switch from Virgin Mobile?

[nixie21]

I am currently with virgin mobile on the $25 a month plan. Need a new phone so plan will jump to 35 a month. The Tmobile $30 a month plan seems appealing to me at this point. What phone would you recommend? I have a tight budget and was waiting for cyber Monday to see if VM had deals on the Evo v, what phone is as good or better at the 200-250 price range on tmobile?

THanks

 

[mogelijk]

I think you might need to see what sales T-Mobile might have, or other Black Friday sales. If it weren't $300 (Walmart has it for $330 but that includes a $30 T-Mobile prepaid card), I'd say the Galaxy S2 -- though again, it might go on sale over the Christmas season.

I'd also keep an eye on the Galaxy Nexus. The new version of the phone, rumored to be the LG Optimus Nexus, should be announced next week -- meaning that the price of the Galaxy Nexus might drop.

I switched from VM to T-Mobile this summer, buying the Galaxy Nexus, and have been extremely happy with both the phone and the speeds I get from T-Mobile. It is even better that I get Android updates shortly after Google announces/releases them.

 

[nixie21]

how does the nexus compare to the s2?

Thanks!

 

[namartlu]

how does the nexus compare to the s2?

Thanks!

Just looked at the spec comparison, looks like s2 is better in a lot of aspects. Also, Walmart is running a special on S2, prepaid, at around $350.

Then again, as the previous post says, the next Nexus is just... 2 days away. I would wait till then to make a decision. Likely will get the new Nexus, if it has at least 16GB...

 

[ajbuck68]

I am currently with virgin mobile on the $25 a month plan. Need a new phone so plan will jump to 35 a month. The Tmobile $30 a month plan seems appealing to me at this point. What phone would you recommend? I have a tight budget and was waiting for cyber Monday to see if VM had deals on the Evo v, what phone is as good or better at the 200-250 price range on tmobile?

THanks

I'd say way till the the LG nexus device comes out + cyber monday and I would guess that the galaxy nexus would be sub-$300 from the play store. And I also came from virgin mobile. The network reliability and internet speed is a huge difference. T-mo's 2g Edge is comparable to virgin's "3g" and the 4g is faster than my home internet.

 

[Petrah]

how does the nexus compare to the s2?

Thanks!

With the G-Nex you get:

• No carrier bloatware.
• Android OS updates pushed from Google as soon as it's released.
• Ability to take the G-Nex to another GSM mobile carrier should you be unhappy with T-Mobile.

As soon as you get the phone, take it out of the box and hook it up to WiFi, Google will push Android 4.1.2 to the phone. You'll have the latest Android OS before you even hook it up to T-Mobile.

IMHO these points alone make the G-Nex the smarter buy.

I'm also coming from Virgin Mobile USA.

 

[SuperAfnan]

With the G-Nex you get:

• No carrier bloatware.
• Android OS updates pushed from Google as soon as it's released.
• Ability to take the G-Nex to another GSM mobile carrier should you be unhappy with T-Mobile.

As soon as you get the phone, take it out of the box and hook it up to WiFi, Google will push Android 4.1.2 to the phone. You'll have the latest Android OS before you even hook it up to T-Mobile.

IMHO these points alone make the G-Nex the smarter buy.

I'm also coming from Virgin Mobile USA.

I wonder how many developers are working on this phone? hopefully the price will drop since I hear a new nexus is coming out soon.

 

[Petrah]

I wonder how many developers are working on this phone? hopefully the price will drop since I hear a new nexus is coming out soon.

More than you can shake a stick at. The developer support is outstanding! It would take you several weeks to try out all of the roms for the G-Nex.

 

[nixie21]

why would you want to put a different rom on the gnex? just curious. thanks for the replies. hope the gnex price drops!!

 

[Rxpert83]

why would you want to put a different rom on the gnex? just curious. thanks for the replies. hope the gnex price drops!!

Most of them build new customization options into the ROM

 

[nixie21]

do you need to root the phone or is it already to start playing with?

thanks!

 

[aurora40]

It is not pre-rooted, and rooting is not recommended if you use Google Wallet. It is easy to unlock the phone, but it will void Samsung's warranty. Different strokes, I guess, but I've seen no reason to root or ROM the GNex (though I did with my Triumph a lot).

The GNex also has a higher resolution screen than the SII, but the SII has a nicer camera and HSPA+42 (vs 21 on the GNex). The T-Mobile SII is nicer than other SII's (has a faster processor and NFC), so the differences to the GNex are smaller. I personally think the GNex is the better buy, but can see how a reasonable person might disagree.

Like Petrah said, it's also a better buy if you value the latest OS. The SII is still on ICS, while the GNex will likely be getting 4.2 in the next few weeks.

 

[zachavm]

why would you want to put a different rom on the gnex? just curious. thanks for the replies. hope the gnex price drops!!

The additional features are the big thing. Without custom roms, I would hate the navbar (on screen buttons). However, with them they open up a whole new world. I run AOKP (like most) and being able to customize the navbar is HUGE!!!! The only thing I don't like is that I can't get rid of the stupid overflow button in apps (three vertical dots).

 

[Petrah]

why would you want to put a different rom on the gnex? just curious. thanks for the replies. hope the gnex price drops!!

This should answer your question.

Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean ROM Feature Comparison Spreadsheet