How do YOU phone?!

[WedgeStratos]

Recently I sold my Samsung Galaxy S3, having no reason or way to use it aside from giving US Cellular money. After that, I started hunting around for a decisive phone. Still not there yet, but I think I'm getting it down.

It then occurred to me - I'm not the only person in the world with a phone. And so, I came here.

What kind of phones (please don't say you use your iPod Touch to call your Facebook friends) does everyone around here use?

 

[Legendary Emerald]

I've got a hand-me-down iPhone that's a gen or two old now; I don't keep track, and I really don't care to find out. Mostly use it to check tumblr and twitter when I'm too tired to get out of bed and start up my laptop.

 

[fickleheart]

Spoiler

This is my phone. It makes calls, receives calls, and thanks to my phone service it can even take voicemail messages! All from the comfort of my bedroom. And unlike your PLEBIAN phones, this one supports both touch-tone and pulse-dialing modes of operation! Unfortunately, it seems to be capable of turning only left...

I have a Galaxy SII with no service that I keep around for general mobile shenanigans and development, but it spends half its time dead since it has a short in the charging plug and there's no good reason for me to mess with it most of the time.

 

[Lat']

Spoiler

What the fuck is that?!


Anyways, my phone is just a standart phone for... phoning and sending messages... And play shitty free games on the AppStore 'cause I'm too lazy to crack full games...

 

[falcon]

Gotta fix it, but here:
That Verizon logo disgusts me... This as a GSM phone.

Spoiler

Do I win?

 

[Larz T]

Gotta fix it, but here:
That Verizon logo disgusts me... This as a GSM phone.

Spoiler

Do I win?

I remember hearing about that phone back in 2012 I think... I always wanted to get one but I never could afford it seeing that this was the time I had to start actually buying the stuff I wanted with my own money. Does it play PSP games and PS1 games?

 

[falcon]

I remember hearing about that phone back in 2012 I think... I always wanted to get one but I never could afford it seeing that this was the time I had to start actually buying the stuff I wanted with my own money. Does it play PSP games and PS1 games?

(Funny you mention buying things with your own money, that's how I got it...)
Yes, via emulators. (except for Crash Bandicoot, it came as a pre-installed app.) They run well with some overclocking, and some ROM optimizations.
Smash Bros. 64 on this helped me out with Smash-fest months ago. (I won my match.)

 

[Larz T]

Does it still work pretty good?

 

[falcon]

Does it still work pretty good?

It did... until school started. (The timing was impeccable...)
I replaced the slider flex cable, and that fixed it. However, my semi-OCD self had to open it back up to clear the dust from behind the digitizer. I ended up damaging the cable. I'll have to replace it now, but it's an affordable $15-20 part. Getting it ASAP. (At least I got to replace the housing to this lovely white finish. It was blue at first since it's the AT&T model)

 

[Larz T]

Interesting. Maybe I'll save up money for that instead of an iPhone 6 Plus (if they are still even selling Xperia Plays).

 

[falcon]

Interesting. Maybe I'll save up money for that instead of an iPhone 6 Plus (if they are still even selling Xperia Plays).

They aren't. I wouldn't suggest it anyway, unless you're into rooting. I'd suggest the later Xperia's (Xperias?) from 2012 on. Some from 2013 on can use the Dualshock 3/4 as a controller for games. (The upcoming Z3's will even have PS4 Remote Play.)
I'n not saying the phone's bad, it's just outdated. KitKat's performance on this phone seems promising though... I haven't tried it yet because WiFi, camera, and Bluetooth don't work yet. If you do still want it though (maybe as a sole gaming device) they are cheap on eBay. I payed $153 for mine, Unlocked, and in good condition.

 

[Jellybones]

I just caught myself a solid phone and plan.

I have an unlocked Nokia Lumia 521, and I get unlimited calls and text for $24.88 a month. (that's without taxes) The caveat here is that I get no data plan, which personally suits me fine but won't for others.
The Lumia 521 runs Windows 8 which, while we may be inclined to laugh at, is actually pretty good on a phone. The layout is simple and while the app support isn't as large as Android and Apple, it comes with what I believe to be the essentials- apps like Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon are there. Really, if you just want a phone it's a great choice. I got the phone for $76 (that's with taxes) new, and got my plan through Wal-Mart's Family Mobile cellular service.

The Lumia 521 currently runs Windows 8 and isn't slated to get 8.1 until later this year. Compared to my last phone, which was an android- that was always bogged down, slow, and froze a lot, I'm satisfied with the quality of my purchase especially given the price.

 

[falcon]

I just caught myself a solid phone and plan.

I have an unlocked Nokia Lumia 521, and I get unlimited calls and text for $24.88 a month. (that's without taxes) The caveat here is that I get no data plan, which personally suits me fine but won't for others.
The Lumia 521 runs Windows 8 which, while we may be inclined to laugh at, is actually pretty good on a phone. The layout is simple and the app support isn't as large as Android and Apple, it comes with what I believe to be the essentials- apps like Facebook, Netflix, Ebay, and Amazon are there. Really, if you just want a phone it's a great choice. I got the phone for $76 (that's with taxes) new, and got my plan through Wal-Mart's Family Mobile cellular service.

The Lumia 521 currently runs Windows 8 and isn't slated to get 8.1 until later this year. Compared to my last phone, which was an android- that was always bogged down, slow, and froze a lot, I'm satisfied with the quality of my purchase especially given the price.

Not bad. Not bad at all. I want to try a Lumia one day, just to get a good feel of the OS. Do you remember what your last phone was by any chance?

 

[Boinciel]

I use a 6-year-old Nokia flip phone with a cracked outer screen and half the paint having worn away. I pick up all my calls by shouting "WHO IS THIS" into the receiver.

 

[falcon]

Spoiler

I use a 6-year-old Nokia flip phone with a cracked outer screen and half the paint having worn away. I pick up all my calls by shouting "WHO IS THIS" into the receiver.

You seem to have the most durable phone here, unless some one has the almighty, indestructible Nokia 3310.

 

[Jellybones]

Not bad. Not bad at all. I want to try a Lumia one day, just to get a good feel of the OS. Do you remember what your last phone was by any chance?

My last phone was an LG Lucid VS840 with 4G. I can't comment on the plan at all- it was a contract my parents had control of for the last two years, so I have no idea what the costs were. (The Nokia is the first time I bought my own phone, plan, and everything.) However, it was definitely very slow- sometimes the keyboard would act up and disappear or crash, or the keys wouldn't recognize. Every app just lagged a lot. It was faster when it was new, but that didn't exactly last long.

As much praise as I am giving Windows 8 on my Nokia right now, I know it can be prone to just being really fast at first... it's still Windows after all. Only time will tell.

 

[karob]

I was using my dad's old Nokia 6310i until two years ago, when it randomly died. Before its departure, it faithfully made phone calls, sent and received text messages, and even had the matching game, Snake II, and some football game on it. :P

Now I'm using the "free phone" which came with my $25/mo phone plan (no data). It's a step up from my old Nokia in every aspect except durability (and it doesn't have any games, haha).

 

[Larz T]

Excuse me, but was does the term "unlock" mean for phones?

 

[Eblo]

It means you can run homebrew apps. It's useful for creating your own.

 

[fickleheart]

Actually, at least in the Android realm, most devices already allow you to run your own apps simply by loading the APK onto it and running it. (You usually have to enable non-Play Store apps in the options first.) Unlocking a phone refers to detaching it from a commitment to a carrier, so you can freely use it on any carrier you desire. Now, iOS devices do have something called "jailbreaking" which opens the phone to running apps from places other than the App Store, but Android users typically don't need that. (That said, if greater access is required, i.e. capturing video output from other apps, rooting the phone is often required to give those capabilities to other apps. Similar methods are also used for flashing different Android distros onto a particular device.)