Hobby Phone

[Steve_NYS]

I've been using basic TracFone for a year now, and it gets the job done. But if I initiate one more inadvertent emergency call--not to mention the pocket-dials--and someone's going to hunt me down.

Is there a decent, small, inexpensive phone that isn't overly-sensitive when it comes to pocket-dialing?

[Guest072323]

Perhaps you need a better pair of larger sized hobby jeans.....

[normale]

I have used Trac Phone for a couple years now and have had no problems and is dirt cheap. When you sign up , you give an alias name and turn off location icon (gps). Mine is a smart phone so I don't know if this is an option with the cheaper models.Not sure if emergency call can still trac you, but probably so with todays technology and tower triangulation. I know providers with location apps can't find you if gps is turned off. I'm still new to these smart phones and there is a large learning curve, so I am sure others with more experience will have more info to add.


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[Guest072323]

If I've said it once... I've said it a million times....
If Safety is your main concern....

Pay phones and pagers
Pay phones and pagers
Pay phones and pagers
Pay phones and pagers

One could do worse than cutting and pasting this advice into one's cerebellum....

[cowboy8055]

Originally Posted by Steve_NYS

Is there a decent, small, inexpensive phone that isn't overly-sensitive when it comes to pocket-dialing?

That shouldn't be a problem with a flip phone

[ToriStarr]

I highly recommend Google voice. Been using it for a few years now without issues. I'm definitely not tech savvy and feel that it's easy to use. I've also figured out a few features to make it, imo, even safer from LE if ever in a situation. Won't go into detail here, but if interested pm me.

I also experimented with burner a few times, it's decent.

I understand a hobbyist's use of a phone vs a provider's use of a phone has some differences, but I just never liked the idea of having two phones.

[Guest072118]

If you have a smart phone you can use a Text app. I suggest Text Free, Ive tried many, this one works good. You can install and uninstall as needed. (You cannot receive pictures through Google Voice unless its forwarded to your real number or they go to the your gmail).

Once you have the account/number you always have it, just login to the Text app.

While I understand the burner phone concept... if you are low key and see low risk ladies a text app should work well with install/uninstall so the wife/GF wont see it.

The calls/text track in the app not your phone bill. You can also use it online from a computer once you have the account and never use the phone. https://textfree.us

[Guest103021]

With the Burner App you can receive and send pics, obviously send and receive texts...sometimes the calling feature is hinky, but overall I think the app is worth utilizing over having another phone. The cost of the app if you want unlimited texts and calls etc. is $4.95/month.

[ToriStarr]

Yes that's the one thing I don't like about gv, not being able to send/receive pix. But I manage just by using email then when needed.

Another thing to consider with any app I guess would be data usage - not sure on the specifics though as I was grandfathered in with unlimited data usage through my carrier, thank god lol.

[Guest072118]

Yes the apps use data but not much. I actually have my data turned off and use Wifi most of the time, its everywhere now! LOL. I turn my data on when I need it. I love Wifi is all over now.

I dumped my unlimited service for month to month, I was done paying over $100 a month for a phone bill... specially with Wifi all over and just grows.

Yeah I use GV for my 'day' job. The picture thing would kill me for this business! haha. I send pics privately and have limited on the net.

[rooster]

Google Voice is kind of a piece of shit, to be honest. At least on an iPhone. It doesn't play well with your Contacts and it can really mess up if you have to actually make or receive a voice call. They haven't updated it in years, and it really shows.

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[ToriStarr]

Yeah I do pay an arm and a leg for my service. When I did try to see if I could get my bill lowered of course I was told I'd lose my unlimited data then. I guess I would be ok considering WiFi is everywhere, just worry I guess lol.

Gv is very basic/hasn't updated, but I like it since I'm not techy. I do have an android though, so maybe it is worse on iPhone. I will say it's kind of a bitch to set up initially. This is only my second phone in the 3-4 years I've been "providing" and using Google voice. A friend set it up for me on my first phone after telling me about it. When I upgraded to this phone then and set it up myself I messed something up at first and completely replaced my real number with the GV one (eek). But then I fixed it shortly after.

[ToriStarr]

So maybe gv isn't all that great lol. But it works for me, for now anyways lol

[Guest041919-1]

Originally Posted by cowboy8055

That shouldn't be a problem with a flip phone

I agree, that's what I was going to suggest.

Originally Posted by ToriStarr

I highly recommend Google voice. Been using it for a few years now without issues. I'm definitely not tech savvy and feel that it's easy to use. I've also figured out a few features to make it, imo, even safer from LE if ever in a situation. Won't go into detail here, but if interested pm me.

I also experimented with burner a few times, it's decent.

I understand a hobbyist's use of a phone vs a provider's use of a phone has some differences, but I just never liked the idea of having two phones.

I use Google voice too. I have no complaints with it.

[Lazy]

If you use Google voice make sure all the privacy settings on your account are on. I synced my hobby phone to my hobby Google account later when I went into Gmail to check if the contacts synced it showed the providers real Google information in Gmail contacts.