wifey and me, phones

[mthguy]

Ok, so me and my wife are on AT&T and Verizon respectively. I carry an iPhone 3G and she carries a Casio G'zone (the first one). she beats her phones up and i take fair care of mine. I have wanted to switch to Android since before I purchased my 3G but the G1 was the only option at the time, and it just wasn't as enjoyable to use as the iPhone, so i bit the bullet and got my iPhone. in general i have enjoyed my phone throughly, but it has been missing several features (widgets, Customizable UI, multi-tasking, and unsigned apps) i Jailbroke the phone just to get some of those features and it slows the phone substatially. point is i am willing to pay top dollar for a flagship device. my contract is up in January and my wife's on a family plan with her parents (cheap service). so i was curious if there are some people out there with opinions (I know there can't be many on a "fan-droid" site) who could guide me and my wife to a pair of android phones that would satisfy the both of us, preferable on the same carrier, we live in west michigan so coverage is pretty good from the big 4, just looking for some options that won't kill us on the monthly bill.

I was looking to get us possibly on sprint with an EVO for me and possibly either an i1 or EVO for her. once she saw how you can video chat she was convinced the phone was for her. with Sprint and us both toteing EVOs ( and a discount from studentrate.com) we should only be paying about 7 dollars a month more after taxes including the 4G surcharge. she currently pays for unlimited texting as an add-on to her plan with her parents and i am paying the 30 iphone data and 10 texting.

I haven't looked into verizon much, i LOVE the droid X and the droid 2, and i would be happy with an inc too, and i could probably save a few bucks and give my wife a older slightly not as nice phone, but i feel like we would be paying substially more going that route, unlimited texting x 2 , 2 data plans, and the base plan.

AT&T has the tiered data plans now, which would be nice cuz the wife wouldn't need more than the $15 one, and i haven't gone over 1GB yet, and the $25 is for 2GB, so that would be a $5 savings there, but texting again adds up.

T-moblie has some interesting phones (if i could get a nexus one that would be cool) a pair of vibrants for either 0.01 on amazon or BOGO through tmo, either way the phone would be cheaper, not sure how the plans compare though.

anyway, any and all thoughts are appreciated. I know i wouldn't be buying until January and there will be new phones out by then and new ones on the horizon. but really this comes down to which carrier is going to be the one for us to look at when the time comes. also, any romuored devices to keep an eye out for? I would prefer to have a TI chipset, or one from Sammy ( those Qualcomm chips tend to under perform and eat batteries) do any manufacturers us those chips besides motorola and samsung? I haven't heard. alright hope to hear from some people soon.

thank you.
MthGuy

 

[jen8112]

Switch to Sprint and get an EVO for yourself and an Epic for the wife! My husband has the i1 and while I like it because it's an Android and it's small, it only has 1.5 and is useless on the web and Market unless you on Wi-Fi because it's a Nextel. Good luck!

 

[catpowrd]

We have one i1 on our account along with other nextel phones and a samsung moment. The i1 is the nicest nextel phone they have but nextel is very slow for data and does not roam to other networks if you travel. The EVO or Epic are nice if you are in the 4g network, if you are not in a 4g area then you are paying $10 per month for not much of anything except a top of line phone. We have had good luck with the samsung moment for $99. Unlimited family plan is $129 per month

 

[jen8112]

I had the Moment and hated it...just sayin.

 

[catpowrd]

What did you hate about the moment? Mine seems to work good with only minor problems like airplane mode or data lockup about once a week.

 

[jen8112]

I don't call those minor problems. Am I the only one the expects their phone to work without problems? My major issue was the hanging up/muting people issue. My friend also has one and his didn't get fixed with the 2.1 update like it was supposed to.

 

[Rigmaster]

Seems like you should try the 1500 or 3000 Everything Data Family plan, which is the best way to get more than enough mins and unlimited data. As for phones, you'd probably like the Evo, and you wife probably would too.

I'd recommend you take a shot, but do yourself a favor and have them fully protected by a protective film and a case. I use the Seidio Innocase II combo with the Seidio screen shield, and it works for anyone but the heaviest abusers. If you need something completely durable, Otterbox Defender probably would work, but I think it's pretty ugly and adds too much bulk to the phone.

As for the videochat, my wife and I thought we'd love this feature. Turns out, we're not interested until it gets as easy as placing a call. Right now, it's a multi-step process that doesn't work consistently enough so we're ok with waiting until a provider-app combination gets it right.

Like others have said, I'd not recommend Nextel because it does not have great coverage and roaming. I don't ever see the need for PTT since texting and calling are as instantaneous. Frankly, they're less interruptive too. I hated that about Nextel PTT - people always just jumped into conversation at their convenience without ever considering mine. It does not go over well when you're supposed to be giving dedicated time to a family member, friend, or business associate only to have someone else just barge in without warning.

 

[mthguy]

any wind of newer handsets for sprint? the evo shift 4g just got official announced, so that's cool. but what about another top end handset for sprint? still looking for the wife and I.

 

[BenChase7]

any wind of newer handsets for sprint? the evo shift 4g just got official announced, so that's cool. but what about another top end handset for sprint? still looking for the wife and I.

I got my EVO June and my girlfriend switched over with me from Verizon (we both got EVO's). The phones are awesome and Sprint has the best plans and a solid network... the prices cannot be beat if you really look at everything you're getting with Sprint. Everyone else is going to nickel and dime you. We couldn't be happier. It was hard to get her to switch, but now she says she doesn't know why she didn't do it sooner. Couldn't be happier here with Sprint.
On top of that, you've got 30 days to decide, if you dont like it.. take it back and you're free.

The EVO, Epic and EVO Shift are the top dogs right now with Sprint. Probably see some more this summer though. Keep in mind, you'll also get to upgraded every year!

 

[rambo47]

I came over to Sprint from AT&T for all the wrong reasons, but it turned out to be the right move. I've had all the Tier 1 carriers and Sprint is by far the best. I left AT&T and BlackBerrys to go to Sprint and the Palm Pre. Dumped the Pre the second my rebate came in, but kept Sprint.

 

[gmcdaniel]

I was looking to get us possibly on sprint with an EVO for me and possibly either an i1 or EVO for her. once she saw how you can video chat she was convinced the phone was for her.

As far as I know, the Evo and Epic are the only phones with front facing cameras. Which means they are the only ones that can video chat. If I'm wrong then I'm sure someone will correct me.

My wife and I have the Epic and the Evo respectively and we love them. She just jumped from Blackberry to Android and was very hesitant at first, but now she says that it was the best thing she's done in a while.

 

[Rigmaster]

Skip the i1 - it's not a great phone so much as a throw in for Nextelers who felt abandoned (rightfully so).

As to phones, I'd actually advise Evo if you have strong 3G and plan to consume a lot of data. If you have 4G, even better. Vid-chat is a a double-edge sword. I've avoided it because I don't want people trying to vid-chat with me just because they can. I also think the cross-carrier, cross-platform capabilities are still lagging just a bit. I'll probably consider it more when it's seamless. I wouldn't mind a 1-minute video call, but I do mind that it's not as easy and just dialing a regular call right now.

If you wife wants a keyboard, the Evo Shift's now an option but not much else worthwhile is coming any time soon.

 

[RocknRolls]

Mthguy, Do you know if the deal you mentioned is still available?

 

[rambo47]

Consider employer discounts when you research your carrier-to-be. I get a great monthly discount from Sprint (Citigroup) and it makes Sprint the best option for me as far as price.

Of course price means nothing without coverage. Don't just check a coverage map as those things are hit-or-miss for accuracy. Talk to some people locally that have Sprint.

 

[BenChase7]

Consider employer discounts when you research your carrier-to-be. I get a great monthly discount from Sprint (Citigroup) and it makes Sprint the best option for me as far as price.

Of course price means nothing without coverage. Don't just check a coverage map as those things are hit-or-miss for accuracy. Talk to some people locally that have Sprint.

I agree. If you dont mind me asking, do you work for Citi, or have a checking/credit account with them to get your discount? The reason I am asking is I just opened a Citibank credit account and wondering if it would qualify me for the discount. Thanks!

 

[rambo47]

I consult for Citi. You need a Citigroup email address to verify your status with them in order to get the discount. It's the full 27%, a very nice perk from Sprint!

 

[BenChase7]

I consult for Citi. You need a Citigroup email address to verify your status with them in order to get the discount. It's the full 27%, a very nice perk from Sprint!

Yea, hell of a perk. I get 25% off for workin at Home Depot.. was seein if I could get an extra 3%. haha. what can I cay, I'm a bargain hunter, thats why I like Sprint.

 

[rambo47]

Hey, I hear ya. If they're offering, I'm taking. I'd be foolish not to take it!