OP, thanks for giving us the details of your plan. I text like a madwoman so unlimited texts wouldn't work for me. The discount really helps.

If I talked on the phone a lot, I might not like my iphone as much as I do. It's not a great phone. It's a little too easy to accidentally hang up on someone because the controls are right there next to your ear on the touch-screen. I think it was easier to hear/talk on my pre-smartphone flip phones. It took awhile to adjust to texting on the touch-screen too - I miss the QWERTY keyboard on my blackberry.

But I love having email, facebook, mapping, etc. available on my phone, and kids' apps keep my daughter occupied during unexpected waits.

I'm the poster with the $55 per month bill. I live in Frederick, MD and I have AT&T. I have the 450 minutes (39.99), 2GB of data per month and I pay per text (since I dont text much). I get 15% discount on voice and a 15% discount on data (per month) for Fed. Gov employees.

Novice smartphone user here, what app do you use to see which stores are carrying which items?

Anonymous wrote:I had a prepaid phone (for 3 years). It didnt have internet/email/calendar. Texting was a nightmare. Cant tell you how many times I was somewhere & needed to look up something/get directions. I did not need a smartphone for work either. The week after Christmas I bought the new iphone. Oh man I LOVE this thing. I have all my music for the gym, can organize important dates, check emails. If a store is out of something I no longer have to go home, crank up the computer and find out where I can get the item. I can just do a quick search on my phone. I no longer have to listen to a 45 second long reminder before every phone call about how my minutes are about to expire. I can read books while at the doctor's office. The only downside is the bill. It's not too bad though...$55 a month. Honestly, I think it's worth every penny. What the hell took me so long.

please tell us your provider/plan, tks! r u in DC area?

I'm with T-Mobile and have a Samsung Galaxy II. I love it because the phone is fairly large and feels very comfortable (my fingers are long). Service is great, and yes, the phone is a lot of fun!

Anonymous wrote:Don't get a droid. Google needs to stick with search engines. The down side about smartphones. You cannot stop using it. When my droid doesn't work well, I might as well just curl up in bed and stop living. Be prepared to not be able to function without it!

Which one do you have? I love my android tablet and I've been eyeing a few different smartphones, but I can't justify the cost of buying one out right. I'm definitely not getting an iphone but my birthday is coming up and I was going to tell DH that's what I want.

P.S. OP I don't know what plan you have now, but they do make some pretty nice smartphones for the prepaid carriers. Virgin Mobile and Cricket have a good selection and cheap plans, and Boost seems like they're announcing new Droid phones every other week, along with having Blackberries for cheap.

Anonymous wrote:I had a prepaid phone (for 3 years). It didnt have internet/email/calendar. Texting was a nightmare. Cant tell you how many times I was somewhere & needed to look up something/get directions. I did not need a smartphone for work either. The week after Christmas I bought the new iphone. Oh man I LOVE this thing. I have all my music for the gym, can organize important dates, check emails. If a store is out of something I no longer have to go home, crank up the computer and find out where I can get the item. I can just do a quick search on my phone. I no longer have to listen to a 45 second long reminder before every phone call about how my minutes are about to expire. I can read books while at the doctor's office. The only downside is the bill. It's not too bad though...$55 a month. Honestly, I think it's worth every penny. What the hell took me so long.

that's $25 less than the Verizon or AT&T have now!

Don't get a droid. Google needs to stick with search engines. The down side about smartphones. You cannot stop using it. When my droid doesn't work well, I might as well just curl up in bed and stop living. Be prepared to not be able to function without it!

I hear you OP. My only regret is that I didn't get mine sooner. Now, how did you get that rate? I want it. Who's your provider?

I had a prepaid phone (for 3 years). It didnt have internet/email/calendar. Texting was a nightmare. Cant tell you how many times I was somewhere & needed to look up something/get directions. I did not need a smartphone for work either. The week after Christmas I bought the new iphone. Oh man I LOVE this thing. I have all my music for the gym, can organize important dates, check emails. If a store is out of something I no longer have to go home, crank up the computer and find out where I can get the item. I can just do a quick search on my phone. I no longer have to listen to a 45 second long reminder before every phone call about how my minutes are about to expire. I can read books while at the doctor's office. The only downside is the bill. It's not too bad though...$55 a month. Honestly, I think it's worth every penny. What the hell took me so long.

my regular cell phone went dead over the weekend and i'm thinking about getting a smart phone. besides the higher monthly bills - $40/mo more for voice/text/data - is there any downside or unpleasant surprises i need to be aware of? i managed to live/work with just voice and text for years but wonder if i need to keep up. btw i do NOT need a smart phone for work...