Hawthorne Press Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 62, No. 8 - February 20, 2020
Hawthorne Elementary School Begins
New Youth Mentoring Program
Engage The Vision showed up and set the vibes of love for the new school program kick off at Zela Davis Elementary School in Hawthorne, CA. The new program seeks to encourage and empower our youth through mentoring. Photo Zela Davis Elementary School.
Smartphone Upgrades Don’t Have To Cost A Fortune
(BPT) - With the latest flagship smartphones
like the iPhone 11 and Samsung Galaxy S10
carrying price tags near $1,000, upgrading
to a premium phone may seem out of reach
to someone on a limited budget.
But it doesn’t have to be. The pace of
smartphone innovation has slowed from the
breakneck speed of a few years back. In fact,
the most recent tweaks to brand-new models
have tended to be more about refining existing
features than rolling out indispensable new
technology.
What that means is that slightly older
models - the flagships of two or even three
years ago - can offer a great deal for users
looking for an upgrade that won’t break
the bank.
Older Versions Priced to Sell
Think of buying a smartphone the way you
would buying a car. Dealers always put the
latest models, with the biggest price tag, out
front. But look around the lot and you’ll find
plenty of perfectly good choices from recent
model years that have gone unsold - and that
the dealer needs to move.
Smartphone manufacturers are no different
than auto makers. Once they’ve released
their latest flagship devices, usually in the
fall, prices on previous flagships are slashed
- some by hundreds of dollars - to clear out
the backlog of inventory. These phones are
in perfect condition, have near state-of-theart
features, and manufacturers still support
them with critical operating system upgrades.
They’re just not “the newest model” anymore.
Great Features, Great Prices
Here are some recent examples. When Apple
released the iPhone 11 series last September,
the price of its 2017 flagship iPhone 8 fell to
less than $500 - and the iPhone 7 from just
one year earlier dropped to nearly half that.
Both models still offer terrific performance,
top-notch cameras, and all the perks of Apple’s
iOS ecosystem. Apple even supports these
older models with as many as five or six
operating system updates, meaning they will
still be running with the latest performance and
security upgrades for upwards of four years.
For Android users, the support window is
slightly less, but there are still great deals
to be found. Samsung officially supports its
releases for three years with monthly security
updates, then a single year of quarterly
updates. Currently, 2018’s Samsung Galaxy
S9, with features like an infinity-edge display,
12 MP camera, and wireless charging can
be had for just over $500 - several hundred
dollars less than its marketplace successor,
the Galaxy S10.
More Ways to Save
Those good deals can get even better
depending on the cellular provider you choose.
After all, if you’re going to be upgrading your
phone, why not shop for the best wireless
bargain at the same time?
For example, Consumer Cellular earns
consistently great reviews for its low prices
and customer service. In addition, it offers a
unique way to make phone upgrades even more
affordable, with a program called EasyPay
financing. On select devices, customers can
make a small down payment - often as little
as $10 - then pay the remaining balance
in installments added to their wireless bill.
These monthly payments are as low as $5,
with 0% interest.
The bottom line is, you don’t have to spend
a fortune to enjoy a premium smartphone. If
you’re willing to sacrifice just a few bells and
whistles, you can save hundreds of dollars
and still experience very nearly the best
that the brilliant minds at Apple, Samsung,
Google, and other modern manufacturers
have to offer. •
Finance