Hilltopmom Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 My oldest has never had a cell phone, but is starting to go off for the day (or week sometimes) without me & will start driving soon. I've only ever had a trac phone for emergencies, but need a new one. He turned 16 today & we plan to get him a cell, he'd like a smart phone for Internet access (he's also getting a laptop, but I know it's not always convenient to whip that out, lol). Um, family plan with 2 phones maybe? (Dh has a work cell already) Any that won't cost me a fortune?? (I'l post on the chat board for recommendations) Would he be the "only" student without a smart phone? He's not a "must keep up with the Joneses" type, but he's probably right about this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) You don't need a phone plan. We have prepaid smart phones. I don't even pay for any data, just use wifi. Yes, he would probably be the only student without one. My students use their cell phones to check the class website and LMS, pull up lecture notes and homework problems when studying, look up things, check the electronic copy of their textbook, look up their lab section, their exam room, check and send email... and these are only the school related uses in which I see them engage. Edited June 14, 2016 by regentrude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Yes, check with your college whether there's wifi. My dd still hasn't put data on her smartphone because she just uses the wifi there. If she had a longer commute or needed google maps etc, she'll put it in but right now, between home, hot spots and the college wifi, she hasn't needed data. The phone itself though is very handy for communicating with classmates, taking a picture of an overhead display in classroom to get charts etc or pictures of something in a lab. My kids both wanted phones that were sturdy and had good features but were not likely to be stolen & wouldn't cause a lot of heartache if they were lost/dropped/broken. We went went for the Motorola Moto G phones & been very satisfied with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) Mine has been in CC a couple of years and doesn't use a smartphone. That said, he has mentioned how helpful it would be to have one to check email just before class (sometimes teachers email a few minutes before class that they cancelled it or to bring something) or to google music videos for music practice purposes. We are still considering it. Since I drop him off and pick him up he has been able to use my smartphone to check his messages just before being dropped off if need be. Sometimes he has very long days (4 classes a day) and he's still been fine so I think in his case, a smartphone, although a somewhat need, is still mostly a want. However, as mentioned, we are seriously considering getting him a smartphone, possibly quite soon. He juggled classes in 2 campuses this spring and I think a smartphone would have been helpful. He isn't into social media or keeping up either. I have a slightly older smartphone he can use and I'm considering adding him to my AT&T plan but am open to ideas! PS: Happy birthday to your DS! :hurray: Edited June 14, 2016 by quark 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 I had no idea they even have pre paid smart phones! I feel so out of it sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) My daughter took dual enrollment classes for 2 years without a smartphone (she had a "regular" cellphone so could call and text). She says it was never an issue. Maybe it depends on the kinds of classes the student is taking. ETA: We use Consumer Cellular, and have been very happy with it. Edited June 14, 2016 by marbel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Actress Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 We seem to be at the opposite end of the spectrum on this. We have 5 kids and they have all gotten a cell phone when they hit 6th grade. When our oldest got hers (she's now a rising college sophomore) it wasn't a smart phone. But now our youngest (rising 6th grader) has an iPhone 5c. On our plan (AT&T family plan) there is no cost difference between non-smart phones and smart phones. We LOVE the convenience of all the kids being reachable by text or phone. And the shared calendar feature is awesome...my kids know to put their activities on the calendar, cuz they are much more likely to happen if I can see them. And so many people don't have landlines anymore, so it's always awkward to borrow a friend's cell phone to get in contact with us. I personally don't like even my own kids to borrow my cellphone...there's so much on it. Also, around here at least, all their friends have phones, so they would lose out socially if they didn't have their own phone. Plus, we can teach them cell phone etiquette and it teaches responsibility. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Lol, most of the moms in my immediate social circle don't have cell phones, or at least, not smart phones. Maybe 1 Tracphone prepaid style per family that we send along with whichever kid or adult might need it. I'm guessing the difference in phone ownership between families/ peer groups is income? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I despise smart phones. I despise that my oldest children have smart phones. That said, sigh, they do use them. Ana has had (multiple) classes where they play some sort of game where their phones act as the answer button? I don't know the name of it. She loved it. DS (DE @CC) uses it to call me when class was cancelled. This was when I was driving pre-license. But, as he is a teen and, accordingly, drives a clunker, I'm nervous about him not having a way to reach me when the inevitable breakdown or first accident happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat in MI Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I have a smart phone that uses Tracphone minutes. Just need the correct sim card for the phone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 I despise smart phones. I despise that my oldest children have smart phones. That said, sigh, they do use them. Ana has had (multiple) classes where they play some sort of game where their phones act as the answer button? I don't know the name of it. She loved it. DS (DE @CC) uses it to call me when class was cancelled. This was when I was driving pre-license. But, as he is a teen and, accordingly, drives a clunker, I'm nervous about him not having a way to reach me when the inevitable breakdown or first accident happens. OT- but I just spent some time reading your lovely blog:) and oh my goodness- the fast food restaurant booths in your living room? - genius!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I had no idea they even have pre paid smart phones! I feel so out of it sometimes. Basically, a smart phone CAN use call data, but it doesn't have to. I used the same prepaid t-mobile SIM card that had been in flip phone in the smart phone that was a hand-me-down from my parents. I don't have data on my cell phone plan(although you can get that), I just have the wifi of my usual places in the phone. I live a pretty boring life, so unless I am driving, I am probably in one of those usual places. Actually, I think they had to cut the SIM card down to fit into the smart phone. Same card, just made smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 My daughter is 13 and is taking her first DE class. She does not have a smartphone but, because of her age, I drop her off at the door when class starts and pick her up at the door when class ends. Once she's driving, she will have a phone. Our community college does have wifi for students. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 We needed smartphones for DE for OneBusAway. The bus stop is just outside the campus wi-fi zone. We have iphone 5c's from ebay on Ting. Ting is $6 per month per phone, plus talk, text, and data charges. The talk, text and data are combined across all the phones, and it works out to be really cheap. You have your choice of Sprint and what is essentially T-mobile's network, but they don't call it that. We've been pleased to get "featured enough" smart phones with iMessage (for the near-free texting) for a very economical price. The 5C was not a hot seller and hasn't held it's value as well as other iPhones, but works really well for our purposes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My DD has an android smartphone on TracPhone. $20 every 3 months for 60 minutes talk, 60 texts and 60 MB data that triples since we bought the phone through them. She mostly uses wifi, and has rolled over almost all of her data. She is considering upgrading because she's playing with app development, and her phone has very limited memory for apps, so she can't easily test on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My three kids all have Republic Wireless. They have a selection of phones. The plans are super-cheap. You can get 1 GB data, talk, text for $25 per month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 My oldest has never had a cell phone, but is starting to go off for the day (or week sometimes) without me & will start driving soon. I've only ever had a trac phone for emergencies, but need a new one. He turned 16 today & we plan to get him a cell, he'd like a smart phone for Internet access (he's also getting a laptop, but I know it's not always convenient to whip that out, lol). Um, family plan with 2 phones maybe? (Dh has a work cell already) Any that won't cost me a fortune?? (I'l post on the chat board for recommendations) Would he be the "only" student without a smart phone? He's not a "must keep up with the Joneses" type, but he's probably right about this one. We looked at getting a family plan for my husband and I. We found it MUCH more financially advantages to have separate AT&T GoPhone accounts. I can pay $40+tax/month (So about $43) and get plenty of airtime. We couldn't find a single family plan that would let us have two phones and data for <$80. They seemed to start about $100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Yep he would be the only one. SMart Phones aren't just for fun apps and texting....they are used for hundreds of school-related things. My 14 year old has a smart phone, laptop and also an ipad and he uses all 3 extensively for school...probably when he goes to college next year he will leave hte ipad at home, and just use his smart phone and laptop. FWIW for parental controls, iphones are by FAR the easiest to control.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Both of my girls originally used a cheap flip phone when they started DE, but once they started driving, we switched them to a smartphone so they'd have access to Google Maps. Having reliable GPS access is an absolute must for us. My ds will start driving this summer, and has a smart phone for the same reason. My kids use Boost Mobile, which is $30 a month. I use Cricket, which is a little more but has better coverage in the rural part of the Great Lakes where our sailboat is located. We don't use family plans. For a long time, my oldest and I had a Verizon "family plan" that cost us more than I'm paying now for the four of us on our separate prepaid plans! Plus, Verizon charged us overage fees if we went over our shared data allotment. Neither Boost nor Cricket charge you for overage. They just slow down your connection speed if you use up your data, so we know the kids will still always have access to Google Maps. Edited June 16, 2016 by ghostwheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) Lol, most of the moms in my immediate social circle don't have cell phones, or at least, not smart phones. Maybe 1 Tracphone prepaid style per family that we send along with whichever kid or adult might need it. I'm guessing the difference in phone ownership between families/ peer groups is income? Nope. We're lower income. My 16yo has a refurbished iPhone on a prepaid plan, no data, but it can do everything on wifi when available. To the OP: look for a refurbished iPhone. Make sure it will be compatible with whatever plan you go with. Two of my girls have ATT GoPhone monthly plans. Edited June 16, 2016 by Rebel Yell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Nope. We're lower income. My 16yo has a refurbished iPhone on a prepaid plan, no data, but it can do everything on wifi when available. To the OP: look for a refurbished iPhone. Make sure it will be compatible with whatever plan you go with. Two of my girls have ATT GoPhone monthly plans. I got my iphone 5 used at glyde.com. Its a safe way to buy from another person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Another Ting user. I got it just for the teen cell phone, but it's so cheap I'm thinking I should switch to it myself. Ting really pays off when you have multiple devices. It's really no different from other prepaid vendors if you are only doing one phone, but it is amazing when you have two or three. I also love how the bill automatically drops over the summer when we are less busy, no need to reconfigure or change plans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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