What's the /frugal/ way to do smartphones? How often do you get a new one? Do you resell your old one...

What's the /frugal/ way to do smartphones? How often do you get a new one? Do you resell your old one? I feel like I'm stuck in a cycle of buying one every two years

Quit being a sucker and buying into every new thing that's released. Only upgrade after your current one ceases to function in it's duties.

One every two years is pretty standard desu. Usually by that time my phone has started to break or slow down a lot. I keep an old iphone as backup in case one breaks before the 2 year mark, and I try to avoid getting the most recent phones available since they are always overpriced, otherwise unless you can take good care of your phone it's tough to get them to last a long time unfortunately

I don't own a cellphone. I probably save $100/month just with that.

if I need to make a call I use my landline. If I'm not near a landline I borrow my friends' phones. Everyone has one.

Order a Verizon phone on eBay on da cheap cheaps then get activated on page plus for 40 a month you get unlimited talk text and data with 3gb of 4G

Been using the same one for four years. Not willing to get another contract and I won't pay for a new one.

The actual frugal way to do it is to get your work to pay for it. Wife hasn't paid for a cell phone in six years.

Are you a NEET? How can you get through a working day without a cell phone?

I'm probably buying chink phones from now on. Started with oneplus, will probably switch to $200 phones when this one breaks in a few years

yes, I'm technically a NEET I guess.

I'm a retired business owner.

when an employee has a cellphone they're on call 24/7. I'm not an employee, people best not be interrupting me with stupid work shit.

Bought a 150$ huawei after I lost my 150$ samsung on a festival

Buying flagships is a waste of money, since you can get them at 1/2 price a year later

Just buy a stanard model, take care, and they last plenty long. Only problem is lack of updates, but you can always watch websites in desktop version, that shit always works since it's compatible with tech going back to win xp

i've been pretty happy with Google Fi.. Got the nexus 5p for $250, and my monthly bill is $30 since i dont use much 4g/LTE data

Don't. You don't need one.

/thread

I have a huawei honor 5x that I bought for $180, using a prepaid t-mobile sim card for $40 a month. unlimited talk and text with 3g data.

On top of that, I use bitcoin to add funds to my account using bitrefill, as i have a large amount of bitcoins that I bought when the price was

bought a used note 4 and don't browse with mobile data.

i am no longer frugal with my phone

i had an iPhone 4s for four years, which was pretty frugal. worked just fine - solid it and put the difference towards a new one. still held like 1/3 of its original value which was pretty cool.

i pay $35 flat a month for unlimited call/text/data (slows down after you use 2.5gb, but I'm on wifi mostly)

Don't be a poor cuck, go get one if the Samsung 7s. It's the hottest thing on the market

Too hot for me!

I treated myself to an S3 late last year for $200. Someone asked me "omg is that an S3?" as if I was homeless. Then I broke it, replaced it with some $40 HTC and it was the only time I went full retard spending more than $50 on a phone.

If you don't need a smartphone get a dumb/burner phone. Works like a charm for text and phone calls. You can drop it too.

iPhone for 2 years + calling/internet is around 40€ per month.
Whats the problem? (except you are a need)

i buy the entry tier smartphone every 2 years or so

i've got a moto g3 and i can treat it like utter shit and it stills does everything i need

more ram and internal storage would be good but apart form that it's fine

Chinese android phones are the future

If you are young and starting out you should probably have some kind of smart phone if it is in your price range. Get something cheap and a couple generations back. Know what you are going to use it for, and buy accordingly. There is no point to a cheap phone if you want it to do some function it can't do properly. Upgrade only once it no longer is capable of serving your needs or repair outweighs the costs of a new device. If you are a bit further along in life you might want something a bit closer to a flagship or next closest thing. In networking situations having such a device can be viewed as a status symbol and you don't want to give off the appearance that you are cheap. At that time, however, the cost of a cell phone with current plans should be negligible against your investment plans.

Unless your current phone is broken, don't but a new one. You have no reason to buy a new one if your current one works. Also, if you are looking for frugal, why are you buying the latest and greatest? You can buy a perfectly good phone for $300 or less.

Xperia z1 for £50 on gumtree.

My mate gave me his old one, but I had no problem using a £5 alcatel after getting sold an HTC wildfire in 2010.

I can tell the diffrence between the new samsungs, but you wont miss what you don't have.

If you stand around a mall staring at ultra bright, high resolution 4k micro screens all day while your gf is shopping then yeah you're gonna want one.

I was going to buy a kazam thunder for £37 last year if I was not gifted the Z1.

I have an S6, paying £35 a month. I'm pretty much constantly on the move with work so having something that can handle big documents and media files is something I need.

moto g
use US Mobile or Ting
don't buy sms if you have data

This, I'm pretty happy with my Xiaomi Redmi 3
Just be aware tho, spare a couple of bucks to buy sealed packages because vendors often install chinky software.
Right whats hot is Redmi 3s, RN3P

I actually sell phones at my job, the funny thing is when people get into these ridiculous agreements with cellular providers thinking they are getting a good deal. I don't tell customers this but, if you want a cheap plan, go with a unlocked phone on a cheap carrier. You will save LOTS of money.

what would be a good deal?

To buy an unlocked phone, cash upfront, and have a plan that actually fits your needs.
As /g/ says, PRAISE the chinkphones

In South Africa, contracts are quite popular and iPhones really hold their value. Alot of people sell brand new iPhones after getting them on contract for like 50-60% of the price. Buy one of those, slap on a rugged case and screen protector and sell after two years. Its only of the only phones that hold any kind of value.

Plus im in the media industry so my phone is a tool. (insert some better android) Fuck off never saw an android phone hold up as well as an iphone. they are shit.

Buy a new iPhone every 4 years.

This guy has the right idea.

I can get an iPhone for €200 with my contract, which isn't a bad deal considering these phones last me 4 years.

>but you can always watch websites in desktop version, that shit always works since it's compatible with tech going back to win xp

By that, you mean that sites are deliberately made to still be compatible with Windows XP (due to a considerable amount of people still using XP)? Is this what you meant? English isn't my first language.

Reselling an obsolete phone may not be viable.

This. I only replaced mine because the battery held virtually no charge, and it was almost impossible TO charge due to design flaws.
I just got sick of dealing with it and ordered a new one. Now stuck with a 26 month contract due to the old one not being over, but the new phone is shinier, bigger, and more durable.

It's so useful now that I don't know how I survived on a pay-as-you-go dumbphone for so long.

>Plus im in the media industry so my phone is a tool
When does that meme will stop. Do you edit videos with it? Can you install indesign on it? Front-end programming? What about distiller?
KEKING

Yeah my s5 is shitting out now after 2 years. I'm thinking of switching to iphone now, maybe iphone se as it's only $400 and might last longer than cheaper options.

Do you guys buy insurance or is that a scam? I also hate cases

I bought a Sony Ericson k800i about 17 years ago and it lasted me 11 years.
I bought a Moto G 4 years ago refurb and unlocked for £70 and I'll wait til it's at least 10 years old to replace it.

I also use PAYG and spend money on calls or internet packs only, probably an average of around £50/year spent on my phone.

Phones are one thing it's inherently easy to be cheap with, and you absolutely should.

Make sure you buy something that will last a long time and make sure you buy something that fulfills your needs, everything else is marketing stealing your money.

just bought an S5 with a glass screen protector and case for 100$ cash and a 20$ itunes giftcard

how did i do?

Lost my Nokia 630

Same here.

Networking is more important than all that shit you can hire pooinloos to do, and you need a phone to network effectively in this day and age

Most cell phone plans are going to be significantly cheaper than a landline idiot.

I still have a S galaxy advance that I bought somewhere in 2012. The battery drains in 30mins but besides that it still works.

cell phones don't come with a yellow pages listing. If you buy the listing you get the business landline for free. I require the listing for my business, so technically my landline doesn't cost anything. Or if it does, my business pays for it.

>idiot
kek

So when you are at home and need to make a call you drive back to your business?

Always buy your electronics with the maximum guarantee.

These bastards design their shit to break down on purpose. Total cunts desu desu.

they're the same place.

which allows me to write off a portion of the cost of my house. Meaning my business is also buying me a house. And a truck. And a car. And lots of miscellaneous supplies and equipment I don't really know what to do with when I get done.

yeah maybe if you consider buying minutes cheaper. A smartphone plan that requires data and other shit is easily 100 bucks a month in Ontario here if you don't already own the phone. It's a fucking rip off, plus phones themselves are almost 1000 bucks. I can build a fucking gaming computer for that price tag.

Stop being a slave to your phone, buy a quality dumbphone and use it until it fails.

> Nokia 3310
> lasted 11 years, replaced battery twice
> Sony Ericsson something
> lasted 6 years, replaced battery once
> now on a Samsung extra-durable model
> it's been 3 years, going strong on original battery

I've never paid more than 80 for a phone either.

I didn't tell him I buy cell phones for all my employees.

I know which costs more. Just because I don't have one personally doesn't mean I don't know what they cost.

my landline costs about 2/3rds of what a smartphone and data plan costs here.

Google Fi.

>comparing a landline to a smartphone with a data plan
I can get unlimited calling on a smartphone for $20 a month.

Bought a Galaxy S2 in 2011. Only now replaced it with a Huawei Honor 5X, 170 € on Amazon Prime day. Pretty insane what you get for the money these days.

Get an iPhone which is nearing 2 generations old - which means a 5S now. You can get them for reasonable prices if you do your homeowrk, but the best part is they retain value like crazy because there are always idiots ready to pay more than you did for it.

I have a note 4, had to replace it once when I ran over it. Might just buy a new 4 once my contract ends in December.

Don't buy into contracts, although you should know this. Get a grade a, or b second hand 1 year old phone. Get on the cheapest sim only contract you can which gives you the most data possible.

Sell your second hand phone every year. There will still be a decent return on it as it will only be 2 years old, put that toward another 1+ year old phone.

If you look after the phone you don't spend much on the next one, and certainly save more than running one into the ground and buying a new one with.

Don't use your phone for anything other than business and social connectivity. Social media, profiles etc are fine but don't play games as over use can devalue.

Fuck smart phones, get a flip.

I'd rather get a chink.

The very best thing in electronics is to get the cheapest once in a while.
People who benefit or like showing status will get the flagship. The inbetween provides a horrible return on money spent.

Same for laptops. Either get a maxed out xps or macbook or a 250USD model.

It seems to be an underlying trend this generation is experiencing.
Middle class shrinks
Global cities both gentrify and turn into gettoes
Rise of sharing economy
Status symbols items like luxury cars and designers clothes have never been more important to be socially integrated
Politics move away from consensus based debates
Winners take all salary structures, loads of million USD/year wage earners and loads of entry level positions. Very few in between.
Food is all about cheap or ultra luxurious. Mid level restaurant have never been so shuned.
Industries focused on luxury invest in low cost, low cost try to offer luxury.

Airlines, fashion, gastronomy, technology, real estate, banking the amount of industries where this trend happened is impressive.

Invest long term in companies that understand this shift.
As a consumer, avoid middle of the road offerings they provide less and less value.

yes, but you can't get unlimited calling and a yellowpages business listing for $20 a month.

>Someone asked me "omg is that an S3?" as if I was homeless.

I used htc wildfire 2010. Worst phone ever. 12 hours complaining at orange they credited me £180 towards a 12 month contract of £22/pm. I filed a mis-sell and all sorts over that POS.

Orange don't throw out credit like they used to. Since then I used the HTC and a alcatel £5 on circulation until I was gifted a Z1 last year. My buddy polished the screen and fucked it, he didn't realize it was a screen protector.

£1 protector
£3.50 new battery
£3 mini screwdriver set
£3 phone case

Can't not do anything an Iphone 6 can do. I pay £7.50 for 250 minutes, dunno texts, and 2gb data. I never use the data, can't even set the fucking data up, just use wifi. I'm actively seeking a better contract and these £1 weekly contracts for 50 minutes with EE on paygo look promising. Since i tried paygo credit for a month and spent £2.35.

I just have people call me, why would I call anyone. If someone genuinely wants to talk to me they can call me with their ULT minutes.

My little sister who is a teen called my Z1 phone a brick because she has an iphone 5s.

I could go back to a £5 alcatel thing tomorrow.

Nobody fucking reads the yellowpages anymore. I use mine for fuel for the furnace.

This is true. Moore's law effectively ended in 2015. Every year after results in marginally less improvement.

Mom pays mine shit is cash

I bought a Moto G 2. Gen in 2014 for less than 200€ and it's still working great. I see no reason to switch.

>What's the /frugal/ way to do smartphones?
i get one from my company free to use.
it's only a galaxy a5 sure not a premium model but it knows most what a phone must know today and it's free.

People never take this advice seriously because it is so unusual but I use a blackberry 10 os phone. BlackBerry Z10 goes for like $100 on aliexpress and is imo better than China phones in its price range. BlackBerry just made a really good os, so good to use, so good for the communication side of things. It can run android apps if you need them but it's not the best experience. It's just amazing value though because BlackBerry failed so hard at marketing these things that they've had to basically give them away. It's good value for a legit brand quality phone.

and that was today's payed adverting section

Do you think I could make it as a copywriter?

I use a Q10.

Was basically free, does everything I care about (which is not apps), parts are cheap as hell on ebay, and it's built as well or better than any other phone I've seen.

The frugal way is to get a quality item that fills your needs for as little as possible.

>What's the /frugal/ way to do smartphones? How often do you get a new one? Do you resell your old one? I feel like I'm stuck in a cycle of buying one every two years
removable battery

android, root it and put CM on for updates

now all you do is change the battery when it dies

Perfectly fine phones as well. Again, you don't need to buy the ultra new, holy shit look at that, fuck yeah phone. It used to be a status symbol. Now it's just a symbol.

Aol, aim, blackberry, msn, myspace, yahoo were so huge and invicible back then but still failed.

Facebook, google and apple seem to last longer, be more valuable and have stronger control of the
Tech sector.

I'm actually afraid that this status quo is going to last several decades this time. I fucking hate that this social network selfie stick with epurated white design personal information absorbing ecosystem is what we have now.

hope this is b8

What the fuck does this have to do with cheap cell phones?

My employer gives me phone for work with virtually unlimited data. Im still.holding on my nexus 5 that i got since launch tho.

Just bought a xiaomi for 180 australian and im never going back to an expensive phone again

I had the cheap $30 T-Mobile plan.
Service was shit and all my Android phones sucked (even the expensive ones).

So now I pay like $100 a month for an iPhone 6S plus with AT&T and I'm really happy with the service.

Buy last year's model used on eBay

My phone has worked for over 3 years now. I have an HTC One (m7).

The Veeky Forums thing to do would be to get a plan like with T-mobile where you pay $30/mo for unlimited calling, messaging, and data (throttled after a certain extent but videos don't consume data).

Thus having 4GLTE data w/o a contract and buying a new/refurbished phone up front for $200-600 depending on needs and not being bound to a contract.

Actually it's $50/mo for T-Mobile for an individual. I have 4 lines for $30ea though.