My first smart phone.

Quote: Pacomartin

I get the feeling that since unlimited talk and text have come down in price to $30 or less (since 2015) that most business accounts give you at least that much.

I only know what we get.

All the phones covered by the corporate plan, and there must be hundreds or more, can dial each other free of additional chargers and for unlimited minutes and calls. All other calls use up minutes.

Quote:

You mentioned "Whatsapp" to send free texts over WiFi. What do you use for free/cheap voice over Wifi? Do you use Google Voice or Skype?

I'm too old for all that stuff :)

I really like the new old phone. For one thing the screen is a battery-killing 5.75". For another, Android is far easier to comprehend than iOS. And naturally it's faster than the old iphone 4. It also has an SD card slot.

The big drawback is the battery life, or rather lack thereof. I could get away charging the iphone to full once a day, sometimes twice with heavy use. The Samsung requires feeding at least twice, often three times. Yesterday it got to full charge at 6:15, and was down to 90% by 7:10 with very little use. I left it at 85% when I went to bed at 11 pm, and it was down to 63% at 6 am.

I'll have to buy a second portable battery, or a bigger one.

Quote: Nareed

I really like the new old phone. For one thing the screen is a battery-killing 5.75". For another, Android is far easier to comprehend than iOS. And naturally it's faster than the old iphone 4. It also has an SD card slot.

The big drawback is the battery life, or rather lack thereof. I could get away charging the iphone to full once a day, sometimes twice with heavy use. The Samsung requires feeding at least twice, often three times. Yesterday it got to full charge at 6:15, and was down to 90% by 7:10 with very little use. I left it at 85% when I went to bed at 11 pm, and it was down to 63% at 6 am.

I'll have to buy a second portable battery, or a bigger one.

Do you know the size of your battery? I thought the standard battery could go over 24 hours of talk time
3200 mAh Capacity| 25 hours Talk time | 21 hours Talk time (3G)

Either someone ruined your battery, or put in a smaller one. In which case a simple replacement for under $10 should suffice. If you really do want an extended battery that will cost over $30.

3200 mAh Capacity Replacement Battery Sale Price:$7.64
http://www.amazon.com/CyberTech-Capacity-3200mAh-Replacement-Battery/dp/B00GI16KUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460146126&sr=8-1&keywords=note+3+3200+mAh%09Capacity

7500mAh Capacity Extended Battery Sale Price:$32.95
http://www.amazon.com/PowerBear-Samsung-7500mAh-Extended-Protective/dp/970771638X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447281538&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=note+3+extended+battery&psc=1

Quote: Pacomartin

Do you know the size of your battery? I thought the standard battery could go over 24 hours of talk time

I haven't seen that much real talk time since the 90s!

Quote:

Either someone ruined your battery, or put in a smaller one. In which case a simple replacement for under $10 should suffice. If you really do want an extended battery that will cost over $30.

Well, you have to take my peculiarities into account. I consider the battery "low" when it hits 50%, and then I charge it back to full. Regardless of level, I like having it at full at the start of the work day. I mislike charging it at home at all (I pay for that electricity). Whenever I get into my car, I hook up the charger before the audio. And I really don't like leaving it charging overnight. If I must, I place it on the portable battery, as that stops when the latter is drained.

Like that.

If I can fit in a bigger one, perhaps I should. I hate loosing 3 percentage points of battery while setting up Waze for the drive to the office.

Screen brightness matters a metric ton as well. If I put it on a brightness that makes it easy to read in the sun (aprrox 80% of max), we're talking maybe 4-6 hours of moderate use. I turn mine down all the way to just about nothing, the same setting it goes to when I hit 5% battery, and I leave it. My phone goes on with internet radio at 5a and doesn't go off until 10p, no sweat, no mid-day top-off charges.

Quote: Face

Screen brightness matters a metric ton as well.

I know. it's the biggest draw on the battery (see how I described the screen size).

I have it set to adapt to ambient light conditions. I know that's far from ideal for conserving battery, but I use the phone a great deal and don't want to fiddle with the brightness all day long.

I do shut down WiFi when not in use. That helps a bit.

The other big draw on the battery is the low, horrible cell signal I get at home. the phone is constantly looking for a better one.

Quote: Nareed

The other big draw on the battery is the low, horrible cell signal I get at home. the phone is constantly looking for a better one.

http://www.vtechphones.com/products/product_detail/2264

This phone handset $35+$5 shipping is designed for people with this problem. You locate the best cell signal in the house (android will give you a reading) with power nearby. You plug the base set in so it is charging all the time. When you come home at night you plug your Samsung Note 3 within about 10 meters of the base. That way your cell phone is charging, and you can use the Vtech phone around the house.

Unfortunately, it only works with voice, no texts or data.

The other option is to get a cell signal amplifier, but that can be much more expensive.

Quote: Pacomartin

This phone handset $35+$5 shipping is designed for people with this problem.

I appreciate the creative and innovative solutions you can come up with.

But the problem is only that the bad signal drains the battery faster, not that I might miss calls. I don't mind missing work related calls. if they can't get me, they'll bother someone else. I'm fine with that :) I already work 10-12 hours a day, and that's more than enough. Whatsapp messages, alas, come in through Wifi just fine...

Quote: Nareed

But the problem is only that the bad signal drains the battery faster, not that I might miss calls.

But since you don't have to carry your cell phone with you around your home, you can leave it plugged in. You simply carry the handset with you around your home.The handset has it's own battery which takes almost 24 hours to run out.

It takes care of both problems. The bad signal and the need to keep your cell phone plugged in and recharging.

The tablet's suffering from under-use thanks to the phone now.

The problem is the tablet is still slow, therefore I find myself drifting more and more towards the phone for some things. Not all things. FB and Pocket are pretty much the same, but web browsing is much better on the tablet. Books are hard on the phone.

I'm thinking about paying someone to downgrade the tablet back to Kit Kat, as that was the last time it ran really well. But I'm concerned about how the various apps will run if I do that. I know many will still run well. the phone, after all, runs Kit Kat, and I've been doing app updates regularly.

The tablet model is 4 years old (2012), and I've had it for about 3 years. by modern standards, it's older than time, and should be holding a door open or cluttering up a local landfill.