No contract smartphone recommendations

[ihrsetrdr]

I am in the market for a prepaid, or 'no contract' smartphone, and am soliciting shopping advice.

I've never had a smartphone, just the basic 'feature phones', but am seeing an increasing need for:

1. 'net access while away from home. Handy for shopping, general googling.
2. GPS capability while traveling.

I'm thinking that some kind of Android phone, with 3g / wifi / bluetooth connectivity would fill the bill. I would just need minimal talk & text & data, not planning on watching movies on a 4 inch screen. A decent digital camera would be handy. My current provider is Verizon, but I have decided that since I have a landline at home, cellular voice quality is less of a concern, given the amount of voice traffic I typically do, while away.

Rather than buy online, I'd like to see and examine the phone in-person, so I'd be probably looking at Bestbuy, perhaps even Walmart or Target, since those stores are less than 20 miles drive.

I should add: my current feature phone(500 shared minutes) cost about $30/month; I would like to keep the cost of this smartphone under $45/month, as I'm on a limited income. Any thoughts & guidence would be much appreciated.

 

[ScrubyMcBubble]

I personally have a Galaxy S3 (on contract though) and i can vouch for it being a great phone. Seeing as your in the neighborhood for a phone without a contract, I recommend you look into the Google Nexus phone. My bud has the phone and it competes on par with my S3 and you can buy it straight from googles website no contracts involved! I also hear the gps and maps features are pretty great on the phone seeing as most phones just use google maps, meanwhile this phone was made by google to work flawlessly with their apps.
Edit: Im not sure whether or not you can find the Nexus phone in retail stores or if its online only.. But if you see it, i recommend you check it out!

 

[CarlJohnson]

My daughter has a LG(forgot the model) Android phone through Virgin Mobile with 300 mins and unlimited text and data for $35/mo. It uses AT&T's network and so far has been great. The phone was around $100 I believe.

 

[manu2b]

I'd go with a used Motorola Atrix: dual core 1GHz (can OC to 1.45GHz) , HD screen (don't remember the exact res though). 2GB RAM. Mirroring on HD TV with Custom CM rom. And you can get it for something like $200 I guess.

 

[NeonCancerCandy]

i have an HTC One SV from Boost Mobile.
Sprint network. $55 a month for unlimited everything.
best phone i've ever bought. 1.2ghz dual core. 1gb ram.
it was really expensive though. ended up spending about $400 for the phone and 2 months of service up front.

with that said, i can tell you DON'T buy the Keyocera Rise from Virgin Mobile.
I had that before and it sucks. really really bad.

 

[Automata]

Tim, I know you stated that you'd rather buy it in person, but I would highly suggest the Nexus 4. This is pretty much the best phone on the market now and it is 300 for the 8 GB. You might be able to check it out in a local store, but I'm not sure what to suggest. For service, I use T-Mobile's $35/mo plan, which gets me 100 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data. This is a pay per month, no contract deal.

 

[ssjwizard]

Right now Im on "Republic Wireless" which offers a no contract semi-unlimited service plan for $20 a month. They only offer a single phone tough which is the dual band motorola defy XT. Its no monster of a phone but the service gets pretty solid coverage, and the price is certainly right.

 

[Bobnova]

I'm on T-Mobile's 100 minutes, 5GB-4G+unlimited 2G data, unlimited texts plan for $30.
Works great. I don't talk on the phone much.

Phone wise I've had a HTC Sensation 4G (average ebay cost, $130), I liked it. Now I have a HTC One S (average cost, 200ish), I like it even more.

 

[Seebs]

I got a ZTE Blade II just a week ago to hold me over until my Note 2 arrives... Got the phone hooked up with GoSmart Mobile on an unlimited Voice/Text/4G data for $45 and when the Note 2 gets to me; it will be added to the corporate account at my new job so it's gonna be unlimited everything on it since we get the "dealer" plans.
As far as shopping around for phones, plans, etc... You can go check the models at brick'n'mortar stores, but just know that they're likely to want you push you towards a "contract" plan... They get a larger cut on those than they do on pre-paid phones.

As it's been said before; Android is the way to go... This little phone I have now came with Gingerbread 2.3.6 and I'm already looking for modded ROMs to get it up to ICS or JB (issue is that the phone is a bit dated now and it lacks the oomph to handle the newer ROMS).

 

[ihrsetrdr]

Thanks guys for all for the input, got me pointed in the right direction. This morning I did stop by both Target and to BestBuy, here's what they had:

Target

I didn't see any decent 'no contract' phones; a couple with contract caught my eye:
1. HTC OneX has Android 4.0 $99
2. HTC One has Android 4.1 $189 (didn't catch the suffix to the model)
Both through AT&T (2 year contract)

No sales person available for the Electronics section.

BestBuy

1. HTC One SV - Android 4.0, $299, 4G 'lite' through BootMobile for $55.
2. Samsung Galaxy Reverb, $199 and $35/mo. through Virgin Mobile.

Sales people present, but busy with other customers.

I've satisfied my need to see the phones in-person, so will definitely buy online.
The Nexus 4 that Thideras linked has Android 4.2, a quad core procesor, 2gb RAM etc,
similar to the HTC One phones of the same price.
That alone is more computer than the average desktop user has.

I've changed my attitude from “replacing a phone” to “getting new computer”.

 

[Automata]

That is the downside to getting a phone like that. You cant' go back.

 

[cullam3n]

+1 for the Nexus 4. I bought the 16GB online (you can buy it in person from T-Mobile at a slightly higher price).

Like thideras pointed out, T-Mobile offers various prepaid or pay-monthly plans. $30 a month can get you unlimited data and text with 100 minutes, OR 1500 minutes and 1500 texts with 30MB of data. I personally have been with T-Mobile for 10 years now and they have been very kind to me and my family. Last phone I made to them, they upgraded my 200MB per month data plan to unlimited for the same price, sent my brother a myTouch 4G for free, took $100 off for a Galaxy S3 for my other brother, and paid the bill for our family plan for the month. Can't beat that.

 

[dfonda]

Tim I have Nexus 4 and can vouch for it being a great phone. If you can try it out at T-Mo store or if you see an LG Optimus G...Its the same phone. It's one of just a few phones that can be used both on T-Mo and At&t(At full Hspa+ speeds 42mbs and 21mbs theoretical respectfully). The downside is no LTE. Tho if you are going to have a low Data cap, it won't matter.

If you remember the time when we bought PC's instead of building them(Way back when). They came with the OEM's crap ware. Thats what you get with a Carrier phone.

It should come down to which carrier has the best signal where you are or where you travel.

The nice part for you just getting your feet wet, is your going to enjoy almost any one of the phones you can get.

If I was getting a carrier phone, I would take a long look at the HTC One. 32GB, 1080P, for $200. Spend the extra money and get the newest phone. You'll be able to get all your money back for it at the end of your contract.(If you get in one) Buying a cheaper phone would be like getting a i7 920...Its out of date before you open the box.

 

[Efonzerellie]

check out https://ting.com/ they use Sprint towers and think have just what you're looking for. There are also coupon codes you can easily find to save some cash if want their service.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

Tim I have Nexus 4 and can vouch for it being a great phone. If you can try it out at T-Mo store or if you see an LG Optimus G...Its the same phone. It's one of just a few phones that can be used both on T-Mo and At&t(At full Hspa+ speeds 42mbs and 21mbs theoretical respectfully). The downside is no LTE. Tho if you are going to have a low Data cap, it won't matter.

If you remember the time when we bought PC's instead of building them(Way back when). They came with the OEM's crap ware. Thats what you get with a Carrier phone.

It should come down to which carrier has the best signal where you are or where you travel.

The nice part for you just getting your feet wet, is your going to enjoy almost any one of the phones you can get.

If I was getting a carrier phone, I would take a long look at the HTC One. 32GB, 1080P, for $200. Spend the extra money and get the newest phone. You'll be able to get all your money back for it at the end of your contract.(If you get in one) Buying a cheaper phone would be like getting a i7 920...Its out of date before you open the box.

I am so out of touch with cellular technology, had to google "LTE", but now I know.

Of course, my immediate question would be- why does the Nexus 4 not comply with the LTE standard?

and...

what is the practical effect of lacking LTE, lower bandwidth?

There is a T-mobile store in the area, it opens at 11AM on Sunday- I think that I'll swing by there.

 

[cullam3n]

Unofficially the Nexus 4 supports LTE on Band 4 prior to 4.2.2. My guess is that even though the hardware is in there, it isn't licensed or authorized for use by the FCC.

T-Mobile is rolling out LTE now, according to their website it is available in Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The HSPA+ is nothing to laugh at though, in metro NYC I was getting 25mbps down.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

Thanks for linking the Anandtech article, cullam3n; I wonder if the Nexus 4 might gain FCC approval for LTE, sometime in the future.

That looks to be a decent speed test, my Verizon DSL doesn't take home any trophies:

 

[g14novak]

Thanks for linking the Anandtech article, cullam3n; I wonder if the Nexus 4 might gain FCC approval for LTE, sometime in the future.

That looks to be a decent speed test, my Verizon DSL doesn't take home any trophies:

As stated above, make sure to check coverage of the carrier that your going to go with to your area. A local friend here purchased the Galaxy Nexus through Sprint only to realize there is no 4G LTE(10-15mbs realistically) support in the area yet. He is stuck on 3G (150-300kbs realistically)speeds for another 4 months or so until they make the towers here live. Purchasing a phone that is on the LTE network (Sprint, Verizon, MetroPCS, Boost, US Cellular) is not a great idea as there is not much 4G coverage between the different carriers *YET*. You will get very spotty coverage of 4G speeds until they get new towers up.

I've personally travel the east coast quite a bit, going as far north as Hershey, PA, and as far west as Shreveport, LA, using the phones GPS for MUCH of the traveling. I have about 25,000 logged miles with Google Maps. I've switched between AT&T, T-Mo, Metro, and Sprint, and can say that T-Mobile has easily had the most 4G (HSPA+ 10-15mbs realistically) coverage time. My T-Mo phones (HTC HD2 Leo with Android 3.0, Mytouch 4G, Samsung Galaxy S2) consistently picked up 4G (HSPA+/HSDPA) sooner than the Sprint phone (HTC Evo, Galaxy S3) entering major towns like Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis, and Indianapolis.

One thing I can say is better about the CDMA phones (Sprint, Verizon, Boost, Metro, US Cellular) is that they have excellent cell coverage. Their were many occasions where he had call signal and I had none.

In the end, I personally see it as a direct trade-off. You can have good high speed coverage inside major towns. Or you can have good cell coverage in not so populated areas. Both can be fixed in time, just depends on if the carriers want to do it.


In case you don't know of it, T-Mo is going to be (or already has, I'm not sure) releasing a new plan called their "uncarrier plan" that is unlimited call, text, and web for $60. It is only for their new LTE network and not the HSPA/HSDPA+ they are currently operating on which means the Galaxy Nexus offered by T-Mobile will work on it.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

The "uncarrier plan"

I am fairly certain that I'll be using T-mobile, I went by their store earlier but sales people were busy with customers lined up, so I decided to go across the street and re-visit Bestbuy. This time I did get to talk to a sales person, just asking general questions. I also stopped to talk to the people at the Verizon store; since they are my current carrier, I asked questions about how changing one phone would affect my current plan, as my wife is satisfied with her LG Cosmo 'feature' phone. Basically, my total bill with go up $30/month, accounting for the smartphone data plan. What that really means is that the smartphone service would be $60(not including sms) for 2GB data...hmm. And, even though the Verizon person told me that they don't put crapware on the phone, she did acknowledge(when I asked) that it is the manufacturer(Samsung, Motorola, etc) that puts it on the phone.

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a Nexus 4 purchase on Google Play, there's just a couple matters left to deal with.

1. there is no mini SD, only micro USB port? Oh dear.

2.need to transfer my Verizon contact list. My old RazR phone is currently activated, I might have to switch activation back to the LG Cosmos, download my contact list, then copy the contact list to a mini SD card. Perhaps there is a simpler way.

3. before I dump the Verizon account, I need to find a way to save a couple voice mails as an audio file.

None of the above matters would be a "show stopper", I'm getting the credit card out of the wallet...as we speak(as they say).

 

[cullam3n]

1. there is no mini SD, only micro USB port? Oh dear.

2.need to transfer my Verizon contact list. My old RazR phone is currently activated, I might have to switch activation back to the LG Cosmos, download my contact list, then copy the contact list to a mini SD card. Perhaps there is a simpler way.

3. before I dump the Verizon account, I need to find a way to save a couple voice mails as an audio file.

1. Nope. Honestly I haven't missed it, I don't keep a lot on my phone. I do have the 16GB version.

2. I'm 100% there are export apps for this very reason, but if you sync everything to your gmail, you won't have to worry about this issue.

3. That I don't know the answer to.

Pro tip: Get a case for the Nexus 4. I personally rock this case here which can't be beat for the price. The sides are high enough that the screen doesn't touch when you lay it screen side down, and the grippy parts on the sides help the feel tremendously. Only downside is the feel on the power button isn't great, but it's definitely saved its life a few times already. There's two cases I see in the T-Mobile stores for the Nexus 4; a hard cover and a soft gel cover. If you try the soft gel cover in the store, feel how those buttons feel. That's 5x worse than the case I linked.

Obviously there are more cases on the internets. I think thideras and IMOG run different ones, but I definitely would not go caseless.