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Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

@Ainhisg 

 

Amazon has two well-reviewed Spigen cases specifically for the Moto G Stylus 2021, one has extra cushioning and a little kickstand for $16.99, so that could be my new case. I don't really need the kickstand, and it could be a nuisance if it comes out too easily, but I like the extra cushioning it offers. That's probably what I'll get. I'm waiting until I'm sure the Q ships my phone before I order it though. Sometimes orders here stay in process for a while, but once I know it's been shipped, I'll order the case.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,172
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

I have the LG Premier Pro and it fits my hand very comfortably! 

 

That is more important to me than the screen size.

 

I will transfer minutes from new phone to the LG Premier Pro.  I'm keeping it!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,512
Registered: ‎09-16-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

@Zhills : I really love the LG Premier Pro and really hate to change but concerned since LG getting out of the phone business. I tried the Jitterbug smart phone and at least two other smart phones and had trouble using them until the LG purchase..

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

The phone has now shipped and is in the hands of UPS in Texas. UPS says it'll be here on the third which would be nice. The bad news is it's coming through UPS SurePost which means it may get slowed down considerably. My last SurePost package (the Caseable cover for my 8" Fire tablet) got held up at my local post office for three days. With the phone now on the way, I went ahead and ordered the new case for it and that'll be here tomorrow. If the phone is not here on the third, it'll likely be the sixth or a bit later. With the Fourth of July coming up, and with the Fourth being on a Sunday that means Monday is an official holiday, so it's either the third or the sixth (or later) in all likelihood. At least I know it's on its way now anyway.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,781
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!


@gardenman wrote:

@Ainhisg wrote:

@gardenman I usually follow (and copy) your phone purchases.  You will have to let us know the good, the bad, and the ugly about your phone once you have had it a while.  I don't need to do anything until May of next year...lol...so I will hold off buying anything to see how you like your new phone and to hopefully see a lower price.


@Ainhisg 

 

I expect to see the price drop a bit since it's typically $199 at HSN. They'll often discount a phone a lot (25%-50% or more isn't unheard of) and they haven't had that phone marked down yet. But, rather than wait and hope, I decided to act now. I still saved $25 off of the "normal" HSN and Tracfone price. And if I bought it directly from Tracfone it wouldn't come with the airtime package. It's the phone I wanted at a price I can live with. It also comes with a coupon for the iRing that's a $20 add-on if bought separately. 

 

Amazon had the Samsung A51 unlocked at $179.99 on Prime Day (typically $300+) and I was very tempted by that. But then I'd have to add the airtime where here it's included. Those were the two phones I was most intrigued by this year. With LG getting out of the phone business I pretty much ignored them this time around. That pretty much left Samsung and Motorola as the top two options. TCL and Blu are now selling Tracfone phones, but not their mid to upper-tier stuff. I could buy an unlocked phone, but the ones with similar features tend to cost more. The unlocked Moto G Stylus sells for well over $250 at most places and then you have to add the service. 

 

 


@gardenman LG is getting out of the phone business?!  They're my favorite!!

*QVC Community member since 10/24/2006*
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

Yeah, LG stopped manufacturing phones a while back and have converted their phone factory to make household appliances instead. They'll stop selling their phone stockpile in August and be totally out of the phone business then. That took them out of consideration for me this go round. I doubt that they'll be looking to update phone software going forward and getting updates can be important. They'd been losing money on their phones and decided to walk away.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

I was also an LG fan. All of my smartphones before last year's Moto Optimo Maxx were LGs. They were very good little phones. With LG leaving the market you've got the big three now in Apple, Samsung, and Motorola, then a bunch of up and comers in TCL, Blu, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, ZTE, OnePLus, Micromax, and many, many more. 

 

I'm not an Apple guy, too expensive and too many issues I can't fix. I prefer a more established brand in the US (many of those are very well-established brands elsewhere though) so that pretty much left me with either Samsung or Motorola. I wanted a phone under $300 with 128 GB of storage so that narrowed things down to the Samsung A51 or the Motorola G Stylus. I almost got the Samsung for $179.99 during Prime Day but I held off since I'd then have to add service to it and I knew I could get the Stylus with a year's service for $199 at worse at HSN. The Q had marked the Stylus down to $189.99  a week or so ago, but that wasn't a big enough markdown to get me to jump. This week it hit $179.99 and I had a $5 off coupon and free shipping, so I bit.

 

I kind of expect it to be marked down to somewhere between $149.99 and $169.99 at some point on one of the home shopping channels, but since I could get it for $174.99 now, I got it now. ($129.99 or even lower wouldn't shock me. These channels really discount phones on a fairly regular basis.) I'd been watching the pricing on the phones for the last couple of months and this was the lowest it had gotten, so I made the move now.

 

It's on its way! It's moved from Arlington TX to Mesquite TX. Not that dramatic of a first step (about 33 miles), but it's moving anyway, so that's good. It should arrive in NJ on Thursday or Friday, then I'm at the mercy of the post office to get around to deliver it. UPS says it'll be here on the third. QVC says by the sixth. With the Fourth this weekend, it'll likely be the third, the sixth, or later. I doubt the post office is delivering on the fourth or fifth. They'll likely have a bit of a backlog for delivery on the sixth, so it could slip back even later. But, it's on its way.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,961
Registered: ‎02-25-2011

Re: I ordered my new phone today!


@gardenman wrote:

The Q has the Tracfone Moto G Stylus marked down to $179.99 today, so I took the plunge. Honey even found a $5 off coupon that was applied knocking the price down to $174.99. It should be here around July 6th. It's a phone with 128 GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, and a 6.8" screen. It's a perfectly adequate phone for me. I could have waited and it might have gotten marked down more, but Tracfone sells it for $199 without a year's service. Amazon sells it unlocked for $279.99. Getting it for $175 with free shipping is a pretty good option. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive.


@gardenman ...You DID get a great deal on your phone!!!  HSN has deals on tracphones but not all of them.  The one you ordered from the Q, ....HSN is selling for $199.99 plus $12.22 Shipping and handling.  So, pat yourself on the back for the deal you got at the Q for the exact same phone.

 

I LOVE LG and I am sad to see they will no longer in the trac phone business.  Thank you for posting this as I was not aware.  I have a LG stylo 4 and I am good until April of next year.  I always like to have a "back up" phone, so last night when I was looking at the HSN trac phone sales (not all were on sale...yours above as I mentioned wasn't), but I did order one on sale....

 

Item # 773-763, "TCL  AX3  (6.0") HD Tracfone with 1500 min/text/data ON SALE FOR  $79.99 (original HSN price was $99.99) and free shipping...PLUS, I had a $5.00 off coupon that brought it down to $74.99 plus tax.  I got it in the "Purple Amethyst" color....my favorite color is purple and that along with the price, I just couldn't resist this new phone, lol.

 

PS...anyone can try using the coupon and see if it works for them to get $5 off at HSN.  It doesn't include "clearance" items, but it does include sale items AND electronics.  Coupon #:  187750.  You can use it as many times as you want, as long as it is over $20.

 

Here's my new backup phone.  Let us know how you like yours when you get it.

TCL AX3 6.0" HD+ Tracfone with 1500 Min/Text/Data

 

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,961
Registered: ‎02-25-2011

Re: I ordered my new phone today!


@SouthernBee wrote:

@Zhills : I really love the LG Premier Pro and really hate to change but concerned since LG getting out of the phone business. I tried the Jitterbug smart phone and at least two other smart phones and had trouble using them until the LG purchase..


@SouthernBee ....I hate that LG is getting out of the business too.  See my post above about the phone I ordered last night from HSN.  Something you might want to try while it's on sale.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: I ordered my new phone today!

The new phone came today and so far, I love it! It's bigger than my old one but not uncomfortably large. It's faster, has a ton of memory, a very nice display. I have no complaints. I'll play with the camera tomorrow and see how that works. The Spigen case I got for it is also very, very nice and secure. Lots of padding and the buttons are all still very easy to use. It's not a very bulky case either.

 

The activation went as easy as any ever has. That 1-800-867-7183 phone number they give you works every time for me. Activating it online often fails for some reason, but that number has never failed me. It's an automated voice system just for the shopping channels, but it works! Within five minutes my account had been switched to the new phone. All the new data, minutes and texts arrived. No issues at all with activation.

 

Google moved nearly all of my apps from my old phone to the new one, just missing one that I added manually. I deleted some preinstalled apps I didn't want. 

 

I spent most of the afternoon logging into all of my apps and then deleting all of the emails advising me a new device had logged into my apps. I want to scream, "Yeah, I know a new device is accessing my account. It's my new phone!" Sadly, there's not an app for that. I made a couple of calls with it with no trouble. I haven't received any yet. (When I do it will likely be someone advising me my car's warranty has expired. They're my most frequent caller.)

 

I have no complaints so far. I've downloaded all of my albums from A-L and tomorrow I'll download the M-Z ones. (I've got over 9,000 songs in my YouTube Music app, so it takes a while to get them all downloaded.) In addition to the 128 GBs of storage built into the phone, I have a 256 GB micro SD card added also. I should never run out of storage again. (Remind me I said that in a year or so when I'm running out of storage.) 

 

I ordered the iRing that was included and that should arrive at some point. God only knows when. They'll send me tracking info when it ships so hopefully it's coming UPS. It was pretty easy to redeem. I'm not if I'll use it or not, but it's handy to have anyway. 

 

The new phone seems to get more bars than my old phone but that could be weather related. It's been kind of cool and rainy here today and that often helps reception. We also have some Osprey building a nest atop the nearest cellphone tower, so maybe they're boosting the signal somehow? I'm not sure how long the phone companies will let the Osprey nest there, but I sit on my front porch and watch them fly back and forth with sticks as they're building their nest. The phone providers around here aren't especially observant, so they may not even know the Osprey are nesting there. We'll have to see who wins that battle for control of the tower.

 

The battery life isn't as good as in the old Optimo Maxx it replaces, but I've used it far more today than I would in a normal day. It's been in my hand and in use pretty much nonstop since about ten this morning. I finally set it down at around six-thirty and the battery was at about 25% then. (It's on the charger again as I type this and is already back up to 44%.)

 

I haven't played with the stylus or cameras yet. I'll spend some time with them tomorrow. So far though, it's a very nice phone and well worth the money. I'm not sure I'd pay the $279.99 it is most places for the unlocked version, but at the $174.99 with a year's service I paid, it was a good deal. I don't have to spend anything else on a phone until September 22, 2022 now, so that's neat. (Assuming nothing catastrophic happens to it and it better not.) 

 

Tomorrow I'll spend some time with the camera (lots of camera settings to learn and play with!) And the stylus which I haven't even removed yet. Another long bout of downloading more music and then the phone will be ready for daily use. I also have to connect my bluetooth headphones to it also. That shouldn't be an issue though. So far, so good. I'm happy.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!