Want a new phone, strange requirements.

[Snow_FOx]

So.... I need a new phone. Here is the catch.

If it is a smartphone, it can't be at&t branded. (no data plan).

No upgrade, and I want to try and keep it under 300$.

I'm considering the huawei ideos for 199$ on newegg.. the problems I possibly see with it are. A. no 3g bands.. B. I don't know if I will have problems texting on it since it has a rather small screen.

Now, although I don't want a data plan, I do have multimedia messaging.. so it could take a while if someone sends me MMS to receive it.. I am only explaining this because, its the only reason I mentioned 3g bands and not wanting a data plan.

I am also considering the unlocked nokia E71 because, it does have full keyboard, I owned the e71x and it does have the 3g bands.

I'm also considering the nokia X6.

I am also totally open to recommendations. The reason why I am looking at getting a new phone is because my upgrade isn't till feb.

I can't get a data plan even when I get my upgrade.

Therefore, I may as well pay, get a decent phone (even if I can't use all the features) and not get stuck using my upgrade for some crappy feature phone.

 

[sjwaste]

Have you considered going to Virgin Mobile, getting the Intercept or BB Curve, and paying $25/mo (300 min) or $40/mo (1200 min) with data? Those are with unlimited text and data.

 

[Snow_FOx]

as much as thats a nice deal.. its still not quite as cheap as paying 9.99$ to stay on my families plan which already has unlimited text and more minutes than I can use.

 

[sjwaste]

Well, good luck then. You might need to settle for a phone without 3G. Since you aren't getting data, I don't really think that's a huge deal. Even if you have to grab the occasional MMS over EDGE, it's fine.

You're talking about a $10/mo plan with your parents. Enjoy it while you can.

 

[Snow_FOx]

lol. I would enjoy it a lot more if they weren't blatant hypocrites.

Or had a utilitarian bone in their body.

At anyrate. I must jsut stick with the huawei its got wifi anyway.. plus froyo 2.2.

Just hope it won't be too bad to send text on it.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Snag a used Nexus One with ATT bands from eBay...

 

[Fox5]

as much as thats a nice deal.. its still not quite as cheap as paying 9.99$ to stay on my families plan which already has unlimited text and more minutes than I can use.

Can you ask them to add data onto your line? 200MB should be another $15.

Android smart phones, from what I hear, don't play well without a data connection (ie, they try to connect anyway). Nokia is probably your best choice for a data less phone, just make sure it has wifi.
And I seriously doubt the lack of 3g on a phone will impact your texting or mms.

 

[Snow_FOx]

lol.

When the At&t nexus one was out I was going to pay full price for one because, people were getting away with a 10$ dumb phone data plan on it. I was even willing to pay the data plan. They refuse to let me.

"Data plans are a waste of money and unneeded."

I understand smartphones are by definition a luxury however, I actually have practical use for a data plan and smart phone.

So here we are 6-8 months or so later.

My stepdad got a black berry.
(he actually got screwed over hard, he got a black berry that is 100$ WITHOUT a contract.. so he wasted his upgrade completely)

My mom got the iphone 4.

My stepdad then turned around not liking his blackberry. And paid FULL PRICE. for an iphone 4.

The irony? My stepdad about 4 years ago used my upgrade and got a blackberry.. didn't like it and ended up paying full price for a dumbphone at the time.

So now they both have the 25$ data plan on iphone 4's.

oh bonus points! My stepdad decided he needs to be able to see where everyone in the family is! So he got at&t family maps for 15$ a month.

I'm 22. My brothers are 16 and 17, none of us except the 16 year old have ever lied about where we were going or what we were doing.

So now. My parents both have data plans because ???? Oh thats right, my mom needs to be able to play farmville anywhere she wants to! and my stepdad has to look cool by having a phone he probably doesn't really like or understand.

And through all of that.. I still can't get a 10$ a month data package.. so I doubt the 15$ is suddenly going to fly with my parents.

FWIW when I was looking at the nexus one, I was considering getting it so I could receive email from my teachers and always check before I left campus along with a few other things.. Now that I'm driving 40 miles there and back.. It would still be really nice since I don't live within walking distance of class anymore..

but, whatever.. logic was never my parents strong point.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I could post a lot of things here, I'm choosing to post nothing....

 

[sjwaste]

Uh, given all of that, please revisit my post suggesting Virgin Mobile. You're 22 and it's $25/mo. Sounds reasonable enough, given that it sounds like you'd like a phone with data.

Also, someone else said that Android phones probably won't work well without data and they'll try to connect anyway. That's probably true, since I don't see any carriers willing to sell you one without data. You run that risk with any smartphone, quite honestly, so be careful. Not having a data plan doesn't mean you won't get data service, they'll just charge you something outrageous per kilobyte.

 

[Snow_FOx]

I could post a lot of things here, I'm choosing to post nothing....

There is a reason I chose to not explain the situation in detail to begin with :\

Yes, I'm aware I am 22 and yes, I am totally aware I could go get my own contract or a prepaid.

All I can say is you have to walk a mile in someone elses shoes

@sjwaste

the only problem is I still have to pay for a decent phone in addition to what would then be a monthly fee.

 

[sivart]

sounds like you'll be buying a phone anyway. There are a lot of deals for phones for $1, 1 cent and free going around.

Sounds like it is time to spread your wings and jump out of the nest You might hit the ground hard the first time, but you'll be better off in the future for it.

(This coming from someone that got shoved out of the nest 2 months after graduating college...okay not shoved, but if I stayed I would have to pay the mortgage and the food for myself + 4)

 

[Pliablemoose]

There is a reason I chose to not explain the situation in detail to begin with :\

Yes, I'm aware I am 22 and yes, I am totally aware I could go get my own contract or a prepaid.

All I can say is you have to walk a mile in someone elses shoes

@sjwaste

the only problem is I still have to pay for a decent phone in addition to what would then be a monthly fee.

I feel your pain, I pay for my daughter and her BF's phone, got them Samsung Intercepts and put them on the $25 Virgin Mobile plan, unlimited internet, unlimited texts and 300 voice minutes.

They're both in college, and dirt poor.

 

[sjwaste]

There is a reason I chose to not explain the situation in detail to begin with :\

Yes, I'm aware I am 22 and yes, I am totally aware I could go get my own contract or a prepaid.

All I can say is you have to walk a mile in someone elses shoes

@sjwaste

the only problem is I still have to pay for a decent phone in addition to what would then be a monthly fee.

Please don't feel like I'm judging you. All I'm saying is that, given the story that you posted, it might be worth the extra $15 a month to avoid the headaches inherent in the savings.

You said your budget is $300. The Intercept and the BB on VM are both $200. Yeah the monthly is a little more, but it sounds like it might solve other issues and also give you exactly what you want at a pretty reasonable price.

Just something to consider, totally understand if you just opt for something else. I would recommend you stick with a dumbphone/feature phone, though, or you might rack up unexpected data charges.

 

[sjwaste]

I feel your pain, I pay for my daughter and her BF's phone, got them Samsung Intercepts and put them on the $25 Virgin Mobile plan, unlimited internet, unlimited texts and 300 voice minutes.

They're both in college, and dirt poor.

That's nice of you. When I was in college, I brought my cell phone with me (on a family plan). This was in 2000/2001 and it was when regional plans still existed and still cost a lot less. So my family had one, and I was out of the region for school. The phone was for emergencies.

Yeah, I totally decided to use it a little one semester and racked up like $500 in roaming charges. Dad was not pleased with the bill, nor my explanation (I didn't really have a good one).

Since then, I've been footing my own cell phone bills

 

[Pliablemoose]

Yeah, I couldn't even add data to their lines on TMobile for that price at the time, and the tiered data is just an invite to an overage charge...

And they can use the Skype app almost everywhere they are over WiFi...

 

[sjwaste]

I won't lie - I'm seriously considering selling my Evo on Ebay and ditching the $70/mo I pay for it. Used Evos are going for close to $300 on Ebay, which would cover what I paid for the phone ($199) and part of the ETF.

I would probably come out ahead even if I had to buy another $200 phone for use on VM. I'd be saving $45/mo.

 

[sjwaste]

Looks like the VM Intercept is on sale:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1049373/

 

[Snow_FOx]

Well.. A lot less judgment than I was expecting.

sounds like you'll be buying a phone anyway. There are a lot of deals for phones for $1, 1 cent and free going around.

Sounds like it is time to spread your wings and jump out of the nest You might hit the ground hard the first time, but you'll be better off in the future for it.

(This coming from someone that got shoved out of the nest 2 months after graduating college...okay not shoved, but if I stayed I would have to pay the mortgage and the food for myself + 4)

Actually, I jumped out of the nest a long time ago.. And was away from home for quite some time. It was some of the happiest times of my life.

I had a dorm for 1 year and lived with my girlfriend for 2 years. Pay all the bills for the apartment. Rent, eletricity.. everything.

When my girlfriend and I broke up I knew I'd be unable to keep up with the rent. So I ended up back home about 2 months ago.

I had a job back in the city my school was in 40 miles away.. So I quit there.. and towards the end I was finding it harder and harder to squeeze in work going to school 4 days a week.

I haven't even started looking for a job yet seeing as I still have a few weeks left in the semester.. and I think next semester is going to be even worse.

However, to be honest, even if I had a job at this very moment and were to walk out and buy the phone.. I'd pretty much have to keep it a secret because my parents would ask a million questions. "why do you need that?" and "whats the point" and no matter how logical my answer is, it would be irrelevant.

At any rate, I don't want you to have the wrong impression here, I've worked quite a few jobs, paid bills and had my own life for quite some time.

And in a lot of ways I should just be glad I have a roof over my head.. I'm not naive of the recession we are in, I lost a job because of it myself. Found a better one that I later had to give up.

So my ranting on my parents isn't just that of a 16 year old unsatisfied with the new car they just got because, it wasn't the hot pink color they wanted.

My annoyance comes from my parents deeply seated lack of ability to be logical.

Although for what it is worth I am amazed by the intercept 0.o 25$ a month for an android phone is astounding..

It also looks like it has a decent keyboard.. Actually one of my biggest complaints about the neon I have now..I think the neon is messing up my hands.. I use to be able to text all day long (figuratively) on the E71x and Samsung Impression.. I get the neon and my hands start giving me problems after moderate texting x.x

I'm still considering the huawei relatively cheap.. I know the Tmo comet version has swype so I should be able to get swype on the ideos..

Although I'm wishin I could jump on an intercept..

 

[kaerflog]

I would get a Vibrant on craigslist and you can find them $300 or less.
It does have one of ATT 3G band.
You can unlock it to use for ATT yourself. Its pretty easy to do.
Still don't know why you need a phone with ATT 3G bands if you're saying you are never going to get a data plan.

 

[Snow_FOx]

People have a habit of sending me pictures and video's over MMS which can take quite some time over edge :/

Notice I'm considering a few phones without the 3g band.

Part of the reason I would prefer a smartphone is they usually come with wifi these days. So although I wouldn't be able to use the phone exactly the way its meant to be used with lots of widgets and anywhere net access..

I would rather pay 300$ for a device with wifi than one without :/

I can't say they have all been bad experiences.. but, I've found dumbphones and feature phone's to be of a lower quality in general.

Whats the point of spending 200$ or 300$ on a dumbphone when If I'm careful with a smartphone I can get a lot more out of it?

I had the e71x for over 6 months and never incurred a data charge without a data plan.. although it was not android...

 

[metalmania]

This.

I would get a Vibrant on craigslist and you can find them $300 or less.
It does have one of ATT 3G band.
You can unlock it to use for ATT yourself. Its pretty easy to do.
Still don't know why you need a phone with ATT 3G bands if you're saying you are never going to get a data plan.

 

[Snow_FOx]

While I'm thinking about it just to explore a non android option.

Has anyone here ever used the nokia X6?

I read a few reviews complained of lag which could be fixed with an update.

I'm still contemplating E71 seeing as I know what I am getting through and through..

 

[ponyo]

I would get a Vibrant on craigslist and you can find them $300 or less.
It does have one of ATT 3G band.
You can unlock it to use for ATT yourself. Its pretty easy to do.
Still don't know why you need a phone with ATT 3G bands if you're saying you are never going to get a data plan.

This is your best option or AT&T band Nexus One. I would go for the Vibrant since it's dirt cheap since so many bought with BOGO offer.

Or go with Virgin Mobile and Samsung Intercept.

Or don't listen to any of us.

 

[Snow_FOx]

This is your best option or AT&T band Nexus One. I would go for the Vibrant since it's dirt cheap since so many bought with BOGO offer.

Or go with Virgin Mobile and Samsung Intercept.

Or don't listen to any of us.

It isn't that I'm not listening to anyone.

I am only exploring every possible solution before making a decision.

With that said, I've never used ebay before. So. I may try there for the first time