to get the smart phone or not.....opinions appreciated

[c max]

I hope I'm not going to be too wordy but here we go.....
My needs and possible phone usage.....
1. no music, no TV, no watching hockey games, etc.....no need
2. do not do social media, don't text
3. may never charge away from home, retired and would use the c max for any longer trips
4. probably will never use phone to charge, precondition, as with my c max energi, when I need a charge, I'll plug in
5. Ford told me I can register online for owners (did), BUT cannot activate online, must use smart phone.....without activation, I can't use free 250 kwh, or the 22000 ford pass reward points
6. fob as a key is fine with me, PaaK unnecessary.....

If I get a smart phone.....
1. 3 GB or 10 GB???....remember my needs are probably much less than most of you
2. what does android OS "O" mean???....."set up guide/brochure" says Android must be OS 5 or better, is it??
3. looking at Android because my son has that.....motorola ?, samsung ?, Zmax 10 (consumer cellular)????
4. looking at consumer cellular because they have multiple plans that seem to suit my current needs, post use billing, can pay by check (my preference), friends have very positive results with them,....
5. needs very basic, nothing fancy......would be like buying a riding lawn mower for a 50x100 property
6. am I asking for trouble??....seems like many of the issues being talked about here involve phone issues as well.....

If you are kind enough to respond, PLEASE keep it simple, haha.....someone in another post, was talking about the technology, phone and car, said he was knowledgeable, but (to paraphrase) he said "sometimes he felt like a 75 year old buying his 2nd computer", haha....well I'm not quite 75, and I've had more than 2 computers, haha......
this is certainly not a money issue, after all I just bought a $47000 car.....it just about what I need......no overkill.....thank you in advance......take care

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[macchiaz-o]

I hope I'm not going to be too wordy but here we go.....
My needs and possible phone usage.....
1. no music, no TV, no watching hockey games, etc.....no need
2. do not do social media, don't text
3. may never charge away from home, retired and would use the c max for any longer trips
4. probably will never use phone to charge, precondition, as with my c max energi, when I need a charge, I'll plug in
5. Ford told me I can register online for owners (did), BUT cannot activate online, must use smart phone.....without activation, I can't use free 250 kwh, or the 22000 ford pass reward points
6. fob as a key is fine with me, PaaK unnecessary.....

If I get a smart phone.....
1. 3 GB or 10 GB???....remember my needs are probably much less than most of you
2. what does android OS "O" mean???....."set up guide/brochure" says Android must be OS 5 or better, is it??
3. looking at Android because my son has that.....motorola ?, samsung ?, Zmax 10 (consumer cellular)????
4. looking at consumer cellular because they have multiple plans that seem to suit my current needs, post use billing, can pay by check (my preference), friends have very positive results with them,....
5. needs very basic, nothing fancy......would be like buying a riding lawn mower for a 50x100 property
6. am I asking for trouble??....seems like many of the issues being talked about here involve phone issues as well.....

If you are kind enough to respond, PLEASE keep it simple, haha.....someone in another post, was talking about the technology, phone and car, said he was knowledgeable, but (to paraphrase) he said "sometimes he felt like a 75 year old buying his 2nd computer", haha....well I'm not quite 75, and I've had more than 2 computers, haha......
this is certainly not a money issue, after all I just bought a $47000 car.....it just about what I need......no overkill.....thank you in advance......take care

I recommend getting exactly the same phone that your son has.

Ask him to send you a link on where to buy it. Use the same phone carrier too.

This way your son can provide tech support.

If you get something different, it will be much more difficult for your son to understand what you're seeing on the screen and his advice on what to do for any given situation will be quite limited without him having a matching phone.

If your son's phone is more than two years old, I recommend replacing his phone too, so you can both be up to date and in sync with the same model.

If you have internet at home with wifi, you do not need much cellular/mobile data on your phone plan. 2 gigabytes per month should be more than enough.

 

[jhalkias]

I recommend getting exactly the same phone that your son has.

Ask him to send you a link on where to buy it. Use the same phone carrier too.

This way your son can provide tech support.

If you get something different, it will be much more difficult for your son to understand what you're seeing on the screen and his advice on what to do for any given situation will be quite limited without him having a matching phone.

If your son's phone is more than two years old, I recommend replacing his phone too, so you can both be up to date and in sync with the same model.

If you have internet at home with wifi, you do not need much cellular/mobile data on your phone plan. 2 gigabytes per month should be more than enough.

? This. Good advice.

 

[c max]

? This. Good advice.

well thanks for replying, I am a bit underwhelmed by the number of opinions, maybe I should have asked about front license plate brackets, hahaha......I guess I'm on my own....

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

well thanks for replying, I am a bit underwhelmed by the number of opinions, maybe I should have asked about front license plate brackets, hahaha......I guess I'm on my own....

You’re not getting more opinions because pretty much everyone is in agreement with @macchiaz-o . Get the same phone your family members have. They’re confusing at first ... just like family members.

 

[jhalkias]

well thanks for replying, I am a bit underwhelmed by the number of opinions, maybe I should have asked about front license plate brackets, hahaha......I guess I'm on my own....

There is not much help I can give you about Android. I am, and have been an iPhone user, and if you are interested in an iPhone, I would be glad to help out. I think @macchiaz-o gave you some good advice on the Android front here.

You may be able to set up most things with Ford owner on a computer. I am not sure how well things will work if you want to road trip and use a DCFC without having a smartphone.

If you are never going to road trip in this car, your best investment may be a second fob instead of a smartphone.

 

[OH2AZ2OH]

Don't worry about the OS 5 requirement, that is a very old Android version at this point, and every phone you will find will fall into the "Or Later" part of the OS requirement.

3GB is totally fine for your needs. You may find you end up using the phone more than you think, so just check your bill on occasion and make sure you're ok (you almost certainly will be).

Apple phones have a reputation for "just working", so I would suggest you lean that way, as you likely will need less tech support after the initial setup. An Apple phone will be more expensive than all but the highest end Android phones. As others have mentioned, if you get an Android phone, get the same model as your son's.

 

[jhalkias]

BTW . . . if you do decide to go iPhone, and just want an entry level . . . a 64GB iPhone SE is only $399.

 

[Keyk4]

I hope I'm not going to be too wordy but here we go.....
My needs and possible phone usage.....
1. no music, no TV, no watching hockey games, etc.....no need
2. do not do social media, don't text
3. may never charge away from home, retired and would use the c max for any longer trips
4. probably will never use phone to charge, precondition, as with my c max energi, when I need a charge, I'll plug in
5. Ford told me I can register online for owners (did), BUT cannot activate online, must use smart phone.....without activation, I can't use free 250 kwh, or the 22000 ford pass reward points
6. fob as a key is fine with me, PaaK unnecessary.....

If I get a smart phone.....
1. 3 GB or 10 GB???....remember my needs are probably much less than most of you
2. what does android OS "O" mean???....."set up guide/brochure" says Android must be OS 5 or better, is it??
3. looking at Android because my son has that.....motorola ?, samsung ?, Zmax 10 (consumer cellular)????
4. looking at consumer cellular because they have multiple plans that seem to suit my current needs, post use billing, can pay by check (my preference), friends have very positive results with them,....
5. needs very basic, nothing fancy......would be like buying a riding lawn mower for a 50x100 property
6. am I asking for trouble??....seems like many of the issues being talked about here involve phone issues as well.....

If you are kind enough to respond, PLEASE keep it simple, haha.....someone in another post, was talking about the technology, phone and car, said he was knowledgeable, but (to paraphrase) he said "sometimes he felt like a 75 year old buying his 2nd computer", haha....well I'm not quite 75, and I've had more than 2 computers, haha......
this is certainly not a money issue, after all I just bought a $47000 car.....it just about what I need......no overkill.....thank you in advance......take care

For what you're wanting to do, personally I would get the base model of the iPhone SE or the iPhone XR (if you wanted a larger screen, but it's slightly older) and the 3GB plan. You might be able to get away with the 500MB plan if you have good access to WiFi and you could probably start with that and upgrade to 3GB if needed.

I doubt you'd need much tech support for it, but if you did you could get it from any Apple Store/Genius Bar. Most issues will probably be with the Ford Pass app anyway.

 

[Keyk4]

BTW . . . if you do decide to go iPhone, and just want an entry level . . . a 64GB iPhone SE is only $399.

It looks like with Consumer Cellular the 64GB SE is only $250 with a plan

 

[c max]

It looks like with Consumer Cellular the 64GB SE is only $250 with a plan

thank you all, I truly appreciate the advice, everyone I know, including son has Android so it seems that may be the best choice for me....

 

[jhalkias]

thank you all, I truly appreciate the advice, everyone I know, including son has Android so it seems that may be the best choice for me....

Keep us updated. Right now you "think" you don't need a smartphone and won't use it much. My 87 year old mother in Law didn't understand using ANY computer until we got her an iPad. Now you can't pry it out of her hands.

 

[Keyk4]

thank you all, I truly appreciate the advice, everyone I know, including son has Android so it seems that may be the best choice for me....

You might want to go to any place that sells phones (BestBuy, ATT, Verizon, etc) and play around with both to see if you have a preference. iOS vs Android can be a love/hate relationship.

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