Thanks
@314159 ...not really what I want to be remembered for much anymore, but it's a legacy of my own making. C'est la vie.
First, technically there is no such thing anymore as a landline. Even old copper landlines are VoIP lines now and have been for quite some time.
There are cheaper VoIP providers, like VOIP.ms which requires you to set up your own equipment (with a $40 Grandstream device, you can set up a home phone with e911 for as little as $2/month plus a penny a minute), and VOIPo which provides their own for a bit more (about $8/month) where you just have to plug the device in. There are also "wireless home phone" devices that take SIM cards that have a PSTN/POTS output jack on the back of the device to use older house phones with instead of a cellphone or smartphone, restricting and eliminating access to SMS and data due to the nature of the device. However, it's difficult to find unlocked models for MVNO use unless you really know what to look for as most MVNOs who have device stores rarely, if ever, include those sorts of devices (outside of Consumer Cellular, which is firmly targeted at the AARP set). Alternatively, you could also use an old/cheap phone with a shot battery and Bluetooth and pair it with a Bluetooth capable cordless home phone set that way. I know Costco frequently has these sorts of phones in their warehouses from the likes of Panasonic and Vtech.
As for mobile plans specifically? Yes, RedPocket is the go-to recommendation from me anymore. Been that way for a hot minute now. Plans on all three major networks, and one of the few remaining MVNOs that still offer decent plans below $15/month anymore. There's even an annual plan on their Ebay store that's $30/year on T-Mobile's network that offers 200 minutes, 1000 SMS messages, and 200MB of data
per month. It's kind of a perfect cheap kid plan, if you're forced into a situation where you have to give a minor a cellphone, even though every fiber of my being wants to scream in abject horror at the idea of giving a child one of those infernal slabs to get conditioned to and hooked on the consumer dopamine reward wagon. Of course, with you out in Hawaiʻi, IIRC, and the historic spottyness of T-Mobile's coverage on the islands, YMMV. There's also a $60/year plan from them in their Ebay store that provides 100 minutes, 100 SMS messages, and 500MB of data a month on the AT&T network. Not as generous a plan at twice the price, but still one of the best packages you're gonna find for $5/month.
If you still want to go down the smartphone/cellphone route, but do actually care about the downsides and only want a cellphone that can only do calling and
maybe texting, look into buying a Kosher phone if you don't want to do the technical efforts to disable a web browser and lock down the device yourself to keep social media and other datamining apps off. There's models where you can only do calling and even the cameras are hardware disabled, models where there's only calling and texting, optional email support, etc.
Kosher phones come in a wide variety of both feature phone and smartphone variants, and are far cheaper options than stuff like Sunbeam and Light Phones that have come out of the overpriced "lifestyle simplicity" woo movement sold to rich hipsters with phone addictions. Just do a web search and you'll find a few sellers. You're still likely to drop more than $100 for an unlocked feature phone model, though, and most of them are either for use on T-Mo or Verizon.
