quote:

ORIGINAL: camille65

I want something that um... goes with my annoying iMac thing. Does any smart phone do that?

Argh I don't even have the vocabulary to ask what I need to ask!

*hugs her dead dumb phone to her heaving bosom as she weeps tears of techie despair*

quote:

ORIGINAL: camille65

Oh hell. My little dumb phone died last night, died dead RIP. I loved that bastard with is wee slide out keyboard.

This means time to upgrade to an intimidating and scary SMARTER THAN I AM phone. Verizon says I can get a 5C iPhone for free. Sigh. Okay whatever, bring it on says the luddite.

Data plans? WTF. How am I supposed to know?

This stuff is over my head.

Verizon says the average user is at a 2GB data plan. What does that even mean?? What exactly is a data plan? It says the data plan recommended is $50 a month. Does that mean I only pay $50 a month? I hope so cuz that is way cheaper than what I'm paying right now.

Please help. I look at numbers and my brain glazes over, for real it does.

I donwanna phone smarter than meeeeee.

And this whole bluetooth thingie, what? *blinks* Austin just passed a law that no one can talk on the phone while driving unless on a bluetooth. Is that extra?

quote:

ORIGINAL: impishlilhellcat

quote:

ORIGINAL: camille65

Oh hell. My little dumb phone died last night, died dead RIP. I loved that bastard with is wee slide out keyboard.

This means time to upgrade to an intimidating and scary SMARTER THAN I AM phone. Verizon says I can get a 5C iPhone for free. Sigh. Okay whatever, bring it on says the luddite.

Data plans? WTF. How am I supposed to know?

This stuff is over my head.

Verizon says the average user is at a 2GB data plan. What does that even mean?? What exactly is a data plan? It says the data plan recommended is $50 a month. Does that mean I only pay $50 a month? I hope so cuz that is way cheaper than what I'm paying right now.

Please help. I look at numbers and my brain glazes over, for real it does.

I donwanna phone smarter than meeeeee.

And this whole bluetooth thingie, what? *blinks* Austin just passed a law that no one can talk on the phone while driving unless on a bluetooth. Is that extra?

The data plan is very dependent on what you actually plan on doing with the phone. Smart phones run data in the background naturally. It is typically a very small amount. If you have wifi at your house and public access to wifi that will cut down on your data usage as well.

My husband only really uses his apps at home when he is on our wifi network. Therefore, he uses very little data. Less than 1 GB per month. He will occasionally use the maps app (GPS application) and search the internet if he needs something on the fly.

I use a lot more data. I have a different plan that he does. I like to stream music when I am work. It is a lot easier to set-up my phone and wander around the lab, plus I get a much larger selection of music that way. So, my suggestion is look into the smart phone they are giving away for free, learn about some of the apps you can download and use, and then decide how often you plan on using it in a public space without wifi. If you are going to play on your phone while at work or while waiting somewhere you might want something around 3GB.

Typically, the 50 dollars a month is the plan, some places charge a $10 monthly fee for having a smart phone. Don't forget you have all the taxes and fees that the phone companies charge. Additionally, if you go over that 2GB of data then they charge you X amount of dollars per GB extra that you use.


Edited to add: If you want something to go with your imac you are going to want an iphone. I would pay attention to the amount of storage. If it is 8GB you can probably fill that up very quickly, so keep that in mind. I've never owned and iphone, so I don't know if you can just pop in an SD card like you can with the androids. The good thing is, that it will sync nicely with your itunes, calendar, and all that fun stuff.

quote:

ORIGINAL: ExiledTyrant

An iPhone would be best for you. It will sync with your iPad and your Mac, making data moot. So it doesn't matter how much data storage your phone has, because you can swap the stuff you want to keep between your Mac and iPad.

The added bonus of an iPhone being synced with your iPad, when using iMessage you can text through your iPad instead of your iPhone.

Bluetooth... arggghhhh... allows your iPad and iPhone to talk to each other. I didn't check to see if your Mac was bluetooth capable, it could be, but not likely considering how old it is. Bluetooth is a "remote" communication system... walkie talkies for every device that has bluetooth. I do not use bluetooth "cyborg" devices, they are uncomfortable for me and they often give me a weird feedback. I use the iPhone earbuds, they work very well for me canceling out more outside noise.

Now, should you get pulled over for using earbuds, make sure the officer cites the law "specifically" regarding the use of earbuds and how that law applies to the hearing impaired (most cops write tickets cuz you are paying court costs regardless), he will bid you good day and go on about his business ;)

Knowing you, as well as I do, the apps you will want are music apps (pandora specifically), and the only thing I could see you making a dent in your data storage with is pictures, which will transfer to your Mac as soon as you hook the iPhone to it.

Now... You have some options. I bought my iPhone from a pawn shop (yep, I profit from the misery of others), bought a strait talk sim and have unlimited talk, text and data (ha ha ha... unlimited is a word they use but it does not mean what they think it means) for 45 a month. Sprint will happily put you and Him into a nice unlimited plan with new phones for both of you, but it is probably not your best option. Virgin offers unlimited talk, text, and data for 30 a month with the purchase of a phone and it is pay as you go. If you and He are both using iPhones iMessage is free between the two phones... the other people in your life that communicate with if they are also on iPhone it will be no charge on iMessage either.

Again, the best parts for you is the mac stuff talks to each other and plays nice together, the benefit of iMessage between iPhones, and the fact that iMessage will go through your iPhone and/or iPad. I know the virtual keyboard is a problem for you, but you can get a real keyboard for your iPad, and the iPhone keyboard does tilt with the screen making it bigger.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MasterG2kTR

Sounds like you are not doing much of anything web-related with it. My recommendation would be to take a serious look at Trac-Fone. A lot cheaper and they can do everything you mentioned. You buy minutes and airtime only when you need it.

ETA: There are a variety of phones (brand and type) to choose from for the service. Some with buttons some with touch screens.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LiveSpark

As far as the user guide goes, most can be found online if you Google them. You should be able to find one for whatever phone you end up getting.

quote:

ORIGINAL: camille65

quote:

ORIGINAL: LiveSpark

As far as the user guide goes, most can be found online if you Google them. You should be able to find one for whatever phone you end up getting.

Now that would be helpful! 'They' say Apple products are intuitive, well not so much folks. Not so much at all. Not for me. For me they are illogical and balky things.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LiveSpark

FR

One thing I really regret is getting a plan with unlimited text and call and 6 G of data. I don't use the phone to make calls all that much, I don't text as much as I used to due to chronic hand pain, and I don't use even close to 6 G since I now tend to search using my laptop. Unfortunately I'm stuck with the remainder of a 3 year contract which I also regret. So camille be VERY careful with the plan you choose if the free phone is dependent on signing a contract especially if it's 3 years or so.