iPad mini for a phone

[Restless Consumer]

I've been without a phone for a few years now. My replacement is an iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular.

How do I make it work?
TextMe app - Give me a number and you earn minutes by watching videos.
FaceTime Audio + Video - I can make calls on Wi-Fi to anyone on an iOS device.
T-Mobile offers 200MB free each month - I never use it all since I am usually around Wi-Fi. This data is used for phone calls with TextMe.

I didn't pay for my iPad, but it looks like you can get an iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular on Apple's refurbished page for $309.  If you don't mind carrying it around, it is worth considering.

[forummm]

You can probably use a free VOIP service like Google Voice too. It will even have a number people can call you at.

[Restless Consumer]

You can probably use a free VOIP service like Google Voice too. It will even have a number people can call you at.

I've heard people recommend Google Voice a lot. I've never bothered to look into it because I had TextMe working well for me. But now that I am running low on minutes and haven't bothered to watch ads for more, I will check it out. Thanks!

[wienerdog]

Been using google voice since 2011 and transferred my Sprint number to it since I have had that since 1997.  The Hangouts integration makes it able to use wifi for calls now.  You have always needed an app to place calls via wifi.  For me it worked great as I traveled a lot overseas and texts was all I needed most of the time.  Bonus with google voice is you can use an obihai for home phone through the same google voice number.

My new job gave me an Android phone so I am ditching my personal Straight Talk service and just using the work phone as the GV number will forward to it.  I can also select what number I want to call from before I place the call.  I have had straight talk for 3 years and never really used that number just the GV number.  It is nice to have one number that you can take to any service.

[Mrs. Crackin' the Whip]

I don't know how it actually works but we had success with my teenager using it as a phone for about six months.  That is until he had bad grades and lost his iPad privileges :)

[alsoknownasDean]

Considering the upfront cost of the device, why not just get a real phone for less money and just put it on PAYG? That way there's also a real phone number to use/be contacted on.

[Daley]

Considering the upfront cost of the device, why not just get a real phone for less money and just put it on PAYG? That way there's also a real phone number to use/be contacted on.

Pfft. That's just crazy talk, Dean! ;)

In all seriousness though, TextMe does provide a phone number.

It's a clever idea, but folks like Restless Consumer who can do this in the first place would probably be far better served for a $310 outlay with a sub-$100 smartphone paired with Truphone SIM and similar, more platform agnostic apps.

[Restless Consumer]

Considering the upfront cost of the device, why not just get a real phone for less money and just put it on PAYG? That way there's also a real phone number to use/be contacted on.

Pfft. That's just crazy talk, Dean! ;)

In all seriousness though, TextMe does provide a phone number.

It's a clever idea, but folks like Restless Consumer who can do this in the first place would probably be far better served for a $310 outlay with a sub-$100 smartphone paired with Truphone SIM and similar, more platform agnostic apps.

My wife and I tried cheap smartphones. Never again! It was very frustrating with out sluggish they were and the lack of any kinds of updates. Maybe that has changed since then.

[cerebus]

I need to obtain a US phone number and the Google Voice website just forwards me to a useless support page. The iOS app is useless, and the Hangouts app also wants to forward me to the useless page. A Skype number is quite expensive by comparison. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong here?

[Daley]

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong here?

You're trying to register a US Google Voice number in South Africa, and well, you're considering an overpriced Microsoft product.

Try using Localphone or CallCentric instead.

[cerebus]

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong here?

You're trying to register a US Google Voice number in South Africa, and well, you're considering an overpriced Microsoft product.

Try using Localphone or CallCentric instead.

Thanks. I'll also get my mom to set me up with a Google Voice number, you're probably right that it's because I'm over here. It's to be used for overseas jobseeking, as US employers want a local number to call.

[Daley]

Thanks. I'll also get my mom to set me up with a Google Voice number, you're probably right that it's because I'm over here. It's to be used for overseas jobseeking, as US employers want a local number to call.

If that's the purpose, then I'd highly recommend against Google Voice. As a long time user, I know how unreliable it can be and you definitely get what you pay for. Just go with Localphone. $3 to buy a US phone number, $1/month to maintain it, unlimited incoming minutes, and they have 250 minute US calling packages for 75¢/month (larger and cheaper per minute rates are available) versus their 0.5-0.7¢ pay per minute outbound rate. They have their own app for smartphones in addition to being SIP standards compliant so you can use whatever SIP phone you like such as CSipSimple or Brea, and they have the option of failover to your local number there in South Africa if the SIP client isn't connected for 5.9-6.9¢/minute (all prices USD).