Miz t. and I about to come into the 21st century. Question about 'smart phones'.

[trof]

We found a pretty cheap plan with Consumer Cellular.
$17.50/MO. each for 250 m. talk and 300/30MB text/web.
$70 Motorola android(?).

Q: I understand that at home with wifi there's no charge for web stuff.
Does that also apply to texting?
TIA

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Web via wifi no data usage (300 MB limit not affected.) Texting is another 'item.'

You get 300 texts (in and out) on this plan. It uses the cellular so wifi being on or off is of no consequence.
And yes, Motorola is gonna be Android. Which I have had for years and is great!

[trof]

2. Many thanks, Curt. About texts...

We've never had this.
Does the length of the text matter?
Or do we just get 300 texts/MO no matter how long they are.
BTW, we're in our 70s.

[CurtEastPoint]

10. Hey, I'm 66 so...kinda new to me, too.

There may be a limit but I've not encountered it. Plus you can attach images, videos, etc. Those would count towards using bandwidth but a message is one message.

[rug]

3. What next, trof? A tumblr account?

[trof]

4. Oh hell no.

I don't even fb, u no?

[rug]

5. Good. But I'm going to be vigilant on selfies.

[trof]

6. OK, I'll bite. What is tumblr(?) and what's it for?

[rug]

7. A bunch of this.

[trof]

8. So it's kinda like The Lounge.

[irisblue]

13. with kids posting as well

I do have a Tumblr and I do enjoy it.

[Skittles]

9. is there any rollover with that?

[trof]

15. I don't think so.

[csziggy]

11. I'm getting my first smartphone (Tracfone) Friday

$29.99 for the phone - ZTE Citrine - and $7 for a 32GB micro SD. My current minutes and contract time will roll over to the new phone. I'll renew in December - if it's like the last two times I'll get two years of service and 450 minutes for $150 and can add minutes as needed. Minutes roll over as long as I keep my service current.

I wasn't going to upgrade but the free phone Tracfone gave me last spring (since the old one they gave me for free was ten years old and was not going to work with the new technology) is not keeping a charge. I can charge it completely and in less than 24 hours it completely discharges while it is turned OFF. Since I'm not going to spend the money to replace a battery in a free phone, I decided it was time to up grade.

The model I ordered is the same one my husband paid $49.99 for last spring. He's been satisfied with it so I figured go with the same model.

[a kennedy]

12. My husband and I love our tracfones......mine is pretty smart, and my

husband's is just the flip type, but they're everything we need.

[csziggy]

14. We've had Tracfones since 2001

I paid $15 for my first one and they've upgraded my phones for free twice as the technology improved. Although I have never bought more than the minimum minutes I kept accumulating them since I seldom use my cell phone. I got almost no signal at home and only use it for essentials when away from home.

But we're traveling more and a smartphone could be handy.

What's nice in this area - where we are in a cell tower deficit area - is that since Tracfone buys access from everyone we can almost always get a signal. My new phone is a 4g - my husband's identical one can actually make calls and send texts from our house. No other cell phone can do that!

[a kennedy]

18. You're talking my language baby......

"My new phone is a 4g"....... this is what I want....mine now is only 3G, couple of months and I'll have one as well.

[csziggy]

19. That's why we picked the Citrine

So far so good as far as reception.

The only problem my husband is having is that many of the apps insist on loading into the 8GB internal memory and will not load into the microSD card. Since the OS uses almost 4GB that really puts him into a bind.

I read that there are root memory apps that will move the OS into the microSD cards so the 32GB will be where everything will load, leaving lots of extra space. So I'm going to try that with my new phone and if it works then I will do it with my husband's. If I screw up the new phone, it's not as big a problem as it would be with his.

He is on his phone all the time, texting his family (his Mom has been sick since the beginning of the year), and getting calls from his friends. I seldom use my cell phone and few people have the number so if it goes silent while I get the phone back in working condition, OK.

[trof]

16. Do you have to sign with Tracphone as your provider?

[csziggy]

17. With the phone I ordered, yes - I think the ZTE Citrine is available unlocked

Or from other providers. I limited my shopping to Tracfone compatible phones.

Since we're happy with Tracfone and I have almost 1500 minutes to transfer it's not a problem for us.

[trof]

21. Whew...Tracphone has terrible customer service reviews.

As recently as yesterday.

[csziggy]

22. Yes, calling their customer service can be a nightmare

But I have seldom had to do it since I signed on with them - and the wait time is significantly shorter than when I had to call Verizon for my mother's phone!

Actually the last couple of times I needed to call Tracfone the wait was very short and the people were helpful and efficient. I will have to call them for the new phone to transfer my number, service days and minutes from the old one. I'm supposed to be able to do it without calling but it has never worked in the past.

Also - I may have been wrong. I couldn't find a ZTE Citrine that was not Tracfone or Straight Talk which is another Tracfone brand. I suspect that ZTE probably has a similar phone with a different name that is pretty much the same as the Citrine.

[TexasBushwhacker]

20. Can you afford $30 a month? I have Boost Mobile

You can get unlimited talk, text and data for $30 a month when you do autopay. The first 2 Gb of data is high speed. After that it's slow but you can still use it. It's good for using GPS on the road and looking things up when you're out and about. I'm currently using an LG Stylo 2. It's a bit on the large side, but I like it.

You can get better deals on phones from Best Buy and other retailers sometimes. Just make sure you choose your carrier before you choose your phone.