My new government provided smart phone

[SoulRaven]

My new government provided smart phone
 
On the first of June I received a SSDI award and I officially retired from the rat race of which I spent 40+ years (I have SSA earnings going back to when I was just 14 years old) on the treadmill.
 
About the first of July I moved into a HUD subsidized 55+ 400 square foot studio apartment (about $150 per month when including two rent rebates, a HUD electrical allowance, a LIHEAP grant, an utility subsidy with broadcast cable TV & internet) in a rural county in a small borough in the Endless Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
 
The only decent cell phone carrier in this area is Verizon. So after some research I found that Budget Mobile Lifeline had service in my area and their coverage map was a duplicate of Verizon’s national coverage.
 
It took over a month from the date of my order to receive the phone. When I was opening the package I was expecting to get a cheapo old school dumb phone but to my surprise they shipped me a HTC Desire C GSM 3G Phone with Android 4.0 OS, Beats Audio, HTC Sense UI v4.0, 5MP Camera, Video, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, FM Radio, SNS Integration. MicroSD Slot and hotspot capable on Cricket Wireless.
 
I get 250 free minutes and 250 free texts per month and can buy data in 1-gig increments at $15 per gig.
 
http://www.budgetmobile.com/

 

[wayne49]

Thank you for the update. I was wondering about your move from the trailer to the apt. Wasn't sure about how to inquire.

Congratulations on quitting the rat race.

I am planning to see you in FL.

-Wayne

 

[offroad]

Reading this old message. Good for you Loo!! Am glad you can retire properly and enjoy life a little better.

 

[highdesertranger]

any follow up on that phone? the reason I ask is a friend got one and it was junk. I was wondering if yours works any better then his did. highdesertranger

 

[SoulRaven]

The phone works like a champ. I added a 32 Gig memory card so I have a bunch of recorded music to enjoy.

It can be slow to act on commands at times do to the processor type and speed but it's an energy miser and the battery life is more than outstanding.

The screen also shows no signs of any scratches to date.

When I snowbird in Florida I am going to buy 3G data at $15/gig (limiting my usage to 1 gig/month) to act as a hotspot for my netbook.

 

[ToyotaEscaper]

That's cool you got a nice free housing and stuff in a good rural area. Wish I could be so lucky.

 

[eDJ_]

Awhile back I mentioned Public Libraries beginning to lend WIFI hot spot devices for  a week or so.   When I was at the Library the other day their news letter had a story about these which seem to be a coming thing.   It indicates that they have 10 presently but will be putting 20 more of them in service later this week.  And even more in the future. 

One of these devices could cover an area with several parked Vans/RV's or in a Marina with Boats where people are living on them full time.   I was told that there would be no limit on the usage.   These could be great in
times of natural disasters, floods, major snow storms, etc. 

Anyone reading this may want to show it to their Local Library Directors in their State such that they may
replicate what Director Cosper has done in eastern Kentucky (Ashland, Kentucky/Boyd County Public Library System)   As the Van dwelling community is expanding it would be nice to see this Library Service expand as
well.  Especially in areas that have limited broadband service where Van dwellers often tend to stay.

I understand that these devices do not use a password for access.  They are a public service.

 

[offroad]

So smart about wifi hotspot library borrow.

 

[Gary68]

i just have to laugh because they take so much taxes from me to give free smartphone that i cant afford a smartphone
gotta love this ass backwards world we live in

i'm not hating the player just the game

 

[ToyotaEscaper]

i just have to laugh because they take so much taxes from me to give free smartphone that i cant afford a smartphone
gotta love this ass backwards world we live in

i'm not hating the player just the game

Gotta play the hand you're dealt the best you can brother haha

 

[Canine]

I'm a 50 year taxpayer and I have no problem with people getting things they need with my tax dollars.Better that than oil company subsidies.

 

[eDJ_]

hear hear,  and Banks that are too big to fail.

 

[Cynncat]

I have one of those phones, and they are very local to the area you are in. So good if you stay in the same town, bad if you travel.

 

[SoulRaven]

Lucky!!

I got mine through Safelink, namely because Budget Mobile couldn't inform me of any options if I ended up getting a phone that didn't work for me, whereas with Safelink you can upgrade to any of Tracfone's non-android phones, except it seems some android phones you can, just not the fancy ones. I initially received an oldschool dumb phone, one that cannot access wifi (has internet access, but only by using talk minutes) and I text a LOT due to inability to talk on the phone in public places so the numeric keypad didn't work so well for me.

I upgraded to the LG 305G only to find out that despite being a touchscreen phone and much smarter on the dumb scale, it still has an alphanumeric keyboard for texting! And no, there's no option to change it. I was more than a little surprised.

So, returning that and now I'm ordering the LG306G which is currently $10 on Amazon and from the reviews it should have a full alphabet keyboard for texting. Crossing my fingers this will work...

 

[Canine]

I upgraded to the LG 305G only to find out that despite being a touchscreen phone and much smarter on the dumb scale, it still has an alphanumeric keyboard for texting! And no, there's no option to change it. I was more than a little surprised.

That is bizarre! I can't imagine the software designers choosing to make an alphanumeric keyboard. I hope whoever did that got fired; they probably got promoted to management, though.

 

[LeeRevell]

That is bizarre! I can't imagine the software designers choosing to make an alphanumeric keyboard. I hope whoever did that got fired; they probably got promoted to management, though.

That was a big reason I finally got a smart phone with decent keyboard.  Having to use one key for up to three different letters was insane.  The auto word selection gave me fits too til I figured how to disable it.  Texting my hunting buddies on the lease while hunting, and I couldn't type "doe".....   ridiculous!
I still "fat finger" this larger keyboard but it's a major improvement.

 

[SoulRaven]

Update: First let me correct a previous statement: Turned out the LG305G did have a qwerty keyboard for texting but you had to actually add and save a contact, begin typing a new text message to them, and then manually switch to qwerty with several clicks every single text, no way to change the default. I returned it.

I've now got an LG 306G phone, which I bought myself for $10 off Amazon, and I'm SUPER happy with it. Safelink allows you to upgrade to any non-android Tracphone if you're buying it yourself. I went to the Tracphone website, and after seeing that this phone is one that's covered in my area (not all are, so you want to check that) I then did price comparisons and Amazon was over $20 cheaper. Got it brand new with SIM card and everything.

New phones have always driven me crazy, but this one everything feels so simplified, it's a HUGE relief. Internet browsing is slower, and the mail app doesn't work with gmail anymore due to some stupid thing, but I can live with those cons. The keybpad for internet is so painfully small that I'll definitely need a stylus. No front-facing camera so selfies are trickier. But it HAS a decent camera, and a MicroSD card. And WiFi! The smartest dumb phone I've ever encoutnered.

Texting on this is much easier than on my S4mini. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes simple but needs/wants a few more features.

It's free unlimited text messaging and 350minutes/month with no rollover, or I can change to other plans with rollover but far fewer minutes. I can also buy more minutes if I need them, which is a relief to me that if I have some crisis that requires a lot of phone calls that I have options.