I'm very tempted to buy a smartphone with part of stimulus money. Currently have cheap little Tracfone for phone calls,
I want it to use for away-from-computer Google searches and other internet stuff - a little computer away from my desktop. Connect to my CenturyLink wi-fi modem to get online. Not much as a phone, camera, etc. Decent battery. Any suggestions? What should I know and/or look for before I purchase?
TIA
I've been a fan of Samsung. Presently have an S8 but if it died I'd just get the latest version. Been very reliable.
Also consider a small tablet so you could run Windows or Linux.
Now that Google and YouTube have begun censoring user content, I'll be moving away from the Android platform.
If you've never used a cellphone for online browsing, I suggest a tablet instead. The smaller screen, even with a larger phone, is overwhelming, at least for me. I've also adapted to larger PC screens and tablets, so I'm more bias towards them. Regardless, consider a tablet.
As for a phone, I'm an iPhone guy but I must say I do like the Galaxy line. The clarity is awesome along with the larger screens.They are also much cheaper than the Apple brands.
You will be re-charging more. I just replaced my 10 year old Nokia flip phone - it still had the original battery that still held charge for a week or more. Nothing wrong with it - just that my provider said that it would be obsolete in a year - something to do with the 2-G .. I had an old vacation smartphone that I'm now using - Motorola - and even with minimal use, it's plugged into the charger twice a week - if I were using it to surf or emails - every day or two probably. Someone suggested a tablet - if you still like your old phone - and don't mind a second device - it might be an idea. Avoid the old models with old Android versions. Disable/remove all the garbage apps and all the notifications from apps. I played around with my wife's 8 inch tablet and it was about the smallest screen that I can imagine using for surfing or email - a smaller-screen & smaller touch-points - like on a smartphone just don't work for my old eyes. John T.
I second your recommendation. I have a Samsung Galaxy A ten inch tablet that I really like.
I see it is available for less than I paid two years ago.
I've had two ZTE's now, the latest is the Z982. It's excellent bang for the buck, has 6" screen, 32GB flash, 2GB ram, fingerprint sensor, USB-C connector, Qualcom quickcharge. You can pick one up on Ebay used for $75, new probably $100 or 110. This one is about two years old now, you can check out what new models they have. Those are the min specs I would recommend, except for the display, where you can go smaller depending on how important smaller size is vs a bigger easier to read display. In my reviewing, LG was a good choice too.
Are you using it for phone too or just internet via wifi? If you're looking for low cost cell phone service, check out Mint Mobile. They are a prepaid MVNO that uses the T-Mobile network. You can get unlimited voice/text and 3GB of data a month for just $15 a month. If you want to use them, let me know. I can get you a referal code where you get a $15 credit when you open a new account and use the code.
The sad part on any electronic device is the depreciation value within 6 months after purchase. Though, Apple products hold their value a bit longer, they still drop and the better value is still the Galaxy. It's just a matter of what platform one wants to use.
Does not bother me as this happens with all this stuff. I prefer to the Apple products.
Depends on the Galaxy. The S20 etc are just as expensive as the iphones and the new SE is much less expensive. Sure, the low end Galaxys are much cheaper.
Depreciation? Its 100% once it breaks beyond sensible repair cost. I don't consider it an investment, just the cost of use. I'm replacing my
10 year old desktop now and it costs less than half my 1983 computer with an 8088 processor and 2 floppy drives. Along the way I also replaced the 10" monochrome monitor.
For about the last 10 years I have been buying used computers off ebay. For around $ 100 to $ 150 I can get one that is plenty good enough for me as I do not play any games that require any speed. The computers were refurbished and loaded with the lastest operating system. They looked almost like they just came out of the box.
Often get some of the software off ebay. For instance one of the Microsoft Office programs was about $ 10. I did have to download it and then was sent the COA 'password' . Worked fine.
I remember paying $ 600 for a used TRS-80 computer with just a tape recorder. Cost me another $ 600 for two of the 5 inch floppy drives and hardware to go in it.
Electronic devices are obsolete the day before you buy them. By they time they reach the stores another updated device is already in bata testing.
I had a TRS-80 with 16 kb memory. It probably cost me as much to upgrade it to 64 kb as I paid a couple of years ago to upgrade from 6 gb to 10 gb on my current desktop.
What I did when I got off the blackberry was pick up a good used I-Phone SE. Can pick them up for about $150 anf they run IOS13 (the current release)
trader_4 snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
Just internet.
Other responses gave me an idea.
I've had this RCA tablet for years and trying to get it to work again. Very poor screen touch response. However, I noticed something new not mentioned in the manual. There is is small green tab in the upper-right corner of the screen. I think this may be attached to a transparent film covering the screen for protection while shipping. This could well be the cause of my very very poor screen touch response. I tried to pull on the tab to remove the film but it started to tear. What should I do? Am I on the right track?
Emailed this to RCA support. Waiting on response. If I can get that tablet to work right I won't need the smartphone.
Seiously .. an RCA tablet wasn't worth the price of the packaging - when ir was brand new . Good luck getting any useful support now. If - perchance - you get a reply from RCA - do not send them your credit card number !
What you might try - if it is not older than Android 4.4 ... and that is very OLD - do a factory reset and then refuse / delete all the apps. Then delete / disable all the apps - then visit every app and disable the notifications - .. then it might be almost usable. John T.
Agreed.
My first one was under $100
worked great but only had one gig for photos.
Might be all that's needed.
An RCA anything isn't worth taking out of the box. Generally speaking it is "Thompson Home Products" - a cheap-assed importer of inferior goods who licensed the RCA name in an attempt to make their crap appeal to Noth American customers.
I bought my wife a windows pad with detachable keyboard - running Windowds 10 for $139.00. it is a "smart Tab".
I also bought a 10 inch android from "digiland" for under $100 but barely ever use it. Definitely not a fan of Android and it can't run any of my go-to windows applications. It's running Nougat.
Wife gifted me with one of those cheap androids and only benefit was learning a bit about the OS. Battery was crap. Cut off half way through a 90 minute movie and now will not last for more than a couple of minutes.
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