Samsung Galaxy S2 Coming to VM in November 2012!

[MT Rotor]

I don't actually have an Android device at the moment. I own a Sanyo Incognito on Boost (predecessor to the Innuendo) that is "technically" a 3G phone, but I have it on the Pay-as-you-go plan so I don't use any of the internet or messaging features it is capable of.

I'm looking to get a phone that will be able to have some of the features I don't have right now. The reason I really want a good camera is because I've tried to take pictures with my Incognito and the quality is really bad. I will most likely be keeping this phone for a while, so I don't want to buy a cheap phone and regret it.

How much you trynna spend? I'm on $35 monthly and barely use minutes, plus I have the evo v 4g with trident kraken case.. Indestructible so far.

 

[pickleheadguy]

Trying to keep it ~$300 for just the phone. I plan on buying from Best Buy so I can get a warranty for it. I know that will cause the total cost to be higher, but it's great to have local support for electronics so I don't have to wait a week or two to get something fixed. I guess I'll just wait and see. Thanks.

 

[Petrah]

Trying to keep it ~$300 for just the phone. I plan on buying from Best Buy so I can get a warranty for it. I know that will cause the total cost to be higher, but it's great to have local support for electronics so I don't have to wait a week or two to get something fixed. I guess I'll just wait and see. Thanks.

If you're going to spend that much, your best bet is to go just a tad more and get the GSM Galaxy Nexus from the Play store.

Benefits:

No bloatware.
Ability to get Android OS updates directly from Google as they are released (no more waiting for upgrades!)
The option to keep your phone and move to another GSM mobile carrier if you aren't happy with the carrier you have (you can't do this with carrier locked phones).

That's what I did when I left VM and moved to T-Mobile, and now I pay 5 bucks a month less on a much faster network with a reliable connection.

Since you are willing to pay that much for a phone, may as well get all the bells and whistles with it.

 

[MT Rotor]

 

[sounreal]

If you're going to spend that much, your best bet is to go just a tad more and get the GSM Galaxy Nexus from the Play store.

Benefits:

No bloatware.
Ability to get Android OS updates directly from Google as they are released (no more waiting for upgrades!)
The option to keep your phone and move to another GSM mobile carrier if you aren't happy with the carrier you have (you can't do this with carrier locked phones).

That's what I did when I left VM and moved to T-Mobile, and now I pay 5 bucks a month less on a much faster network with a reliable connection.

Since you are willing to pay that much for a phone, may as well get all the bells and whistles with it.

HEY what in the h e l l do you think you are doing making perfectly good sense to people? I'm currently on a Atrix HD....

 

[pickleheadguy]

If you're going to spend that much, your best bet is to go just a tad more and get the GSM Galaxy Nexus from the Play store.

Benefits:

No bloatware.
Ability to get Android OS updates directly from Google as they are released (no more waiting for upgrades!)
The option to keep your phone and move to another GSM mobile carrier if you aren't happy with the carrier you have (you can't do this with carrier locked phones).

That's what I did when I left VM and moved to T-Mobile, and now I pay 5 bucks a month less on a much faster network with a reliable connection.

Since you are willing to pay that much for a phone, may as well get all the bells and whistles with it.

I was looking at the $35 a month plan. It doesn't seem like T-Mobile has a similar plan for a lesser price.

Also, I just checked out the T-Mobile's coverage map and they have little to no coverage at the place I stay at on the weekends. Sprint and Verizon seem to have the best coverage there, and Virgin has the best plans I can find for a smartphone.

 

[mogelijk]

I was looking at the $35 a month plan. It doesn't seem like T-Mobile has a similar plan for a lesser price.

Also, I just checked out the T-Mobile's coverage map and they have little to no coverage at the place I stay at on the weekends. Sprint and Verizon seem to have the best coverage there, and Virgin has the best plans I can find for a smartphone.

T-Mobile has a $30 plan, available only through Walmart or online. What people don't like is that it gives only 100 minutes (as opposed to 300 on the VM $35 plan) and extra minutes are 10 cents each. On the flip side, it does have 5 GB data before throttling.

What people like Petra and I do, to extend our 100 minutes, is use Google Voice with GrooveIP, giving us VoIP that doesn't use our minutes. Petra has hers always on, I only use GrooveIP when I'm connected to WiFi, as I spend a good part of my day near WiFi.

In the end, your best mobile provider depends on who works best in your area. In my area VM was terrible -- coverage was okay but my speeds were terrible. I'm seeing speeds 10x faster than what I got through VM and the coverage is similar, or maybe even slightly better for the areas I typically am in.

 

[Droidula]

I only use GrooveIP when I'm connected to WiFi, as I spend a good part of my day near WiFi.

Do you give two different numbers to people? One from your carrier, one from Google Voice?

 

[mogelijk]

Do you give two different numbers to people? One from your carrier, one from Google Voice?

The only number I give out is the GV number. It doesn't matter if I'm using GrooveIP or not, the Google Voice number always works.

 

[pickleheadguy]

T-Mobile has a $30 plan, available only through Walmart or online. What people don't like is that it gives only 100 minutes (as opposed to 300 on the VM $35 plan) and extra minutes are 10 cents each. On the flip side, it does have 5 GB data before throttling.

What people like Petra and I do, to extend our 100 minutes, is use Google Voice with GrooveIP, giving us VoIP that doesn't use our minutes. Petra has hers always on, I only use GrooveIP when I'm connected to WiFi, as I spend a good part of my day near WiFi.

In the end, your best mobile provider depends on who works best in your area. In my area VM was terrible -- coverage was okay but my speeds were terrible. I'm seeing speeds 10x faster than what I got through VM and the coverage is similar, or maybe even slightly better for the areas I typically am in.

Thanks for taking the time to explain for me. I really appreciate it.

I really like that I could use the wifi calling feature and the faster speeds, but as you said, the biggest thing for me is coverage. On the T-Mobile map, it shows there is no coverage in the vacation home I go to on the weekends. If only had to base my decision on monthly price and features, I would go T-Mobile all day. But not being able to call someone if I really need to is worth every extra penny.

To the OP, I appologize for thread-jacking. I'll start a new thread next time. Thanks

 

[notebooko]

The only number I give out is the GV number. It doesn't matter if I'm using GrooveIP or not, the Google Voice number always works.

So when people call you and GrooveIP isn't turned on your receive the call through your minutes? I'm not quite understanding how you did this. I also used GrooveIP for a while but stopped because when GrooveIP was disconnected people could not contact me.

 

[Petrah]

I had a hard time with GrooveIP at first simply because there's sooo many different settings. Somewhere in there is a setting to keep it on all the time. That's how I have mine set, so it's never off.

 

[Petrah]

Thanks for taking the time to explain for me. I really appreciate it.

I really like that I could use the wifi calling feature and the faster speeds, but as you said, the biggest thing for me is coverage. On the T-Mobile map, it shows there is no coverage in the vacation home I go to on the weekends. If only had to base my decision on monthly price and features, I would go T-Mobile all day. But not being able to call someone if I really need to is worth every extra penny.

To the OP, I appologize for thread-jacking. I'll start a new thread next time. Thanks

Check out Carrier Coverage at the Play store. Keep in mind though that it's updated via other users submitting their data. Run the app for a week or so and it should tell you what carrier has the strongest coverage in your area (this is how I chose T-Mobile over AT&T). It should help you decide what carrier you would like to go with, or at the very least point you in the right direction.

 

[mogelijk]

So when people call you and GrooveIP isn't turned on your receive the call through your minutes? I'm not quite understanding how you did this. I also used GrooveIP for a while but stopped because when GrooveIP was disconnected people could not contact me.

First, I'd check that your cell phone number is properly set up in Google Voice. Make sure, when you add your phone to Google Voice that you verify your phone. To verify, you will get a number on your screen and a button to have it call your phone. Press the button to have Google Voice call and, when you answer the call on your phone, type the number on the screen. It might also help if you download the Google Voice app on your phone.

I originally started using Google Voice when I had a Virgin Mobile phone and I've never had a problem (unless my battery died or phone was otherwise off) of not getting calls.

 

[Droidula]

The only number I give out is the GV number. It doesn't matter if I'm using GrooveIP or not, the Google Voice number always works.

Interesting. I will have to look up Google Voice again to get a better understanding of how it's used.

 

[pickleheadguy]

Check out Carrier Coverage at the Play store. Keep in mind though that it's updated via other users submitting their data. Run the app for a week or so and it should tell you what carrier has the strongest coverage in your area (this is how I chose T-Mobile over AT&T). It should help you decide what carrier you would like to go with, or at the very least point you in the right direction.

Do you know of any ITunes apps I could download? I have an iPad I could download it on, but since I don't own an android, I can't get that app.

 

[mogelijk]

.

 

[thebryceee]

.

+1

 

[Ranhead]

.

I beleive he posted before about shopping for an Android phone..... For now he's stuck with iCrap.

Do you know of any ITunes apps I could download? I have an iPad I could download it on, but since I don't own an android, I can't get that app.

Without decent app support, you may have to go old school and ask freinds and neighbors about thier service. That's what I did before my first Android phone.

 

[pickleheadguy]

Without decent app support, you may have to go old school and ask freinds and neighbors about thier service. That's what I did before my first Android phone.

Yeah. I get what you mean. I have a friend who uses VM and he gets just as good of coverage as I do on Boost at my place. I've talked to others in the area, and they all have moved to Sprint or Verizon. T-Mobile is not very popular around that area, so I'm under the impression that it doesn't work well. After going on the VM site and comparing their coverage map to the T-Mobile, it reaffirms what I already thought.

Virgin Mobile has the cheapest prepaid plan available under Sprint which is one of the two networks I can choose from.

I think I'll be sticking with my original plan to wait and see if VM comes out with the GSII Epic 4g Touch so I can buy it and be on the $35 plan.

Thanks,
-Pickle

 

[mogelijk]

Yeah. I get what you mean. I have a friend who uses VM and he gets just as good of coverage as I do on Boost at my place. I've talked to others in the area, and they all have moved to Sprint or Verizon. T-Mobile is not very popular around that area, so I'm under the impression that it doesn't work well. After going on the VM site and comparing their coverage map to the T-Mobile, it reaffirms what I already thought.

Virgin Mobile has the cheapest prepaid plan available under Sprint which is one of the two networks I can choose from.

I think I'll be sticking with my original plan to wait and see if VM comes out with the GSII Epic 4g Touch so I can buy it and be on the $35 plan.

Thanks,
-Pickle

Boost and Virgin Mobile are both owned by Sprint and use Sprint's network, so coverage is the same.

 

[Petrah]

Do you know of any ITunes apps I could download? I have an iPad I could download it on, but since I don't own an android, I can't get that app.

Oh heck... sorry about that. I don't know if it's supported on an Apple device.

 

[Droidula]

Do you know of any ITunes apps I could download? I have an iPad I could download it on, but since I don't own an android, I can't get that app.

Not an app, but try here:

CellReception.com

 

[Ranhead]

IMO .... having more data is always a good thing, but...

I am starting to really doubt the legitimacy of the data collection methods used by CellReception or Carrier Coverage. For my area both claim that Verizon has terrible reception, which is the complete opposite of actual real time usage. Funny thing is that even the "Tower Map" function of CellReception shows that there are no towers in my area. But when I had Verizon (for over 5 years) I always had great reception, and all my friends and neighbors with Verizon have had the same. It seems that too many people use these services to flame carriers, and not enough people use them to give good data. I am starting to think the very best way to choose a carrier is to talk to actual people who live in your area. Maybe even get your hands on their phones and try out their cell and data connection for yourself.

 

[pickleheadguy]

Boost and Virgin Mobile are both owned by Sprint and use Sprint's network, so coverage is the same.

Yeah, I know that. That's what I was trying to say when I said that Virgin was the cheapest option under Sprint.

Oh heck... sorry about that. I don't know if it's supported on an Apple device.

That's ok. If I find one I like, I'll share (am I allowed to do that on an Android forum?).

Not an app, but try here:

CellReception.com

Thanks. The site said only Verizon has towers around the area, but I know for a fact that Sprint (Boost) works at our place.