<div dir="ltr">Swappa ( <a href="http://swappa.com">http://swappa.com</a> ) is your friend. I've had good results buying several phones from them, including my current Daily Driver ( HTC One M8 running CM 11).<div><br></div><div>When you get your new phone, install a 3rd party build on it. Here's one good reason ( <a href="https://slashdot.org/story/16/08/17/1640259/verizon-offered-to-install-marketers-apps-directly-on-subscribers-phones">https://slashdot.org/story/16/08/17/1640259/verizon-offered-to-install-marketers-apps-directly-on-subscribers-phones</a> ) Here's another ( <a href="http://mashable.com/2011/12/01/carrier-iq/#SmGKWjVxjqqK">http://mashable.com/2011/12/01/carrier-iq/#SmGKWjVxjqqK</a> ). I favor CyanogenMod (<a href="http://cyanogenmod.org">http://cyanogenmod.org</a>), but YMMV. I usually start by finding what phones are compatible with my chosen brand of AOSP ("Android Open Source Project") OS and working backward from there. </div><div><br></div><div>Verizon is notably unfriendly to letting you control your phone, but I have managed to root and install my own OS on a Verizon phone in the past. Alas, Verizon's network is all CDMA, which means that your phone won't work overseas in most places. GSM networks (open protocol, used in most places) require a SIM card, which you can easily buy and replace to change your network in a foreign country. Some few phones are bi-modal, but most are one or the other. T-Mobile runs a GSM network in the USA, but their coverage is notably poorer than Verizon's. T-Mobile is also at least marginally more friendly to people who wish to actually own their own phone. Ain't no such thing as a perfectly straight high. AFAIK, both carriers will work with your phone -- ask to see "BYOD" (Bring Your Own Device) plans.</div><div><br></div><div>Be aware that the radio software in your phone is a nightmare of untouchable proprietary code and unknowable security holes. OTOH, Apple devices are *entirely* that nightmare.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Real Writers Use Emacs and TeX.<br></div><div><br></div><div>-- CHS</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 10:17 AM, Leam Hall <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:leamhall@gmail.com" target="_blank">leamhall@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">My current Galaxy S3 from Verizon hasn't been OS patched in a while and has been dropped more than once. A replacement might be good. Looking at the Verizon pages and doing the math, an unlocked S4 or S5 might be a good deal. I try to keep stuff until it dies and may do some overseas travel.<br>
<br>
Is the plan to buy my own and use it with Verizon feasible? What other things should I look at? The goal is an Android based phone with a pretty simple usage pattern; text, calls, web, and one 3rd party app.<br>
<br>
On a different note, my wife wants me to move to Mac and iPhone. I'm a fledgling writer and most of the tools real writers use don't work on CentOS. :( So, is there a reason for Android, in that I'm not at the level of writing my own apps for it?<br>
<br>
Thanks!<br>
<br>
Leam<br>
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