need recommendation ...

runningman3433 · Jun 29, 2012

i'm paying $45 for montly service using the evo 4g virgin mobile. 4g seems kinda bad here in DC area. sprint needs to work on building out their network.

i noticed t-mobile is offering a similar prepaid plan for $60. is it worth switching over so i can use the google galaxy nexus which will have jellybean 4.1???

thebryceee · Jun 29, 2012

That's entirely your call.

But I would

jr2673 · Jun 29, 2012

runningman3433 said:
i'm paying $45 for montly service using the evo 4g virgin mobile. 4g seems kinda bad here in DC area. sprint needs to work on building out their network.

i noticed t-mobile is offering a similar prepaid plan for $60. is it worth switching over so i can use the google galaxy nexus which will have jellybean 4.1???

its all up to you ... whats better for you ..

runningman3433 · Jun 29, 2012

thanks. i think i'm going to switch to t-mobile, they have a unlitmied data plan for $30 and 100 minutes.

notebooko · Jun 29, 2012

runningman3433 said:
i'm paying $45 for montly service using the evo 4g virgin mobile. 4g seems kinda bad here in DC area. sprint needs to work on building out their network.

i noticed t-mobile is offering a similar prepaid plan for $60. is it worth switching over so i can use the google galaxy nexus which will have jellybean 4.1???

Personally, no. 4.1 Isn't a major software overhaul like it was when people went from Gingerbread to ICS. Sprint isn't going to be building out their 4G network anymore but they are currently working on their "Network Vision" plan and they say that 3G speeds will be faster over the course of the next few months. Plus, you would also have to spend another $350 on the phone and +$15 extra onto your monthly plan. In the end it's all preference, but I think most people would just stick with VM.

runningman3433 · Jun 29, 2012

thanks!

i just watched a video of jellybean 4.1 and it seems like it's more than just an incremental upgrade. i'm going to return my evo4g for a refund and pickup the nexus from google play. Going to go with the 30 dollar month plan. Also t-mobile is builiding out their 4g network so that's enough to convince me. Also I hate sense, always preferred stock os.

notebooko · Jun 29, 2012

runningman3433 said:
thanks!

i just watched a video of jellybean 4.1 and it seems like it's more than just an incremental upgrade. i'm going to return my evo4g for a refund and pickup the nexus from google play. Going to go with the 30 dollar month plan. Also t-mobile is builiding out their 4g network so that's enough to convince me. Also I hate sense, always preferred stock os.

I'm sure you won't regret it. Good luck!

runningman3433 · Jun 29, 2012

thanks everyone for your opinions. i went ahead and ordered the nexus.

looks like jellybean is already out now!

the evo 4g was a great phone for the 12 hours that i used it. lol

schlar01 · Jun 29, 2012

Both kind of suck in my area, unfortunately. I'm considering one or the other.....US Cellular is the strongest here and they say they are launching 4G later this year here so I don't know what I'll do.

Anyway, T-Mobile also has a value plan that is $50-60 where you can bring your own phone and its NOT prepaid. I'd suggest that because you don't lose out on roaming.

JuneNYC · Jun 29, 2012

runningman3433 said:
thanks. i think i'm going to switch to t-mobile, they have a unlitmied data plan for $30 and 100 minutes.

i'm sure this isn't true. it's only available at select walmart and you have to purchase the samsung exhibit II 4g with that plan.

thebryceee · Jun 29, 2012

JuneNYC said:
i'm sure this isn't true. it's only available at select walmart and you have to purchase the samsung exhibit II 4g with that plan.

It's true. You can use your own device as long as it supports T-Mobile bands

mogelijk · Jun 29, 2012

JuneNYC said:
i'm sure this isn't true. it's only available at select walmart and you have to purchase the samsung exhibit II 4g with that plan.

I don't know the exact conditions of the plan but know that it is available from the T-Mobile website, as well as WalMart.

bsoplinger · Jun 29, 2012

runningman3433 said:
i'm paying $45 for montly service using the evo 4g virgin mobile. 4g seems kinda bad here in DC area. sprint needs to work on building out their network.

i noticed t-mobile is offering a similar prepaid plan for $60. is it worth switching over so i can use the google galaxy nexus which will have jellybean 4.1???

Do you talk so much you need the extra talk minutes over the $35 plan? It still has unlimited text and data. That could save you a few bucks.

OverByter · Jun 30, 2012

bsoplinger said:
Do you talk so much you need the extra talk minutes over the $35 plan? It still has unlimited text and data. That could save you a few bucks.

If you do need the minutes try using GrooveIP which allows you to talk over your data connection while using Google Voice. It works especially well over 4G. Save the 100 minutes for emergencies. I use it with my 300 minute plan and have no issues at all. Good luck.

cutterjohn · Jun 30, 2012

runningman3433 said:
i'm paying $45 for montly service using the evo 4g virgin mobile. 4g seems kinda bad here in DC area. sprint needs to work on building out their network.

i noticed t-mobile is offering a similar prepaid plan for $60. is it worth switching over so i can use the google galaxy nexus which will have jellybean 4.1???

Well none of the "4G" plans in the US are really 4G to begin with, but Sprint's current "4G" is the worst of the lot(wimax/clearwire) which ISN'T being built out any longer(ends few miles N of me for coverage) and will be replaced by a more "common" LTE "4G" which this phone won't support anyways.

T-Mobile: dunno, but I was thinking that next time for phone or maybe in the Fall IF Google release a newer/shinier Nexus I MIGHT just buy one and go with one of the T-Mobile value plans, probably the 500m talk + unlimited text + 2G full speed data as no wimax and 56k rate 3g is getting old, voice is pretty good but data just sucks all around for me, plus going to a GSM phone would give me more options should I decide that foreign travel is worth the egregiously errant TSA on return.

OverByter · Jul 1, 2012

Actually no carrier in the world has True 4G coverage yet, the ITU has minimum speeds that must be met and no one has successfully demonstrated their ability to meet the standards requirements yet.

cutterjohn · Jul 1, 2012

All I have to say is:
Fastest Mobile Networks | PCMag.com
I'm switching to a $50 T-Mo plan myself as soon as the new Nexus is out... Sprint just sucks...

mogelijk · Jul 1, 2012

cutterjohn said:
All I have to say is:
Fastest Mobile Networks | PCMag.com
I'm switching to a $50 T-Mo plan myself as soon as the new Nexus is out... Sprint just sucks...

Seems odd to get rid of VM because of slow speeds, only to move to a plan that throttles your data after 100MB. Is there something I'm missing here?

bsoplinger · Jul 1, 2012

mogelijk said:
Seems odd to get rid of VM because of slow speeds, only to move to a plan that throttles your data after 100MB. Is there something I'm missing here?

Even more humorous, the $30 Walmart plan with limited minutes provides the first 5 GB (no typo, that's gigabytes) before throttling.

DanielM426 · Jul 1, 2012

mogelijk said:
Seems odd to get rid of VM because of slow speeds, only to move to a plan that throttles your data after 100MB. Is there something I'm missing here?

That's only for 4g speeds though I think. My biggest problem with t-mobile prepaid is that almost every plan feels like a compromise. The best deal is the $30 plan with 100 mins. You will lose the convenience of the phone app, but there's voip to replace it. My main point is that with VM things are more comfortable.

Leslie Ann · Jul 2, 2012

You guys are glancing over some important details on those T-Mobile plans.

Yeah, you can get 5gigs before a throttle... But you only get 100 minutes. Sorry, but Google Voice isn't a replacement for normal minutes.

Yes, you can get more minutes, but you only get 2gigs of data before they heavily throttle you. You think VM is harsh on the throttle, check T-Mobile, VM look generous.

Otherwise, be prepared to pay a lot more.

OverByter · Jul 2, 2012

After your 4G data is used up T-Mo drops you down to EDGE speeds, way SLOW!

Deleted User · Jul 2, 2012

Going to give you a heads up all of my family has T mobile GS2 (Dad),blaze 4G(mom), and E2 4G(sis pre paid). Our Home internet went down to cable issues and its taking Comcast time

. Anyways they used up all there 5Gbs and 2G speeds tend to be under 0.10 mbps. As for me I used more than 10 GBs and could be 20gbs, still not being throttle

. Tmobile(21mbps average) may be fast but the faster you are the faster you will eat up your data plan. Virgin mobile I get 6mbps on poor signal but at least I have 4G.

mogelijk · Jul 2, 2012

nfs13epic said:
Going to give you a heads up all of my family has T mobile GS2 (Dad),blaze 4G(mom), and E2 4G(sis pre paid). Our Home internet went down to cable issues and its taking Comcast time . Anyways they used up all there 5Gbs and 2G speeds tend to be under 0.10 mbps. As for me I used more than 10 GBs and could be 20gbs, still not being throttle . Tmobile(21mbps average) may be fast but the faster you are the faster you will eat up your data plan. Virgin mobile I get 6mbps on poor signal but at least I have 4G.

The thing that bothers me, going by the PCMag data speed test, is that VM (granted on 3G) runs about 0.1 Mbps half the time all the time. Granted, 4G speeds are faster but 4G coverage is quite limited. The area I go shopping in, here in this major metro area that does have 4G coverage, I can't get 4G and my 3G is that 0.1 Mbps. I needed to use my Internet on Friday while I was running errands and things were ridiculously slow.

I'm strongly considering the $30 plan. I'm not a heavy phone user -- most of my Internet I do over Wi-Fi, so it doesn't cost me plan minutes. So, twice the bandwidth before throttling -- and with throttling not really being much worse than my current 3G speeds -- doesn't seem like it will have much of an effect. Also, if I get throttled and need the faster speeds, my understanding is that you can just start a new month early to get full speeds again.

I've used GrooveIP before and, again, since much of the time I am on Wi-Fi I'll set GrooveIP up for Wi-Fi only (unless I have a heavy usage month). I'll agree, GrooveIP can have issues but it integrates relatively well with the phone. So, in all, I see some real advantages in the T-Mobile plan.

Now, what does stop me is that I want my next phone to last at least 2 years. My problem is that I don't know how long T-Mobile will continue to honor the $30 rate because, I agree, the other rate plans are not appealing to me. And that is one thing I feel relatively safe with VM -- VM has never forced me to switch my plan when they change plans/rates. The worst is changing some details (such as the throttling) or requiring new plans for newer phones.

Deleted User · Jul 2, 2012

mogelijk said:
The thing that bothers me, going by the PCMag data speed test, is that VM (granted on 3G) runs about 0.1 Mbps half the time all the time. Granted, 4G speeds are faster but 4G coverage is quite limited. The area I go shopping in, here in this major metro area that does have 4G coverage, I can't get 4G and my 3G is that 0.1 Mbps. I needed to use my Internet on Friday while I was running errands and things were ridiculously slow.

I'm strongly considering the $30 plan. I'm not a heavy phone user -- most of my Internet I do over Wi-Fi, so it doesn't cost me plan minutes. So, twice the bandwidth before throttling -- and with throttling not really being much worse than my current 3G speeds -- doesn't seem like it will have much of an effect. Also, if I get throttled and need the faster speeds, my understanding is that you can just start a new month early to get full speeds again.

I've used GrooveIP before and, again, since much of the time I am on Wi-Fi I'll set GrooveIP up for Wi-Fi only (unless I have a heavy usage month). I'll agree, GrooveIP can have issues but it integrates relatively well with the phone. So, in all, I see some real advantages in the T-Mobile plan.

Now, what does stop me is that I want my next phone to last at least 2 years. My problem is that I don't know how long T-Mobile will continue to honor the $30 rate because, I agree, the other rate plans are not appealing to me. And that is one thing I feel relatively safe with VM -- VM has never forced me to switch my plan when they change plans/rates. The worst is changing some details (such as the throttling) or requiring new plans for newer phones.

In my city 3G I get 1.5 mbps and on bad areas I get 0.6 mbps. So on average I get at least 1mbps, It must be the whole network vision thing.

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