Updating smartphones, computers, home network

[KiltedFool]

Let's see if I can make this short.
 
Wife and I each have iPhone 4s, we also have an iPad linked on her account.  3 PCs in the house (Asus laptop, scratchbuilt,Dell) all at least 3-5 years old.  My router is 3-4 years old, it's a Netgear, can't recall which protocol, it was the newest when we got it but it's been a while.  Router and desktops are in an office upstairs at one end of house.
 
We're on Verizon, just got an email recently we're eligible for smartphone upgrades for like $30 if we re-up.  Thing is my wife changed our data plan 2 months ago and re-upped anyway, so that's not an issue to do again.
 
My phone is getting annoying, itunes asks to wipe it every time I hook to an itunes equipped pc.  Battery life has gone to hell and my otter box is shredded, but don't want to buy a new one until I decide on any upgrades.
 
We have two grade school kids who need to do schoolwork on the computer, my daughter has a lot of reports and such on google docs.  They fight over using the iPad but mainly as a toy
 
So I'm asking for some input on a good phased update path with some KISS principle.  Phones, computers, networking (router, printer, shared storage).
 
I used to read anandtech and build my own computers and be a gamer.  I haven't been that guy for years now.
 
Do I stay in iPhones, update to the iPhone 5, look at getting some sort of macbook or whatever the hell they are these days?
 
Do I make a split to Android phones?  I have very little interest in the latest and greatest phones, I text, websurf, take a few pics, make calls, and listen to podcasts on my commute.  Nothing earthshaking.
 
I would like to get to a space where we had good wireless in the house throughout and had multiple small light portable computers so the kids could do homework at the dining table or wherever, and print from anywhere in the house.  I don't know the different distinctions between tablets and notebooks and laptops anymore.
 
And might I actually get a deal on Black Friday?
 

 

[AlNipper49]

How much money can you / do you want to spend?

 

[KiltedFool]

Dunno really. Couple hundred at the moment, over phases could be a couple grand. Biggest thing is right now I don't have a plan or map for what we want the eventual shape to look like. When I was gaming being stuck up in the office isolated is fine. Now I'm not gaming and my kids need to be active online. So net monitoring or having the computers mostly used in common areas of the house. Oh and better wireless connection in basement since my hobby workbench is down there and the router is 2nd floor.

Have Comcast and a wii and a ps3 with minimal interconnection and mainly for the kids. We don't watch a ton of the ourselves other than some DVR just before bed.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

II have very little interest in the latest and greatest phones, I text, websurf, take a few pics, make calls, and listen to podcasts on my commute.  Nothing earthshaking.
 

 
Not to be a radical or anything, but if this is all you do, have you thought about switching to Windows Phone?  They come at all different price points but the experience generally works.  Plus you can share computers/tablets pretty easily on the windows platform.

 

[Max Power]

If you go in that direction, a couple of original Surface RT models for the kids would work.  They're cheap ($200 on refurb/Black Friday deals), have a keyboard attachment, can participate in a home network with wireless printers, and include Office and a good browser with Flash support.  RT has advantages and disadvantages.  It can't run any old Windows software, so they can't install any games or any specific software tools, but that also means they can't get any malware or browser toolbars.  It still supports all the parental controls built into Windows 8.1, too.
 
If you'd rather get something that runs full Windows, you can get an Asus Transformerbook T100 from the Microsoft Store for $300.  The keyboard on that may be a little cramped for an adult, but just fine for kid hands.
 
You could spend the bulk of the cash on a main PC for your own use.  There are way more choices there.

 

[KiltedFool]

Wife got bored and ventured out on Friday and ended up getting the Toshiba laptop bundle for $349 from Best Buy.  Not super light, but she wanted a 15" or larger screen.
 
Have no real opinion on smartphone choices other than sticking with Verizon for 2 years.  Have no real clue on whose is best etc etc.  I know I'll be updating charge/connection cords no matter what, since the iPhone4s and iPhone5 plugs are different. 
 
I guess what it comes down to is I have no real cohesive plan and haven't for years.  We have wireless but our network isn't well set up or configured.  We're currently a split house, with PCs and iPhone/ios phones and tablets.  Should I stay split, try to go all mac for better stupidly simple interconnecting of components, or try other phones, stay on PCs and flip a coin on what we use for tablets?
 
I used to be able to research these things, but then I didn't have children, and I mainly drooled over cutting edge PC components to use for gaming online.  Now I have small kids and am looking far more modular.

 

[derekson]

Unless you absolutely feel like you want a larger screen on your phone, I don't think you'd be better served switching from the iPhone. There's really no issue with mixing iOS devices and Windows PCs in a household, especially now that you really don't even need to sync iOS devices to a computer. Personally if I were you I'd probably just get a new iPad or two with bluetooth keyboards for the kids to type up reports and such rather than worrying about a PC or a mac for them.
 
If you're up for wiring some cat 6 ethernet cable across your house then you can just set up a second wireless router somewhere toward the other end to get better wireless coverage. If not you could get a power line networking kit to do the same. There are ways to extend wifi networks purely over the air but you lose a lot of bandwidth by doing that.

 

[KiltedFool]

Yeah I think in the end it's not going to be massive changes. My wife likes the easy interconnection between iPhone and iPad, and her Christmas present from her job was an iPad air, so trolling around for a good deal on updating to newer iPhones, then look into a wireless type printer and a supplement or replacement for the router.

Same general shape as what we have now, just update things.