Phoneless, Planless - what to do?

[The_Traveler]

Through a complex set of annoying occurrences, I find myself without a phone or system affiliation. I had been a T-mobile customer before and wouldn't mind staying with them, however I don't need/want the largest most elaborate smartphone.
Any suggestions on best used smart phone to buy?
I don't care much about anything except that I need to run a couple of special apps that are available in either Apple or Android.

TIA,

Lew

 

[table1349]

Most wireless companies have perfectly good, NEW phones for free. Why do you need used. The free phone will not be the latest not the market but if does the job and comes with a warranty why go used?

 

[The_Traveler]

I want an unlocked international phone - and I don't imagine its free - just the price amortized in the plan.

 

[SquarePeg]

Really liked my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 except for the camera - the large size was kind to my eyesight and was very user friendly. Loved having the built in stylus and ability to split the screen and view 2 apps at once. Battery life was great for me but I'm not a constant user like some people. Not sure if it would be available used/unlocked. I switched over to the iPhone 6s plus recently and like that too (especially the camera) but I doubt it would be as easy to find unlocked.

 

[table1349]

I want an unlocked international phone - and I don't imagine its free - just the price amortized in the plan.

Generally the phone is free, the plan price doesn't change, but you do get locked into a plan. I'm a Verizon but the T Mobil plan doesn't look too bad. International Plans | Traveling Abroad without Roaming Fees | T-Mobile

 

[otherprof]

Through a complex set of annoying occurrences, I find myself without a phone or system affiliation. I had been a T-mobile customer before and wouldn't mind staying with them, however I don't need/want the largest most elaborate smartphone.
Any suggestions on best used smart phone to buy?
I don't care much about anything except that I need to run a couple of special apps that are available in either Apple or Android.

TIA,

Lew

Hi Lew,
Tanga is selling an iPhone 5c with 16gb of memory, gsm, and unlocked for $123. For some reason I'm unable to paste the link here, but you might not want to click a link anyway, so you can just go to the Tanga website to find it. I've bought headphones and other small items from them and found them reliable.

 

[jcdeboever]

I would recommend the following for the quality hardware,simplicity, battery life.

honor 5X 16GB Smartphone
honor 5X 16GB Smartphone (Unlocked, Silver) 51090ENK B&H Photo

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/WorldwideFormatted.pdf

Motorola Moto E (2nd Generation)
Amazon.com: Motorola Moto E (2nd Generation) 8 GB - Global GSM Unlocked Phone - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[AlanKlein]

Not to hijack this thread, but are there any good, hard keyboard models that work on the internet too?

 

[Gary A.]

Damn, I cannot remember who is selling ... But someone is selling a Motorola, unlocked, latest generation, international capable, for $150. I just heard it on the radio. That Clark guy, with the cheapscrape radio show spoke, of The-Deal-of-the-Day.

But, I am quite happy with my Apple 6S. The large screen is great for my tired ol' eyes. Over the years, none of my Apple phones have given me any problems whatsoever. But if you don't use a lot of the 'smart' features, you're paying a lot for stuff you don't use.

 

[Gary A.]

Not to hijack this thread, but are there any good, hard keyboard models that work on the internet too?

Don't know your needs/requirements ... But ... Have you thought of a tablet w/keyboard?

 

[table1349]

If you don't mind a plan you might take a look at Verizon. Their iPhones come unlocked. Not because they want to but because they have to. If you look at them make sure to get the CDMA version. The following are the CDMA version from Verizon.

iPhone 6 16GB Gold (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG5Y2LL/A
iPhone 6 64GB Gold (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG652LL/A
iPhone 6 128GB Gold (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG622LL/A
iPhone 6 16GB Space Gray (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG5W2LL/A
iPhone 6 64GB Space Gray (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG632LL/A
iPhone 6 128GB Space Gray (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG602LL/A
iPhone 6 16GB Silver (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG5X2LL/A
iPhone 6 64GB Silver (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG642LL/A
iPhone 6 128GB Silver (CDMA) Verizon Wireless MG612LL/A

 

[The_Traveler]

Since I don't plan to download movies/music of any sort, do I need more than the basic 16 gb?
How do I gauge usage plans?

 

[table1349]

No, the basic 16gb phone should do all you need. My previous 1phone was a 4 and it was only 16gb and did me fine. The size for you would depend on the amount and size of apps you plan to put on it. There are some great apps for traveling, airline apps, TSA app, translator app, map apps etc.

For plans the best thing to my mind is go into a Verizon store and talk to them. I can't speak for your location, but here the store we go to is a Verizon company store and they have been good at listening to our needs, and getting us into the most economical plan for our usage. They have actually lowered our bill a couple of times by suggesting a different option than we had looked at.

One disclaimer. The wife and I have had a long good relationship with Verizon as we use our devices extensively for both business and travel. That does not mean that they may be right for everyone. Definitely talk to them about overseas costs for their various plans and the options.

If you do go with an iPhone do a little google search on iPhone overseas usage. There are several sites that will show you the settings to use when overseas to keep from racking up some ridiculous charges.

 

[Gary A.]

I don't download movies, but I like to keep a ton of music on the phone. The 64gb gives me a lot of storage. I find a lot of music is useful when traveling by car or plane.

I've been using Verizon for ages and have found their system to have great coverage ... except at Camp Pendleton, where AT&T works better. Verizon is not the cheapest, but they always seem to work.

 

[table1349]

I don't do movies either, nor music, but I do download podcasts. Car Talk, Wait Wait don't Tell Me, and I record A Prairie Home Companion that I transfer to the phone to listen to.