Do you have to have a smart phone

14 years ago

for Kindle Fire? Thinking about getting a Kindle Fire, but I don't have one of those fancy phones. No picture phone, internet or anything like that on my old cell phone.

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Comments (7)

ravencajun Zone 8b TX
14 years ago
You don't have to have any cell phone to have a kindle fire. The fire can connect to any wireless network, so no need for a cell plan.
In answer yes I do have an Android smartphone and several Android tablets but none of the tablets are setup to use my cell phone plan.
jemdandy
14 years ago
The current crop of "smart" phones blur the line between devices. Some of these are itty bitty tablet computers with a phone built in.
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Most of the major carriers don't offer unlimited anymore except maybe sprint? Verizon is $30 a month per phone for 2gigs each but they do have the family share plan now. Even exhisting customers on verizon with unlimited data can't keep it if they take a phone upgrade. Only way to keep unlimited on verizon now if you were granfathered in is to buy the phone at full price. My friend has an Iphone on verizon and doesn't go over 2gigs a month and she says most people don't. I think even the all in one plans throttle you after a certain amount I heard and you are paying a good chunk for the phone too. I looked at an all in one plan and the phone I wanted was $200. For me I have decided there are so many free wifi connections I can use while traveling I will just do that with my tablet and be happy. I have unlimited texting on my cell and you would be surprised at what you can do with that. I can send an receive tweets from twitter. I can also use googel a little by text so if I need to find a store location or something I can type in the name of the store and town and google will text me back with locations in that area. My email also has the option of mail forwarding so I can have it forwared to my cell as text and respond back. Mary
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1. There will be a sense of disconnection Smartphones have dramatically changed the way we communicate with other people. They made it easier and more accessible. Technology used to limit us as we were forced to languish in front of a landline while waiting for a call. Today people have become much closer to each other. Now, in order to talk with the desired person, a couple of touches on the smartphone are enough. However, the absence of this miracle gadget will make you feel separated from the world, which often leads to an acute feeling of loneliness. In addition, you may succumb to incessant boredom. 2. It will become harder to navigate without GPS The days of people using maps to get to the right place are almost gone. All smartphones are equipped with GPS, which helps us to reach our destination without much difficulty and wandering. Life has actually become much easier thanks to GPS, because this navigator shows us the right direction right down to the smallest turn. Therefore, in the absence of access to the global system, many people will not be able to correctly and quickly navigate in an unfamiliar area. Navigators have become such an integral part of our lives that most travel enthusiasts and those who often go on business trips can hardly imagine their lives without a smartphone with its indispensable GPS.
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Tina, you’re welcome, Ooma has been around for a long time and yes you can buy it online, from both their site and the stores I listed. It’s grown quite popular because it’s so seamless that there are a lot of stores that carry it. I’ve never heard of the one you listed, but it does sound similar. Tina, I just looked at Axvoice. The difference looks to me to be like buying or leasing a car. The Axvoice is a monthly fee that’s never ending, where as with the Ooma, you pay that 100.00 and the actual cost of the service is free so within a very short period of time, that 100.00 you paid upfront is realized in savings. Can’t run from the taxes, we pay them with either service so that’s not really going to be something that’s better with one or the other. Either way, the savings between VoiP and a land line is is so significant, I’m sure you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done it a long time ago!!!
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In my area, and I think in California in general, Verizon for many, many years was heads and shoulders above its nearest competition. Which was ATT. I first experienced this myself back at the turn of the century (it sounds longer ago than it is), I used to carry two phones, one of each of these two. The ATT was a backup (and then later a Blackberry) used when the Verizon's charge got low. Invariably, wherever I was, the ATT phone's signal could be marginal or even absent in places where the Verizon phone had a strong connection. I think ATT since then has significantly enhanced its network and I think it's more on par with Verizon than it used to be. Up until two years ago, I still had one smartphone of each system and there were places I'd be on road trips around the West where the ATT signal was inferior to the Verizon one. I still have two but when I replaced the secondary phone that I have for a specific purpose that's from a mobile virtual network operator (a "mobile supplier" that uses other company's networks), it was a phone that also uses Verizon. As I love mod says, it can very much vary with the terrain and my normal haunts are hilly. That does have an effect.
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angelaid
Original Author
14 years ago
So I pay for internet access separately somehow? Very tech clueless, as you can see. LOL
pam_25f
14 years ago
If you already have wireless internet, then you do not pay anything extra. Not sure how it works if you do not have wireless. The Amazon page on Kindles may explain it, or anyplace like Walmart that sells them can explain it. I always find knowledgeable people in Staples too.
jae_tn2
14 years ago
If you don't have an internet router then you buy a "3G version" that connects through a satellite, like a cell phone does.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
14 years ago
OK you are on the Internet now so you Obviously already have a provider, do you have dialup, dsl, cable, how do you get the Internet? If it is a high speed Internet access then you would be able to get a wireless router and connect it, then you would have wireless Internet access and you can use it for the tablet.
You definitely do not have to get any cell plans to use the tablet in fact most do not even have that option.

Your existing Internet should suffice if you are on anything other than dial up.

The problem with using a cellular plan is they limit your data and if you go over you can have some serious costs. Very few offer a true unlimited data plan.
Just think of the tablet as a laptop or another computer that is how you handle it, very similar.
angelaid
Original Author
14 years ago
Internet is a Cricket stick that I just plug into a USB port on the computer.

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Do you have to have a smart phone

Comments (7)

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

jemdandy

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Do you have to have a smart phone

Comments (7)

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

jemdandy

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angelaidOriginal Author

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ravencajun Zone 8b TX

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angelaid
Original Author

angelaid
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