1bassoon Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Here's the latest teen angst in my house. Help? Dd16 has been invited to be a member of the top ballet company in our ballet school. (Hooray!) There are 11 girls. They have a Facebook page, that the teachers, etc are on, for communicating about rehearsals, schedules, etc. However. The veteran girls asked the new girls (7 of them) to get the GroupMe chat app on their phones, so they have an easy way to group text. Here's the problem: my daughter and one other girl are the only two girls who don't have smart phones or iPads. My dd was hoping she could download it to our Mac, but she couldn't find it tonight. Thus, the angst. She's - understandably - pretty upset at the thought of being left out. But there is NO way we can afford a smart phone for her - nor can she pay the monthly fee herself. She has a TracFone now, but will get a better phone (still not a smart phone, nor one with internet access) in the fall. (Heck, I don't even have a smart phone!) So, I need help. I either need someone more internet-savvy than I am to figure out how to get GroupMe on our desktop.OR I need an alternate app/somethingorother that can work for this situation. Sigh. Remember when we just passed notes in school??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 They have a web based option. Use it through a browser: https://app.groupme.com/signup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 If that doesn;t work, find a refurbished iPod (if the chat works for that... not sure what we use here) It will only work if there is wifi, but that's the solution SweetChild uses. She bought the iPod and uses it for everything at home or where there is free wifi. She still has to carry her $5 Tracfone for times when she is out with no wifi, but it works well enough. Better than either paying for service, or missing out completely. http://www.macofalltrades.com/Refurbished-Used-iPads-iPhones-s/177.htm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Thank you so much! I thought I saw that, but was dealing with a hormonal, emotional person (me or her, not sure which!) and couldn't figure it out for the life of me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 If that doesn;t work, find a refurbished iPod (if the chat works for that... not sure what we use here) It will only work if there is wifi, but that's the solution SweetChild uses. She bought the iPod and uses it for everything at home or where there is free wifi. She still has to carry her $5 Tracfone for times when she is out with no wifi, but it works well enough. Better than either paying for service, or missing out completely. http://www.macofalltrades.com/Refurbished-Used-iPads-iPhones-s/177.htm Brilliant as well. I'll share this one, except I don't see that they sell iPods? She can't scrape up the $200+ for even a refurbished iPhone. I LOVE LOVE Mac of All Trades. Just got a new MacBook Pro, 2011, for $600 - it was in "fair" condition; the case is dinged, but who cares?? Plus, came with a free 1-year warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 But there is NO way we can afford a smart phone for her - nor can she pay the monthly fee herself. She has a TracFone now, but will get a better phone (still not a smart phone, nor one with internet access) in the fall. (Heck, I don't even have a smart phone!) Smart phones are not more expensive than other phones if you watch for deals (and don't want a new iphone). My Windows Nokia phone cost $25 (new, not a refurbished one!) We do prepaid, no plan, for $30/month with unlimited calls, no data; I get internet with wifi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Web option sounds good! If you think it will be a problem for her not to have a smartphone, though, it might be worth looking at the new Tracfone options. You might be surprised at how low the prices have gone. There are several inexpensive smart phone options now. Tracfone LG Ultimate 2 Android phone, which is a smart phone with internet and triple minutes for life, only costs about $116 delivered, plus cost of an airtime card. They'll carry over minutes from the current Tracfone, too. If you have wifi, you can set it on that to avoid using minutes while at home. They have other inexpensive phones available, too, if that one doesn't work for your area. Put in your zip code here: http://www.preprepaid.com/tech.php and then view available phones for your zip code. ETA: I just looked at this for our zip code, and there are several that are a lot cheaper - as in just $10 for a refurbished phone, still with triple minutes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 According to my dc, larger phones lend more prestige. So the LG Ultimate 2 is "cooler" than the refurbished one or the less expensive new ones, simply because of the larger size. I wanted to share their observation, just in case you were as out of the loop as I was. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 According to my dc, larger phones lend more prestige. So the LG Ultimate 2 is "cooler" than the refurbished one or the less expensive new ones, simply because of the larger size. I wanted to share their observation, just in case you were as out of the loop as I was. ;) Lol... meanwhile, my kids all asked for 'mini' sized phones, and derisively refer to my larger phone as a 'plate'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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