Even so often, people ask what phones and services do I use. Rather than answer these questions individually I decided to write this article and to share with you the latest informations about what I am using.
Mint Mobile Prepaid Wireless Service
I am currently using Mint Mobile’s prepaid wireless service. It’s great, but Mint isn’t for everyone. I’m currently signed up for their unlimited talk, text, and 3GB of high speed data plan. It costs me $15 per month. I liked Mint so much that after reviewing it, I decided to switch my main number to Mint! Mint isn’t for everyone though, check out my review:
Mint Mobile Prepaid Wireless Review June 2020
Previous Prepaid Wireless
Before Mint, I used Verizon Wireless Prepaid. The service was excellent. It’s a little more expensive, than other prepaid wireless services, but if Verizon has the best coverage where you live, Verizon Wireless prepaid is a good option. I switched simply because I wanted to spend less money on phone service. My Verizon Prepaid plan had 6GB of data, which I wasn’t using, especially given the situation in 2020.
See my review Verizon Wireless Prepaid Review March 2020
Before Verizon Prepaid, My wife and I spent a year on Sprint unlimited post paid service. We took advantage of a promotion to use Sprint for one year for free. We needed to pay sales tax and some fees. Each line was about $4.25 per month. Best deal ever. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint all have coverage in the Boston Metro area where I live. Unfortunately, Sprint comes in fourth place.
Before that I used Straight Talk, Net10 Wireless, T-Mobile prepaid, and AT&T post paid.
My wife used Cricket Wireless for two years and loved it.
It’s a little old, but here is my Cricket review Cricket Wireless Summary and Thoughts
My Phones
I currently use the Apple iPhone X (2017) as my main phone. I prefer iPhone, but Android is good too. I paid $1100+ for this phone, its great but I decided at this price I would wait a few years before upgrading. To me the best value in iPhone is the 2020 iPhone SE. I recently bought one to use for reviewing prepaid wireless service.
See my video
I have a couple of original iPhone SE phones from Total Wireless and Simple Mobile that I bought for reviews. I use them as cameras to record videos now.
I also have a Google Pixel 3. I use that a secondary phone and for reviews. A lot of people ask me questions about Android so I want to make sure I’m familiar with it. I like the Pixel phones because they get frequent security and system software updates and they let me see what “stock” Android is like. I just recently ordered a Google Pixel 4a.
Home Internet
For home internet service, I use Verizon’s Fios home internet service. Fios offers TV, Internet, and phone service on their fiber optic network. I am an internet only customer. My wife and I cut our home phone service several years ago. We decided to drop TV service too. Our bill had ballooned to $120 per month for 100’s of cable channels we had no interest in.
I currently pay $40 per month for 200Mbps unlimited internet service. A good deal, I think.
Overall, I’m satisfied as a cord cutter. I don’t miss all those cable channels. But I do miss being able to quickly turn on the TV and get to local channels and to some of the channels we watch on streaming. Mostly my TV, antenna, and streaming box needs a refresh.
Streaming Music
I’m currently using a free three month trial of Spotify. I’m enjoy trying it out. I don’t think I’ll cover to a paid membership though. for me, its not important enough to take on an extra subscription and the expense of the extra cell data used. Mostly, I prefer to listen to podcasts.
Streaming Video
My adult children are all in on streaming TV. They have added us to their HBO. Netflix, and other streaming services. We loved Netflix for years, but have binged watched our way through all the stuff we were interested in. Now, I have to wait months or years before a new season of something I am interested in is added.
If I was going to sign up for my own subscriptions, I think I’d rotate between services every 3 to 4 months. HBO, Netflix, and Prime Video. Watch what I want to see, and move on the the next service to see what is new.
Phone Cases
I’ve tried a number of inexpensive phone cases. The best cases for iPhones are the ones made by Apple. The silicon and leather cases have the best fit and surprisingly good protection. There are too expensive though. I have had good luck buying used cases on eBay. I’ve even bough some new cases for older model iPhones there. Some of them might have been counterfeit, but if they were I couldn’t tell.
I bought a Google made fabric case for my Pixel 3 on eBay. I was surprised how nice it was. I didn’t expect to like a fabric case but I really did. I also bought a Bellroy leather case for the pixel 3 too. Really nice. Again, I bought it on eBay at a reduced price. Not sure if it was used, but it seemed new to me.