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tl01

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
My 8 year old wants something like an iPod Touch. He wants to keep it in his pocket. He has an iPad Mini already. He would love a pine but I won't get him one. I have a hard time buyin old models... So the iPod touch seems like a tough sell in my head. He also wants to try out a droid device. Should I just keep him in iOS or maybe buy some unlocked android phone that I don't activate as a phone. I know to get to a reasonable price it will be something older like the touch too. I wish Apple had updated the iPod touch again!
 

tl01

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
The Moto G. Get the second generation it's only 180 bucks.

That's what I was thinking.

I'm willing to spend up to $300 so I have been trying to find any other options. I wonder if the 1 gb of ram is an issue on the Moto... And I wonder what can be put on the sd card. I am hoping apps and movies? Maybe I should post in an android forum;).
 

shoes222

macrumors member
Sep 4, 2012
87
4
What I'm inclined to do is buy a used iPhone 5S off of eBay with a bad ESN/IMEI number. Because I don't intend to use it as a phone and only an iPod, I can get it for around $200. It's much better than getting a Touch because it has double the RAM, and the A7 is much bettter at running iOS 8.
 

theapplefanboyj

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2014
674
0
What I'm inclined to do is buy a used iPhone 5S off of eBay with a bad ESN/IMEI number. Because I don't intend to use it as a phone and only an iPod, I can get it for around $200. It's much better than getting a Touch because it has double the RAM, and the A7 is much bettter at running iOS 8.


I see them on eBay for $300. If you're not on a budget it's perfect.
 

Outrun1986

macrumors 6502
Jun 27, 2010
299
3
I can't seem to figure out how to get an android phone to work without cell service... There seems to be almost no information on this online. Especially a brand new phone purchased from amazon, since I have so much credit there. I don't think the Moto G is for me, I would like a Samsung galaxy s5 or something more capable and definitely something with a removable battery so that I can keep it past the one year that the battery will last me. The galaxy s5 will go down in price when the next model gets released. Smartphone tech is moving so fast that purchasing a half outdated device is not worth it.

Used iPhones aren't worth it due to battery life issues/ potential iCloud lock issues. Plus as far as I know you still need a SIM card to get past the initial activation screen. No sense in buying an iPhone that has been used heavily every day for 2 years that already has a non replaceable battery with an $80 cost to replace that is shot. Especially since the 5 and 5s have known battery issues.
 

theapplefanboyj

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2014
674
0
And the battery will last longer if you put it km aeroplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi. I use my old nexus 5 as a battery saver when my phone's about to die at home and in the morning. Also keep it on the TV connected via slim port.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
I can't seem to figure out how to get an android phone to work without cell service... There seems to be almost no information on this online. Especially a brand new phone purchased from amazon, since I have so much credit there. I don't think the Moto G is for me, I would like a Samsung galaxy s5 or something more capable and definitely something with a removable battery so that I can keep it past the one year that the battery will last me. The galaxy s5 will go down in price when the next model gets released. Smartphone tech is moving so fast that purchasing a half outdated device is not worth it.

Used iPhones aren't worth it due to battery life issues/ potential iCloud lock issues. Plus as far as I know you still need a SIM card to get past the initial activation screen. No sense in buying an iPhone that has been used heavily every day for 2 years that already has a non replaceable battery with an $80 cost to replace that is shot. Especially since the 5 and 5s have known battery issues.

Don't put a sim in the Android phone, use it with just wi-fi.

Same as an iPhone - no sim required.
 

raccoonboy

macrumors 6502a
Oct 22, 2012
918
5
Why not get him a dedicated Gaming handheld like a 3DS?
Its cheaper than Vita and a game could last forever.
He already has a mini, Ipod touch is just redundant.
 

tl01

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
Why not get him a dedicated Gaming handheld like a 3DS?
Its cheaper than Vita and a game could last forever.
He already has a mini, Ipod touch is just redundant.

He did ask for a 3DS for a fleeting moment the other day. He isn't really super into video games though. He mostly likes watching stuff on you tube and researching stuff of the Internet and I think it he fed up with me being slightly fed up with carrying everyone's ioads I when we leave the house. He wants to be able to put his device in his pocket. Truth be told... I would probably get him a 3DS at some point too. But who knows.
 

mofunk

macrumors 68020
Aug 26, 2009
2,421
161
Americas
Either get him an iPod Touch refurb or a iPhone 4s. I wouldn't spend a lot on a device if they are carrying it out of the house. Plus you can buy DVDs, copy them to the iPad or iPod. I like buying the DVDs in store and loading it up to my iTunes account. This way they all get put on the cloud. You can move the movies from devices. You can't do that with android. That's like spending more money. Atleast with an iPod you can share your apps, find free apps and play head to head with friends.
 

theapplefanboyj

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2014
674
0
Either get him an iPod Touch refurb or a iPhone 4s. I wouldn't spend a lot on a device if they are carrying it out of the house. Plus you can buy DVDs, copy them to the iPad or iPod. I like buying the DVDs in store and loading it up to my iTunes account. This way they all get put on the cloud. You can move the movies from devices. You can't do that with android. That's like spending more money. Atleast with an iPod you can share your apps, find free apps and play head to head with friends.
I wouldn't buy him a 4s. It's too old imo.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,271
12,994
where hip is spoken
I just bought a Sharp Aquos Crystal, $150. It's stock Android with no bloatware (or if you accidentally install the bloatware it can be removed like any other downloaded app). You don't need to activate it to use it.

The screen is beautiful, no bezel, and the Harman Kardon audio technology sounds great. It is now my main phone but it makes a great portable media player.
 

iolinux333

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2014
1,798
73
I just bought a Sharp Aquos Crystal, $150. It's stock Android with no bloatware (or if you accidentally install the bloatware it can be removed like any other downloaded app). You don't need to activate it to use it.

The screen is beautiful, no bezel, and the Harman Kardon audio technology sounds great. It is now my main phone but it makes a great portable media player.

Is that thing definitely forever stuck on Sprint's Network? Any way to get it to work on ATT/TMo?
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,617
13,107
UK
I just bought a Sharp Aquos Crystal, $150. It's stock Android with no bloatware (or if you accidentally install the bloatware it can be removed like any other downloaded app). You don't need to activate it to use it.

The screen is beautiful, no bezel, and the Harman Kardon audio technology sounds great. It is now my main phone but it makes a great portable media player.

That's pretty cheap. I thought it would be more because of the bezel free display.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,271
12,994
where hip is spoken
Is that thing definitely forever stuck on Sprint's Network? Any way to get it to work on ATT/TMo?
The Aquos Crystal is CDMA but it also has a SIM card slot.

Over at the XDA forum someone has reported that Sharp/Sprint/Boost/Virgin plan on allowing unlocking of the Aquos Crystal around Feb 2015. Nothing official yet but it seems like there may be something in the works.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
I've turned my iPhone 5 into an iPod Touch - I use Google Play Music All Access instead of iTunes. The Z3 Compact is my main phone.


2014%2B-%2B2
 

Outrun1986

macrumors 6502
Jun 27, 2010
299
3
It looks like I will be buying a used iPhone from eBay to use as an iPod touch. As I stated before you need a sim from the same carrier that the iPhone uses to do this. Has anyone done this with an iPhone 5, 5c or 5s? I assume those sims they also sell on eBay for around $3-5 will work to get the phone to the home screen if it doesn't come with a SIM card. I plan on getting an AT&T phone so that the sim will definitely work, as I am not sure how to go about this with a CDMA carrier that doesn't use SIM cards.

I am NOT trying to activate this proverbial phone for cell service, the only activation I am talking about is the initial activation needed to get to the home screen of the phone.
 
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