Phone advice - have a 4S, may "need" to upgrade. Halp?

jdarksun

Short version - my wife likes neither our carrier nor her phone. Our plan is up, so we're month-to-month. I'm a rider on her plan, and she's gonna switch. So I have to switch, too. She's looking at a two year plan, which gives me three options:

1) Keep my 4S, deal with it for another two years. I was planning on upgrading to a 6 in the fall, so this is my least favorite option.

2) Upgrade to a 5S. The 6s aren't out yet, so I'm left with the mid-step between the 5s and 6s.

3) Upgrade to an Android phone.

My wife asked me why I didn't want to get a S4 or a G2, and... I don't really have an answer. I've got a lot of iTunes music, but apparently that converts pretty easily. I use my phone mostly for calls, texts, photos and video, music and podcasts. I sometimes play games, too, but I don't use my phone as a "gaming platform". I will say that my phone is both my camera and camcorder (lol old), but both options are an upgrade to my 4S.

...so, halp. Am I missing a compelling reason to do (or not do) a thing?

Melinoe

I just got an S4 and adore it, but I also have an ipod nano to take care of podcasts and most of my music so I haven't looked into android solutions for podcasts/iTunes bought music. I know for sure there are podcast apps for Android and the music playing interface on it is great, with a widget on the lock screen to pause and change songs.

Blake T

Is it an option to not be a follower on her plan? How much are you really saving following her along?

My personal view is that the main reason I like my iPhone is that it's the only powerful phone out there with small form factor.

Liquid Hellz

If you were on sprint, check out www.ting.com. I switched to it and LOVE the way they bill. I have an app for my 4s that allows calling over wifi (talkatone). My bill is between 25-60 per month. Got to keep my phone, but you can buy theirs as well. No plans which is the best part. It uses Sprint towers so if you don;t have sprint reception in you area it may not work.

Metalbourne

Blake T wrote: »

Is it an option to not be a follower on her plan? How much are you really saving following her along?

My personal view is that the main reason I like my iPhone is that it's the only powerful phone out there with small form factor.

Usually shared plans will save you money over a comparable individual price plan.

jdarksun

Yeah, it's a pretty dramatic savings to just add myself on.

We did a breakdown of data usage and I dug hard into the tech specs of the various phones. Decided on an LG G2. The transition has had its rough spots, but I'm getting there.

@Melinoe What podcatchers do you recommend? I listen to a loooot of podcasts.

badpoet

If you have the opportunity for the HTC One, I'd recommend it. I like it much more than my wife's LG G2. My reception is better, battery life seems about the same, and the the HTC skin is pretty nice.

Shadowfire

It looks like you decided so enjoy the phone. If you find you don't like it and return it soonish, the Moto G is another great option and quite a bit cheaper.

My wife and I just finished our contract with Verizon and are jumping ship ASAP. We're going prepaid and using Nexus 5s.

Melinoe

Sorry for the late reply! I have messed with a couple and am pretty happy with Podcast Addict so far. Has a little banner ad at the bottom but if that's really an issue you can buy it (dunno for how much), and it allows you to search the iTunes database.