Cell phone question

Paul

Paul

Dr 'Dre
Moderator
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Location
Kings Mountain
I'm buying a phone for a friend. She's a single Mom and her phone sucks. So here we go.
Current phone is [i think] a Samsung S3 on Straight Talk. She swears that the new phone must have a SIM card. I don't know crap about this stuff.
Suggestions please?
TIA, 'Dre...
 
Certain Android phones do have SIM cards still. It makes it easier to switch phones around and it stores all data on it. If you're looking for a decent phone and you're not on any plans, you can walk into any Verizon store and pick up refurb smart phones all day long for $200 or less and they'll swap everything over right there in minutes. That's what I usually do since I go through 3 a year on average .
 
Verizon Straight talk or someone else? Certain phones only work on certain networks. I may have an old Verizon phone you can have.
 
I have a US cellular phone you can have too if she wants a plan with them. It really is provider limited though
 
XJsavage said:
Certain Android phones do have SIM cards still. It makes it easier to switch phones around and it stores all data on it. If you're looking for a decent phone and you're not on any plans, you can walk into any Verizon store and pick up refurb smart phones all day long for $200 or less and they'll swap everything over right there in minutes. That's what I usually do since I go through 3 a year on average .
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This what i needed. Heading to Verizon tomorrow.
Thanks dude!
 
You can also buy unlocked phones that will work with any carrier.
And I would bet money they can be had much cheaper than what you would pay at verizon.
My guess would be less than half.....
 
You can certainly do better than Verizon as far as price goes. Do some research on MVNOs - Mobile Virtual Network Operators. They basically sublease bandwidth from Verizon, AT&T, and sprint (avoid the sprint towers due to coverage issues). My favorite one is Ting. I had Ting for a year or so before moving to a work-sponsored phone on AT&T. I previously had Verizon, Straight Talk, T-mobile, and P-Tel (great but went out of biz). Wifey has Cricket (AT&T owned MVNO on the AT&T network) because she needs international. If your friend is going to use lots of data, look at Cricket over Ting. If they only need basic call/text/web and will do data hungry stuff (YouTube or stream music) on WiFi, then Ting will be cheaper. I think Ting has a bill calculator on their website, so do the math and see what works better for their usage.

Most of the world runs on GSM phones (sim cars). Verizon and US Cellular (MVNO on Verizon network) use CDMA phones (no removable chip aka service not easily transferable between phones) IIRC. If you bring your own phone, make sure it is an unlocked GSM capable phone. BLU makes a good cheap smart phone. I had a BLU phone for about 18 months and was very happy with it for the price - $70 new not refurb. If you want an upgrade over that, the Moto series of phones are popular with the MVNO crowd.
 
Most new phones have a SIM card, even CDMAs. Heck my 3 year old Samsung S6 has a SIM card. Almost all the iphones have a sim. Going back even further the droid bionic I replaced with my S6 had a sim.
Now its accurate that most (but not all) Verizon phones wont work on ATT networks so you do need to know which carrier will be used.

If Im reading the tea leaves right Paul is just replacing a friends phone and they will continue paying their current bill. So you need to know who has her service then get a compatible phone.

Id look at gazelle or craigslist though if it were me.
 
My S7 on Tmobile has a sim card. I have been very happy with it
 
Ron said:
Most new phones have a SIM card, even CDMAs. Heck my 3 year old Samsung S6 has a SIM card. Almost all the iphones have a sim. Going back even further the droid bionic I replaced with my S6 had a sim.
Now its accurate that most (but not all) Verizon phones wont work on ATT networks so you do need to know which carrier will be used.

If Im reading the tea leaves right Paul is just replacing a friends phone and they will continue paying their current bill. So you need to know who has her service then get a compatible phone.

Id look at gazelle or craigslist though if it were me.
Click to expand...

As Ron said, pretty sure all LTE capable phones now have SIM cards. If you go the craigslist route, be sure to verify the validity of the phone before purchase. If it is locked on an account, its a paperweight.
 
01D67D94-6953-4AB8-BAC7-6C63FE39990D.jpeg
So I bought this today. Seems to work for her.
 
obullfish said:
Mighty nice of ya Dre.
Click to expand...

Because i'm really nice person ya know. Like in real life and stuff like that. And i'm waiting for someone to ask what's in the camo backpack.
And the answer is Gummy Bears. Guns are bad and only the Police and the Military should have them.
;)
 
Paul said:
Because i'm really nice person ya know. Like in real life and stuff like that. And i'm waiting for someone to ask what's in the camo backpack.
And the answer is Gummy Bears. Guns are bad and only the Police and the Military should have them.
;)
Click to expand...

I just organized my gummy bear compartment etc...

Good on you brother for shining a little light in the world. :huggy:
 
Paul said:
View attachment 272948 So I bought this today. Seems to work for her.
Click to expand...

Thats the phone my wife has. Functions just like my S7, just without the bells and whistles.

You are a mighty nice person.

Gummy bears are also good to have around...
 
I like gummy bears.
I also like lady friends.

I think its true Dre is a motherf@ckin' :huggy:
 
I've got more or less the same phone, just the Motorola version.

:beer: for doing that.
 
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