<p>OK, we are tired of paying for the $30 data plan for my s’s blackberry pearl…especially since he doesn’t use it much for email. Most of the smartphones including Iphone and Droid charge this kind of monthly fee. </p>
<p>So what do you recommend as the best dumb phone. Primary uses: Texting (lots of it!), some internet browsing, and some calls and pics here and there. S doesn’t like touch phones (unless it’s an iphone…not happening). But a full keyboard makes sense with all that texting.
We are with verizon, so if you know of special deals, bring em on…</p>
<p>if your son texts a lot, an unlimited texting plan alone could equate to $10+, and internet another +$5, pics probably equals more.</p>
<p>A data plan includes all of that. When I think of “dumb phone” i think no qwerty keyboard whose sole purpose is to make calls, with texting below 100 a month.</p>
<p>I second the enV3. S texts a lot, uses the keypad. Me, not so much texting, but I like the qwerty option. FYI, we have three lines w/ Verizon, unlimited texts & pics, and the bill is $100/mo. D has the Voyager and finds it finicky and bulky.</p>
<p>We just got the Impression for 2 of our children. They had “buy one,get one free” type of offer. We added the unlimited texting for the first time, but didn’t have to get a data plan right now. So far, they love it.</p>
<p>It is easier to browse the internet with the new enV? I have an older one (maybe the 2) and found browsing tedious. E-mail is okay, but seems slow compared to my S’s blackberry…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone (and sorry I posted this on the wrong forum!)
Looks like it’s between the Impression and the enV3.
I agree that these phones are not quite “dumb phones”. It’s just that the fanicier ones (like Blackberry, iPhone, and Droid) MAKE you buy an expensive data plan -at $30 or more per month. Looking to save some money here since DS doesn’t even use the email very much on his current BB.</p>
<p>We’re with Verizon – 5 lines; 4 of us have the Alias 2 (5th phone is a VERY basic phone for my MIL for calls only.) Alias 2: QWERTY key board, great for texting. We don’t pay for a data plan but all lines have unlimited texting and photo transmission. Both D & S love it. I never had texting before and I like it a lot, too.</p>
<p>“^^^ doubt it. We’d be signing up post haste if it was that cheap for ATT iPhones.”</p>
<p>Haha, that is totally impossible. Unless one has some kind of grandfathered plan, every smartphone on ATT is forced to have the 30 dollars (per line) add-on for data. Additional lines in a family plan are 10 dollars extra each. Unlimited text that is NOT part of the data is an extra 30 dollars for a family. Then you have to add those pesky taxes and other confiscatory fees our government has become dependent on.</p>
<p>However, all those costs remain a bargain compared to the charges one can incur for deciding to use an IPhone outside the United States.</p>
<p>PS Pruneface’s numbers were correct as long as one adds them up.</p>
<p>I have a 5 line at&t family plan 2100 minutes, unlimited text and data, with 4 iPhones and something simple my wife uses. It’s not cheap. Comes to about $70 “per person”.</p>
<p>The latest edition of Consumer Reports has an article about cellphones. Their recommendations for non-smart phones with Verizon are 1)LG enV Touch; 2)Samsung Alias 2; 3)Samsung Rogue; 4)LG Versa; 5)LG enV3. But the Versa gets only a “Fair” for voice quality, and the Rogue the same for battery life.</p>
<p>I overheard a salesman telling a customer when she was buying her Samsung Impression, that she needed to get data and text to get the phone. I told him I had the phone without data, the text feature is considered enough by AT&T to fulfill the agreement. She was grateful because the data and text would have been expensive. I hate when they try to pad an already high bill!
I don’t have an email plan, but just checking my email a few times a month, only cost me about 1.20. I didn’t stay on long.</p>
<p>You won’t be able to browse the internet with ease on any non “smart phone”, most of it is just connecting through the Verizon Mobile Web or whatever that’s called. I personally just use an iPod Touch for browsing the internet and whatever my phone can’t do.</p>