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jeeves posted:Also 99% of people buy their phones on contract since they can't do math and think a 200$ Iphone at 95$ a month for 2 years is cheaper than a ~300-450$ phone at 50$ a month. Well, the other kicker is if you have to have an iPhone; unless I'm blind, current-gen iPhones are blindingly expensive off-contract (versus the Galaxy Nexus at $350). Even if the total cost of ownership is lower prepaid, $550-$650 is a bitter pill to swallow for a lot of people. It's part of why I suspect my wife's line will probably stay on Sprint contracts, even while I take mine to TMo or Straight Talk.
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Jul 17, 2012 23:36
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IOwnCalculus posted:Well, the other kicker is if you have to have an iPhone; unless I'm blind, current-gen iPhones are blindingly expensive off-contract (versus the Galaxy Nexus at $350). Even if the total cost of ownership is lower prepaid, $550-$650 is a bitter pill to swallow for a lot of people. You can always buy used for a cheaper price but they are still around $250 to $400 depending on the model/overall condition. And new off contract 4S is insanely expensive while the Galaxy Nexus is a much more reasonable buy from a value view at $350 given it has quite a few advantages such as a much nicer screen.
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Jul 17, 2012 23:51
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etalian posted:And it's even more annoying when you get constant price structure changes and charging extra for new "features" to the point that you can waste $145 a month for a single cell phone plan. From pay by the minute plants to the $30 T-mobile offering to straight talk's unlimited, prepaid is cheaper.
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Jul 17, 2012 23:55
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Just to confirm... If I buy a Galaxy Nexus from the Playstore and want Straight Talk AT&T, I'll be receiving HPSA+ speeds? My contract on Sprint is ending and I just can't take any more of these terrible 3G speeds that they have. Also, I'm not sure if I'm just tired or if I don't understand this coverage picture. Why is there such a huge difference between Android and Non-android? http://www.straighttalk.com/Coverage Hughmoris fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Jul 18, 2012 |
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Jul 18, 2012 00:19
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Hughmoris posted:Just to confirm... If I buy a Galaxy Nexus from the Playstore and want Straight Talk AT&T, I'll be receiving HPSA+ speeds? My contract on Sprint is ending and I just can't take any more of these terrible 3G speeds that they have. quote:Also, I'm not sure if I'm just tired or if I don't understand this coverage picture. Why is there such a huge difference between Android and Non-android? Ignore their stupid useless tiny coverage map and use the maps in the OP.
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Jul 18, 2012 00:32
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Rastor posted:This was just asked on the last page, again, confirmed. Sounds good, thanks.
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Jul 18, 2012 00:35
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Slopehead posted:I think it would be best to agree to disagree on this one though I'd love to have a link to an actual ICS rom for that phone that isn't on par with every other XDA level "daily driver", ergo a bunch of stuff completely broken. I just spent 10 minutes over coffee trying to locate one and I can't seem to find anything that it's just horribly hosed. Nothing mission critical is broken on this ROM but it's got some graphical/stability issues (was solid when I tried it but XDA posts say otherwise). It's probably the one to follow for now: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1593398 Off-contract pricing for a Tmo Note, well, right now Tmobile stores will retail a Galaxy S III for $599. So I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the Note will also be $599 minimum when it hits. It's looking like there might be a much cheaper albeit more technical route to Note ownership... you can flash the Tmo S2 radio to the AT&T i717 Note, and unlock the thing, and it will actually work at 4G speeds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YXXpmMrxq4 I might just be feeling balsy enough to try this one. eBay can see $350 Notes on occasion and an unlock is another $20 I think? It would be sick as gently caress if the Note 2 coming in September could be radio flashed in the same way but I doubt we'll get that lucky twice.
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Jul 18, 2012 02:08
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etalian posted:And new off contract 4S is insanely expensive while the Galaxy Nexus is a much more reasonable buy from a value view at $350 given it has quite a few advantages such as a much nicer screen. Form factor really is a big deal to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, and I'm surprised that Google doesn't seem to realize that. Give me a Nexus that's the size of an iPhone and has good hardware and I will not even consider buying something else.
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Jul 18, 2012 05:01
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the kawaiiest posted:Yeah but the Galaxy Nexus is HUGE. It's just an enormous phone, and a lot of people really dislike large phones -- me for instance, they are clumsy for me to hold (I have very small hands) and I find them rather ugly and masculine as well. The size of the Nexus the only reason I didn't buy it, choosing instead to buy an older, used Android phone. I don't really like iOS, but I don't want to be stuck with an old version of Android forever, and I don't want a monster phone either, so if there's no smaller Nexus by the time I have to get a new phone, I'll be getting an iPhone. Have you looked at the Nexus S? It's only slightly larger than an iPhone 4.
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Jul 18, 2012 05:28
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moms pubis posted:Have you looked at the Nexus S? It's only slightly larger than an iPhone 4. If the carriers and manufacturers would actually update Android on their devices then I'd get an HTC One S which is gorgeous, small and has a fantastic camera, but if I'm gonna buy a $600 phone and my choices are one that might perhaps update once someday if the manufacturer/carrier feels like it and the planets align just right, or one that will update without a doubt and in a timely manner, it's really a no brainer. It sucks because I really hate iOS, but if I'm spending several hundred dollars on a phone, I want it to be as close to what I want as possible, and right now (and probably in the foreseeable future) that's the iPhone.
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Jul 18, 2012 06:02
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Sony are offering the smaller Xperia P and Xperia U contract-free in the USA. However: AT&T frequencies only and they come with Gingerbread. You can also get the comedy option Xperia Ray from several online dealers. ICS has been promised / is available for all three of those phones.
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Jul 18, 2012 15:49
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the kawaiiest posted:Form factor really is a big deal to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, and I'm surprised that Google doesn't seem to realize that. Give me a Nexus that's the size of an iPhone and has good hardware and I will not even consider buying something else. Yeah android phones seem to have a ridiculous screen size arms race going on right now while I also see many nice, practical advantages with sticking with a smaller Iphone-esque form factor (3.5-4" screen).
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Jul 18, 2012 15:52
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I am seriously considering canceling my Sprint service and switching to Straight Talk with a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+. What would the process be to port my number to Straight Talk?
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Jul 18, 2012 18:32
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If you are activating your Straight Talk account online, part of the process asks if you'd like to port an existing number. DO NOT contact Sprint, just ask Straight Talk to do the port.
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Jul 18, 2012 19:23
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Actually I think my plan now is going to be buy the Galaxy Nexus HSPA, buy a month from Straight Talk with a new number. Then port my Sprint number to Google Voice, and forward that to my Straight Talk.
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Jul 18, 2012 21:47
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FogHelmut posted:Actually I think my plan now is going to be buy the Galaxy Nexus HSPA, buy a month from Straight Talk with a new number. Then port my Sprint number to Google Voice, and forward that to my Straight Talk. This is my plan once my Verizon plan runs out. There is a likely chance that I will be buying the Nexus a month or two in advance, buy the $30 monthly plan from TMobile for the data, and once my contract is up with Verizon I'll port my number into Google Voice. Has anybody else had success / horror stories with doing this? Am I going the wrong way with it, or is this a perfect acceptable and easy thing to do?
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Jul 19, 2012 01:55
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Judge Schnoopy posted:This is my plan once my Verizon plan runs out. There is a likely chance that I will be buying the Nexus a month or two in advance, buy the $30 monthly plan from TMobile for the data, and once my contract is up with Verizon I'll port my number into Google Voice. The worst I've been reading is people getting throttled for using too much data. Something unofficial like over 100mb a day repeatedly, or 2gb a month. Also it's in the license agreement with Straight Talk that you're not allowed to stream, but many people do anyway with no issue. I am fine with that because they are throttled down to 200kbps or so, which is way faster than what I'm currently getting on Sprint with full speed.
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Jul 19, 2012 11:37
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the kawaiiest posted:Form factor really is a big deal to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, and I'm surprised that Google doesn't seem to realize that. Give me a Nexus that's the size of an iPhone and has good hardware and I will not even consider buying something else. If rumors are to be believed, Google has realized that form factor matters and will have many Nexus devices available before the end of the year. I figure that there will be an iPhone sized Nexus alongside a new supersized hero Nexus.
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Jul 19, 2012 16:36
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You know, if they stuffed exactly the same features into 2 sizes of phones, and just fit battery in whatever space is left, the difference in screen power draw would probably be enough to keep the battery life pretty similar.
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Jul 19, 2012 16:43
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Stick100 posted:If rumors are to be believed, Google has realized that form factor matters and will have many Nexus devices available before the end of the year. I figure that there will be an iPhone sized Nexus alongside a new supersized hero Nexus. 
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Jul 19, 2012 17:33
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Just learned about the $30 T-Mobile 100min/Unlimited Text and Data plan. According to their coverage map, my apartment is in an Excellent area and my workplace in a Strong. Granted, when I drive to most places I'll only be on 2G, but I really don't care as I'm mostly texting at that point anyways. Went ahead and ordered a Sim and a HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus from Google. Going to give this a shot and see if it works out for me. I'll be coming over from a $90/month data plan on Verizon with a Verizon Nexus (and no unlimited data). I will have to eat a $250 ETF, but since I can sell the Verizon Nexus for 400, that offsets the cost and covers a chunk of what I initially paid for it. Within 2-3 months, I'll be ahead money wise. that $60 a month is quite a bit to save! Here's to hoping it works out for me. Going to keep Verizon for the first few weeks just incase it doesn't work well, then I'll port my number over. Nice thing with this route is that, if it doesn't work, I can just try Straight Talk instead.
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Jul 19, 2012 20:35
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I have an iPhone 4S unlocked by AT&T. What do I need to get from Straight Talk to use their service?
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Jul 20, 2012 14:23
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A SIM card. There's a purchase page linked in the OP. To get MMS working you may also need a second SIM card. There's a wiki linked in the OP.
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Jul 20, 2012 15:01
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MrMoose posted:Just learned about the $30 T-Mobile 100min/Unlimited Text and Data plan. According to their coverage map, my apartment is in an Excellent area and my workplace in a Strong. Granted, when I drive to most places I'll only be on 2G, but I really don't care as I'm mostly texting at that point anyways. Went ahead and ordered a Sim and a HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus from Google. Going to give this a shot and see if it works out for me. There are about a dozen of us in this thread, the T-Mobile thread, and the Android thread who have done that and really love the service and phone. I suggest you keep a couple extra bucks in your account so if you go over your 100 minutes you can still make phone calls. Also on the T-Mobile site you can set up an auto bill to draw $30 out of your account before your refill date. I suggest you do the auto bill a couple days ahead of your due date. Some of us use the Free Groove IP (Wi-Fi only) for extra minutes, I've recently been using Talkatone recently.
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Jul 20, 2012 15:23
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Stick100 posted:There are about a dozen of us in this thread, the T-Mobile thread, and the Android thread who have done that and really love the service and phone. I suggest you keep a couple extra bucks in your account so if you go over your 100 minutes you can still make phone calls. Also on the T-Mobile site you can set up an auto bill to draw $30 out of your account before your refill date. I suggest you do the auto bill a couple days ahead of your due date. I usually use 80-90 minutes a month plus another 150 or so on skype.
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Jul 20, 2012 18:01
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If I buy an iPhone 4S from Virgin Mobile, will it be unlocked? If I decide to switch away from VM, could I get a T-Mobile or StraightTalk SIM and use it instead?
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Jul 20, 2012 18:31
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No. It will be VM exclusive. It's a CDMA phone, not a GSM, which means it will never work with T Mobile or AT&T antennas. With an elaborate hack it could maybe work on Verizon. You'd better be sure you like VM first.
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Jul 20, 2012 18:37
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Naffer posted:I have this. I buy refill pins on callingmart (No tax, 5% discount) and always keep extra money in my account. I rarely go over, but I pay $2.99/mo for a Skype subscription. Skype can be configured to show your phone's callerID for outgoing calls, which is great because it's transparent to the people recieving the calls. How does the Skype calling work? Like you can make a Skype call from your phone or PC and it shows up as your mobile number? I'm assuming you can't answer an incoming call through Skype?
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Jul 20, 2012 18:42
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Zero VGS posted:No. It will be VM exclusive. It's a CDMA phone, not a GSM, which means it will never work with T Mobile or AT&T antennas. With an elaborate hack it could maybe work on Verizon. You'd better be sure you like VM first. The 4S has both GSM and CDMA antennae. I'm just wondering whether it's locked to Virgin.
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Jul 20, 2012 18:45
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Zero VGS posted:No. It will be VM exclusive. It's a CDMA phone, not a GSM, which means it will never work with T Mobile or AT&T antennas. With an elaborate hack it could maybe work on Verizon. You'd better be sure you like VM first. This is incorrect information, sir. All 4S handsets are exactly the same physically and have the same antenas, etc. They are all CDMA/GSM and just software locked. You have a snowflake's chance in hell VM would ever unlock it, but the phone itself would work on any carrier that supports a 4S at all. PS: buying an unsub'd/unlocked iPhone from Apple and activating it on Straighttalk is the best bet for a prepaid iPhone. Or buy a used AT&T locked iPhone and use it on Straighttalk, that works too. The whole VM iPhone deal is hosed. Buy a locked phone for full unlocked price! Yay!
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Jul 20, 2012 18:47
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ddogflex posted:... The whole VM iPhone deal is hosed. Buy a locked phone for full unlocked price! Yay! You are buying an unsubsidized phone at unsubsidized price. Locking has nothing to do with it. Blame FCC/Verizon/ATT for lack of interoperability in the United States.
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Jul 20, 2012 19:24
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gariig posted:How does the Skype calling work? Like you can make a Skype call from your phone or PC and it shows up as your mobile number? I'm assuming you can't answer an incoming call through Skype? Yes. Outgoing calls to cell and landlines on Skype cost a few cents a minute unless you have a subscription plan (US ~$3/mo unlimited) and normally show up as some nonsensical callerID number. You can configure skype to spoof your cell phone number's caller ID on outgoing calls here: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/features/allfeatures/caller-identification/ which makes outgoing calls using skype (from either your mobile or PC) show your cell phone's callerID. You can't receive calls this way through skype, but it makes the whole process transparent for the people you're calling because the callerID they see is your cell phone and not some skype number.
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Jul 20, 2012 20:14
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Zero VGS posted:It's a CDMA phone, not a GSM, which means it will never work with T Mobile or AT&T antennas. With an elaborate hack it could maybe work on Verizon. You'd better be sure you like VM first. whatever7 posted:Locking has nothing to do with it. Blame FCC/Verizon/ATT for lack of interoperability in the United States. ddogflex posted:This is incorrect information, sir. All 4S handsets are exactly the same physically and have the same antenas, etc. They are all CDMA/GSM and just software locked. You have a snowflake's chance in hell VM would ever unlock it, but the phone itself would work on any carrier that supports a 4S at all. Regardless of the reasons, a VM iPhone will be locked to VM, and you are unlikely to convince any of the involved parties to unlock it via legitimate means.
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Jul 20, 2012 20:39
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whatever7 posted:You are buying an unsubsidized phone at unsubsidized price. Locking has nothing to do with it. Blame FCC/Verizon/ATT for lack of interoperability in the United States. Except history suggests neither Sprint nor Verizon will let you activate that VM phone, even though it will work perfectly fine with either - especially so in Sprint's case. moms pubis posted:The 4S has both GSM and CDMA antennae. I'm just wondering whether it's locked to Virgin. If VM behaves like Sprint does, you can get the GSM part unlocked for non-USA carriers only. So, no buying a VM iPhone and bouncing over to AT&T in the future.
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Jul 20, 2012 21:30
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Rastor posted:Sorry, but you're wrong. Apple specifically selected / designed hardware which would be compatible with all the US networks. It wasn't easy, but they did it.
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Jul 20, 2012 21:32
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MrBond posted:If VM behaves like Sprint does, you can get the GSM part unlocked for non-USA carriers only. http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2012/06/virgin-mobiles-iphones-gsm-radio-is-sim.html
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Jul 20, 2012 21:48
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cheese eats mouse posted:I would do this on a day you don't need your phone as it took me about 12 hours to go from T-Mo to ST. Also, StraightTalk's offices aren't open 24/7 fyi so I'd do this in the morning and you should get service by that night. I just went from T-Mobile to Straight Talk this morning, and from the time I put in the request to have my number ported to the time it happened was like five minutes. I was pretty happy and surprised.
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Jul 21, 2012 00:15
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Rastor posted:Sorry, but you're wrong. Apple specifically selected / designed hardware which would be compatible with all the US networks. It wasn't easy, but they did it. Lol, dont know why you want to pat Apple on the back in this case. You unlock an Att iPhone, it runs on slow rear end 2g speed on Tmobile. You can't use a a verizpn or Sprint iPhone on neither Att nor Tmobile. So what has Apple achieved with unified hardware? Nothing! Btw Apple still has to make a special version of iPhone for China Mobile, the largest carrier inthe wprld anyway. The unified hardware thing is a gimmick.
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Jul 21, 2012 00:53
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whatever7 posted:Lol, dont know why you want to pat Apple on the back in this case. You unlock an Att iPhone, it runs on slow rear end 2g speed on Tmobile. You can't use a a verizpn or Sprint iPhone on neither Att nor Tmobile. So what has Apple achieved with unified hardware? Nothing! Unified hardware is a pretty cool thing for Apple to do. It would be really nice to be able to take your phone to any of the carriers in the US (even just 3 of the big 4), but that hasn't been possible on most phones up until recently, hardware-wise. Apple has no control over the carriers being mind-numbingly awful and making GBS threads all over everything like they always do. Hell, they had a hard enough time just getting carriers to allow direct software updates.
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Jul 21, 2012 02:13
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whatever7 posted:Btw Apple still has to make a special version of iPhone for China Mobile, the largest carrier inthe wprld anyway. The unified hardware thing is a gimmick. Apple never has made a special phone for China mobile. Only China Telecom (CDMA), and China Unicom (GSM/WCDMA) offer the iPhone. China mobile users use unlocked iPhones on 2G data.
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Jul 21, 2012 05:02
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