones I've used need some data to determine your current location/download map. I haven't tried standalone apps like Tomtom etc.

 

[J-Dubya]

Which specific models would you recommend that I look for?
In that my wife prepaid for a year of AT&T minutes, would I have to stick with an AT&T or unlocked device?
I am almost totally ignorant to what is available to me.
I would like a good MP3 player, GPS woud be a cool bonus, and an excellent camera.
I would like a nice pocket size slim unit.
jws

 

[TheStu]

Which specific models would you recommend that I look for?
In that my wife prepaid for a year of AT&T minutes, would I have to stick with an AT&T or unlocked device?
I am almost totally ignorant to what is available to me.
I would like a good MP3 player, GPS woud be a cool bonus, and an excellent camera.
I would like a nice pocket size slim unit.
jws

Excellent phone camera? iPhone 4 or newer. The latest generation of Android devices, maybe 1 generation back as well. But really only the flagships will do it.

Honestly, you could consider the Galaxy Nexus. Unlocked for $350 it has 16GB of storage (no MicroSD) and it looks like a decent camera. Anything better is going to be more expensive to get unlocked (and that is what you want if you want to stay out of a contract).

Alternatively, you get a dumbphone and an iPod Touch 5th gen (the latest). The camera is better than the Nexus (as best as I can tell), and $300 gets you the 32GB model, so more music than the Galaxy Nexus.

Those are your two cheapest (new) options as I see them if you are emphasizing music playback and camera quality.

 

[s44]

Infuse would be a great AT&T choice (8mp SGS2 camera, Wolfson DAC, microSD card) but I don't think you can get new units any more. So would the iPhone 4, but the unlocked price is sort of crazy.

Nexus is a great deal, esp. if Google keeps selling it at a cheaper price after the new one is announced. Also, you can use it on both AT&T and T-Mo. The camera is 5mp though, and there's no removable storage.

The best deal for you may be the T-mobile Galaxy S2, which is selling for $300 at Wal-Mart and T-Mo stores. (Some of them may want you to get a $30 T-Mo Wal-Mart-plan prepaid card though -- shop around if you don't want that.) Superior camera, micro SD, works on both AT&T and T-Mo, and cheap even new. The DAC isn't up to the Infuse/Galaxy S1's or the iPhone's, but it's not horrible either.

 

[shortylickens]

Get a used Atrix 2 from Amazon.

Thats what I got. Its fast, it now has Android 4.0, and dirt cheap if you get it from the right seller.

IF the seller screws you over, Amazon will take care of you.

 

[J-Dubya]

O.k. So I may be out to lunch and S.O.L, but is there anything under $150 that might have some of these capabilities.

3mp plus camera should suffice for spontaneous family pic purposes.

I'd like at least 8GB of storage for music, decent basic interface, playlists, shuffle,...

GPS would be a bonus.

Smallish and slim, pocket size would be preferable.
jws

 

[Schadenfreude]

As others have said; it doesn't matter what smartphone you get but it's the networks that really ding you for data surcharges.

I have an HTC Titan; I have the option to turn data usage off on my phone (which is pretty common on most smartphones). What I did was to go month-to-month prepaid on a network reseller (MVNO):

I'm using my HTC Titan (AT&T) on H2O's $25 1000min voice/month plan,
my wife uses her Motorola Atrix 2 (AT&T) on Straight Talk's unlimited call/text/data for $45/month and I've set up my mom's Motorola Droid 2X (Verizon) on Page Plus's 1200min/3k text/100MB data for $30/month plan - and the Titan, Atrix 2 and Droid X2 are still "locked" to AT&T and Verizon.

As far as getting the phone itself, the best option would be to get used - I've had pretty good luck on Craigslist (got the Droid X2 for $50 on Craigslist a few months back), but it's based on luck/what is listed at the time; also check Ebay and Cowboom as well. As far as recommending specific models, I'd recommend the Samsung Galaxy S and its variations (Fascinate, Conquer, etc.) for your budget.

 

[railer]

You can get a Droid 3 or Droid Incredible 2 for less than $150 (used on ebay). Both have everything you need. Camera on the Dinc2 is very good IMO, I can't speak for the D3. Activate either on Pageplus cellular. They've got pay as you go plans for as little as $10 for 4 months.

 

[GTRagnarok]

I'm using my iPhone 4 on ATT's prepaid GoPhone service.

 

[Schadenfreude]

O.k. So I may be out to lunch and S.O.L, but is there anything under $150 that might have some of these capabilities.

3mp plus camera should suffice for spontaneous family pic purposes.

I'd like at least 8GB of storage for music, decent basic interface, playlists, shuffle,...

GPS would be a bonus.

Smallish and slim, pocket size would be preferable.
jws

Refurbished Nokia 710: Windows Phone 7.5, 5MP Camera, 8GB HDD, Nokia offline map/GPS, Zune music for $150 + free ship - you're welcome .

If you don't have a plan in mind, I'd suggest pairing it up with Simple Mobile's $25/mo. unlimited voice/text plan - you just need to get their SIM card and you're good to go. You can still browse the internet if you have a wifi source (home, McDonalds, etc.) but you won't get dinged/charged by the service provider for random "data charges".

 

[pm]

Yeah, I'd just get a smartphone and go prepaid. GoPhone, Airvoice or T-Mobile prepaid. For 13 minutes, I'd go pay-as-you-go

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

You can get a used captivate (or any of the other variants) for under $100, and can flash it to jellybean as soon as you get it.

The camera is OK, so depends how much you value this, and the GPS sucks on it. But what good is GPS without data?

But besides that, its probably the best you can get for your money. If you have wifi at he places your at, and dont care about "always being connected", then just use grooveip for phone calls, and dont even worry about adding any plan at all. Port your number to google voice for texts and calls.

Like its been previously mentioned, once you do decide to get a data plan, either tmo or ST is your best bet.

 

[shortylickens]

IF YOU PLAN TO ADD CELLULAR LATER:

Make sure the phone you buy today is also unlocked. That will save you headaches later down the line.

 

[J-Dubya]

O.k., I want to confirm. My wife got me this AT&T gophone prepaid minutes. If I buy an unlocked smartphone, to activate, can I just remove the sim card from my AT&T gophone and install it in the smartphone, and use it as a cellular phone only, no data. Do I need to work with AT&T? Will there be any difficulty with the wifi or other features?

I am kind of partial to the Nokia N97 (~$150 new good camera, good player, lots of storage), either the mini 8Gb of memory, or the regular 32GB of memory. Again my goal is to use it as an MP3 player, camera/viewer, and cellular phone, bonus if GPS works.

Some of the "unlocked" phones seem to be "branded", i.e."AT&T, or TCom unlocked", is this a subset of unlocked phones, or is it just basically saying it is a GSM technology phone?
jws

 

[God Mode]

Yes. If the phone is GSM and unlocked, you simply put in your prepaid AT&T/MVNO sim card and it should take a few seconds, detect and work fine without any issues. No need to contact AT&T.

Unlocked GSM will work on any GSM network other than incompatible data networks where you would typically be limited to "Edge" speeds. Ex: using a T-mobile phone on AT&T and vice versa. Voice works without a problem but dataspeed would be very slow. Some phones like the Galaxy Nexus uses both radios so you get full data speeds on either service provider.

Get a phone with an SD card slot and storage is limitless. SD cards are dirt cheap now.

 

[aylafan]

I don't think GPS will ever work without a data plan on a mobile phone. So don't be expecting that as a bonus.

You can probably download offline maps and use that for directions as an alternative.

 

[J-Dubya]

Is storage storage now-a-days. Back in the day, I seem to remember on my old MP3 player, rightly or wrongly, that SD storage did not behave the same as internal storage, e.g. it would not mix or shuffle...
jws

 

[J-Dubya]

I may be picking up a little bit -- it's like learning a foreign language.

Now I am considering a Blackberry 9530, good player, decent camera, I think I would be O.K. with the click touchscreen. it is gsm 2g compatible and cdma 3g compatible. After I use my gophone minutes I was thinking of changing to a Verizon based carrier (Pageplus) because the coverage is better here in the PNW. The circa 2008 release date gives me pause.

I am also considering the HTC Nexus, this looks nice, but just GSM I think it is a T-mo refurb.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I may be picking up a little bit -- it's like learning a foreign language.

Now I am considering a Blackberry 9530, good player, decent camera, I think I would be O.K. with the click touchscreen. it is gsm 2g compatible and cdma 3g compatible. After I use my gophone minutes I was thinking of changing to a Verizon based carrier (Pageplus) because the coverage is better here in the PNW. The circa 2008 release date gives me pause.

I am also considering the HTC Nexus, this looks nice, but just GSM I think it is a T-mo refurb.

.....Trolling?

 

[J-Dubya]

I am definitely a bottom feeder when it comes to consumer electronics, but I don't know what trolling means.

 

[Humpy]

I use a Palm Pixi ($45 new) and an $80 a year prepaid card with Page Plus.

It does all that is asked for in the OP but I only use email over wifi and the telephone function.

Poverty phone.