The Great Smartphone Experiment Begins

I can barely endure the drama of my life. First, I switch from Mach 3s to a Merkur double-edge blade format. And now I get my first smartphone. My wife may teach me to text soon. Welcome to the 21st Century, young man.

In any event, my wife and I went to Costco where I paid $200 for the Galaxy Note 3 and $100 for my wife's Samsung Galaxy S5. The monthly rate for unlimited data on one line is $130 plus tax. In two years, the contract will be out during which time I may switch to T Mobile but we shall see. First things first. I need how to learn to do basic functions on my smartphone.

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Comments

[Paul]

Which carrier did you sign up with?

Is that $130 for one line only? Or two lines?

[herculodge]

Paul. we signed up with Verizon and are sharing one line. Seems to be plenty of power for both of us.

[jonnybardo]

Wait, doesn't that mean you can't call or text each other if you share the same line? I'm confused - I didn't think two phones could share one line.

Anyhow, I only ventured into the 21st century of smartphones about a year ago and haven't looked back. I've been texting for a few years and love it, because it is a good way to communicate quickly and without the hassle of a phone call. Sort of like short emails, but instantly received. Of course you have to get into the hang of texting, but it gets easier and easier.

The other great function is mapping/GPS. Also, it is really nice to be able to check reviews of something while you shop, although searching the internet on a smartphone can be a bit of a hassle. But since getting my HTC One it is a lot easier and more readable than my smaller iPhone. I think your 3 is the same size, so that's good.

Make sure you download the Watch Recon app. A nice little distraction to have on demand.

[Paul]

I think the sharing is only on the data side. There are two lines so they can text/call each other.

Also as best as I know Verizon phones don't have sim cards, so they are not compatible with AR&T or TMO.

[herculodge]

We can text and call each other. I need a sim card to switch the phone over to TMO in two years if I should want to?

[StarHalo]

You won't be wanting the same phone in a few months, let alone two years.

Don't forget podcasts - now you can have lots of content ready to go on your phone to play when driving..

[Paul]

If your Samsung Note takes a sim card, then yes, you can ask Verizon to unlock it (after 6-12 months), and then switch to TMO or AT&T any time after that.

[Gary]

Paul,

My understanding is that Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, while AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. Do modern phones like the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3 support both communication methods?

[Paul]

Gary, see here:
http://galaxynote3root.com/galaxy-note-3-tutorials/how-to-use-gsm-sim-on-verizon-galaxy-note-3-world-phone/

and

http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3/322687-verizon-note-3-factory-sim-unlocked.html

Apparently the Note 3 from Verizon is CDMA/GSM, comes unlocked, and can be used on TMO/ATT.

[Paul]

Gary, the Verizon Note 3 is an unlocked phone out of the store, and it takes a SIM card. It's a so called 'world phone' (CDMA/GSM). I posted a couple of links here that talk about this but I think Jeff's spam filter got rid of them ...

[Gary]

Thanks for the info, Paul. Verizon calls the Galaxy S5 a world phone also, so it should be usable on other carrier's networks too.

[Gary]

Jeff,

How are the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S5 working out so far?

When my brother bought his Galaxy S5, I sent him this article on setting up the phone.

http://www.androidcentral.com/how-set-samsung-galaxy-s5

Perhaps it will be useful to you or your wife.

[herculodge]

Gary, my wife set it up for me but so far I've only texted once and haven't really used it. I hope to get familiar with it.

[Gary]

One of the best features of my brother's Galaxy S5 is the camera. It's capable of taking some really nice pictures. One just has to ensure that the photos are backed up somewhere. I think Samsung provides Dropbox for cloud backups. You can also plug the phone into your computer and drag the files over.

Another great thing is all of the Android apps available on Google Play. I didn't like the stock MP3 player on my Nexus 7, so I installed Rocket Player. TuneIn is a great app to get radio stations from around the world. I also use my Nexus 7 as a controller for my Chromecast, which I mostly use for Netflix and YouTube, but many other apps can "Cast," including Rocket Player.