[Magnum]

Daughter wants phone for x-mas. Both my wife [pearl] and I [8700c] have bb's so I think why bother with just a phone get the kid a bb. Email, PIN's, phone it just doesn't get much better.

Kid is young, 3rd grade, so I thought about refurb'd in case she breaks it and this will save a little $$ as the bb plan will run $30 a month and she'll pony on mom's minutes.

Refurb'd is almost like new isn't it, same 1 year warranty? I don't have any experience with a refurb'd phone, but figured you all might be able to help me.

[Dezmodium]

Do yourself a favor and get her a basic $50 phone with a crap load of minutes and a ton of text messages. Make sure its like a pay as you go account or she will still probably burn you with overage charges on both of those features. Both Nokia and Motorola make good little throw away phones. She'll most likely kill the phone in 6 months.

Blackberry is waste for a 3rd grader. I know she's your daughter and you want the best for her but trust me on this. You get her a little Motorola RZR in pink with a million minutes and text messages and she will love you to death. And it won't feel like such a waste when it gets confiscated at her school or taken away during a grounding. (not to imply she is a bad kid or anything.)

[Magnum]

Understood. I've looked at every other phone and none compares, not only in features, but in size and form factor.

Refurb'd pearl is like $30, that's cheap! If she breaks it I have a great used / bet up 7100 she can use.

Groundings = Laptop loss.

[G21SF]

Regardless of the service plan, if the price on a phone is right, go for it. Chances are, a 3rd grader wont be using all the features on a Pearl, but it's nice to know the features are there once she starts getting the hang of it.

As for it being a refurb, it's a great deal. Most people think that all refurbs were former broken / malfunctioning phones, when it actuality a majority of refurbs are simply phones that were returned and exchanged for a different phone model (like if a person decided they'd rather have a Curve instead of a Pearl).
Either way, all returned phones go through the standard diagnostic tests, have any malfunctioning / worn part(s) replaced, given a new battery, and updated with the latest firmware, etc. Also, I think refurbs only have a 30-day warranty on them.

Speaking earlier of the Curve... AT&T has those available in refurb'd for $30, too! Definitely a good deal!

[MC5151989]

Question and Comment

First of all, I got a refurbished pearl less than a month ago, I love it. I started figuring things out and download a couple apps. but now my phone is pretty slow, it has to load alot even if im just clicking messages, which is kinda stupid. Is it running slow because I download some applications? And when looking at reviews of the pearl it suppose to have pretty decent battery life, but mine last barely a day, I get on the internet a little but nothing serious and I'm in school most of the day so I dont even have it out, do you think I have a faulty battery or whats the deal?

[G21SF]

Think of your Pearl like a computer... if several applications are running in the background, it'll probably slow everything down. Apart from the standard applications that always run by default, have you checked to see what other apps are currently running?

As for the short battery life, it could be a dying battery... but, I'm guessing it might be related to those apps that could be constantly running in the background which is draining your battery.

[MC5151989]

How do you tell if an application is constantly running cause I'm sure I have applications running all the time. Like my browser is always on a site but just hiden. How do you tell?

[G21SF]

Originally Posted by MC5151989

How do you tell if an application is constantly running cause I'm sure I have applications running all the time. Like my browser is always on a site but just hiden. How do you tell?

Press and hold the ALT + escape buttons. By default, you'll typically see five apps running... Phone, Messages, Home screen, Browser, and PTT (Push-to-talk).

If you have any other applications running as well, you should see them aside from those five. Try closing / ending the extra apps and see if your Pearl works a bit smoother.

[shawnc]

Reburb Pearl for $30 is a great idea. Cell phone for 3rd grader, now that's another story.

[TylerBoneZJoneZ]

ALOT of 3rd party applications installed on Blackberries tend to Bog them down. Nuff said.

[Shaun]

Call AT&T and get your daughter a Nokia 2610, and put the Smart Limits service on it (whenever it comes back). I did this for my daughter, and the phone cost me $1.00 + tax, and free shipping. Yes, I said $1.00 US. So, in total, $1.07 for the phone, $9.99 for the added line, and $4.99 for the smart limits. That, my friend, is a good deal.

Additional Thought: AT&T does not offer insurance or any level of replacement coverage on Smart Phones (i.e. BBs), so refurb or not, if your daughter was to have the phone stolen, lost or broken, you may be out a phone. This played into my decision to get my daughter an inexpensive phone that had some level of replacement coverage on it.

[MaxPayne79]

Originally Posted by shawnc

Reburb Pearl for $30 is a great idea. Cell phone for 3rd grader, now that's another story.

Absolutely....
A cell phone for a 3rd Grader?????

[crazieinca]

yea..wats up with that...i got my first phone in highschool lol
now i understand that everyone should be in touch with their kids but as a third grader..who could she be calling except for mom and dad? dont even bother with txt messeges..no offense

[Magnum]

Thanks for all the replies!

I talked to my daughter last night, in the she still believes in Santa way, and she basically told me she wants a Pink flip, with a camera and a calendar.....that's it. So what I will call Dad's brainy idea on the bb was just that, my idea, my concept!!!

She said a bb would be great, but she would like to get used to even having the cell phone first. Of course I'm the dad so it's easy for me to say, but what a great mature way for her to answer the question!

To reply to some of your comments:

Phone for a 3rd grader? Yep, all kids are different, but my daughter does a lot of sports and other activities that require us [mostly mom] to take her to and it's not always possible for us to wait for here and sometimes when coming back to pick her up your running late so a phone call to tell her or a for her to call and ask is important.

Text Msg's = They suck, AT&T says you really shouldn't put a block on incoming but yet they want to charge you for incoming. I can't stop people from sending them, but I have to pay for them anyways. I remember the day when incoming were free and you only paid if you sent them. I REALLY DISLIKE text msg's but I suppose I better get used to them because I'm sure she'll send a few.....lol......

Thanks again for the comments! It's good to get 3rd party non-interested info from complete strangers to help with SOME decisions, and that may sound smart ass like but it's not and I do think it is very true!

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by crazieinca

yea..wats up with that...i got my first phone in highschool lol
now i understand that everyone should be in touch with their kids but as a third grader..who could she be calling except for mom and dad? dont even bother with txt messeges..no offense

I bought a phone for my 3rd grader, with one huge clarification. Her phone has "Smart Limits" on it. The service allows us to limit her talk times (4pm-9pm), talk minutes per day/week/month, messaging, phone numbers she can call, and phone numbers that can call her.

The phone was given to her to call myself, my wife, her grandparents, our neighbors and most importantly 911.

As she gets older the limits and restrictions will be relaxed.

For those on VZW you should look into the chaperone service which allows for GPS locating of the phone via phone UI or web.

[jseah]

Originally Posted by Magnum

Text Msg's = They suck, AT&T says you really shouldn't put a block on incoming but yet they want to charge you for incoming. I can't stop people from sending them, but I have to pay for them anyways. I remember the day when incoming were free and you only paid if you sent them. I REALLY DISLIKE text msg's but I suppose I better get used to them because I'm sure she'll send a few.....lol......

Magnum, you may want to read this article

$10,000 Bill... For Text Messages : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

and then sit down with your daughter and discuss texting with her. Kids will see the TV commercial to "text xxxx to whatever number" for ringtones, jokes, enter contests to win prizes, etc. and they don't notice the really fine print on the screen that it is a premium text and they will be charged in addition to the text message charge, not to mention the monthly subscription they sign you up for. My son did that with his sister's phone and luckily I noticed it right away on the bill, and although it took a bit of searching online and detective work to track down the company, I was able to cancel the subscription.

Unfortunately, none of the cell providers will block just premium texts. They give you the option of block all texts, or none.

[crazieinca]

Originally Posted by shaun27612

I bought a phone for my 3rd grader, with one huge clarification. Her phone has "Smart Limits" on it. The service allows us to limit her talk times (4pm-9pm), talk minutes per day/week/month, messaging, phone numbers she can call, and phone numbers that can call her.

The phone was given to her to call myself, my wife, her grandparents, our neighbors and most importantly 911.

As she gets older the limits and restrictions will be relaxed.

For those on VZW you should look into the chaperone service which allows for GPS locating of the phone via phone UI or web.

hmm that is a very good plan
remember that phone that had 4 buttons and an emergency for 911..
thats a very good phone lol

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by crazieinca

hmm that is a very good plan
remember that phone that had 4 buttons and an emergency for 911..
thats a very good phone lol

I believe you are referring to the Firefly Phone. They used to be sold by AT&T and since, went out on their own, and from what AT&T has said, things aren't going too well for them, and they may return to the "fold" soon.

I also know Disney attempted a child targeted phone service, and they will be stopping service at the end of this year.

The major thing for my daughter was having a phone that looked like a "cool" phone and not a Fisher-Price phone.

[jseah]

Originally Posted by shaun27612

I believe you are referring to the Firefly Phone. They used to be sold by AT&T and since, went out on their own, and from what AT&T has said, things aren't going too well for them, and they may return to the "fold" soon.

Or if he was referring to Verizon, there was the Migo....the phone with two "ears" that looked like Pikachu.

[Magnum]

Shaun = thanks, I read the link, that's amazing!

Ahhh, the firefly, we've looked at that and given today's society, peer pressure and what I think a phone should ave for bare minimum requirements it doesn't fit the bill. I'm in the same boat about a phone, one that looks decent and fits the bill.

I have worked with my daughter to understand the value of a buck and that things cost money, be-it a 1 time shot or revolving monthly. She has sat down with me while I pay the mortgage, car payments, electric bill, phone bill, high speed internet bill and so on. I'd say she doesn't 100% understand it, but she does grasp that things cost $$ and that a cell phone is not an exception to that rule.

There will most definitely be a conversation about talking, texting and other responsibilities with the phone. This is really for a safety net and I don't feel that for the first screw up it gets ripped from her, maybe the second so long as it isn't $10g's, we use her laptop for that , but there needs to be a common understanding, mutual respect if you will, and we'll all live happily ever after.

On a side note, AT&T really is behind the curve [not just on WiFi for the bb's either ] on "features" for phones, but with that said I also think they are very greedy when it comes to revenue! Unfortunately for us, we've tried other providers and none compare for signal strength, dead spots and places we travel.

Again, thanks for all the replies, I will study up, have a stern talking and hope all goes well. I would hate to see the start of her college fund go bankrupt over some premium text message sites!