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[Kristin Meredith]

I need help!!!!  I think I need to get a new cell phone plan which means a new cell phone.  I am just a talk and text person and a good solid smart phone is fine.  This is a very confusing area for me, so any suggestions on a phone and a carrier?  I am seriously thinking about Mint Mobile because they have unlimited text and phone for an intro of $15 per month for 3 months and then $25 per month thereafter.  All input is welcomed and thanks.

ps -- please keep in mind I am a Luddite and get easily overwhelmed by technology.  That is why I am using a Great Call (now Lively) basic smart phone and service, but they are becoming ridiculous in pricing for just talk and text, so the switch.

[Darwin]

When my ATT contract ended I moved to Consumer Cellular a couple of years back.  Check their website and it should tell you if your current phone works on their network.  The kid at Target wasn't great to deal with but I have not had a problem with CC.  The coverage is the same as the big names.  I pay like $25 per month for a basic plan.
https://www.consumercellular.com/shopping/choose/plan

[W6YJ]

Kristin,

Not sure if either you or Bentley are 55, or if both of you would be switching.

If yes to both, take a look at T-mobile's 55 Plus Magenta plan.

It includes two lines with unlimited talk, text, and data*, plus Netflix basic, and two included (middle of the road) smartphones for $70 per month (no additional taxes or junk fees).

* if you use more than 100 GB per month, they will slow the data rate down. But that would take watching movies / videos for many hours every day of the month.

[ylr]

I'm assuming you have a 4G phone? If so, Red Pocket is the way to go, IMO. They have replacement sim cards for all four carriers. If you don't talk a lot(like me), you can get a 1000 minute, unlimited text, and 1GB of data for $99/YR. For $15/MO or $180/YR, you can get unlimited talk/text, plus 3GB of data per month.

You can keep your phone, get the sim via ebay, follow the instructions to import your phone#, and you are set! Just search Red Pocket on ebay. Been using them for a year and a half, and I'm satisfied with them.

[TravlinMan]

Consider talking to the people that live in your area about which service they have and how they like it.  Verizon/T-Mobie/ATT or third party reseller..

As for phone, the good old flip phones are easiest for voice, but I believe the Telcos are trying to ditch those, for the smart phones, I would look seriously into what your closest friends and family have - they are your first line of support.

As that is said - I would recommend to stay away from the ‘cheap’ - no name android phones - they are unreliable and a general headache overall - My Opinion.  Stay with either a name brand Android - like Samsung etc or Apple.  My usage experience has evolved from a bag phone to Nokia to a few different Android phones to Windows Phone to Apple.

Yes I swallowed the pill(The matrix reference). Apple has a consistent interface across carriers, an easy to wrap your ‘brain around’ interface. The ‘Purchased (not contract) phones’ can be used on (most) all carriers and resellers. And to top it all off, IMHO - Apple appears to be more focused on user privacy than the others at this moment in time..

For a Verizon reseller - Visible - appears to be a respectable offering @25 mo each line on a 4 line setup, for a 2 line setup @35 ea line not as appealing. As mentioned earlier - T-Mobile has some reasonable no nonsense pricing, but sadly not much coverage in our area..

Your milage may vary, and - as the package normally states - This is only a serving suggestion…..

[Chris__M]

Wow. This comment isn't going to be any help to you, but I thought it worth noting.

In most things technological - almost all things - costs in the UK seem to be considerably greater than the US. Often we are paying the same number, except for me it is in pounds, not dollars (so about 41% up).

Why this subject is worthy of note is that the prices given here are about inline with what the major carriers would charge for a bundled phone + service.

However, we have  a company called GiffGaff here, which started off as a community organisation, using the O2 network here. It is now owned by O2, but run independently, and customer support is still done via online community.

GiffGaff will sell you a phone, but their main business is in SIM only deals, assuming you have a suitable phone already. Their cheapest rate is £6 ($8.50) a month, for unlimited calls and texts and 500Mb of data a month.

I am on a continuing (i.e. self-ordering) rate of £10 ($14). This gives me unlimited calls and texts and 10Gb of data a month.

Yes, you do need to buy your phone on top of this, but it is then yours to keep or replace as you see fit, not because of any contract. My phone - a Moto G6 - cost me just over 200 quid, and is now 3 years old and going strong. I would have paid for it twice over in a bundled deal.

GiffGaff has had this market sewn up until recently, when a new similar company (also backed by one of the big mobile companies) has appeared, called Smarty. Smarty has even better deals, but I'm content with GiffGaff for now. However, it is clear that the new market in the UK involves selling the old expensive bundles to those who know no different, while offering the cut price SIM-only packages to those who look for a deal. So they get two bites of the cherry, and by splitting it off into another company, they aren't accused of having predatory rates.

I'm really surprised that something similar hasn't appeared in the US. Give it time, I reckon.