brownie Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 DH and I need new cell phones. (I have a pay as you go and dh's is breaking...he's on his family's account) We need one for ds11 too for when he's at camp and other activities. We've never had smart phones. We went and looked tonight and it is so overwhelming. We are leaning Sprint i-phone. Does anybody have any reason they think we should go droid or a different network? We also have concerns about ds11 having access to the internet unsupervised. Does anyone know of a way to monitor/control this besides not letting him have a smartphone at all? Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icul8rg8r Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I just bought my first smartphone - an i-phone - and love it. DH has an android phone provided by his work but doesn't use it much than making & receiving calls. There is NO WAY either of us would allow our young children to have a cell-phone - especially a smart phone with easy access to the internet. (Of course our kids are still pretty young, so it's easy for me to say). If we had to get them one for emergencies, I would look into one of those that can only call like 4 or 5 numbers you pre-program - I think I saw it at Best Buy. Home, Mom's Cell, Dad's Cell, Grandma's house, and our neighbor's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) I'm planning on getting all of the kids iPhones this fall. Dh has a BB, and oldest dc has an iPhone. I have an iPhone. I like the look of the Android, but my teens said they want iPhones. I think any of these are good options. It just gets down to personal preferance. (Although I do not like Dh's BB at all. I think it makes the simple complicated. I find the iPhone to be more 'intuitive'.) I don't have worries about the kids having internet access. I want them to have it. They have always used the home computers wisely. They won't melt if they accidently see something I wouldn't have chosen for them. If they were different types of folks, I would not pay for/allow a Smartphone at all. Edited May 20, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasia Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 My two oldest boys and I have iPhones and we all love them. Dh is happy with his Samsug Galaxy, but I think it's a little awkward and not nearly as intuitive as the iPhone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtokea Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I have a Samsung Galaxy and it works great. I've never had an iPhone so can't compare them, but I am very happy with my Samsung android. There is more than Apple, be sure to check all your options. My 12 yo dd who goes to public school has an old cell phone just for emergencies. It's all she needs for now. She has her iPod for internet access and it doesn't cost anything extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 There's another option out there, now, the Windows phone. I have a Nokia Lumia from T-Mobile and I like it a lot (it uses Windows, not iPhone or Android). I don't have anything to compare it to. It is marketed as an entry level smart phone, and it got really good reviews (4 out of 5 stars with a couple hundred reviews). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TengoFive Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I have an iPhone and my kids have iPod touches. We took Safari (the default web browser) off of them and installed Mobicip. It's a kid safe browser which I can limit time and content on. There are different settings for different ages of kids. I had a Droid, which I really wanted to like, but found the iPhone was more family friendly. I've been able to tailor the iPods, which are basically an iPhone with no phone service and can only be used on a wireless network, to the stage the kids are at. We have Verizon and love it. It has the best coverage where we are. We have friends with iPhones on other networks and they're frustrated by their lack of coverage. That really depends on your area though, so you might want to start asking around locally to see who has the best coverage where you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) I have an HTC Desire S and and it is brilliant. I am really happy with it. I didn't get an iphone because it cost so much more in both monthly charges and upfront cost and I don't think that extra was worth it. I also like my phone because it has a reasonable size screen without being too massive to hold properly. I tried a few others and they are huge but I have fairly small hands. I thought Android was intuitive so from that point of view I don't have any complaints. Edited May 20, 2012 by lailasmum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest paksit Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 iphone is the best smart phone for me. Wish to have one, the latest model. hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I ♥ my iPhone. ♥ it, I tell you. No way would I get Indy one though. They're expensive! He has a pay as you go phone and that's fine. I swore I'd not let him have a phone this young (he's almost 10), but since we moved, I can no longer see the playground except for a sliver out one of our bedroom windows and there's no way I could call down to him. I use it to call him when it's time to come in and he calls me if he needs something or to go to a friend's house (if their parents approve, of course). There are only 4 numbers programmed in (Mom, Dad, Home and emergency-112 over here). He could make calls if he wanted, but since our numbers here are like a zillion digits (okay, only 14, but still), there's no way he'd remember a number that long to dial it. There's no internet access on it either. Also, if he loses it, it was only about $20 and we don't have a monthly plan to pay. He uses maybe €4 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I love, love, love my iPhone. I got it last November after a lot of agonizing. I am SO GLAD I did! We are looking to get two more iPhones on our plan (currently have a dumb phone and a blackberry) as soon as the new version comes out, hopefully later this summer. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I love my iPhone, too. My husband has a droid and , while he says he likes it, it has issues - app issues, gps issues, shutting down or locking randomly. My iPhone plan costs the same as the old smart phone plan, it's just structured differently. I wouldn't get the kids smartphones. First, they're expensive to replace. Second, I'm not into unfettered, unsupervised data access. I certainly wouldn't want to pay extra for it, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 I've heard that there are ways to control your child's internet access on the phone and even see what texts they've sent by going online, but I can't figure out if you need a certain provider or phone. One way to monitor your kid's access was listed above (changing the web browser). Anybody else know of ways to monitor this? Thanks! Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 We all have iPhones and love them. I don't have problem with ds having internet access. Part of the reason we chose iPhones is that we already had an iPod Touch. We didn't want to have to start over with apps if we went to Android or Windows. As for a provider, we've been happy with AT&T for years now (had Verizon before that), but every area is different. I'd say go with the one that gives you the most reliable service in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I've heard that there are ways to control your child's internet access on the phone and even see what texts they've sent by going online, but I can't figure out if you need a certain provider or phone. One way to monitor your kid's access was listed above (changing the web browser). Anybody else know of ways to monitor this? Thanks! Brownie Verizon allegedly has that option, but it was not available for our Blackberries. I would advise looking at specific phones on the carrier website to see if they're compatible with carrier parental controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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