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hi. I'm using q10 100-1 in Korea.
and I'm going to US in this July for a month, so I will buy a usim chip.
some people recommended AT&T, but I'm not sure if it is good for my Q10.
I will stay in Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, NY, and Boston.
I need at least 1GB data(4G speed if possible), and don't care call or text.
I just heard AT&T can't cover in NY, so I'm looking for T-mobile usim.
Is it okay to buy T-mobile usim for Q10 100-1?
T-Mobile will be fine. They are cheaper and the coverage in New York should be OK. T-Mobile is great in major cities but does have issues out in the "country" or remote areas. You should be able to get a cheap pay as you go plan from them. Your model phone IS supported but you probably won't get LTE. (Although you MIGHT)
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...encies-798804/
AT&T's bands: UMTS (which means 3G/HSPA+) 850, 1900, LTE 700, 1700, 1900 (rare,) 850 (very rare)
TMO's bands: UMTS 1700 (primary,) 1900 (secondary,) LTE 1700
Networks/coverage: From looking at the thread pkcable has linked to, when it comes to the SQN100-1, the main difference in bands between the AT&T and TMO that matters is UMTS 1700. The -1 does not have this band, so if you have a TMO SIM and there's no LTE or UMTS 1900 around, your phone will drop to 2G. Every other band that AT&T and TMO use is present in the -1. I did a TMO LTE coverage check for the cities you've listed:
TMO Boston
TMO Chicago
TMO NY
TMO LV (speaking from personal experience, TMO has very good LTE and UMTS 1900 coverage on the LV Strip.)
TMO LA
TMO SF (speaking from personal experience, AT&T's coverage in the SF Bay Area hasn't been as good as TMO's. This is accurate at least as of 2-3 years ago.)
Feel free to zoom in and out, and move around the maps as you like. These are user generated coverage reports, but they are usually very accurate. Generally speaking, TMO has good LTE coverage in major urban spots, like the cities you've listed. Note that not each part of every city will have good LTE coverage, or even 3G/HSPA+ coverage.
On the other hand, the SQN100-1 is a perfect fit with AT&T's networks. And AT&T, overall, has better nationwide coverage than TMO (so if you're driving from LA to LV, you won't hit as many dead spots on AT&T as you will on TMO.)
Plans: if you decide to go with TMO, given your needs, I would recommend buying a SIM online from TMO (where they are 1₵) and the $30 plan:5GB high speed data, 100 minutes, unlimited texting (domestic and to most international destinations, including Korea.) Not only is this the cheapest monthly rate plan, it's also the one best for your usage. You buy this plan either online (from TMO's website) or at WalMart.
If you choose to go with AT&T, the obvious first option is buying a SIM and service directly from AT&T. But there are other options too that may be cheaper: Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, and others. As far as I know though (I'm not very familiar with prepaid offerings on the AT&T side,) Cricket and Straight Talk are the only ones that have access to AT&T's LTE network. But be sure to research the caveats. Cricket, for example, caps LTE speeds at 8mbps and HSPA speeds at 4mbps.
Good luck. If you register here at CB, feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions.