Thinking about getting a Smartphone, new to this stuff...

So in all of these years I've never owned a smartphone, though over the past couple of days I've been giving more thought to it.

Basic cellphones have always simply done the trick for me, but it occurred to me that I've never really given enough attention to all of the different kinds of phones and service providers out there over the past decade or so, so I'm not sure if maybe there's something positive I'm missing by not owning a smartphone.

For a few years now I've been on a family plan with the two people in my household, and I've simply just stayed on my 2-year contracts and didn't look into much else. The other people in my household may also be interested in switching to another wireless carrier, and we may also potentially drop cable or make some other changes to our monthly spending, which is part of the reason why I've started giving this more thought.

I am leaning towards the iPhone 5c or 5s. My fiancee has an old iPod Touch and I've grown to like the way things are laid out on their i-devices, I also like their iTunes service and texting application. I am not interested in the iPhone 6, too expensive and I don't need to have an extreme top-of-the-line smartphone. 5s and 5c also seem affordable, with deals going on for them since the announcement of the 6.

I'm not necessarily glued to Apple, though. I know a lot of people love Samsung phones. I also can see some appeal in Windows phones, especially since I own an XBox One and it would oh-so fulfilling to talk to 'Cortana' and make plans.

The truth is, though, I really don't know much about cell phone providers, smart phones, or what it is that I hope to gain out of such a change. I guess I'd like to get a nicer phone, one of a better quality that I can do more with, and possibly something that helps me out with my new career pathway in the tech field. I feel about ten years behind the times.

We are starting to look into AT&T, since we heard from a friend that they have pretty decent customer service. But I'm not really ruling out the other dozen-or-so providers. I hear a lot of great things about T-Mobile as well, especially how their plans are somewhat different from the competition. Virgin Mobile also looks like it could have decent and affordable service at first glance. I guess I still don't know if I should go with another contract, or try to use this opportunity to go contract-free for a change. Part of me is intrigued by the idea that I could change providers at will if another no-contract provider had a better deal. But then, I wouldn't want to have certain features of my phone just plain not work because I didn't go with one of the stable, big companies.

Ya'll probably know a bit more about different smartphones and carriers than I do, so I figured I'd ask for any honest thoughts or information anyone here can offer. This is something I am only just starting to look into, but I'd like to get some perspective, and see if maybe you all could recommend certain phones, phone-makers, carriers or plans.

Thanks for taking the time to read & respond. I may ask more questions.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and different phone apps and features! Like what all can Siri do? And what does this phone or that phone have? Anything interesting like that is good to know!

~ Ovirew

Getting into a new wireless service carrier with a brand new smartphone can be pretty daunting. I suggest you stick with the iPhone if only for the familiarity. I personally prefer Android (i use a Samsung Galaxt S 5), but iPhone is a perfectly competent device.

Heres a bit of a guide that helps breakdown some of the carriers and what they offer: http://www.imore.com/best-us-iphone-carrier-2014

Keep in mind, that practically any carrier you go to will charge a bit more because they typically force you to purchase some kind of data plan. Or they just tack on fees simply because its a smartphone. It may be worth considering smaller carriers, like Virgin, if only because they will tend to be cheaper monthly. However, these smaller carriers do not offer subsidized phones and you may have to pay close to full retail price for the phones. That'll mean $450 for an iPhone 5c, and even more for iPhone 5s. Other carriers may offer it cheaper at $100, or even less, but you'll still be paying full price (if not more!) as its part of a higher monthly fee.

Siri is roughly the same as Cortana which is roughly the same as Google Now. They are all voice activated search/command engines. The popularity of Siri (even though Google Now came first) has forced other companies to up the standards for competing technology. They are each pretty cool, but also more limited than you might think. They generally do not work or work very poorly outside of any official applications from the manufacturer.

You may simply want to think more about your needs before you take a plunge as different carriers provide different advantages. Do you travel outside of the US alot? Do you live or travel to a very big city (NY or LA)? How much do you value a low monthly fee? Do you see yourself upgrading frequently or are you the type to use and take of a device for a long time? Do you use your current provider's customer support a lot? Do you regularly find yourself with a WiFi connection (at home, work, etc) so as to not use use your data plan? These are potential factors to consider.

I'm an iPhone 4s Verizon user on a family plan, upgrading to the 6 when available. I've used Android before, and while I can see the appeal of having a very open ended environment, I actually find this to be a detriment as when I'm mobile as I really don't wish to have to worry about compatibility, bugs, crashes, any of it. I just want my phone to work, and Apple provides this. I love iOS, it's efficient and well designed. I don't really care for specs on my phone, which is all Android user's arguments always amount to.

As for what all the carriers offer, that's really up to you to do your homework on and find out what's the best fit for you. But if you like Apple's products, you should probably stay with them. I believe you can get a 5c free with AT & T with a monthly plan, and the 5s for $99.

Don't get one.

If you're a lot like me (I only got my first smartphone about 17 months ago) who only really used a mobile for sending and receiving calls, a smartphone basically just becomes a handy call device with portable internet access.

If you don't care much beyond that, I'd honestly just stick with looking at all the cheaper options.

Okay, so about an hour ago I stopped by AT&T to see what kinds of phones they had on display. Their selection was a bit limited, but I did get to take both iP5's and a Windows phone for a spin.

I think I'm beginning to rule out the iPhone 5c. It was initially appealing because of its low price, but upon seeing it in person I started questioning the durability of the thing. It doesn't seem as tough as my fiancee's iPhone 4. The pastel colors are also kind of odd, as I would have much preferred a regular colors or metallic colors to Easter ones. I don't know why, but I just picture the 5c getting scratched up more easily, and taking more of a beating from a drop than the 5s.

The 5s, on the other hand, seems like it could be fine. I'm not sure that I really understood the fingerprint app from the demo, it didn't seem like I was doing quite what it wanted me to do. For some reason I figured it would sense your thumbprint on the touch screen, rather than the home button. I wasn't sure where on my finger it wanted me to touch the button at any given moment. But outside of that everything seemed pretty familiar and stable.

I took a bit of a shine to the Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows phone. Apparently it has a 41 Megapixel camera, versus the iPhone's 8 Megapixel. That's pretty impressive. Taking pictures with my smartphone is not a top priority, and 8 would probably suffice well enough for me, but I won't rule out how vast this difference could be. I also noticed you can use Office on Windows phones. My curiosity is piqued. Otherwise, it comes down to how much everything would cost for one versus an iPhone 5s, through different providers. Anyone have input on how Nokia phones are?

Should probably mention that apps aren't a huge deal to me. It's nice to have some options, but I will probably mostly use 'official' apps, or things like Netflix that are probably available for most major types of phones anyway. iPhone does have a slight advantage for me with iTunes, though maybe Windows phones will offer something for me as an XBox fan.

I'll probably be thinking about this for the next few weeks. Thanks for everyone's input so far! Further input is appreciated.

I got my first smartphone a little over a year ago. Its a Samsung Galaxy ACE II and its really nothing fancy at all but it gets the job done. And for its price tag of 200$ it does a great job in fact.

Anyway, I'm clearly not to be quoted as an authority on the subject matter seeing how I have little experience in it. With that said however, I'd advise to get away from Android and consider either the iPhone or a windows phone. I love Google as much as the next guy but Android is really not that solid of a smartphone OS. It has shitload of apps available yes, but 99% of them is just utter crap. The OS feels unstable, glitchy and prone to bugs and as an open source, it has little to no support available. I don't know but I'm just not satisfied with it all that much. I'm not an Apple fan but the iPhone seems to be the only thing Apple gets right, and from the looks of it, windows phone is proving to have the capacity to bring something solid to the table. And as with all tech gadgets, don't be a fool and get the absolute high-end product of any product-line, shoot for something a little lower.

@Ovirew:

Right now in the market, phones that gets my attentions are

S5 (my current phone)

Iphone 6

Note edge

-----------------------------------

S5 is fast and it's water/dust resistance. 4k video if you're into that

Iphone 6 is fast, sturdy. Never own an Iphone, but I tried it. The cool thing I notice about is their build quality and IOS snappy feeling.

Note edge is fast as well, the edge looks cool that's about it. Just make sure when you drop it, it doesn't land on the edge.

If you have any other Microsoft devices (Xbox 360/One, Windows 8 PC, etc) and have a busy life, you should probably get a Windows Phone. The direct integration with the MS network is splendid, and with WP 8.1, the phones are stellar.

Personally, as a complete device, they are still lacking compared to Android devices, but are better than Apple products (in terms of freedom and customization). I have the Nokia Lumia 1020 and love it (it's essentially a DSLR camera with a smartphone attached) but would recommend the 1520 as the best WP device.

But go to some providers and try their demo phones out. Talk to close friends and spend some time with the devices. Go to Youtube and watch some reviews (I recommend Marques Brownlee's channel). Don't pick something on contract you don't like, because you WILL be stuck with it. Find the device you want to use everyday and feel happy about.

I use the LG G3 and it's by far the best mobile device I've ever used. I needed a phone with lots of screen real estate. It has a large screen and yet the form factor is perfectly portable. This however probably isn't the type of device you are looking for. For you personally I'd also take a look at the HTC One (M8). It's the most iphone like android device on the market. Fantastic build quality to that phone. Plus it's available in both Android and Windows Mobile. I tend to stay away from iphones. I figure if i'm gonna be putting down $600+ for a phone, I want a phone that has newer than 2012 technology.

Unlike the iphone the android has widgets which shows you information without needing to launch the app (weather, email, etc), generally you can get a larger screen (which is nice as smart-phones are basically tiny computers) and better camera as well.

I must say I don't really use my Galaxy s4 to do any graphic intensive gaming so I don't have too much of an opinion on that.

Between iPhone and Android, I really think it boils down to the type of user you are. The iPhone (and Apple products in general) tend to appeal to people who like streamlined interfaces and don't want to have too many options. Android, on the other hand, appeals to the opposite - those who like cusomizations and options.

There are pros and cons to each.

The Android approach offers a large amount of features and customizations that allow you to take full advantage of the device and make it your own - unless those options confuse you and you never take the time to learn them.

The Apple approach produces devices that just work seamlessly and smoothly - Until they don't. If you want to do something with the phone that isn't in Apple's view of what the device should do, you're stuck.

And, obviously, the price to entry of the Android platform is lower, but if you're considering the iPhone at all I'm assuming the cost is subsidized for you by a contract plan or price isn't an obstacle.

Personally, I prefer the Android route myself. That being said, I advise my non-techy family and friends to go the Apple route as they'll be more impressed with the smoother interface and attention to a slick overall experience (being non-techy, they're not likely to use the additional Android options anyway).

If you go the Android route, I'd recommend the Moto X. It's nothing short of amazing.

I cant tell you about service providers because I'm not from America. But I can give you some insight on smartphones.

Apple phones are bad...mmkay? I'm not a rabid apple hater, but these are just the facts: Iphones are ridiculously overpriced and really offer nothing better in front of Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy series (S3 and above) or Windows Phones like the Lumia series. Iphones have less customization, are more restrictive and tend to degrade really fast (Look at how every iphone display turns to shit in a year or 2).

I can't talk much about windows phones because I've never had one. Right now I have a Galaxy S4 which I have really loved so far (had it for about 10 months now), much better than the overpriced iphone crap.

I've owned both Iphone and Android. I prefer Android, but it's really up to the user. My Galaxy S5 has never given me problems, whereas my experience with my iphone for 2 years was full of some pretty frustrating stuff. I didn't like the restrictiveness of the apple devices, and found the battery life to be poor even with the screen dimmed. Lack of third party keyboards also frustrated me, because I am not a fan at all of the apple keyboard. IOS itself is a more than adequate OS. Also, apple support really was condescending to me(when I phoned them because my S5 wasn't receiving texts from Iphone users, they suggested I get an Iphone or an Ipod wtf). Also wasn't happy with having to use Itunes as a media player, as I think it's rubbish compared to Zune or WMP.

My suggestion would be to go to all the phone stores and play with all the phones before making your choice. The windows phone and the HTC One are also great phones in addition to the iphone and the Galaxy S5 and Note. LG also has some pretty good phones. All the phones are pretty similar despite some differences. It will all come down to what matters to you personally.

The iPhone is ideal for a first smartphone.

If my dad can work out how to use it, then everyone else should be fine, lol.

I've never had bugs or crashes. Android is the way to go.....unless you're an Apple shill TC.

Anyone who is experiencing bugs or crashes with their phone, it could be the result of the manufacturer's skin of the OS. A pure android phone has no issues.

@Ovirew: Don't get caught up in megapixels on the camera. The only really reason to go above 8-10 is if you're trying to super size the photos(my understanding of it anyways). Apple focuses on quality over quantity with everything. Apple is all about efficiency.

That's why on paper the iPhone looks like a POS and yet it outperforms basically every other device with significantly higher specs.

You can't trust benchmark apps either. Real world performance is the only way to tell. Samsung has been caught a few times tricking benchmark apps into showing higher numbers then the phone is capable of.

I might also suggest a Windows phone for you. I think android is simply way too much for you but again, don't get all caught up in the numbers on paper. Go into stores and play with the phones.