My Cell Phone Contract is up in March

[GNick99]

Feb 15, 2017 12:52:45 GMT -5 blny said:

Dis,

I had been with Bell from 2004 through most of 2015. As far as network quality and strength goes, they're hard to beat. The contract cost was just too much though. I was pay about $65/mo for the smartphone plan I had. I'd gone a year month to month and in 2015 looked to upgrade my phone.

First things first, I was going to have to move to a different plan. The plan was more expensive ($75), offered less features, and I was going to have to pay an upfront, reduced cost for the phone I wanted. No loyalty offering for a customer of 10 years. Nada.

So, I shopped around. Eastlink is a cable/internet/landline provider that started out east, but has moved to other areas including Ontario. A comparable plan was $45, and I could 'tab' the cost of the phone based on a contract over the two year contract. For whatever reason, I didn't pass the credit check. I passed it to buy a car in the spring, but I digress lol. That meant buying the phone outright, at full cost. So, I sat down and worked it out. Over a two year contract, buying the phone for $800 and signing with Eastlink was still $400 cheaper than staying with Bell. So I left. Eastlink uses the Roger's network for the cellular business. I haven't had any issues with it. Rogers might be a little weaker in rural areas, but I'm usually in a built up area so it's a non-issue for me.

Both my parents have moved to Virgin Mobile. Virgin doesn't tend to offer the most current phones, but their plans are excellent and typically affordable. They're on the Bell network. If you go to one of their wickets in Walmart, they typically offer good incentives. My parents upgraded this winter. They got new phones AND $100 gift cards to Walmart.

One of my sisters just moved to Eastlink and got a new iPhone 6s. She's happy.

I am presently using a Samsung Note 5. It's a good phone. It's large, but my hands are big enough that it isn't an issue for me. The biggest knock is that the battery is sealed. So, if the battery fails, the phone's done. You can't replace the battery. I'm due for upgrade in September and may look at the LG 5 for that reason. The Note doesn't have a slot to expand storage with a micro SD card either.

I get two days out of a charge and basic use. If I'm on it a lot, I'll likely need to charge before end of day. The Note does allow for 'fast charging'. Not all smart phones do. It cuts the charge time dramatically. From dead, fast charge typically takes about an hour to get to 100%. It's about half, or even less, than a standard charge time. The screen is the killer of course. Android typically isn't too hard on battery life. There was a system update in the Fall that caused some issues. It was chewing battery life after it. I killed a bunch of stuff, but nothing really seamed to cure it. There was a second smaller patch that came out and did. So, I'm back to my typically charge span.

If there's a phone you're interested in, type the name into youtube. You'll find a slew of reviews.

Hope that helped some.

How much is a LG 5 now? I usually sign 2 year contract

[blny]

Apr 2, 2017 11:44:22 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

How much is a LG 5 now? I usually sign 2 year contract[/quote]

It's going to vary. If I were a new customer to Eastlink, there'd be a zero up front fee for the phone and I'd pay $25 a month over the two years for the phone. That's $600. As an existing customer, I have no idea what my cost would be. If their loyalty program is similar to Bell's it would be half of that $600 (and I could likely tab it, something Bell doesn't do).

The retail price of the LG 5 is $720CDN. That price won't vary between carriers.

[GNick99]

Apr 2, 2017 12:03:48 GMT -5 blny said:

Apr 2, 2017 11:44:22 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

How much is a LG 5 now? I usually sign 2 year contract

It's going to vary. If I were a new customer to Eastlink, there'd be a zero up front fee for the phone and I'd pay $25 a month over the two years for the phone. That's $600. As an existing customer, I have no idea what my cost would be. If their loyalty program is similar to Bell's it would be half of that $600 (and I could likely tab it, something Bell doesn't do).

The retail price of the LG 5 is $720CDN. That price won't vary between carriers.[/quote]
Last contract I was on got phone free to sign up for 2 years. Samsung s4, paid about $50 per month, 500 mb data and calling minutes each. but I like those LG phones.

[blny]

Apr 3, 2017 12:09:38 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

Last contract I was on got phone free to sign up for 2 years. Samsung s4, paid about $50 per month, 500 mb data and calling minutes each. but I like those LG phones.

Depending on when you get the phone, if they're older, they're offered at discounts like that. With the S7 out now, and soon the S8, the S5 and S6 will become the "discount" or entry-like level phones.

LG makes very good phones. Apple and Samsung dominate the market, and charge a pretty penny. LG usually comes in a little cheaper with their comparable stuff when it's brand new and bleeding edge.