I-phone for wife's Christmas present

[Tom Hannon]

Thinking about getting my wife an Iphone for Christmas. She is not the smartest electronic wizard in the world. Her regular cell phone is five years old. I understand the Iphone can do emails, phone calls, pictures and everything her old phone does. How much extra (monthly fees) is it to have email feature? I assume she can keep her old phone number and all her phone numbers can be transferred over if I buy her the phone? Is it worth doing the upgrade to the 21st Century?

[Blackie]

This article would be a good place to start.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394224,00.asp#fbid=lYU5Mg-M1dw

[Avista]

I have an iPad, but play Words/Scrabble with many friends who have an iPhone. She may enjoy this also.

[Tom Hannon]

This article would be a good place to start.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394224,00.asp#fbid=lYU5Mg-M1dw

Very helpful, Blackie. Thank you

[billethkid]

Tom H

get her the iPhone! My wife is as you describe yours. I have an iPhone and my conclusion is it is the easiest phone for ANYBODY to pick up on. I got her one a couple of weeks ago and she does more now than ever with past phones.

I might clarify for you that when you ask how much extra is it to do emails/internet....it is not extra. When you purchase an iPhone you MUST take a data package....it is not an option and the is the case for all providers.
With Verizon it is $30 per month for data (on top of your regular phone service charge). And it is for a 2 year contract.

btk

[Tom Hannon]

What is the difference between an I-Phone and a smart phone? I have Verizon so her current plan cost $39.95 a month without data. In other words, the plane would cost $69.95. Plus all the BS they add to the charges.

[BritParrothead]

I can not wait for my contract to finish, so I can ditch my I phone. It has a nasty habit of locking! Twice it has ditched all my information, phone numbers, photos and music!! :rant-rave: I never had this problem with my old BlackBerry.
I will be going back to the BlackBerry Bold as soon as I can!!

[Tom Hannon]

Blackberry. Another opion. What is different about a blackberry

[gingin410]

I "inherited" my husband's I-Phone 3 last week when he upgraded to the new
I-Phone4S. I have no need for a data plan but am pleased I can now download e-mail when I am able in any WIFI area which even includes the local Sams Club. Even that added benefit isn't necessary as I don't get any e-mails that are so important I needed them immediately. Your wife would be happy with the I-Phone 3 and you can get one starting at $50 at an AT&T store. If you are tech savy yourself, you can even go to E-Bay and get one for as little as $15 used then just transfer her current phone's sim card.

Another added benefit: I get more bars all around TV now and seem to have no spots where I drop calls due to lack of signal strength.

[memason]

What is the difference between an I-Phone and a smart phone? I have Verizon so her current plan cost $39.95 a month without data. In other words, the plane would cost $69.95. Plus all the BS they add to the charges.

An iPhone is a Smartphone, as are Android and Blackberry. Basically, any phone that can send/receive email, surf the net and/or run apps are smartphones.

Once your wife has that new phone, she's gonna find a ton of uses for it.

What a nice Christmas present!

[pooh]

I enjoy my Iphone and do many more things with it than I did with my Droid. It's very easy to use, there are tons of apps, and today hubby had to go up in the attic to retrieve Christmas stuff. I did FACETIME between my Ipod and my Iphone so he could show me what was up there and I could tell him what to bring down.... ;) Very cool indeed!

I use my Iphone on the Verizon network. My kids use their Iphones on AT&T. Have no idea what they pay for their data play...we pay an additional $30 for each of our phones....I have an Iphone, Mike has a Droid.

They're easy to use, fun to use. The camera is a great thing....I take pictures as reminders and then just e-mail them to myself.

Buy it, she'll like it.... ;)

[wendyquat]

I have really enjoyed my IPhone. One feature I like very much is you can get email anywhere you can get cell phone signals. There have been times when our internet was out or I did not have access to wifi and it's still there! I had a Blackberry for a few years and thought that was great but it was nothing compared to the features on my Iphone!

BTW, I am a 67 year old grandmother and needed no special training for the BB nor the Iphone. The Iphone is very "user friendly". I enjoy exchanging pictures and texts with my 4 teenage grandchildren. They think granny's COOL!

You might beware of AT&T. Many posts have indicated problem spots in TV with AT&T. We have Verizon and have had no issues!

[asianthree]

my cell phone was ELEVEN years old when i had to kill it. if you have a grandchild from age 5 to 16 they can get her up to speed in an hour and don't forget in 30 days there will be a new Iphone model to replace it.

[cmhmom]

love my iphone....WHEN I can get service! AT&T service is not great here in the Villages, but I hear Verizon is much better. I lose calls or can't get on the 3G network often. Hopefully, there will be more towers soon.

[Freeda]

Definitely get her the iPhone Tom. One of my favorite and most life-improving things is being able to keep my calendar so easily on my IPhone. There are so very many other benefits and my favorite is ... all of them. I said for years that I'd never get one and now I would never be without one.

My data plan with AT&T is $25 for 2048 MB (which is essentially unlimited - I use it a lot and never use even half of that). They also offer a $15 plan for 200MB of data which would be very limited usage.

[Pturner]

Good plan, Tom,

I've never met anyone who owned an iPhone who didn't love it. Tons of both useful and fun apps.