droid (and smartphone) newbie checking in!

[rcrew9]

Well, I'm finally taking the plunge into smartphones. I'm a tightwad, so I'm going with Straight Talk to save some money since I really don't have a huge need for a smartphone and tons of fast data streaming/downloading.

My sons' schools tend to send out immediate updates on Twitter instead of automated calls, so it seems like a smartphone will come in handy. My main use of a smartphone will be for the GPS and hunting apps so I can track things in the field.

I am currently trying to figure out what phone to get -- either the LG Optimus Showtime or the ZTE Majesty -- that works well on Verizon since that is the carrier with the best coverage here in rural KS. T-mobile and AT&T don't even have coverage where I hunt.

 

[leeshor]

Welcome aboard and good hunting.

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Welcome aboard and good luck on your decision!

 

[bkdodger]

Welcome to the forum...good luck and keep us posted on your phone ...

 

[rcrew9]

Thanks for the welcome, folks! I'm looking forward into diving into the Android world. I have a lot to learn, especially with apps since that is new territory for me. One thing that is somewhat disconcerting I've heard is that there is no filter on Android OS like the iPhone has for... things a child doesn't need to be exposed to. My grade school son is getting a Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 for music, and since it can also connect with wi-fi, I don't need him being exposed to porn and whatnot. I need to figure out what the best parental control app is to keep that kind of stuff off his player.

After looking at these two phones, I'm left with a quandry:
LG has good quality, so I assume the Showtime is good as well. My LG tv is great, the LG A855 Droid a friend gave me for home is built like a tank (and weighs almost as much!), our LG Blu-ray is great, my LG Versa is good...
ZTE: ??? made-in-China of unknown quality. The ZTE Majesty blows the Showtime out of the water in terms of specifications and performance with a dual core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU and Android 4.1 instead of a single core 1.0GHz and Android 4.0 on the Showtime, more on-board memory, but I don't know about the durability of it and... there are no cases for it. How the heck do you carry a 4.5" phone with no case? :blink:

 

[mountainbikermark]

Welcome to the forum.
Might I suggest you set your Twitter account to send text message tweets from the school? When there's no data network there's still the phone call network that texts send through more often than not. You can set it so only the schools tweets get forwarded as text messages.
Also check out Mobiflock app on the Play Store. It's free and might be what you seek for better controls

Support Our Troops!!!
<><
I'm an "s pen aholic" Noteate

 

[rcrew9]

Welcome to the forum.
Might I suggest you set your Twitter account to send text message tweets from the school? When there's no data network there's still the phone call network that texts send through more often than not. You can set it so only the schools tweets get forwarded as text messages.
Also check out Mobiflock app on the Play Store. It's free and might be what you seek for better controls

Support Our Troops!!!
<><
I'm an "s pen aholic" Noteate

Thanks for the suggestion! Once I get my Twitter account (yeah, I don't really do social media much.), I'll set it up that way. Oh, and a free parental control app is right up my alley! I'm willing to pay for a good one, but if a good one is free, even better.

 

[SFGate]

Welcome to the site. Good luck on choosing your phone. DancingNexus