Carrier Is there a "Phone Plans for Dummies" website?

[edc415]

Unfortunately, unless you're familiar with all the taxes and fees charged by the feds, your state, your county, your city, etc, estimating taxes isn't very straightforward.

That said, Cricket is a good option if you've got good AT&T service. Of course, you just need to pay upfront for your phones and you'd need a separate plan for the iPad as I don't believe Cricket has data plans for tablets.

Taxes can be a nightmare to calculate - and pay. Here in San Francisco, they are out of control. You are quite right and answered the OP answers completely. Your analysis is complete and Verizon is the best service you can get according to Consumer Reports. That being said, I have an iPhone on a very affordable yet functional plan - That way I can justify having a smartphone/brain-extension while being on a modest income.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

You can look at the family share plan. You can share 4GB data and have unlimited talk and text. This is a good plan especially if you are mostly using wifi. If it's 3 phones then maybe 6GB but I think you should be good with 4GB. I went over 1GB this month because my home service was down.

You can call Verizon and ask them what plans they offer with FIOS and ask about the senior citizen discount. The senior citizen discount will save you on the phone usage. At any time you can adjust your data plan.


The twelve year old you can turn off their cellular data or limit their use. Lock the phone so that they cannot change the Settings.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

http://netsecurity.about.com/od/fre...-Controls-On-An-Ipad-Ipod-Touch-Or-Iphone.htm

Honestly, I don't think that will work for them, especially since the OPs grandniece doesn't have a good Wi-Fi connection at home. I say between 6-10GBs should work pretty well for them, especially if the OP doesn't use a lot of data herself.

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So well said!!
Caution: OP mounting soapbox
A couple of my old folk friends are not on friendly terms with technology. They are afraid of scammers and I do understand that. But even old "technology" like landlines has it's share of crooks. We get calls almost daily from those targeting seniors. (I wish hubby would agree to dump the landline.) My physical world is becoming much smaller as hubby's medical issues mount. But my cyber world has grown thanks to kind strangers like those on this thread. I wish that all seniors were able to use technology to escape being isolated. Thank you all!
P.S. I am now leaning more towards 10GB Edge plan. We will see.

Yeah, I've experienced a lot of scammers that would call my grandmother on her home phone line, it was a mess! Eventually, I would just tell her to hang up on them. One even tried to give her internet service, even though we constantly told the person that my grandmother had no use for internet since she had no computer. They kept calling though.

It's a shame people would want to take advantage of senior citizens. I once heard a story about a guy that went to the apple store to buy a 16GB iPhone and one of the Apple Geniuses somehow convinced the guy that he needed to buy the most expensive iPhone they had. So glad I didn't see that, I would've definitely helped the guy out, I hate seeing things like that.

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Taxes can be a nightmare to calculate - and pay. Here in San Francisco, they are out of control. You are quite right and answered the OP answers completely. Your analysis is complete and Verizon is the best service you can get according to Consumer Reports. That being said, I have an iPhone on a very affordable yet functional plan - That way I can justify having a smartphone/brain-extension while being on a modest income.

I feel you on that. Taxes in the LA area are outrageous also.

 

[jekjones1558]

Cricket sounds like a great option for some people but probably not me. Verizon coverage is much better where we need it. I also think that 10 GB is where I will probably begin. I was surprised at how fast data is used up when it is the only option for internet. My niece says that their Verizon Jetpack bill is really high. She has the 10 GB plan just for the Jetpack and often still goes over, even though the kids are forbidden from using Netflix and YouTube. So as long as I will be getting that much data the Verizon Edge plan is probably my best option because of the big discount for the lines. I could try to figure out a BYOD option but buying 3 iPhone 6 at once is more cash than I want to put out. I will be getting 32 GB phones, so a little more costly than the estimates being posted. Taxes are also going to add up but I am eligible for a small discount through my former employer. I assume that the activation charges are the same with Edge as they are with the regular 2 year plan??
I hope that others have benefited from the wonderful information in this thread. I am humbled by the amount of time and effort that everyone has invested!!

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Cricket sounds like a great option for some people but probably not me. Verizon coverage is much better where we need it. I also think that 10 GB is where I will probably begin. I was surprised at how fast data is used up when it is the only option for internet. My niece says that their Verizon Jetpack bill is really high. She has the 10 GB plan just for the Jetpack and often still goes over, even though the kids are forbidden from using Netflix and YouTube. So as long as I will be getting that much data the Verizon Edge plan is probably my best option because of the big discount for the lines. I could try to figure out a BYOD option but buying 3 iPhone 6 at once is more cash than I want to put out. I will be getting 32 GB phones, so a little more costly than the estimates being posted. Taxes are also going to add up but I am eligible for a small discount through my former employer. I assume that the activation charges are the same with Edge as they are with the regular 2 year plan??

I hope that others have benefited from the wonderful information in this thread. I am humbled by the amount of time and effort that everyone has invested!!

Fortunately there is no activation fee with verizon edge.

 

[rui no onna]

Verizon coverage is much better where we need it. I also think that 10 GB is where I will probably begin. I was surprised at how fast data is used up when it is the only option for internet. My niece says that their Verizon Jetpack bill is really high. She has the 10 GB plan just for the Jetpack and often still goes over, even though the kids are forbidden from using Netflix and YouTube. So as long as I will be getting that much data the Verizon Edge plan is probably my best option because of the big discount for the lines. I could try to figure out a BYOD option but buying 3 iPhone 6 at once is more cash than I want to put out. I will be getting 32 GB phones, so a little more costly than the estimates being posted. Taxes are also going to add up but I am eligible for a small discount through my former employer. I assume that the activation charges are the same with Edge as they are with the regular 2 year plan??

Just to give you an idea, at home, we use around 1GB per day just for YouTube and that was before YouTube HD. That traffic is pretty much entirely due to my brother. Netflix? We typically use 8-10GB per day and around 15-20GB per day during weekends.

Question, are you getting 32GB iPhones just for yourself or for everyone on your plan? Because you can save some funds there. To be honest, I'm the only one in the family that uses more than 10GB. My mom, dad and brother all have 32GB iPhones (my cast offs) but they only use around 5GB of storage. It's not like the extra storage improves resale significantly anyway. You usually only get back $20-50 for every additional $100 you spend in storage.

 

[jekjones1558]

Just to give you an idea, at home, we use around 1GB per day just for YouTube and that was before YouTube HD. That traffic is pretty much entirely due to my brother. Netflix? We typically use 8-10GB per day and around 15-20GB per day during weekends.

Question, are you getting 32GB iPhones just for yourself or for everyone on your plan? Because you can save some funds there. To be honest, I'm the only one in the family that uses more than 10GB. My mom, dad and brother all have 32GB iPhones (my cast offs) but they only use around 5GB of storage. It's not like the extra storage improves resale significantly anyway. You usually only get back $20-50 for every additional $100 you spend in storage.

I had a 32 GB iPhone 5 which was stolen (long story). When I replaced it I went cheaper and only got a 16 GB. I don't store movies on my phone but I do tend to carry quite a few photos and music and I have had to purge a few times because it was full. G-niece will want music and probably one movie plus she has a lot of games on her iPod, so I think I will get her a 32 GB also. Still am not sure if bff will want to just take the iPhone 5 or if I will sell it and move her up to a 6 but I do think that 16 GB is probably enough for her as a first smartphone.
This has been a learning experience for me regarding high speed connection. I now "get" the issue that those living in rural areas face. I never give a second thought to how I use my cable wifi. I think that the most data I can buy is 12 GB and I might end up having to do that.
You have been such a help. Thank you!

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Fortunately there is no activation fee with verizon edge.

View attachment 483688

Thanks for the link. I somehow missed the activation piece when I looked on the Verizon website.

 

[rui no onna]

G-niece will want music and probably one movie plus she has a lot of games on her iPod, so I think I will get her a 32 GB also. Still am not sure if bff will want to just take the iPhone 5 or if I will sell it and move her up to a 6 but I do think that 16 GB is probably enough for her as a first smartphone.
This has been a learning experience for me regarding high speed connection. I now "get" the issue that those living in rural areas face. I never give a second thought to how I use my cable wifi. I think that the most data I can buy is 12 GB and I might end up having to do that.

What's the capacity on your grandniece's current iPod? My niece's iPod touch is only 8GB and even with games, music and a video or two, she usually still has around 2-3GB left.

I don't suggest getting 12GB initially. Just get the 10GB and monitor usage for the first month. Even then, I think it's better to just set some ground rules for the kids rather than increase your monthly subscription. I reckon no Netflix is a good rule. YouTube and music streaming should be fine as long as usage is limited to a couple of hours a day. Things like that.

 

[C DM]

Something else to keep in mind is that there are a few Verizon promos that are available (at least now) relating to having an extra 1 GB of shared data for year and also for $10 off per month for lines under contract (although I believe it's only for those that have less than 1 year left on contract and agree to extending it to 1 year). This is all also described/discussed at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1754705/.

 

[jekjones1558]

What's the capacity on your grandniece's current iPod? My niece's iPod touch is only 8GB and even with games, music and a video or two, she usually still has around 2-3GB left.

I don't suggest getting 12GB initially. Just get the 10GB and monitor usage for the first month. Even then, I think it's better to just set some ground rules for the kids rather than increase your monthly subscription. I reckon no Netflix is a good rule. YouTube and music streaming should be fine as long as usage is limited to a couple of hours a day. Things like that.

Her current iPod is 32 GB and so is her brother's (I know because I bought them). I do intend to start with 10 GB. She has been very compliant with the data rules at home so I don't expect any major problems.
Another question: Since I get free mobile hotspot with the shared data plan, is there any reason to pay $10/month to add the iPad? Am I missing something?

 

[rui no onna]

Another question: Since I get free mobile hotspot with the shared data plan, is there any reason to pay $10/month to add the iPad? Am I missing something?

Who'll be using the iPad?

If you always have your iPhone with you and don't mind the additional hassle of tethering you don't have to add it to your plan. Personally, I use my iPad daily so I caved and just pay the $10 per month for the sake of convenience and so as not to kill my iPhone battery quickly.

If you give it to your nephew and he's not with his sister or some place with wifi, he won't be able to get internet on the iPad.

 

[jekjones1558]

Who'll be using the iPad?

If you always have your iPhone with you and don't mind the additional hassle of tethering you don't have to add it to your plan. Personally, I use my iPad daily so I caved and just pay the $10 per month for the sake of convenience and so as not to kill my iPhone battery quickly.

If you give it to your nephew and he's not with his sister or some place with wifi, he won't be able to get internet on the iPad.

Thanks for the quick reply.