Smartphone question

I would like to get a smart phone. I've never had one before. Because I work from home, I mostly use our landline, and my simple (non-smart) phone.  I really don't know anything about data plans, etc.

This is what I would use it for:

- no more than 5 UK calls per week (most weeks, none)
- no UK texts
- no more than 10 texts to USA numbers (most weeks, less)
- about 120 minutes of calls to USA numbers per week
- checking email (no Facebook, no social media, no Facetime, Skype, etc.) and surfing the web (do people still say that?)

I don't use 'apps', play games, etc. I don't travel outside of the UK. (I'm sure I will at some point, but no immediate plans to do so.) To put this in perspective, I don't even keep my phone on me, or even switched on, unless I am placing a call or have to text someone. Again, I work from home as does my husband, so I only use my phone when I have a specific reason to do so.

My current phone, purchased last year, cost about £25. I spend about £15-20 each month in calls/texts. So yeah, I'd like a smart phone, but not if it is going to cost a lot, simply because I just wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost.

If anyone could suggest a phone and/or plan, I'd really appreciate it! 

You could easily get one of the older but still good generations of smart phone for less money than one of the newest generations.

Make sure you try out apple and android in store before you buy. Some people love apple, they are much more user friendly in my opinion. My Android drives me batty but my husband hates the iPhone.

Have you tried looking at the various providers to see what plans they have?

I know you said you aren't planning on using a lot of data, but it's really useful to have Google maps when you are out exploring!

I do suggest getting a good camera. You may soon find that having a camera phone is kind of amazing.

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This is what I would use it for:

- no more than 5 UK calls per week (most weeks, none)
- no UK texts
- no more than 10 texts to USA numbers (most weeks, less)
- about 120 minutes of calls to USA numbers per week
- checking email (no Facebook, no social media, no Facetime, Skype, etc.) and surfing the web (do people still say that?)

I don't use 'apps', play games, etc.

To put this in perspective, I don't even keep my phone on me, or even switched on, unless I am placing a call or have to text someone. Again, I work from home as does my husband, so I only use my phone when I have a specific reason to do so.

The only things on your list you can't do without a smartphone are email and web surfing. Given that, plus the fact that you don't really use a mobile phone that much, it seems like you wouldn't get that much out of a smartphone.

If you really really want one, I'd concentrate on finding a sim-only plan with a small amount of data (500MB or so) that also included the texts and calls to the US, because the US stuff is a) outside what a "regular" UK plan would include, and b) the most expensive things on your list. Then I'd buy a used smartphone (an iPhone if you like Apple stuff, or a Samsung Galaxy or Google Nexus if you don't like Apple stuff) so you could see how you like it/use it without spending a ton of money on a new phone. I think that'd be the simplest plan.

A slightly more complex plan would be getting a sim-only plan without worrying about the US calls and texts, and then getting whatever smartphone and using Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or any of about a zillion other apps to call/text the US. Usually if both people are on the same app the calls are free.

I hope that helps.

What popped into my head last night was, do you always me your US calls from home?

If you do, you could just use an app like Skype where calls to US numbers are 2.1 cents a minute. Which is the cheapest cost I think I've seen. Or if you have good 3G/4G service you could still do that with a higher amount of data.

I know if you got an iPhone 5S you could get a cheap phone bill (£25 pounds) with 1 gig of data and unlimited texts, calls, etc.
http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/iphone-5s-16gb-silver/details

What you'd use some of the data for would be Whatsapp or Viber or Google Messenger in place of the US texts. You never know, if texting is "cheaper" you might do it more! You can also use these apps on wifi.

Try Giffgaff for better rates per month, for example £10 for 500 mins, u/l texts and 1GB data, use wifi/data to Facetime or Whatsapp friends and family for free? That's what I did in the UK, now doing the reverse but paying much more per month in the US!

Thank you everyone, for your replies and suggestions.

I currently pay 2p per minute for calls to the US on my non-smart phone, and we have a plan on our landline that allows me 300 minutes to the US for around £7 per month. I have some thinking to do, because I may ask for a smartphone for Christmas.