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 Which phone?
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Nathan4102




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:07 pm   Post subject: Which phone?

Ive just got my first full time job, and I think its time I get a phone. Im not too sure which one to get though. Right now, im leaning towards and iPhone 4S, or a google nexus 4. Do you guys have any suggestions? Id be using the phone mostly for browsing the web, texting, and facebook.

Also, how do you guys recommend I pay for this thing? Id get a 3 year deal, but I have no clue if ill still be working a year from now. Is it possible to get data on a pay as you go phone? Still kind of noobish with stuff, sorry! :p

Thanks!
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Insectoid




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:12 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

I'd get an Android phone. There's more customization available for it and the dev kit is free. The Nexus line is nice 'cause it's stock Android and you get every update right away. HTC phones are pretty good too, but they use their own UI (Sense) which is okay, but updates take forever if you get them at all.

Also, the Nexus (and a lot of other Android phones) is gigantic, so you'd better have huge pockets if you're gonna get one.
Nathan4102




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:24 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

Im lugging around a Blackberry Playbook in my pocket right now, size wont be an issue! Wink

I like the idea of a free dev kit, so I might go for the nexus. What do you think about a windows phone? It looks kind of cool too...
Raknarg




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:15 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

It depends who you go with. I like virgin, and they give you good deals on plans. I pay like 30$ a month for basically unlimited everything, and my phone wsa totally paid off by my tab plan. You can go a little higher and get better plans, and the tab covers more.
andrew.




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:26 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

Personally, I don't like the tab plans because they're kind of deceiving when they say there's no termination fee (because there's no contract term technically).

What I mean is that Virgin, for instance, takes 10% of your bill each month to pay for the remainder of your phone. If you got the Galaxy S4, the total amount to pay off is about $350 (you pay $400 up front). Let's say you went with the $39/month deal. That's $4 a month subtracted from your phone. After 2 years, you've paid only $96 off. That leaves $254 left to be paid off; this is around the price of the termination fee for many plans.

Whereas if you sign with Fido (they have the exact same deal but with a 2 year contract), at the end of the contract, you owe nothing to them; they have already discounted the price of the phone.

The chances of you leaving a carrier in less than two years is pretty low (in my opinion), so it doesn't really make sense to me to go on a tab plan, unless you plan on bouncing around on different plans.
Nathan4102




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:50 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

Took a look at Fido, looks really good! I can get a nexus 4 for $50, with a 2 year $39/m contract. It has plenty of minutes and texts, but only 600MB of data. Should that be enough? Or should I upgrade to the 50$ for 1gb of data?
crossley7




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:17 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

IF you are streaming a lot of video or downloading a bunch of stuff through 3g then the upgrade might be worth it, but otherwise you will be hard pressed to use 600MB of data. you can surf the net almost constantly and watch some video and still be fine
Raknarg




PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:27 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

It depends on if you want to watch a lot of videos. I only use 10 mb per month by doing all my video watching through wifi and then only using my data to load pages of text, like reddit.

Also @andrew. That's true, but I like how they do it. It's basically an interest free loan you can pay off at any time, and technically deducts 10% of my phone bill per month (as 10% goes towards paying the tab).
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2goto1




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:20 am   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

$40 to $50 a month locked into a contract isn't the best deal, but depending on what city you live, it might be an ok deal.

If you're in a major city that offers discount carriers like Wind, Mobilicity, Public mobile, etc., then you might want to consider those carriers. They all have cheap monthly rates and no contract - you can cancel at any time at no cost.

The discount carriers all offer a "tab" for your phone, which is essentially a way to subsidize the cost of your phone over the time that you have the plan. The problem is their phone prices are usually way higher than what you'll pay for buying the same unlocked phone with cash right off Kijiji, Craigslist, etc. If you're on a budget, you can get a last generation unlocked used phone for a great deal.

You don't have to use the discount carriers tabs either if you have your own phone. You can get monthly rates with unlimited everything, including 3G (not necessarily the best 3G but better than nothing) for about $30 to $35. Also the discount carriers don't necessarily have the best coverage, so do your due diligence if you look into it.

If you buy a used unlocked phone, make sure you have the seller verify that all features are working properly. The great thing about cell phones is their warranties "follow the phone", not "follow the owner". You don't even need a receipt if your phone has an issue, you just send it away and it gets fixed and sent back to you.

Wind, Mobilicity, etc., will usually provide you with a crappy phone while your phone is getting fixed. And be prepared to wait 1 - 2 months while it's getting fixed.

Also the roaming rates for discount carriers is usually cheaper than Rogers, Fido, etc. My roaming charge with Mobilicity is 20 cents a minute. If I go over the boarder, it's still 20 cents a minute.

Also I like the fact that carriers like Mobilicity have a "wallet" feature. It can be a blessing and a curse. The wallet is a cash balance that you keep with them for any additional charges. I usually keep my wallet funded at $20. So when I'm roaming, I know that if my roaming costs go over $20, then my service will no longer work. At least that way I know that I'm not going to have a bill for $3,000 that month due to excessive roaming charges.

Good luck with your choice.
andrew.




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:14 am   Post subject: Re: RE:Which phone?

2goto1 @ Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:20 am wrote:
Also the discount carriers don't necessarily have the best coverage, so do your due diligence if you look into it.
I'm not sure exactly what carriers you're referring to, but if you sign with Virgin, Fido, or Koodo, you should have decent coverage as they use Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks respectively. If you're referring to Wind, etc. then yes, their coverage will be generally worse. However, it's usually usable and cheaper if you live in a major city.
Insectoid




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:00 am   Post subject: Re: RE:Which phone?

andrew. @ Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:14 am wrote:
2goto1 @ Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:20 am wrote:
Also the discount carriers don't necessarily have the best coverage, so do your due diligence if you look into it.
I'm not sure exactly what carriers you're referring to, but if you sign with Virgin, Fido, or Koodo, you should have decent coverage as they use Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks respectively. If you're referring to Wind, etc. then yes, their coverage will be generally worse. However, it's usually usable and cheaper if you live in a major city.


My parents are on a Virgin plan and can't access the Bell network in Thunder Bay, so this isn't always the case.
2goto1




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 1:15 pm   Post subject: Re: RE:Which phone?

andrew. @ Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:14 am wrote:
2goto1 @ Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:20 am wrote:
Also the discount carriers don't necessarily have the best coverage, so do your due diligence if you look into it.
I'm not sure exactly what carriers you're referring to, but if you sign with Virgin, Fido, or Koodo, you should have decent coverage as they use Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks respectively. If you're referring to Wind, etc. then yes, their coverage will be generally worse. However, it's usually usable and cheaper if you live in a major city.


I'm with Mobilicity in Toronto. The problem is the coverage gets spotty in "edge cases" even here in Toronto, such as when you're close enough to Mobilicity's towers to have a signal, but yet far enough where your signal is lousy - 1 to 2 bars at best...even though there might be a different carrier's tower closer that would provide better coverage. With Android phones, they continually try to use your carrier's tower if there is reception, it seems. I know of at least a few places in the city where this happens, particularly in Etobicoke. I'm not sure if that's a function of the phone or not, but I have my phone's "Network Operator" set to "Choose automatically" (the default on all Android devices) and experience this all the time.
rdrake




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 4:42 pm   Post subject: Re: Which phone?

I'm rather fond of my iPhone 5. It has its issues, but it's probably been the most enjoyable to use out of all of my phones. If I were to purchase an Android device again, it'd have to be a Nexus. Anything else and you're at the mercy of carriers and manufacturers for updates.
Nathan4102




PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:56 pm   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

Thanks for all the suggestions, comments, reccomendations, etc! After a bit of looking around, I've decided I'll probably go with the LG Optimus L9. It runs on android, which is what I wanted, and its not too expensive. With wind, it'll cost me 99 dollars with a 30$ + fees a month bill.

Incase I can't get a job next summer, or some time during the next 3 years, I'll just have to pay the 299 - 3(Months elapsed) fee, which isn't THAT bad.

I still might go for the nexus, but its an extra $50 up front, and I'm not seeing that much of a difference between the two phones.
finance




PostPosted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 6:52 am   Post subject: RE:Which phone?

Currently, i'm having Nokia .
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