Help choosing a Tracfone

[Anjalena]

I hope it's okay to ask about Tracfones on this forum. Some cell phone forums seem to be for better, non-prepaid phones. So if that's the case here, I apologize. Just let me know gently and I'll take a hike. *laugh*

Okay so I'm on a fixed SSI income and on the SafeLink program so it does have to be a Tracfone. =( I've got a little money for now so I'm looking to upgrade the old tracfone I have now. I could probably afford something up to $60-ish. Definitely can't afford anything over $80 so that would be my absolute max but would prefer to keep it to $60 or less.

What would you guys say is the best Tracfone these days? I know Tracfone doesn't have an android phone but they do have a couple of touch screen phones.. the LG 800g and LG 840G. What do you guys think of those two phones? And are there other, better, choices?

I mostly use my phone to make calls, text a little, and use the alarm. Wifi stuff would be nice, but not necessary. I hate texting with the number pad but haven't really looked at phones with the qwerty keyboard because I have fat fingers and I'm worried I'd have a hard time hitting those tiny buttons.

Anyway, any help would be so appreciated. =)

 

[Apanzee]

To be honest if you have "fat fingers" typing on a touch screen would be more difficult than typing with a qwerty keyboard.

I have rather large fingers myself, I'm a big boy - 6'1 220lb. I have an HTC Desire Z which is an Android smartphone with a slide out qwerty keyboard. I frequently get frustrated trying to type with the on-screen keyboard so I switch to the qwerty slide out.

Also, a non smart phone with a touch screen would mean less than spectacular performance. It would likely get bogged down with personal stuff like photos and videos and eventually become very slow and unresponsive. Touch screens take a bit of horsepower to run.

With that in mind, go to a store and pick up a qwerty phone. Try playing around with it and pressing a few buttons. Type a few words, even if it's just a non functioning display model. If it doesn't feel like you're hitting multiple buttons at once, that's what I'd recommend you go with in this case.

 

[Anjalena]

Thanks Apanzee. Good helpful information. I appreciate it. I wish I'd thought of that today when I was at Walmart. I'm disabled so I don't get to go out that much and I don't have a car. So I kinda have to get my home care workers to take me.

Also, yes, I like turtles (and turtlz *giggle*). I love the animals and also the candy! =)

Anyone else have any idea on specific tracfone models?

 

[Apanzee]

Thanks Apanzee. Good helpful information. I appreciate it. I wish I'd thought of that today when I was at Walmart. I'm disabled so I don't get to go out that much and I don't have a car. So I kinda have to get my home care workers to take me.

Also, yes, I like turtles (and turtlz *giggle*). I love the animals and also the candy! =)

Anyone else have any idea on specific tracfone models?

Next time you're out and about, even if you go to the mall. Just mosey on over to a random cell phone store and start playing with the display models. Blackberry's for example have rather small buttons but alot of other phones have larger ones - I'm certain you could find one you're comfortable with. If a salesperson asks if you need help just say you're browsing.

And if you can't, I'd still recommend against getting a non smartphone with a touch screen due to the hardware limitations. Even if it means getting a regular old flip or bar phone with a numeric keypad. There's a text input option known as "t9" and it's pretty efficient once you get the hang of it.

Essentially t9 works by pressing each button one time for one of the letters on that key. For example, to type "dog" it would be 3-6-4 and the phone would then suggest either "dog" or "fog" or any other combination those keys could present. You simply select it by using the navigational keys and the enter or OK button. Eventually the phone builds a library of frequently used words and is able to improve typing speeds by suggesting more frequently used words at the top of the list.



And lol, I'm not a chocolate fan myself. But I do have a pet turtle named Franklin (after the kids show I used to watch when I was young). He's a red eared slider. Craps a lot and I have to clean the tank about once a week, but he's cute. The girlfriend loves him. I'm debating on getting a Greek tortoise buddy for him and naming him Bowser but it will set me back almost $800 - they're rare and very pricey.

 

[Anjalena]

Ooh, very beautiful baby you have! And the greek is gorgeous too. I love the coloring and patterning on both of them! Great choices. Turtles have very, very long lives though, right? Do you have a plan for them if they outlast you? (sorry, might be a morbid question. didn't mean it that way)

I had a nurse and she was my very favorite. She's from Hawaii and she used to wear this teeny turtle pendant on a necklace. Well, I make jewelry so I notice people's jewelry. I told her the pendant was lovely and she explained that green sea turtles, called "honu" in Hawaii, are basically sacred animals.

Because I loved her so much, I made a necklace for her. It was definitely out of my element because I don't usually "sculpt" or form shapes with wire, but I looked up the green sea turtle and set about making a necklace for her. I looked up info and pictures on the animal. I used bead colors that are representative of the colors in the adult sea turtle's shell. And I dangled a (sorta attempt at) plumeria blossom from the turtle pendant because sometimes plumeria flowers are used to make leis in Hawaii.

Anyway, I didn't see a way to attach photos here so I uploaded some to my photobucket account. Apparently they have this new "story" feature. So I created a quick little story thing to show you the photos of the necklace I made. So if you're interested in seeing it (and don't expect a lot. heh), here's the link:

http/s22.beta.photobucket.com/user/Anjalena/story/42909

(hopefully you can put links in posts here. just now thought about that)

 

[Anjalena]

OH!! One more thing. More related to cell phones, this is. *rofl*

I'd like to find a bluetooth headset that doesn't use an earbud, at all. nothing that goes into my ear. I've tried a bzillion earbuds over the years and in one of my ears it won't fit at all. In the other ear, it starts hurting after a minute or two. I think my ears are just shaped weird. So I need a good bluetooth headset (not headphones) that just lays on the ear. Do you know of any?

I heard about the Motorola h720 and h730. They're a little bit older devices though so I thought maybe there were newer ones?

 

[Apanzee]

Very nice, my mother does similar work. She finds it therapeutic for her stress disorder.

And no I don't particularly have a plan for them at the moment, I have a five month old nephew who I'm sure will love them when he's a bit older. I'd probably leave them to him if it came to it.



------------------

Let me think about the bluetooth over dinner, I'll get back to you in a few minutes.

 

[Apanzee]

Alright, well - I've looked around the net and it doesn't look like there's many - if any, bluetooth headsets available within your budget. 99% of them also use ear buds.

The good news though, is that the majority of manufacturers make and supply additional sized ear buds which you can remove and interchange.

Same as what I suggested with the phone - go to a store and just take a look at all their headsets until you find one you like. Obviously they wouldn't let you try it on as it would be a health concern for other customers (eww earwax ) but you could always find one that appeals to you and comes with multiple sizes of earbuds. Take it home and try them all out and see if you can find a happy medium.

If it doesn't work for you, you can always return it and claim it's not compatible with your phone or something else along those lines.

However given your previously mentioned fixed income, I'd recommend maybe just getting a wired pair of headphones with a mic in the cord. You'll save quite a fair chunk of change and likely be much happier with the sound quality as a wired connection will always sound better than anything over bluetooth.

Personally I'm an audiophile so if I buy anything to do with wireless audio, it has to be absolute top of the line or else I can hear the difference in the sound quality and it wrecks my day.

It might not bug you as much, but like I said, if you're trying to be cost conscious it would still be smarter to go with a regular old wired headset.

----------------------------------

One more thing I'll just tack on for future reference here, if you want to add a photo to your post you can use the

bbcode.

In order to use it you'll need the direct photo link - so if you use FireFox (I only use FF so I don't know the method for Internet Explorer or others) you simply right click the picture and hit "copy image location." Then you put that between them like this

and it will display the image.

See?

 

[Anjalena]

Thanks, Apanzee. Good info and advice.

I've tried numerous earbuds over the years, and always try the smallest tips or whatever you call them, and they still don't fit in my left ear at all and hurt my right. I just have retarded ears apparently. It sucks. =(

I'll look into a wired headset. I was hoping to having the wireless bluetooth so I didn't have to bother with wires. But it's not that bad.

Thanks for the info on the image code. I'll try to remember it. I have moderate to severe issues with my short term memory so I forget things a lot. =(

 

[Apanzee]

Awe, well if you ever need it you have this thread for future reference. Maybe save it to your bookmarks. And some wired headsets are pretty nice. If you maybe wait a couple months to get a phone you could get one with an MP3 player and some nice headphones with a mic. I know having my favorite music with me always cheers me up.

 

[Anjalena]

Best answer selected by Anjalena.

 

[Anjalena]

Why wait a couple of months? What happens then?

 

[Apanzee]

Nothing special, lol. Just saying maybe saving up for a better phone would be a smart idea.

 

[Anjalena]

i'm stuck with using a Tracfone. Can't get any other type. I use the SafeLink program which gives a small number of free minutes per month to people on government programs like my SSI disability. But they only use Tracfone. I can't afford a monthly cell phone bill.

 

[rollin64]

I hope it's okay to ask about Tracfones on this forum. Some cell phone forums seem to be for better, non-prepaid phones. So if that's the case here, I apologize. Just let me know gently and I'll take a hike. *laugh*

Okay so I'm on a fixed SSI income and on the SafeLink program so it does have to be a Tracfone. =( I've got a little money for now so I'm looking to upgrade the old tracfone I have now. I could probably afford something up to $60-ish. Definitely can't afford anything over $80 so that would be my absolute max but would prefer to keep it to $60 or less.

What would you guys say is the best Tracfone these days? I know Tracfone doesn't have an android phone but they do have a couple of touch screen phones.. the LG 800g and LG 840G. What do you guys think of those two phones? And are there other, better, choices?

I mostly use my phone to make calls, text a little, and use the alarm. Wifi stuff would be nice, but not necessary. I hate texting with the number pad but haven't really looked at phones with the qwerty keyboard because I have fat fingers and I'm worried I'd have a hard time hitting those tiny buttons.

Anyway, any help would be so appreciated. =)

hi, i had a 800g it was okay but i just upgraded to the 840g and it's a big difference. i like the 840g a whole lot more. got mine for $24.00 on ebay.

 

[computertech01]

Thanks Apanzee. Good helpful information. I appreciate it. I wish I'd thought of that today when I was at Walmart. I'm disabled so I don't get to go out that much and I don't have a car. So I kinda have to get my home care workers to take me.

Also, yes, I like turtles (and turtlz *giggle*). I love the animals and also the candy! =)

Anyone else have any idea on specific tracfone models?

Next time you're out and about, even if you go to the mall. Just mosey on over to a random cell phone store and start playing with the display models. Blackberry's for example have rather small buttons but alot of other phones have larger ones - I'm certain you could find one you're comfortable with. If a salesperson asks if you need help just say you're browsing.

And if you can't, I'd still recommend against getting a non smartphone with a touch screen due to the hardware limitations. Even if it means getting a regular old flip or bar phone with a numeric keypad. There's a text input option known as "t9" and it's pretty efficient once you get the hang of it.

Essentially t9 works by pressing each button one time for one of the letters on that key. For example, to type "dog" it would be 3-6-4 and the phone would then suggest either "dog" or "fog" or any other combination those keys could present. You simply select it by using the navigational keys and the enter or OK button. Eventually the phone builds a library of frequently used words and is able to improve typing speeds by suggesting more frequently used words at the top of the list.



And lol, I'm not a chocolate fan myself. But I do have a pet turtle named Franklin (after the kids show I used to watch when I was young). He's a red eared slider. Craps a lot and I have to clean the tank about once a week, but he's cute. The girlfriend loves him. I'm debating on getting a Greek tortoise buddy for him and naming him Bowser but it will set me back almost $800 - they're rare and very pricey.

he can not just use any phone it has to be a tracfone
to use with safelink i have both tracfone and a safelink phone yes i would be glad to update my safelink tracfone to a android tracfone but none of tracfones android phones work with safelink

 

[computertech01]

Nothing special, lol. Just saying maybe saving up for a better phone would be a smart idea.

when you have the free safelink phone threw the goverment program it can only use non android tracfones for service beleive me i know i own one.