Cellphone for HS Student

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Rose
Posts: 196
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:16 am

Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Rose »

Hello,
what would you recommend for a first-time Android cellphone user HS student?
The phone will be used to access various school district websites, and of course, Spotify and Youtube (gulp). Lots of texts and limited calls.

Thinking about either Cricket or Mint as carrier. Will be connected to Wifi at home.

And are there recommendations to limit when the cellphone has to be off and on and track where he goes?

TIA!
brian91480
Posts: 683
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:44 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by brian91480 »

A little off topic... but download some personal finance apps. ( budgeting / investing).

Great way to give him/her a good head start!

-- Brian
inbox788
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Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by inbox788 »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:42 am Hello,
what would you recommend for a first-time Android cellphone user HS student?
The phone will be used to access various school district websites, and of course, Spotify and Youtube (gulp). Lots of texts and limited calls.

Thinking about either Cricket or Mint as carrier. Will be connected to Wifi at home.

And are there recommendations to limit when the cellphone has to be off and on and track where he goes?

TIA!
For the latter (limit and tracking), iPhone.

Budget? Flagship phones, look at Pixel and Samsung. Cheaper are Motorola, Nokia and One Plus Nord.

This is a good starting point to meet or beat.

https://phones.mintmobile.com/phones.html
JackBoglereader21
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2021 1:00 pm

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by JackBoglereader21 »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:42 am Hello,
what would you recommend for a first-time Android cellphone user HS student?
The phone will be used to access various school district websites, and of course, Spotify and Youtube (gulp). Lots of texts and limited calls.

Thinking about either Cricket or Mint as carrier. Will be connected to Wifi at home.

And are there recommendations to limit when the cellphone has to be off and on and track where he goes?

TIA!
You might consider the LG G8 thinq

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/lg-g8-thinq-review/

Currently available on eBay for $179 listed as : New LG G8 ThinQ - 128GB - Black for Verizon Network

Yes, buy the Verizon version and buy Open Box so the battery is new.

I have not tried MINT or Cricket. I use USMobile for a backup line. Cost $7 a month for minimal phone, text - this maintains my number. When I travel, I buy the $15 plan which gives me data, unlimited talk / text.

https://www.usmobile.com/plans

I currently own the Samsung Flip 3 (highly recommend) but have bought several LG G8 ThinQ for family and friends.

Use GSMArena to help you compare with Samsung, Pixel, and other Android. You will see flagship specs at a very good price ($180). A family member just sent some vacation pictures he took with LG G8 to thank me for recommending the phone to their family.

Make sure you get a case, it's very slippery as it is all glass. Great phone for the price.

https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g8_thinq-9540.php
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bogleblitz
Posts: 506
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by bogleblitz »

Iphone 13 would be a good phone for HS student and does what you described.
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lthenderson
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Location: Iowa

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by lthenderson »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 12:42 am Hello,
what would you recommend for a first-time Android cellphone user HS student?
The phone will be used to access various school district websites, and of course, Spotify and Youtube (gulp). Lots of texts and limited calls.

Thinking about either Cricket or Mint as carrier. Will be connected to Wifi at home.

And are there recommendations to limit when the cellphone has to be off and on and track where he goes?

TIA!
For us, just adding an additional phone to our existing plan for our high school student was the cheapest route. Our carrier had lots of deals for pretty much a free phone with the additional line so we let our child pick out their phone.

As for the limitations and tracking, we told our child up front that it is our phone and our rules. If they break those rules, we take the phone back. Those rules include mandatory tracking turned on at all times, no use during meals, family times or after bedtime and no use at school unless authorized by teachers.
jeroly
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by jeroly »

We just got my gf’s high school aged son a OnePlus Nord N200. It was $240 but since dropped to $200, may be back to higher prices now that Black Friday is passed.

He likes it, it has great specs for the money, only things it lacks are a great camera (reported as being just okay not great) and, IIRC, NFC.
dukeblue219
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by dukeblue219 »

I'm all for limiting device use at home (especially during family times like dinner) but I'd suggest thinking long and hard whether you want to track everywhere your son goes. I don't personally (your mileage may vary) consider it a particularly healthy situation by that age.
Topic Author
Rose
Posts: 196
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:16 am

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Rose »

Thank you all for the input! Good idea on having him search within my current provider.

Now need to learn how to limit Google Play download :oops: ....

Note limiting tracking only for weird activities outside of regular pattern.
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Bogle7
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Bogle7 »

If you truly love your child, you will buy them an iPhone.

See the data
https://www.statista.com/statistics/113 ... os-by-age/
Last edited by Bogle7 on Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Old fart who does three index stock funds, baby.
Katietsu
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Katietsu »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:13 am Thank you all for the input! Good idea on having him search within my current provider.

Now need to learn how to limit Google Play download :oops: ....

Note limiting tracking only for weird activities outside of regular pattern.
I have limited Android experience (tablets only not phones.) But, one important guardrail would be to use only gift cards as payment in Google Play to eliminate the possibility of a large dollar amount error.
twh
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by twh »

Not shilling for StraightTalk, but for prepaid service and one line, you should have a look. iPhone, Android, whatever you want. You can also choose to be on Vz or AT&T. Might also want to look at Google Fi.
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Kenkat
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Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Kenkat »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:13 am Thank you all for the input! Good idea on having him search within my current provider.

Now need to learn how to limit Google Play download :oops: ....

Note limiting tracking only for weird activities outside of regular pattern.
I’d look at a Motorola or Google Pixel.

For limiting downloads, I just told my kids, you download something, it’s on your dime. Unpaid bills will result in unpleasantness. :wink:
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AllMostThere
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by AllMostThere »

Look at Mint Mobile. Unlimited Talk & Text, 10 GB of data each. $22 per line including taxes & fees (prepaid one year at a time, not monthly). Whole family uses it and there have been zero issues with connectivity. Motorola has several good powerful phones for <$200. Establish boundaries with cell usage (i.e., OFF at xx PM). Maybe have charge station in central area of house where it's not to be touched until morning. Also, in my experience, tracking of your HS Student via app will be difficult as most teenagers are pretty tech savvy and will disable the app. There will be many fights over this and not really worth it IMHO. I am far from a Snowflake, but leaving a level of trust with both our teenagers has really worked well. We just need to know where they are, with who, and that they contact us if they change location (i.e., go to another friend's house, etc.). Also, ringer must be ON when they are out of the house should we need to contact them. They need to understand that the instant access world has many associated responsibilities. Good luck, as this is a tough time in a new world from our teenage years. :twisted:
It is not about how much you make; it is about how much you keep and how well you invest it. - Author Unknown | Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. - Author James Dean
wfrobinette
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Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by wfrobinette »

Rose wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:13 am Thank you all for the input! Good idea on having him search within my current provider.

Now need to learn how to limit Google Play download :oops: ....

Note limiting tracking only for weird activities outside of regular pattern.
If you are thinking of tracking what sites they visit, prepare to be shocked. I decided against doing any tracking other than "find my phone" because the more limits you put on them the more they will try to hide stuff.
Mr.Chlorine
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Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:17 am

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by Mr.Chlorine »

The default for that age group should be Apple. It does not have to be the newest one, probably an XR or newer, but they are reliable and their peers will have something similar. If their friend group is mostly android users, you cannot go wrong with one from the galaxy line. Bottom line is the student should have some say on the phone. Unless you are surprising them, let them know the budget and they can pick out the phone.
RXfiles
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Location: Birmingham, AL

Re: Cellphone for HS Student

Post by RXfiles »

+1 for mint mobile. we've had it for 2 years. its been great.
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