# Help me choose a new cell phone



## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I have been using the same old simple flip phone for 10yrs now, it's getting to where it doesn't always ring when someone calls and the screen is small..

So, I'm on ATT and have been forever, I just checked there site and none of the phones are free, my wife uses a apple5, it has a lot of features that we don't use so about all of the features are turned off to save on cost etc...

I need a newer phone due to being on call 24/7 with my new job and I need a bigger screen to help see more better as I don't always have my glasses on...

I don't need all the bells & whistles the new phones offer, only will use texting & talking, no video etc..

So, what would be a good upgrade, Apple, Samsung, there are several and I don't know a good one vs not so good...

What do Y'all have to say???

Thanks, Chris


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Have owned nothing but iPhones since the iPhone 4, and it still works, just not activated atm. I skipped the sixes and went from a 5s to a 7. Love the bigger screen on the standard 7, I didn't get the large one as its big enough it would be like trying to carry the iPad mini with me everywhere.

But&#8230;we also have mac mini's in the house as well, everything integrates pretty painlessly between the iPhones, iPad and the Macs, something I could never keep my PC and androids doing without considerable effort.


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## Swv.farmer (Jan 2, 2016)

Defently a I phone no androids that is what I have and in 5 months I'm going to go with a I phone


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

I bought an iPhone 5s new recently from Walmart for $200. It is for Verizon's pay as you go deal, vs a contract. If I recall correctly, the $50 card from Walmart has a bonus 2 GB data in addition to 5 GB for 7 total. The $40 card is 2 GB. Service is monthly, no contract and data I believe carries over for 90 days.

Since it's not a straight talk type plan, you get full Verizon coverage with no derated speed.

Best part is - the Verizon monthly pay as you go includes a mobile hotspot. I tether my tablet to my phone all the time when traveling, away from the house, etc.

I had an iPhone 5 for a number of years and it did everything I needed and more. I didn't need or want an iPhone 7 and the expense of it, so the obsolete, but new iPhone 5s suits me fine.

Good luck,
Bill


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

iPhone....hard to beat the build quality and the software/operating system speaks for itself


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## Cozyacres (Jul 16, 2009)

look at the Android Motorola phones, G4 or similar, has good features and a lower price than iPhones, and less problems I have found


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

You said you don't need a phone with all the bells and whistles. So I would suggest staying with a flip phone. Except texting. I don't know how people text with those things. I refused to text when I had a flip phone. I would suggest an IPhone 6 or 6s. To keep costs down. But prepare for a new data fee that you don't have now. As for service. If At and t provides you a good connection stay with them. However your flip phone probably has better reception then Most smart phones. Personally I like Verizon the best for over all service. But I like that with At and T I get a reliable connection every where on the farm (even my basement). So I put up with worse customer service and a slightly more expensive bill to have a good connection.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

I too still have an old flip phone. I do like it but its starting to have some issues so I feel its time to join the crowd and get a smart phone. A lot of my friends like the iphones. I don't know what one I'll get but I know I don't need all the bells and whistles. Might be a few apps I'd like to try out and I'd like a better camera on my phone. I do know I'd like one that is tough and also loud enough to hear ring when its noisy. I kinda like the idea of military grade or milspec smart phones that are dust proof, water proof, shock proof, and all that. I see CAT has a line of phones that seem pretty good but expensive. One even has a thermal camera on it. https://www.toughgadget.com/best-rugged-smartphones-unlocked/

First I have to see if AT&T will activate these phones if I buy one off of amazon or if I have to buy one from them.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

As far as smartphones I started with an iPhone 4, then a 5 and now a regular 7. I thought I wanted a iPhone SE but after looking at the screen size of a 7 I went with it. I like how the Apple iPhones sync with our iMac and my MacBook Air. If I make a note on one it shows up on all of them. If put in a new Contact it shows up on all of them.

I have to say things were simpler with flip phones. Sometimes I wish smartphones had never been invented. Saw a family of three in a restaurant the other day, all three were messing with their phones and not speaking to each other at all.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

The new iPhone 7's are water resistant, not sure if actually water proof, but are water resistant


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

My wife and I each have iPhones 5c. They have much more to offer than we will ever use, but they are so much greater than flip phones that we started with. Although you think that you don't need all the bells and whistles on an iPhone, it's almost unbelievable what you can do with them. In addition to talking, texting, taking photos and videos, reading email, etc., I put my calving notes on this phone so they are always at my finger tips when checking for calves. Then, occasionally, I will email these calving notes to myself in order to prevent me from accidently deleting them on the iPhone. It is a ready gps unit. There are many, many apps for it. One that I use occasionally is a level.

What ever phone you get, spend the extra $ to get a survivor case. This is a rubber cover that protects the phone from breakage if dropped.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If you don't need a data plan then you should not get one. For talk and text only I would completely avoid all smartphones and just get some kind of the conventional phone. Once you're in it ,you're in it you, pay. Unless of course your wife already has one and you're just going on to her plan. But what we found with Dad and Mom being on our plan regardless as how careful you are and how little you use . Once you got a smartphone you're in at $50 plus thing , there's promotions that say this and that . It just seems it about six months that all goes away and everybody that has a smartphone in their hand he's going to be paying big bucks.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

That's a tough question Chris since a iPhone is much more than you need or want.....for talking and texting only. Also, iPhones are very very fragile as vhaby alluded to....

I believe that I would investigate flip phone availability and not get started on the iPhone for talking and texting only.

I have the iPhone 6 which is a little larger in size than the 5 but not as large as the 7 which is too big in many situations for my comforts.

There will be a new iPhone model available in September.

Another thing that you have to consider is that if you buy a iPhone then you will have to carry insurance on it as the replacement costs are very painful.

I just don't feel for your stated purposes of talking and texting only that you need to be burdened with a iPhone and all the encumbrances that go along with them. My parents have new flip phones as the iPhone definitely does not fill their wants or needs.

For your stated purposes of talking and texting only, buying a iPhone would be like buying a maximum view cable package when over the air broadcast is all that you want.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I have the I phone 6+ it's a bigger ph so easier to see the screen.Its big enough I don't like to carry it when working so when I got it I kept my flip ph also.i have a couple farms with poor service and I can get reception with the flip ph but not the I phone.It cost me a extra $20 a month to keep my old flip ph,I didn't think to bad of a price to have service if needed when in poor service areas.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I've got an iPhone 6 or 6s can't remember for my day job but also carry a flip phone for hay and personal calls.

If you like flip or other basic phones still, look at the pay and talk plans from your provider. I paid 30$ for this last flip in a pay and talk package and put my SIM card from my month to month plan in it.

Sure is nice to charge it once a week instead of daily like a smart phone.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

IHCman said:


> I too still have an old flip phone. I do like it but its starting to have some issues so I feel its time to join the crowd and get a smart phone. A lot of my friends like the iphones. I don't know what one I'll get but I know I don't need all the bells and whistles. Might be a few apps I'd like to try out and I'd like a better camera on my phone. I do know I'd like one that is tough and also loud enough to hear ring when its noisy. I kinda like the idea of military grade or milspec smart phones that are dust proof, water proof, shock proof, and all that. I see CAT has a line of phones that seem pretty good but expensive. One even has a thermal camera on it. https://www.toughgadget.com/best-rugged-smartphones-unlocked/
> 
> First I have to see if AT&T will activate these phones if I buy one off of amazon or if I have to buy one from them.


My brother bought a CAT phone after his iPhone cratered. He got 18 months out of it before it went to phone heaven and was replaced by an iPhone again. I can generally get 4 years out of a phone but he can't make 2 on the same model...

He wasn't impressed with the cat especially for the extra price.


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## ozarkian (Dec 11, 2010)

The funny thing about the farming industry is that we do not adapt to the available technology like we should. I bet I use my Apple smart phone more in farming than I ever did in the technology industry I was previously in. It's just a cost of doing business.

Weather apps with live radar are invaluable when making hay.

Note taking apps, great for shopping lists etc.

Camera, use it everyday

Weed ID apps

Spraying apps

Crops apps

Cattle apps

Compass app with GPS, great for building fences

Agronomy apps

Spreadsheet apps

These apps are mostly free.

The list goes on and on. In our profession, technology is our edge. it keeps us on a level playing ground with the Big Boys. Let's face it, our forefathers fought the idea of moving from a horse and plow to a modern tractor.

*If your standing still, your falling behind.*


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Again for longevity, my old iPhone 4 is still going with my wife, 5.5 years old, original battery, it even took a swim in the toilet without a case. The first 3 years it lived in a life proof case and despite destroying the case the phone looked brand new when she got it. She keeps it in a slim case now and it's still survived a good half dozen drops on concrete and hundreds of drops on the ground outside.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> That's a tough question Chris since a iPhone is much more than you need or want.....for talking and texting only. Also, iPhones are very very fragile as vhaby alluded to....
> 
> I believe that I would investigate flip phone availability and not get started on the iPhone for talking and texting only.
> 
> ...


actually the iPhone 6 and 7 are the exact same size. You must be comparing the 6 and a 7 plus. I used the same case from my iPhone 6 on my 7.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Well, if your wife already has the Iphone, that's what I'd go with. Since you're not looking for a ton of features, I'd go with whatever is cheapest at the phone store, or get one online. My brother buys his online.

I'm not a big fan of Iphone... I've used my brother-in-laws from time to time in Indiana, either answering or texting for him or calling for him if he's tied up in the middle of something. It's sorta like my Droid Maxx but not as "intuitive" to learn, but I think most of that comes down to 'what your used to' and not to any great difference in capability or anything... IOW they're all broadly similar now, other than memory size and screen size and stuff like that. Get one that fits your pocket and has a screen big enough for you to see.

SO, WHY do I suggest the Iphone over the Droid?? Well, because your wife already has one. You can share the same chargers and stuff and won't be constantly fumbling with each other's charger cords and stuff, since they are different between the iphone and droid and if you have one of both you have to have two of everything... make sense?? Plus, she's already familiar with it, and she can school you on how to use it. Not ashamed to admit, I had a flip phone until I got this Droid Maxx 3 years ago, maybe four... She had a smart phone before that, a Droid of some sort, I had inherited that from her when she upgraded, because my old flip phone finally died and I went through a couple of those "pocket phones" (still buttons on them but not a flip phone-- one even had a keyboard on the back of it).

It took me a week or two to get comfortable with the smart phone, but she schooled me on it and once I got used to it, it is SO much better and easier to use than the stupid flip phones or pocket phones ever dreamed of being... Plus you can do SO many things with the thing... I don't do TONS with mine, but I have a lot of apps, from FarmLogs (which shows me rainfall totals on my BIL's farm in Indiana and our two farms here separated by 100 miles, and charts the rainfall yearly in graph format and shows rainfall events and totals, against a 10 year average line... plus you can log all your stuff in field by field if you want-- planting dates, applications of fertilizer and pesticide, whatever information you want to put down (though I don't really use that feature much-- I mainly like the rainfall totals and trend lines). I use the "level" app a lot and have about 3-4 weather apps on mine-- weatherbug is good plus some other radar and local ones as well, and I keep "Weather Underground" open in my browser at all times... (I have their app too but like the browser version better-- I especially like the wind direction and speed forecast line and the precip chances and barometric pressure lines, which, when you know how to read them, let you practically predict the weather yourself.) Convertipad app is good for conversions between metric and standard and even esoteric measurement systems (foot pounds to newtons, etc). Compass is cool and handy to have, DigiHUD app is a handy speedometer in the old grain truck that the speedo didn't work anymore, DeluxeMoon app is fun, Cargo Decoder lets me have my daughter look up any hazmat placard on the road, and I have her look up the chemical on wiki and learn about what the trucks we pass are carrying and what the stuff is used for (just to give her an appreciation for how important transportation and chemistry is in the modern world, and for fun). Dry Grain Calculator app is handy to correct bushels dry to bushels wet, etc. GasBuddy is worth its weight in GOLD by helping you find cheap fuel no matter where you are... (I always use map view). Maps is also a frequently used tool that is invaluable. The calendar is enormously helpful, as is Google to look up stuff on the net, like having a computer with you all the time. You can buy a borescope camera on Ebay for anywhere from about $10 bucks on up that will plug into your phone, and using the "camera Fi" app, you can inspect the interior of pumps, engines, plumbing, etc like a $600 borescope setup would cost. Field Guide and Modes of Action apps are handy for pesticide applications, and for pest identification. I also have some apps like "Urban Biker" which will measure speeds down to a tenth of a mile per hour-- and tracks everywhere you go when you're on the tractor and how much ground you cover, which I use to make sure I operate sprayers and stuff at the same ground speed all the time, and it shows where I've applied almost like a lightbar... GeoTracker app is great for recording trips and mileage, distances, elevations, etc. "Altitude" app records changes in altitude as you move around and doubles as a speedometer as well.

To complement the "speak to text" feature of the phone (which I use with varying success), there's also an app to "read" your text messages to you as they come in, so you can keep your eyes on the road at all times... it's called "Text Message Reader". Very helpful!

I like the "Heavens Above" app for tracking satellites and watching the night sky-- projects a full sky map on your phone, you can set it to "red" for night-vision protection, and tracks satellites visible from your location and projects them on the map as they fly over, as well as other astronomical phenomena like the Moon, planets, stars, and Sun. Slide the screen sidways to see the orbit of the satellite, and slide it over once more and it'll tell you when the satellite you were looking at was launched, from where, and on what rocket, the orbital period and stuff, from what nation and launch site, all sorts of interesting information. Very cool for setting up a telescope if you're a skywatcher... Night sky tools is also neat, lots of good information about sky phenomena but not as good of a skymap. Heck I even have a visual drift estimator that will give me the distance my rocket will drift under parachute, if I type in the estimated altitude from RockSim (rocket simulator program that you can design and "test fly" rockets in the computer with various engine options) and the current wind speed and direction, so I know where to look for a rocket on the ground after its landed if I lose sight of it...

Just TONS of great stuff that you can find is immensely helpful, once you round that corner... Of course you can use as much or as little of it as you want. I was highly skeptical I'd use any of that stuff, either, when I got it, and found out how much fun and helpful it really is, now I'm really glad I got one!

Later! OL J R


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

I phone or Samsung. I am not an apple guy. But them are the two best. By popular opinion.


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

I had a smart phone went back to a flip don't regret it a bit lots smaller and handier to carry around! Granted the texting ain't as easy to do that's the only regret I have, but not enough to go back to one.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

If you like AT&T service, look at buying a Apple 5s (about $150), with service costing $35 a month. If you like the android style phones, they are also available (starting at about $20 each).

If you are mainly talking/texting, Apple 5s (still about $150) and Tracfone or Straight Talk could be possibilities.

Larry


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Thanks everyone, we do have a data plan for the wife's I-5 but don't use the data part at all. I am going to check out what they have to say in person, the wife got a text a few weeks ago with a free upgrade offer of some sort, might see what that's about, I would like a flip phone but I need a larger screen, might trade her I-5 for something else and I'll take her phone, I don't care that it's PINK, might make it easier to find....


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

SCtrailrider said:


> Thanks everyone, we do have a data plan for the wife's I-5 but don't use the data part at all. I am going to check out what they have to say in person, the wife got a text a few weeks ago with a free upgrade offer of some sort, might see what that's about, I would like a flip phone but I need a larger screen, might trade her I-5 for something else and I'll take her phone, I don't care that it's PINK, might make it easier to find....


Tractor spray paint could fix that problem is you desired and it could be in YOUR favorite color!!! 

Larry


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

This is interesting. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/mark-zuckerberg-just-signed-the-death-warrant-for-the-smartphone/ar-BBA0LDN?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

endrow said:


> This is interesting. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/mark-zuckerberg-just-signed-the-death-warrant-for-the-smartphone/ar-BBA0LDN?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp


Sounds more depressing than interesting to me. Kids will put on a pair of glasses and never will get off their tails and do anything.....and stare off into space like zombies.

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> Sounds more depressing than interesting to me. Kids will put on a pair of glasses and never will get off their tails and do anything.....and stare off into space like zombies.
> 
> Regards, Mike


They already do......it will only magnify the existing problem 
Maybe it's why zombie shows are so popular.....they are slowly evolving to zombies


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