I know this has come up before but - Smart phones cost

[Azure]

I know it's come up before but I'm gonna ask anyway :~)

Ian really wants a smart phone. I have always just automatically said no. But then I thought I should probably find out more about it to be fair.

Are there inexpensive ways to own a smart phone? I get all confused when I try to look things up on line. Too. Much. Information. So I thought I 'd ask opinions here. TIA!

[bae]

Well, if you don't require it to be an actual cell phone, you can use an iPod Touch over wifi to do everything an iPhone can do, basically. No monthly cost.

Including Skype or other voice-over-IP services, so you can make and receive calls, assuming you are on a wifi net.

[razz]

Well, according to my research but not actual experience, I can buy a smart phone (about $200 but the US may be cheaper) for my Bell prepay phone plan of $11.50 per month with no additional charges. I am able to use as a phone, use any WIFI access at no charge for email and internet usage plus a number of apps that let me enjoy additional info at exhibits etc., but no texting or data.

An acquaintance has done this with success. Bell has told me that the switchover to do this using my present cellphone number will be $20.
I stand to be corrected on this.

[Gardenarian]

I hate to sound like an ad for Republic wireless (https://republicwireless.com/ip/black-friday-manifesto?utm_source=sales_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=brand_awareness&utm_keyword=&utm_ad_content=black_friday_manifesto) - but the Defy XT is $99, and $19 per month.
Or you can get the super fancy Moto X with plans starting as low as $5 per month.
($19 gets you unlimited calls, text, and data.)

[SteveinMN]

Several vendors have been selling the Nokia Lumia 521 (Windows Phone OS) for $80 with no contract required. Black Friday will push that down to $40 for customers in some states. It's no iPhone/Galaxy, but it's a serviceable phone that does what a phone should do (make and receive calls) and does a decent job with much of the rest. And since it is sans contract, you could take it to an MVNO like Airvoice or Ptel and either let Ian pay for the amount of airtime/messages/data he wants or you can buy him some and limit your contribution (prepaid; no overages).

A couple of people in this thread have suggested devices that let you place phone calls over WiFi. That's great if you're almost always within range of WiFi. But I visit many members of the family or friends who don't necessarily have WiFi or would have to part with their security code to get Ian on their network to call. PitA. And very unlikely to help him if he's had a flat tire on some county road on the outskirts of town. You can get prepaid data for the Nokia or other smartphones for $30-40 a month easily; for much less if you shop carefully and Ian doesn't use cell service all the time.

[Miss Cellane]

Virgin Mobile has some Android phones (Android is the chief rival to the iPhone) for under $100. There may be better deals on Black Friday, I don't know for sure. Then your monthly plans start at $35/month. That's for 300 minutes of phone calls, unlimited texting and unlimited data from the internet. Although with the internet, once you reach a certain amount of data per month, it slows down. You don't pay for the extra data downloads, but it will be slower.

[Alan]

Virgin Mobile has some Android phones (Android is the chief rival to the iPhone) for under $100. There may be better deals on Black Friday, I don't know for sure. Then your monthly plans start at $35/month.....

As an aside, if you register an iPhone with Virgin Mobile and then enroll in their autopay program, there is a $5 per month discount.