Straight Talk phone

[twbird18]

Does anyone have any recommendations for decent cell phones with cameras for straight talk? My mom has asked for a new phone for Christmas. Her only request is that it have a camera - something she has never had. She uses Straight talk & due to her somewhat rural location, doesn't really have any cheaper/better options to switch to, but I'm not very familiar with them so I'm looking for recommendations.

[Daley]

There's always better, cheaper options than Straight Talk, and selecting them over Straight Talk allows you to pretty well select nearly any device you want from that point instead of being restricted to the devices they offer. The secret is to determine what network she's on to know who to jump to.

If the current phone has a SIM card in it (usually in the battery compartment), check for the markings C4 or T5 on it. If it's C4, she's on the AT&T network. If it's T5, she's on T-Mobile. If there is no SIM card, it's a CDMA phone, which means she's on Verizon.

Airvoice = AT&T
P'tel & Spot Mobile = T-Mobile
Page Plus = Verizon

Any carrier unlocked GSM 850/1900 phone with clean IMEI will work with either Airvoice or P'tel. Any non 4G LTE Verizon handset with a clean ESN will activate on Page Plus (excluding iPhone, Blackberry and Verizon Prepaid). Of the two technologies (GSM and CDMA), you're going to have a far nicer selection of phones available on the GSM end due to the restrictions on the Verizon end.

If she's wanting a "cameraphone", she's probably going to want something that has a bit of resolution to it. All cameras on phones stink out loud at worst and are only as good as an instamatic at best. Your better cameras are going to be on smartphones over feature phones, however. Once you have a rough idea of what you're looking for, hit up the following search tools to find some good candidates.

http://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php

The first couple posts on the Superguide should carry you the rest of the way:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-isps-voip-cell/

[twbird18]

Thanks for the info. She has only ever had 1 cell phone - which has obviously seen better days. I have already tried to convince her to switch to another plan, but it's hard since she is happy with her $30/month plan & doesn't want to change I see no reason to push the issue. I'm pretty certain she has AT&T because that is the only good service in the area.