Switched carriers over a year ago, no contract now. (And it seems T-Mobile started a revolution there as other carriers are going no contract now...) Bought pretty much the cheapest smart phone available. Big reason I switched was lousy performance from an i-phone I had just bought, so I wrote it off and left Verizon. After several i-phones that worked well, I left the tribe because one was a lemon, and I don't see spending $600 or more to give them a chance to redeem the brand for me...

So I have this crummy little Samsung Galaxy Avant. It is glitchy, the speaker sucks, the display sucks, the camera sucks... But I am also not going to drop $600 or more on Samsung's Cadillac phone...

My plan was to upgrade to a Samsung a few generations old, but it seems "the man" is onto people who do that and now they only sell the newest offerings online or in the phone stores unless you want to buy used - doesn't seem "prudent" as Bushie one used to say...

But Best Buy has a potential remedy, their "unlocked" phones which allegedly work for any carrier. When I asked the chick at Best Buy about moving the several hundred numbers and contacts from my Samsung to the "unlocked" phone she seemed to think that would not work. Is she right? Hate the thought of manually moving or just losing my whole phone book...

And, while one of the "unlocked" brands is Motorola - a brand I have had good experience with, I am skeptical about buying one and having it be only marginally better (or, gasp) worse than the crapbox I have now.

Anyone ever bought an "unlocked" phone? How is/was it?

Any tech nerds want to look here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&nrp=15&cp=1&sp=-bestsellingsort%20skuidsaas&seeAll=&_dyncharset=UTF-8&ks=960&sc=Global&list=y&usc=All%20Categories&type=page&iht=n&browsedCategory=pcmcat311200050005&st=categoryid%24pcmcat311200050005&qp=devicemanufacturer_facet%3DDevice%20Brand~Motorola

and hazard a guess as to the cheapest Motorola phone that would be a significant upgrade over my crappy little Samsung Avant?

With Appple launching a new i-phone today what is the lag time before the other phones drop price because "everyone" has to have a new i-phone and so the last generation whatever has to get cheaper to keep selling? If there is going to be a couple hundred buck drop on the latest Samsung Notem or Scrotum or whatever they call them? I would consider one, but I worry about missing the window when they just straight quit selling it and you are back to the newest Apple or the newest whatever at a price approaching a grand...

Seems the cell phone man is sticking it to us. How can we stick it to him? Half tempted to go back to a flip phone...

All right you tech geeks, solve this one! Go!

Dunno.

But as far as phones go, I've learned three things: Nokia's are OK, LG's are horrible and HTC is actually pretty good. I had an HTC One that was my favorite phone until it got tossed off a balcony. Followed it with a Samsung that I hated, so I gave it to my son.

I lived abroad for a while and would always buy unlocked phones. Never had any problems changing carriers either domestically or internationally. For a while I would drop that ridiculous amount of money on the "premium" phones before I realized that it is just about 85% a waste of money. When I realized that my phone had more power than I would ever need, I decided to stick with a phone that met my basic needs of playing music and playing games on public transit.

My in-laws came to the US earlier this year and I gave a Moto G to my wife's grandmother so she could download some apps to keep in touch with my wife more easily. The phone is less than 200 bucks and I was really impressed by it. Removable battery, microSD expansion for memory, and overall decent quality and runs a pretty up-to-date version of Android. I would suggest. I feel like there is another model (different letter) that is cheaper, but I can't remember.

Edit: I don't suggest Samsung phones. They fill them up with all sorts of bloatware/apps/features that most people will never use.

(09-25-2015, 12:00 PM)Benton Wrote: Dunno.

But as far as phones go, I've learned three things: Nokia's are OK, LG's are horrible and HTC is actually pretty good. I had an HTC One that was my favorite phone until it got tossed off a balcony. Followed it with a Samsung that I hated, so I gave it to my son.

HTC makes great phones. I have an iPhone but will be going to android when I upgrade again.

(09-25-2015, 02:16 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: HTC makes great phones.   I have an iPhone but will be going to android when I upgrade again.

I had their Windows phone. Loved it. I've got a Nokia Windows phone now. I still like the OS, but once a month the phone locks up and you have to hard reset.

I bought an unlocked Galaxy III for $140, came with 90 day warranty, use it for Straight Talk. No complaints from me, so far.

Samsung has a program where you can upload everything on your phone to your computers (KIES). You should be able to do that and then download to new phone.

FWIW, I use Virgin Mobile. Runs off Sprint servers and I have unlimited text and Data for $35 a month.

(09-25-2015, 12:00 PM)Benton Wrote: Dunno.

But as far as phones go, I've learned three things: Nokia's are OK, LG's are horrible and HTC is actually pretty good. I had an HTC One that was my favorite phone until it got tossed off a balcony. Followed it with a Samsung that I hated, so I gave it to my son.

Really?  I've had 3 LG phones and liked them all (current phone is a LG Stylo)....the best phone I ever had was a Sony Ericson flip phone.

(09-25-2015, 04:25 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Samsung has a program where you can upload everything on your phone to your computers (KIES). You should be able to do that and then download to new phone.

FWIW, I use Virgin Mobile. Runs off Sprint servers and I have unlimited text and Data for $35 a month.

I like the sound of that.  I am currently with Sprint, and our rate is $60 (older plan) for unlimited talk, text, and data.  Good coverage and data speed?

(09-25-2015, 03:59 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I bought an unlocked Galaxy III for $140, came with 90 day warranty, use it for Straight Talk.  No complaints from me, so far.

I was looking at Galaxy as well . And a note.

(09-25-2015, 01:18 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I lived abroad for a while and would always buy unlocked phones. Never had any problems changing carriers either domestically or internationally. For a while I would drop that ridiculous amount of money on the "premium" phones before I realized that it is just about 85% a waste of money. When I realized that my phone had more power than I would ever need, I decided to stick with a phone that met my basic needs of playing music and playing games on public transit.

My in-laws came to the US earlier this year and I gave a Moto G to my wife's grandmother so she could download some apps to keep in touch with my wife more easily. The phone is less than 200 bucks and I was really impressed by it. Removable battery, microSD expansion for memory, and overall decent quality and runs a pretty up-to-date version of Android. I would suggest. I feel like there is another model (different letter) that is cheaper, but I can't remember.

Edit: I don't suggest Samsung phones. They fill them up with all sorts of bloatware/apps/features that most people will never use.

Thank you! Looked at some reviews for the Moto G that Best Buy had at $179 and along with your observations it seemed to make sense to pull the trigger so I did. I agree with your take on Samsung. I know a lot of people who swear by Motorola - mostly military guys. Best phone I ever had was a Motorola but that was almost 20 years ago.

I think this has to better than what I had after I get through the learning curve, which doesn't look too steep.

Thanks CK et al for your feedback. I am sure others will continue to swap cheers and jeers about their phones, old and new...

Go prepaid. Get straight talk for 45 bucks a month. Unlimited data and minutes.

Buy a Nexus phone. The Nexus 5 is around 200 dollars on EBay. Awesome phone and the best value out there. The new Nexus is coming out sometime next month and its rumored to be around 300. Still a great deal.

This what I have done the past 5 years and Ill never go back to a carrier.

(09-25-2015, 03:49 PM)Benton Wrote: I had their Windows phone. Loved it. I've got a Nokia Windows phone now. I still like the OS, but once a month the phone locks up and you have to hard reset.

I rock a Windows phone as well, and a Nokia at that. But I haven't had any problems. I will probably stick with the Windows phone for the foreseeable future, I'm a big fan of the OS as well.

Cell phones are going to be the downfall of society. They sukk incredibly hard.

(09-25-2015, 05:30 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Go prepaid. Get straight talk for 45 bucks a month. Unlimited data and minutes.

Buy a Nexus phone. The Nexus 5 is around 200 dollars on EBay. Awesome phone and the best value out there. The new Nexus is coming out sometime next month and its rumored to be around 300. Still a great deal.

This what I have done the past 5 years and Ill never go back to a carrier.

Wow, never even heard of that. Obviously you don't have coverage issues. Pretty cool.

(09-25-2015, 04:29 PM)Wyche Wrote: I like the sound of that.  I am currently with Sprint, and our rate is $60 (older plan) for unlimited talk, text, and data.  Good coverage and data speed?

Coverage is the same as Sprint. The only difference is talk. You only get 500 minutes per month, but we usually do even use 50.

(09-25-2015, 05:33 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I rock a Windows phone as well, and a Nokia at that. But I haven't had any problems. I will probably stick with the Windows phone for the foreseeable future, I'm a big fan of the OS as well.

My son has my Samsung android. He makes fun of the fact I went to a windows phone because it's so simple. But my point is, I want simple. I've got three computers I worm on during that day. I want a phone I can just send a text on, make a call and check my email. The windows phone makes everything very simple. Totally happy with it.

(09-25-2015, 04:59 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: I was looking at Galaxy as well .  And a note.

I have an S4 and my son has a Note 4. You won't get a single complaint out of either of us.

(09-25-2015, 01:18 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I lived abroad for a while and would always buy unlocked phones. Never had any problems changing carriers either domestically or internationally. For a while I would drop that ridiculous amount of money on the "premium" phones before I realized that it is just about 85% a waste of money. When I realized that my phone had more power than I would ever need, I decided to stick with a phone that met my basic needs of playing music and playing games on public transit.

My in-laws came to the US earlier this year and I gave a Moto G to my wife's grandmother so she could download some apps to keep in touch with my wife more easily. The phone is less than 200 bucks and I was really impressed by it. Removable battery, microSD expansion for memory, and overall decent quality and runs a pretty up-to-date version of Android. I would suggest. I feel like there is another model (different letter) that is cheaper, but I can't remember.

Edit: I don't suggest Samsung phones. They fill them up with all sorts of bloatware/apps/features that most people will never use.

My current phone has microSD and a removable battery with a separate charger for tge spare batteries. You can charge the phone and spare batteries at the same time. These are two huge benefits. I also like the stylus it has. It's a rather new model (Otter Box hasn't even made a case for them yet), and I bought it outright through Sprint for $248.....which makes me wonder if I could have gotten it cheaper through Best Buy

I agree xxlt.....removable batteries and microSD is the way to go, whatever the brand.

I still rock a S3 :p