Electronics

[Serenity-Now]

Hi Everyone,

My husband & I both finally need to replace our iPhone 4S's, they no longer hold a battery charge. I swear they design things on purpose to give out sooner than they should, so we as consumers are forced to repurchase. Grr!

Anyway, we could sure use a good deal, or some alternatives. We have to use Verizon in our area where we live now, for the most local coverage. We aren't married to the brand, but we do need a smart phone that can do a Personal Hotspot link-up with an ipad. We haven't tried the Google phone or any others, and would love some feedback on ideas.

Thank you so much, we appreciate your eagle shopping eyes to help us save a few bucks!

[gardenman]

You can replace the battery for around $25 using readily available online kits and lots of places replace i-phone batteries including many/most Radio Shacks. If you want to go the new phone route then having to use the new phone as a hotspot complicates matters a tad. The cheapest phone options out there now are the Tracfone smartphones sold here and on e-bay with the one year card. For $80-$140 you get 1200 minutes of talk, 1200 texts, and 1.2 gb of data for a year with nothing else to pay unless you need more time/texts/data. The problem for you is they can't be used as a mobile hotspot. I believe some of the SmartTalk smartphones can be used as a hotspot, but you have to pay around $60 a month ($45 a month for the minutes/data and then a $15 a month charge to activate the hotspot feature.) You also have to buy the phones upfront which increases your upfront costs.

My best advice would be that if you like your old phones, to keep them and swap out the batteries. You can do it yourself or pay to have it done. There are also portable hotspot only devices you can buy to use as a hotspot and buy only the data plan you need for the hotspot and economize on the phones. I'm not sure how much online connectivity you need for your i-Pads away from home, but such a solution may be cheaper overall for you.

[Serenity-Now]

Thank you so much for your informative reply, Gardenman; we are checking on the battery option now, which sounds like a great idea to keep a perfectly-good phone lasting awhile longer. Great info, tyvm!

[seahorsey]

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[GloriBee]

On 12/11/2014 SerenityNowMyndi said: Thank you so much for your informative reply, Gardenman; we are checking on the battery option now, which sounds like a great idea to keep a perfectly-good phone lasting awhile longer. Great info, tyvm!

I agree! This is good to know!

[nlwilliams]

Forced to repurchase!

[Nuttmeg]

I brought a Samsung Galaxy S4 last year. You can change the battery in this phone very easily by removing the back and inserting a new one .

[Rabid1]

One thing a lot of smartphone and tablet manufacturers don't want as common knowledge is that batteries can be replaced. It is planned obsolescence/disposal. Some require a little work, but most cities will have shops that can do it, if you feel uncomfortable prying-popping-pulling, for a lot less than replacing a phone completely.

[Lynnj]

If you are a Costco member, see if they carry your existing carrier phone selection. You'll get member discount by going through them,,and still get your existing carrier plans and deals. Personally, I suggest another iPhone since you are both already used to it.

[Nuttmeg]

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