6 great smartphones that won’t cost you one single penny
Smartphones are here to stay, and it's no real surprise why. They connect us to Facebook, help us find guidelines to the office, take pictures, and may even why don't we connect our laptops to the internet from the side of the road. But they are just so darned expensive... roughly you think.
You don't need to spend $300 or even more just to get a great phone. We've come up with a summary of six great free smartphone options — they don't cost you not your signature (and, needless to say, a fresh contract). These to aren't one-day-only deals, plus they aren't refurbished models that someone's already had their fingerprints around. They are absolutely free, absolutely new phones.
You don't need to know somebody who knows somebody to obtain these to for free, nevertheless, you do have to buy these online. Most carriers have special, online-only pricing. And if you're upgrading a vintage phone, be cautious. Some carriers will ask you for an upgrade fee if you're still under a vintage contract. What fun is a free phone if you have to pay a fee to obtain it?
1 . AT&T: iphone 3gs
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| iPhone 3GS |
Think an Apple iphone costs big money? Wrong — the iphone 3gs could be yours from AT&T, absolutely free. Sure, you don't get all the top features of the brand new $199 iPhone 4S as well as the $99 apple iphone 4, nevertheless, you still obtain the iPhone essentials: access to the app store, wifi, a good 3-megapixel camera that may record video, GPS, and 8GB worth of storage. You can even upgrade the telephone to iOS 5, Apple's latest operating-system.
The iphone 3gs isn't the brand new kid on the Apple block anymore. Nevertheless, you still get a great phone for your money — which, in this case, is zero dollars and zero cents.
2 . AT&T: LG Phoenix
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| LG Phoenix |
At times, it looks like you can find two different kinds of people on the planet: those that love Apple products, and those who revile them. If you're in the latter category, then you're absolutely going to be in the marketplace for an Android-powered smartphone. And while we're not sure why you had need to get an Android phone on the restrictive AT&T network (you may be trapped by your contract, or possibly your dad is president of the company), if you're dead set on it, browse the LG Phoenix.
This smartphone isn't perfect — it does lack the ability to access the high-speed 4G LTE network. Nevertheless, you get plenty of phone otherwise. Its OS is upgradable to Android 2 . 3 (Gingerbread), you obtain access to the ever-growing Android market, the phone's 3. 2-megapixel camera shoots video, it's wifi-capable, and it's bluetooth-ready. You can even increase the option to tether the telephone to your laptop or other devices for anywhere access to the internet. Not bad.
3. Verizon: Droid Pro
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| Droid Pro |
Most keyboards are virtual nowadays, and that's a shame, because there's something very satisfying about having to press real buttons. Verizon's Droid Pro includes a prominent keypad on the front — a throwback to the era of phones when BlackBerry was king.
However the keyboard isn't all you get. Behind it hides a powerful — dated, but powerful — Android device that may be updated to perform the Gingerbread OS. You obtain 3G mobile hotspot support, wifi, 2GB of internal memory plus 2GB of (expandable) preinstalled microSD memory, and all those great games and utilities in the Android Market. You even get a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, which is better hardware than you obtain with most free phones nowadays.
4. Verizon: LG Enlighten
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| LG Enlighten |
So you've sold yourself on the idea of a phone with a physical keyboard. But what if you don't want those bulky keys getting in just how, getting mashed in your purse and taking on valuable phone real estate? Split up the difference with the LG Enlighten, a sexy smartphone with a hidden, slide-out keyboard.
The LG Enlighten offers you most of everything you get with the Droid Pro: a 3G mobile hotspot, spoken turn-by-turn Navigation from Google, and Android Gingerbread OS right from the box. Plus, you obtain a full 3. 2" capacitive touchscreen — one area where bigger most certainly is better.
The primary downside to the phone may be the insufficient internal memory. The Enlighten doesn't offer a large amount of built-in storage (only 150MB), and that may be considered a deal breaker. Nevertheless, you can simply expand the storage with the addition of your own microSD card.
5. Sprint: LG Rumor Touch
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| LG Rumor Touch |
Are you or somebody you love a text-aholic? If so, you're the precise sort of customer LG had in mind when it created the Rumor Touch, a 3" touchscreen smartphone.
Like the Enlighten, the LG Rumor Touch includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with big enough buttons to type with quick precision. The Rumor Touch even runs its messaging-friendly operating-system. And, needless to say, any phone built around messaging has to have Facebook and Twitter built in. The camera is weak at only 2 megapixels, however the Rumor assumes you will most probably be too busy texting to take any pictures.
Oh, and on top of that? The Rumor Touch also doubles as a phone. Can you believe any such thing?
6. T-Mobile: Nokia Lumia 710
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| Nokia Lumia 710 |
If there's one thing that the previously mentioned phones have in common, it's that they are all good, solid 3G phones. But let's be honest — 3G is yesterday's technology. Blazing-fast 4G wireless is where it's at. And T-Mobile's Nokia Lumia 710 offers you access to luscious 4G speed without having to pay a single penny in advance.
The Lumia uses the less popular Windows Phone 7 operating-system, but don't let the numbers fool you. Windows Phone 7 is a solid, seamless OS, especially for novices to the smartphone game.
The phone's hardware is great. You obtain a sharp, 3. 7", 800 x 480 LCD screen, a 5-megapixel camera, a powerful 1 . 4GHz processor, and all that wifi and GPS goodness you'd are expecting. And you also probably tuned all that out because you were too busy thinking about how cool it really is that free phone has 4G. Completely understandable.
Note: Before you order one of these brilliant free phones, be sure to check the pricing and make certain it's free. Carrier pricing can transform with the wind, and for no good reason.
