Moblie phone recommendations?

[Virmir]

Hello!

Long story short, in August I recommended my mother shop eBay for a new mobile phone instead of paying a outrageous price for purchasing through retail. I know absolutely nothing about these things. She did research and settled on a Samsung Galaxy (I don't know the number. Can look it up next time I see it.)  It looks pretty much like this.

http://www.theawesomesite.com/other-gadget/new-samsung-galaxy-4g.html

I helped her with ebay since this is a new thing for her, and we picked out a model specifically because the seller said it came with a one year warranty direct from manufacturer.

Guess what?  It broke yesterday. Warranty is void because it does not transfer between owners.  (Apparently it turns on and works, but just can not send or receive calls.)

We are going to try and get the situation resolved through ebay, but it's probably way too late to do anything. That's beside the point because she's very likely going to have to get a new phone.

I know NOTHING about mobile phones. (In my opinion, these touch-screen things are wretched overly-complex ridiculous abominations that I will never ever buy for myself ever.) I know people here tend to like these horrible things. Does anyone have any recommendations?  Is Samsung a good brand, or does it suck?  She likes the phone, and wants one like it (i.e overly-complex with a horrible touch-screen interface). Know anything good, or anything to avoid?

Thanks much!

[Kasimir]

Personally, I'm not terribly picky about cellphones, except for I'd really prefer something simple. No need for a touchscreen, or even a QWERTY keypad for that matter. I can't txt very fast at all, and very very rarely do so to begin with.

But are you concerned about only the device, or the device AND the plan? As for the plan, I'm with StraightTalk, which is offered thru Wal*Mart. It's only $30 a month for 1000 minutes (and 1000 txts.) And I don't even use that many minutes each month, so it rather works out.

I was with Verizon before, and I found myself topping up the damn thing twice a month or so. They charged me $1 for calls lasting less than 60 seconds - Which are what I make most frequently. It's brutal! Avoid Verizon like the plague.

[Virmir]

She already has a plan (and yeah, through Verision ).  Will just need to get it transferred over.

And I agree, I'd prefer to get her something simpler, but she like to play with the shinyness of the device. *shrugs*

Thanks!

[KaiAdin]

Ooo I have advice... but I have no idea if telcos there have incompatible Radios and the other ins and outs of telcos there! I do know that most electronics Blogs tend to treat phones as "Things coming up in the US" as separate to the rest of the world X3.

But Yes Samsung and HTC are currently considered the Brands to have for Mobile Phones as of Late... Can't go wrong with the Iphone if your Mum likes Apple.

Out of Curiosity... did you just buy that Phone? the one that broke? It could be you bought the wrong version for your carrier, as (far as I remember) One telco uses a different radio technology to the rest, meaning that their phones wont work at all with other telcos towers.. something to keep in mind when buying used!

[Virmir]

No, she got it in August and it worked fine for six months up until yesterday. Then it broke.

Thanks!

[Fizzie]

What exactly happened to it? does the screen just not turn on or does it not boot up? screen crack?

I currently have Verizon, there isn't much choice up here IMO, and i have had Samsung for this phone and my last one and loved them, never had a big problem.  Only thing i don't like about Verizon is i have 450 Minutes, unlimited Text and 4 GB of data and its costing  me $94/month WITH my 20% WalMart discount.

Current phone Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere 4G

[Virmir]

Apparently it turns on and works, but cannot receive or send calls.  I'm not sure about internet functionality, but I'll assume that doesn't work either.  I am going to find out the exact make/model and exactly what's wrong soon.

I'm hearing Samsung thrown around a lot as a good brand name, so I might urge her to just get this one repaired somewhere.

Thanks!