What phone now?

[::: :::]

So, $240 is foolish on an otherwise $650 purchase
Thx for that -- I'll return it now



So which sub $200 phone is right for me?

[lerxst]

Managed to hook up a iPhone SE for my daughter for $240 out the door with a $200 Best Buy gift card to boot. No contract extension either. Went Cricket wireless for the boy and got a iPhone 5S refurb for $100. He gets the basic $30/month plan. Kids are stoked.

[Alaskan Rover]

I look specifically for waterproofness and a bright, fairly large screen that is at least legible in bright sunlight. Removable batteries are a plus for the backcountry (swapping extra fully charged batteries), but are becoming hard to find in a waterproof phone.

I'm extremely hard on my phone's...I drop them in snow, mud and sand....step on them...lose them, etc. Kind of like my sunglasses. It is because of this that I refuse to buy "flagship" phones (or ultra high dollar sunglasses, for that matter).
I don't believe in phones as "bling" or status symbols. Evidently and sadly, many people ,(not necessarily maggots, of course) DO buy their phones and sunglasses for the 'bling effect'. I'm not one of those and despise that mindset.

After destroying my last phone, I needed another waterproof phone in a hurry...went out and bought a Kyocera Hydro for almost nothing. Slow CPU and minimal internal RAM memory is a PITA, but other than that it works just fine for my outdoor activities.

But the fucking bloatware that Android seems to openly have an affair with is really ANNOYING! Bloatware, spyware, every kind of "....ware" except the damn software I need!!! Google makes $$$ on that shit. Mabye Apple is fairly inoculated from that crap?? Maybe time to try Apple?11

If I can find a phone version of a ruggedized notebook running open source OS like Linux, I would buy it in a heartbeat!!! Any reputable and reliable non-iOS and non-Android smartphone OS that I can use on a rooted phone that is actually worth the install bullshit??

Edit: Lrxst - $100 for a refurb i5s and $30/mo if a decent data allotment is a great deal!!

[RShea]

After destroying my last phone, I needed another waterproof phone in a hurry...went out and bought a Kyocera Hydro for almost nothing. Slow CPU and minimal internal RAM memory is a PITA, but other than that it works just fine for my outdoor activities.

But the fucking bloatware that Android seems to openly have an affair with is really ANNOYING! Bloatware, spyware, every kind of "....ware" except the damn software I need!!! Google makes $$$ on that shit. Mabye Apple is fairly inoculated from that crap?? Maybe time to try Apple?11

If I can find a phone version of a ruggedized notebook running open source OS like Linux, I would buy it in a heartbeat!!! Any reputable and reliable non-iOS and non-Android smartphone OS that I can use on a rooted phone that is actually worth the install bullshit??

Most of the alternative are Android based. If you move away from something Android based, then you also usually loose the apps available for Android phones. You could go Blackberry or Microsoft Windows smart phone. There are a few non-bloatware versions available for some devices out there like CyanogenMod which is a open source version of Android (not all devices are supported)...

[winecabin]

this may be a dumb question, but are providers like verizon no longer doing the upgrade programs? I got my iphone 6 for like $200 when it came out.... in the market for a new phone now and refuse to pay retail and these "payment plans" are a crock of shit....

[::: :::]

Upgrade from 6s before Christmas was $0...not sure now

[Name Redacted]

this may be a dumb question, but are providers like verizon no longer doing the upgrade programs? I got my iphone 6 for like $200 when it came out.... in the market for a new phone now and refuse to pay retail and these "payment plans" are a crock of shit....

Actually, since they are 0% APR and half price, it's a not that bad a deal to make the payments. I just got two Iphone 7's. Like em so far.

So I used to have great service at the ski area and shitty at home, traded that for shitty service at the ski area, and great coverage at home. WTF? At least I can ditch the land line now.

[Danno]

Yeah, I've been on Sprint two year contracts for 16 years, getting free or cheap phones each time, but it looks like they don't have them anymore.

[Cruiser]

There are a few non-bloatware versions available for some devices out there like CyanogenMod which is a open source version of Android (not all devices are supported)...

Didja see that Cyanogen shut their doors? I haven't kept up with rooting and ROMing in a couple of years but it sure seems like a lot devices were running their firmware.

[Skidog]

Didja see that Cyanogen shut their doors? I haven't kept up with rooting and ROMing in a couple of years but it sure seems like a lot devices were running their firmware.

Still alive under a different name, at least the source code. I'd expect updates to be slower and it to be buggier until the new team ramps up.

[Alaskan Rover]

A phone that didn't make oodles of pocket calls and pocket texts would be so nice!!

[RShea]

this may be a dumb question, but are providers like verizon no longer doing the upgrade programs? I got my iphone 6 for like $200 when it came out.... in the market for a new phone now and refuse to pay retail and these "payment plans" are a crock of shit....

Some are doing the lock you in for 2 years at a monthly contract rate that is higher than the new terms- ask for the numbers BOTH ways for the monthly plans. And your "refuse to play their payment games" means that you are going to have to understand that there is a cost of money- ie they are TRULY 0% interest if you do the math so if you want even a $250 phone (that would pretty much be a few dollars over $10 per month) you could put that money to work earning interest is better than giving them $250 up front and not being able to earn anything at all for the 24 months.

[Alaskan Rover]

My latest pocket text...just today:

" N wb. Z . .b. The r ooi ".

[m5db38]

this may be a dumb question, but are providers like verizon no longer doing the upgrade programs? I got my iphone 6 for like $200 when it came out.... in the market for a new phone now and refuse to pay retail and these "payment plans" are a crock of shit....

They got you accustomed to paying $xxx.xx for your monthly payment plus a free phone every two years. Now they will get you for $xxx.xx + xx.xx/month and no free phone.

At least, this is how it appears to me with Verizon.

[huckbucket]

They got you accustomed to paying $xxx.xx for your monthly payment plus a free phone every two years. Now they will get you for $xxx.xx + xx.xx/month and no free phone.

At least, this is how it appears to me with Verizon.

But you own the phone at the end? Two year old iphone out of contract will still fetch some cash.

[Danno]

Any thoughts on whether the pixel will ever go on sale?

[huckbucket]

Any thoughts on whether the pixel will ever go on sale?

I got one from Verizon for $10/mo for 2 years. I thought $240 wasn't too bad.

[El Chupacabra]

Although nobody seems interested in it, the Motorola G4 is great. Nearly stock Android - only a little Motorola stuff, easily ignored or turned off. Came with Android 6.0, supposed to get upgraded to 7.0 in the next couple weeks according to what I see online. Screen is fantastic.

[Danno]

I got one from Verizon for $10/mo for 2 years. I thought $240 wasn't too bad.

yeah, except I don't want Verizon. I'm currently on Sprint and save a shitton of money over Verizon, so I'm either staying with Sprint or going to Fi (which is why I asked about the pixel).

[Cruiser]

32g Pixel is currently fetching ~$600 on the secondary market and I can't imagine that's going to charge dramatically in the very near future since it's still the best Android device available. Maybe after the S8 comes out next year it'll drop a bit but historically Google hasn't dropped prices of current gen phones until they're near the end of their life cycle.

[RShea]

yeah, except I don't want Verizon. I'm currently on Sprint and save a shitton of money over Verizon, so I'm either staying with Sprint or going to Fi (which is why I asked about the pixel).

The Pixel will be a much higher priced phone ($650). If you are staying on Sprint, there seems to be so many Sprint deals out there- unless they are all the move to us with fine print of existing customers are screwed and not eligible, or you could go to the Motorola (Lenovo Mobile) web site and purchase a carrier universal phone that would work on Sprint or the other 3 major carriers for under $300 depending on your needs and what you want in a new phone.

If you want to go to Project Fi through Google, either a Nexus 5X or 6P or even a used phone on their list of approved devices would be more in the affordable price range. Project Fi is not for everyone- especially consistently high data users due to the $10 per GB of data used. But then Sprint users are the only ones that can pretty much still get unlimited data plans.

[Dantheman]

Although nobody seems interested in it, the Motorola G4 is great. Nearly stock Android - only a little Motorola stuff, easily ignored or turned off. Came with Android 6.0, supposed to get upgraded to 7.0 in the next couple weeks according to what I see online. Screen is fantastic.

It's probably a great phone, but my experience with Motorola earlier this year was sketchy as hell and I will never, ever consider buying one of their phones again. I ordered a Moto G3 and it arrived defective. Motorola's initial response was that I could return it, then they would repair it and send it back to me. This would take 10-14 days. The other option was to pay a hefty fee to have them send me a new one. Obviously, I was not pleased with these options. I spent hours on the phone in overseas CS hell before finally being sent a new device free of charge. That device also arrived defective, and I decided I was done with Moto and returned it.

The email I got when I returned it said refunds typically process 7-10 days after they receive the device. After two weeks of nothing I called and was told to expect my refund within a week. 10 days later I called again and got the same line. After another week of nothing I started emailing since I now wanted everything in writing. When I didn't get a response after a week I opened a PayPal dispute. Sent another email, waited another week, then escalated the dispute to a claim. At that point I finally got an email response which asked me to call in to resolve the issue. I responded that I would only be conducting further correspondence regarding the matter in writing and never heard back.

Paypal decided the case in my favor and credited my account back on March 6. That was almost 10 weeks after Motorola received the returned phone. Had I not pursued the issue through Paypal, I'm skeptical that Motorola would have ever issued me a refund.

[El Chupacabra]

Motorola has shit for CS, apparently...

... so buy from Amazon or somewhere else, and pay through a credit card for added pushbackability via Visa/ AmEx/ etc.

My shopping criteria were: find the balance between best processor/RAM/screen, reasonable $, with least amount of bloatware, unlocked, and will work on Verizon. For about $170, the G4 was it.

[irul&ublo]

Had to get an Iphone 7, as my 6 started being really picky about recharging, The plug had to be in just the right position, and it was getting worse. This is the second 6 I had the issue with. Anyone else have that problem?

[::: :::]

Had to get an Iphone 7, as my 6 started being really picky about recharging, The plug had to be in just the right position, and it was getting worse. This is the second 6 I had the issue with. Anyone else have that problem?

i had a charging problem with my 5s once...it ended up being just lint in the port

if you still have the phone, you can try digging the lint out of the power port...it can create a barrier to complete contact between the jack and the phone.

use a plastic straw cut to a sort-of sharp point and dig in there for any lint
also can use a clean toothbrush (basically something non-conducting & non-scratching)