Phone recommendation help, please

[ninjames]

I guess you guys might get a lot of these, but I have some very specific needs and am very, very hesitant about spending money without some input. To start, I currently use Cricket and have the Huawei Ascend II. It's got a 600 mhz processor and it's ridiculously slow. The data speeds of Cricket's 3G network are also pretty darn slow. I hate the fact that Hanging With Friends, of all things, closes several times because it's so slow.

So I've decided I'm going to go prepaid with someone who was better - so I was thinking T-Mobile prepaid. I'd go with the $60 a month plan for unlimited minutes, text and 5GB of 4G data.

Problem is, I REALLY don't have $600 bucks for something like the Galaxy Nexus. I'm closer to the $200-$300 range.

Some quick looking around and I found the Samsung Exhibit II. I've decided that the things I NEED are the ability to use 4G (or HSPA+ I guess) on T-Mobile's prepaid network AND be able to play most basic Android games. Hanging with Friends, Angry Birds, etc.

So is the 1ghz processor in the Exhibit II able to handle that stuff without, you know, just screwing up constantly? Keep in mind it ALMOST runs stuff fine on my 600 mhz phone. Sorry for the long-winded topic but I'm pretty anal about this stuff. If this phone isn't suitable, is there anything else you folks would recommend? I'm going to eventually get an even better phone, but I need something else here and now before my next Cricket bill.

 

[Kicksilver]

Galaxy S2

 

[danaj]

I switched from Cricket to Tmobile, and I wish I didn't. I am going back to Cricket as soon as my contract is up. I had better coverage with Cricket. I would stay with Cricket and get the Huawei Mercury...it has pretty awesome specs, and it is in your price range. I did notice that tmobile's data was a little faster, but that is only when it is in a 4g area. if not it is soooooo slow. I live in the middle of Tucson, and most of the time it is pretty slow, so stay with Cricket.

 

[danaj]

also, Cricket is launching their 4g lte this year, they are testing it in Tucson right now.

 

[ninjames]

I'm not really looking for carrier advice, honestly. Cricket's data speeds get less than 1mbps. I end up with like 100kbps tops. I know that T-Mobile has good service in this area.

The Galaxy S II is out of my price range, like I said.

 

[chanchan05]

The Exhibit is something like the Galaxy S right? Yes a 1GHz phone is enough for most purposes apart from playing higher end games. I have a single core 1GHz device and honestly find no reason for upgrading.

 

[danaj]

You could try buying a phone off of Craigslist. That way you can get a better phone in your price range.