I have finally done away with my StupidPhone and moved up in the world.
First decision was carrier. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile all require $70-75/month for a voice and data plan. But Virgin Mobile has an unlimited text/data plan with 300 voice minutes a month (plenty for me) for just $25--a bargain. The downside is that you have to buy the phone; they don't give it to you "free" or subsidized. But that's OK; a $200 phone (as I got) pays for itself in just four months of lower monthly fees.
What had held me back before now was the lack of decent smart phone choices from Virgin. Now, however, Virgin has the LS Optimus V, which I think is a good one for my needs. It's not the bleeding edge of technology, but is a solid lower-end Android phone. (Bunch of reviews pasted at the end of this post, for anybody who wants to explore it in more depth.)
Got the phone yesterday (after dealing with an annoying sales girl at Radio Shack who just couldn't believe I actually knew what I wanted, and kept trying to sell me something else), got my old phone number transferred to it, got it charged up, and it seems to be working. Now I have to move over all my contact info and learn all the ins and outs. I've also ordered a 32 GB memory card for it, and will move all my music to the phone, basically retiring my separate MP3 player.
I have also downloaded Angry Birds and have quietly begun my addiction to the game. Hey, after Black Friday, what else is there to do?
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phones/lg-optimus-v-phone.jsp
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380082,00.asp
http://theonbutton.com/2011/02/27/virgin-mobile-lg-optimus-v-review/
http://www.techwench.com/lg-optimus-v-virgin-mobile-review/#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj3fSUKy4Iw
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4 comments:
If you do use a 32G SD card, you may find it takes a long time to boot up when you first turn on the phone. There was quite a noticeable slowdown in the "wakeup" process when I upped my card from 4G to 8G.
Also, the Sprint network (which is what Virgin is on) does have some weak points to it, including some total dead zones. I think you will discover that you will get absolutely no signal anywhere in the IP. Which I know will just break your heart.
Last unsolicited advice for today: Turn off wifi in the settings menu when not actively using it. Your battery charge will last longer if it isn't also searching for those signals while you're just using your 3g cell connection to surf or tweet or whatever. Ditto for GPS. Along this same line, you can also use "airplane mode" to extend battery life without shutting it down at times you know you won't be online with it. I think you'll soon find you do care about battery time.
But, I thought this was a sensible way to break into the Swissarmyknife Phoneputer thing without committing to a contract for buckets of money over two years, and still do.
I did the exact same thing a few months agp. Virgin plan, though it runs on the Sprint network. Haven't had any connectivity problems, though calling outside the US has been an issue. Never ever use up the 300 minutes and signed up so that the $25 just comes off my card every month. Fantastic plan.
Hi grump... I just got this phone and am wondering if you still like it.
Yes.
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