I'm having a hard time getting on board that list of Android smartphones... there's plenty more than capable in the pantheon of last generation handsets that would be more than capable of being a tech sector industry whozit ubercommunicator.
Given your postcount, I'm guessing you're still getting the lay of the land and aren't familiar with the resources here and the usual bits that get provided for these sorts of questions. Let me give you a couple key links:
http://www.techmeshugana.com/2013/01/are-iphones-worth-it/...this link will be relevant because it will force you to take stock and consider what's actually important to you in this handset you're shopping for instead of going at things from a top-down most expensive and latest models first mindset with your purchase, as well as provide tools to sift through the available handsets to find models that'll float your boat.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-isps-voip-cell/...this is the Superguide. It's years of meticulously condensed information that addresses shopping around for the best deals from the most reliable outfits providing communications services, amongst other things. Don't be intimidated by the postcount, the most relevant bits are at the top.
Buying a new handset, I'd recommend staying on the GSM end of things if you've got good network coverage in your area and not screw around with CDMA unless you want to go specifically with
Ting... but then you're looking at Sprint CDMA hardware lock-in.
On the GSM end, there's providers on both the AT&T and T-Mobile GSM network ends that provide "unlimited" talk and text with no data for $30 a month... but you can get far cheaper if you rope your usage in and go with pay-as-you-go. The major outfits hitting these points and the favored around here for price and corporate stability in the MVNO market are
Airvoice,
Platinumtel, and
GoSmart Mobile which is
owned by T-Mobile... and keep their prices in mind and remember that at least with Airvoice and P'tel you're getting domestic customer support and short terms of service contracts when others inevitably bring up the Walmart crowd's favorites of Net10 and StraightTalk which seem to be the only MVNOs people on the internet know about outside of here and
HoFo.
Sometimes, I'll make specific recommendations when I know enough... this time however, I think I'd like to teach a man to fish instead of just feeding him. Don't let others spend your money and tell you how to shop... tease the most relevant info out for your needs yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions. Everything you need to do so is in this post.
