Phone help

[oswin]

Sorry, this got long. Currently, I have this phone: www.amazon.com/Casio-GzOne-Rock-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B002YD86H0. Yes, it is a flip phone. It's also ruggedized, which is pretty cool. I've had it for around 3 years, and it's starting to fail (the outside display doesn't light up anymore). As of now, I'm on a Verizon family plan and my share is around $30, including the exorbitant $5 for 250 texts. My current and expected usage pattern for a phone is about 300 minutes/month and maybe 5 text messages. I mainly use the phone for talking to my mom weekly, plus occasionally I get calls from daycare, dr's office, etc. I really don't use it a whole lot. I have no desire to get a smartphone - or at least, no desire to pay for a data plan I don't need. I understand that my phone usage is atypical and someone is probably adding another asterisk to my name on their spreadsheet for being such a weirdo



I've been looking into Republic Wireless and it seems like a great deal for my use case - I'd get the $10/month unlimited talk/text plan with free data over wifi. It would probably be about $12-13/month after fees. I figure it might be nice to use the free data plan while I'm at home or where there's free wifi. There's just one problem - they only offer the Motorola smartphones (Moto X, Moto G, or Moto E), and in my opinion, these phones are huge! Apparently I've been living in the dark ages too long, but I simply cannot imagine having a phone that is 5" long. And apparently 5" is on the short side these days For the past 8 years (as long as I've had a phone), my phone has lived in my front jeans pocket. It's always fit nicely there, it's readily accessible, it's been great. I made a cardboard mock-up of what the Moto G would be like, and it barely fits in my back jeans pocket (and I suspect it would slip out).

Other pertinent information: I do not carry a purse and have no intention of carrying a purse around on a regular basis. I find them cumbersome and I am prone to leaving it behind when I do carry one. My wallet lives in my back pocket and my keys live in my front jeans pocket, and apart from my phone that is all I carry on my person. When I've got DD with me, I bring the diaper bag, but I don't want to be tied to bringing it or a purse everywhere.

As I see it, my options if I get a modern smartphone on any plan are to put it in my back pocket and hope it doesn't fall out, be unfashionable and put it on a belt clip (this would probably drive me nuts and might not be practical with a toddler in tow), or attain the height of frumpiness and either buy men's pants (with reasonably sized pockets) or cargo pants. So, if you don't carry a purse, how do you deal with having a smartphone? Where do you put it?

ETA: tl:dr - where do you put your smartphone other than a purse? Does it fit in your back pocket without falling out?

[hamster]

My smart phone fits in my back pocket just fine.

[tripleshot]

If I'm not carrying my purse, my phone is in my back pocket. Get a good case, like an
Otterbox, so if you drop it, it doesn't break.

[Deleted]

Just go with republic wireless
/gavel

[oswin]

Mar 4, 2015 18:31:29 GMT -5 @shoegal said:

Just go with republic wireless
/gavel

Yeah, probably. Thanks everyone.

[MrsE]

I have a gently used Republic Wireless Moto X that I am looking to sell. I am about to post it on a cell phone exchange site, but would offer a very MM discount if you want it. .

[yentl]

The only time my phone has ever fallen out of my back pocket is when I take my pants off. Otherwise my ass holds it in there just fine.

[oswin]

Mar 4, 2015 21:46:21 GMT -5 MrsE said:

I have a gently used Republic Wireless Moto X that I am looking to sell. I am about to post it on a cell phone exchange site, but would offer a very MM discount if you want it. .

Ygpm

[oswin]

Mar 4, 2015 21:53:33 GMT -5 yentl said:

The only time my phone has ever fallen out of my back pocket is when I take my pants off. Otherwise my ass holds it in there just fine.

Lol, I worry because occasionally my wallet falls out of my pocket (admittedly often after having used the bathroom) and the phones are much taller than my wallet. An otterbox might help make it less slippery though.

[Deleted]

oswin, you have probably noticed this, but another great perk of the Republic Wireless system is the ability to change your plan a few times each billing cycle. This has helped us when we are going away and don't need both phones - we drop down to the $5/month plan while we're on vacation sometimes, for example (we don't need phones when hiking or camping).

We have also done that over a holiday break (not going to work & hunkering down at home) when we don't need both phones on the 3G system - so one of them will drop down to the $5/month plan. It is super easy to change the plan, so it's a nice way to save a bit here & there.

[compassrose]

Life proof case! It's lightweight and waterproof.

Re: republic wireless-- I have been loathe to switch from Verizon because I travel through rural places or internationally. What kind of coverage does it have? Can I get international data when I need it?

@shoegal

[lishie]

I have an iphone 6 and I usually keep it in the front pocket of my jeans. No problem with it there.

[yentl]

Mar 5, 2015 5:36:04 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Mar 4, 2015 21:53:33 GMT -5 yentl said:

The only time my phone has ever fallen out of my back pocket is when I take my pants off. Otherwise my ass holds it in there just fine.

Yeah, I was going to warn about that too.  Be careful of not accidentally dropping it in the toilet because it's in your back pocket.  I haven't quite done that, but it has fallen on the bathroom tile and cracked the two times I was carrying it that way.

I'm going to guess that most women here won't be able to fathom not carrying a purse or bag of some sort. 

Yeah, that happened to my mom once. But she was able to get it fixed for $50 by some place at the mall.

I am wondering how you have kids and manage not to have a purse or bag of some sort.

[msmerymac]

I have a massive phone. The iPhone 6 plus. I have a case that acts like a wallet so I can put my license, a debit card and some cash in it: www.amazon.com/Cellto-Premium-Magnetic-Quality-Warranty/dp/B00NGWQCLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425581474&sr=8-2&keywords=cellto+iphone+6+plus

It's perfect for when I'm working and want to slip out for lunch.

It also fits in my pocket, maybe because, while big, it's slim. I was surprised. It doesn't fit as nicely as my old 4S, but it's workable.

You could also get a wristlet that holds a few wallet-like items and the phone, and clip your keys to that, too.

[aurora]

I love my Moto X. I do occasionally carry it in my back pocket, but I also carry a very small purse (kind of a wallet with a cross-body cord) a lot more often now to be able to carry my phone.

I'm a little bit confused about the "free data on wifi" part of your plan. All smart phones should give you free data while on wifi...maybe that's all you meant (that you weren't going to pay for 3G or 4G)?

[oswin]

Mar 5, 2015 14:07:41 GMT -5 aurora said:

I love my Moto X. I do occasionally carry it in my back pocket, but I also carry a very small purse (kind of a wallet with a cross-body cord) a lot more often now to be able to carry my phone.

I'm a little bit confused about the "free data on wifi" part of your plan. All smart phones should give you free data while on wifi...maybe that's all you meant (that you weren't going to pay for 3G or 4G)?

Yeah, that's all I meant. Right now my phone is too dumb to take advantage of wifi at all, but if I get a Moto G or Moto X without a data plan I can use it on wifi. Last time I checked (admittedly not recently), many phone providers would require you to get a data plan of some sort with any smartphone, which is $$ I wasn't interested in spending.

[oswin]

Mar 5, 2015 13:31:47 GMT -5 yentl said:

Mar 5, 2015 5:36:04 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Yeah, I was going to warn about that too.  Be careful of not accidentally dropping it in the toilet because it's in your back pocket.  I haven't quite done that, but it has fallen on the bathroom tile and cracked the two times I was carrying it that way.

I'm going to guess that most women here won't be able to fathom not carrying a purse or bag of some sort. 

Yeah, that happened to my mom once. But she was able to get it fixed for $50 by some place at the mall.

I am wondering how you have kids and manage not to have a purse or bag of some sort.

 The same way any man manages to not carry a purse - by bringing what is needed for a particular outing in the correct bag (or being minimal and using pockets). So right now we mostly take the diaper bag when we have DD with us. To me, a purse is just one more thing to get in the way, since most of the time it's not going to be big enough to pack anything useful (like say a picnic lunch or a raincoat), so I don't want to be tied to taking it everywhere in addition to a backpack, etc. It's just not how my life works.

[yentl]

Mar 5, 2015 15:58:59 GMT -5 oswin said:

Mar 5, 2015 13:31:47 GMT -5 yentl said:

Yeah, that happened to my mom once. But she was able to get it fixed for $50 by some place at the mall.

I am wondering how you have kids and manage not to have a purse or bag of some sort.

 The same way any man manages to not carry a purse - by bringing what is needed for a particular outing in the correct bag (or being minimal and using pockets). So right now we mostly take the diaper bag when we have DD with us. To me, a purse is just one more thing to get in the way, since most of the time it's not going to be big enough to pack anything useful (like say a picnic lunch or a raincoat), so I don't want to be tied to taking it everywhere in addition to a backpack, etc. It's just not how my life works.

Right, that's what I meant by bag of some sort. I figured you could put the phone in there if you didn't want to put it in your pocket or carry a purse as well.

[oswin]

Mar 5, 2015 17:17:41 GMT -5 yentl said:

Mar 5, 2015 15:58:59 GMT -5 oswin said:

 The same way any man manages to not carry a purse - by bringing what is needed for a particular outing in the correct bag (or being minimal and using pockets). So right now we mostly take the diaper bag when we have DD with us. To me, a purse is just one more thing to get in the way, since most of the time it's not going to be big enough to pack anything useful (like say a picnic lunch or a raincoat), so I don't want to be tied to taking it everywhere in addition to a backpack, etc. It's just not how my life works.

Right, that's what I meant by bag of some sort. I figured you could put the phone in there if you didn't want to put it in your pocket or carry a purse as well.

Ah, but there are plenty of times where I want my phone with me and nothing else. So no bag