What's a good cell phone for a teen-ager?

What’ s your budget? Will the teenager have to earn part of the cost and monthly bills?

:: in senile old man voice ::

When I was a young lad we didn’t need no fancing talking phone, we used the pony express. It was fast as greased lightening and it didn’t have no fancy buttons and what not.

Most of the cool kids around where I live have jitterbugs. They are pretty sweet.

I don’t think you should include texting for your teenager unless you want to pay for unlimited texting. Most teenagers don’t know how to limit themselves to only what’s necessary and that can end up costing you a lot.

I really like my phone . Nice thing about it is its water proof and shock resistant so you can beat the crap out of it and its fine. Good for a kid i would think.

Anything with unlimited texts but no internet.

@gailcalled I don’t have a budget and no I am paying for it. @jaketheripper haha jitterbug! I am wondering if she would resent the gps tracking part-

Well, I pay for my own cell phone bills, no biggie.

But you could always just ask your 14 year old what kind of phone they would like, and let them pick it out. If this is for a gift, maybe purchase the phone for them, but make them pay for the monthly bills. (Can’t remember if 14 year olds are old enough for jobs, but I have worked with some before, don’t know if the managers were the ones to bend the rules or what)

Get an unlimited texting plan, it isn’t too much more, and it’s worth it. (Better than when you see the phone bills up the roof from them texting 15 cents each message!)

It’s all costly!
I actually started my daughter out with Virgin mobile pay-as-you-go when she was about 14yo. I bought the phone for her birthday with a $20 “minutes” card and then she had to keep it up to date with occasional additional minutes cards in Xmas stocking, Bday etc. I think it helped her be more aware of her use. We did that for about 2 years before adding her to our family plan.

@curiouscat so would you be ok if your parents had a gps function on it so they would know where you are?

@trailsillustrated, I’d prefer there not be anything like that on my phone. It’d feel as if I had no privacy…. who knows where teenagers end up? haha… ;)

But it really depends on your own child. Do you trust them enough? Why do you need to track them down? Can’t you just ask them every single time where they will be and who they will be with and what time they will be home? (My mother does that every single time)

@trailsillustrated I see GPS tracking on a cell phone of a loved one as a means of safety. My SO and I both have it on our phones so we know where each other are. I had a roll over car accident June 1 of this year and that feature saved my life.

Your 14 year old might not like the idea, but it’s not really their decision. GPS can be used as a means of “spying” yes, but used properly and in a respectful manner it’s a necessary tool in an emergency.

Besides if your daughter is hellbent against it then there could be bigger problems. What does she have to hide?

@curiouscat- it’s sort of a wierd situation- she is living with her dad back in my country and has been playing up at school, suspended etc, which is why she is coming here- much bigger city, school- I just feel scared about knowing where she is and what she’s doing- I guess I can wait and see what she’s like- I won’t snoop in her messages or her room-she says she has no privacy at home

@trailsillustrated, oh, that makes sense then.

Maybe having her take some financial responsibility for the phone will counterbalance her “acting up.” However, you may want to look at the root causes for her attention-getting and self-destructive behavior. Remember that you are her mom and love her, but you are also the responsible adult.

She may indeed resent some things, but she is only 14 and not managing her life too well.

i dont think 14 year olds should have cell phones. i didnt get one till i got a job when i turned 16. but thats just me, there are always special circumstances of course, and given i grew up in a traditional family where i had to earn the things i had or i had to buy them myself so my opinion is a little different than most

Uh… cancer, anyone?

@gailcalled thankyou- I am trying to do this- she was an honor student until this term- which is almost over- I guess I’ll have her help choose the phone. Thanks again, everyone

I’d like to add my 2 cents that I wouldn’t mind if my parents had a GPS tracker in my phone. But I’m 99% of the time I’m at home, at school, or driving between home and school. I also don’t care about flashy phones. Mine was one of the free ones with the plan.

My first phone was the kind @MagsRags was talking about. My family got phones after I did, so I payed my own phone bills from the time I first had a cell phone (which was college). I’d definitely put a GPS tracker on a phone for a 14 year old, but make sure she knows it’s only for emergencies. Definitely get unlimited texting, because she will use far more texts than minutes. Especially if you tell her that her texts are unlimited, but if she goes over minutes she’ll have to pay for it. Maybe even give her a few chores to do, and have that be her way of “earning” cell service. They way it’s a privilege in her mind, and not a right, and she’ll be more likely to treat it as such.

one they pay for and support
The best plans are around $70. a month but will give unlimited text and unlimited minutes because their minute allowance will be docked for incoming calls as well as outgoing.

If I were getting a phone for a 14yr old, it would have GPS, and would be the pay as you go type or be added to our family plan with limits on time/texting. There wouldn’t be anything fancier coming from my wallet.

I didn’t even know GPS trackers for phones existed…I guess it wouldn’t be that bad becuase what am I gonna do? Sneak off to Oakland or something? If I’m going somewhere, I tell my parents anyway where I’m going, so I wouldn’t need to hide it.

When I was 14, I had some kind of Samsung phone and then I got a Sidekick, I barely even remember what it was, I just know that it was silver and nothing fancy, though it did have a camera. And of course I didn’t pay for it; 14-year-olds should be focusing on school in my opinion, rather than work. You have your whole damn life to work. I guess if they want something fancier, then they can pay for it themselves. Either way, I know 14-year-olds with iPhones and I can’t help but think that’s a little unnecessary, but of course, there were no iPhones when I was 14.

If you can afford it, unlimited texting is good—I guess it depends on how much this girl uses her phone. I’ve never gone over anything before, but that’s because I also used AIM to contact people and didn’t need my phone for everything. Just a basic phone that looks cool enough so that she won’t think it’s “inferior”, but it doesn’t need to be a smartphone or anything like that.

I’m 18, have an iPhone, and my parents pay for it all…hey-oh…! :P

@DominicX: I’m 18, have an iPhone, and my parents pay for it all…hey-oh…! :P

That’s because you’ve proven yourself to be responsible! I’d pay for my college kid’s phone, too.

@SpatzieLover :D

she’s not going to have to pay for anything. I just want something comparable to what other kids have, and her to not feel all invaded if it has gps. ( I don’t even have a cell phone so I don’t know)

i would say the HTC Desire

//i would say the HTC Desire//
Ya my choice is also the same