Curious to moving to t-mobile

[Smokexz]

I want to see if I can get maybe a Samsung Vibrant or maybe another Android device.

I have to ask, which is the cheapest data plan? I am looking for unlimited SMS/MMS, unlimited data, and any minutes I can get(I don't even care if I get 100 minutes, I don't talk all that much)

Also, I want your opinion on the coverage, I live in Florida and expect 3g speeds.

So here are my questions:

Cheapest unlimited Data SMS/MMS
User input on coverage, good bad?


I don't really care if the phone costs me more, as long as the monthly plan is cheap.

[Natification]

With TMO Android SOC you pay $30 for unlimited (10gb) access. That price is factored into their plans when choosing unlimited. (pay rates change for phone-first devices)

Your coverage depends on where exactly you live in Florida. You can get a good estimate using the Personal Coverage Check located on the top of their toolbar at their site.

As far as plans go...TMO has two sets of postpaid accounts. Even More and Even More Plus. The difference between the two is the price of the phone vs. the price of the plan.

With Even More Plus you have no contract, and you pay full retail price for the phone. The upside to that is you get a cheaper rate on your plan. For their brackets (may change on basis of zip code) and your need of Unlimited Text+Data you're looking at 59.99 (500 minutes), 69.99 (1000 minutes), and 79.99 (unlimited minutes)

With Even More you have your typical 2-year contract with the discount on the phone. The difference in price plan is 20.00/month (so add 20 to the above pricing scale).

Mathematically if you are in the market for a smartphone branded by TMO it is smarter to go with the Even More plan (unless you have horrible credit and end up with a huge deposit) as you will save more money in the long run. Remember that TMO, like other carriers, will not honor a warranty for a phone that you did not buy from them.

TMO has the best pricing around, no one disputes that. However they do not always have the 'coolest' phones, something that I hope they work on extensively. My suggestion to you if you plan on giving TMO a shot, is to go down to a retail store and voice your concerns (but for the love of Pete, be nice). You can always 'buyers remorse' if it's not quite to your liking.

[Smokexz]

So if I choose the $59.99 plan I have to add 30 dollars because its an Android phone?

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[contender]

Originally Posted by Smokexz

So if I choose the $59.99 plan I have to add 30 dollars because its an Android phone?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

No you dont, its already included. You would only pay 60 plus tax, but you might want to call tmobile after choosing the plan so they can add data plan according to the android phone.


I have this plan for blackberry

[titans30dude]

to my knowledge you get the talk, text, and web plan and that includes the internet for android...

[diggs60]

Originally Posted by contender

No you dont, its already included. You would only pay 60 plus tax, but you might want to call tmobile after choosing the plan so they can add data plan according to the android phone.


I have this plan for blackberry

I have this plan also and its great.

[Smokexz]

So if I got the Samsung Vibrant on the 60 dollar plan, I get unlimited MMS/SMS and data, and there is no extra fee because it is an Android phone? Because Sprint does that with the Evo

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[Totalimmortal363]

They do that for the Evo because its 4G

[D_March]

There is no extra fee for the 59.99 plan but that rate is based on you buying the phone at full cost. You can pay it off all at once or they will add $25 to your plan for 20 months. So the difference is buy it outright and pay $300 more before tax or sign up with them and pay 480 more over 2 years before tax but save $300 on the phone cost which means about $180 more over a 2 year period. This is assuming the best price you can get for it is 199.99...I'm talking about the Vibrant here.

[D_March]

I have the 59.99 plan for my 9700 because I bought it outright. It's a good deal and you can avoid being on contract.

[Smokexz]

Originally Posted by D_March

There is no extra fee for the 59.99 plan but that rate is based on you buying the phone at full cost. You can pay it off all at once or they will add $25 to your plan for 20 months. So the difference is buy it outright and pay $300 more before tax or sign up with them and pay 480 more over 2 years before tax but save $300 on the phone cost which means about $180 more over a 2 year period. This is assuming the best price you can get for it is 199.99...I'm talking about the Vibrant here.

Okay I think I follow now, the phone is full price but there is no contract and it is cheaper every month, this is perfect if I am following correctly... However I heard the Samsung Galaxy S phones have a GPS issue, if it is a software issue I will definitely buy it, of course assuming it will be fixed in a later update. However if it is a hardware issue. I might reconsider it more... Also I have another question, is it running Stock Android? Like the Nexus One?

My questions:
Is the GPS issue a software issue or a hardware issue? Or have they already fixed it?

Is it running stock Android(doesn't matter if it is or isn't I am just curious)?

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[D_March]

Samsung says the GPS problem is a software issue and will be fixed sometime soon. The Vibrant runs Samsung's touchwiz UI which is similar to the iphone I think. I have played with one before but I don't own one and am personally not an android os fan, but I have heard people rave about it so I would go on the Android forum and ask around.

[Smokexz]

Originally Posted by D_March

Samsung says the GPS problem is a software issue and will be fixed sometime soon. The Vibrant runs Samsung's touchwiz UI which is similar to the iphone I think. I have played with one before but I don't own one and am personally not an android os fan, but I have heard people rave about it so I would go on the Android forum and ask around.

I understand you have played with one, question, is there still widgets and the home screen widgets screen? I don't care if it has a skinned app drawer, I just love the widget screen

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[48593039584729]

3G coverage is still growing, and in the Gulf Coast a government entity is holding up 3G spectrum from T-Mobile until 2011 so it's not that T-Mobile doesn't, it's that they can't in some places.

Still, EDGE on the Vibrant is a lot faster than EDGE on a CLIQ/myTouch/8320 (any blackberry really, they're really slow web browsers). Opera Mini works extremely well over EDGE too, 3G like.

GPS will be fixed in early sept. along with other fixes (it's a maintenance update). Also make note that the bar display on the Vibrant much like other Samsung's is sporadic because it refreshes so frequently. It also is a bit off, zero bars doesn't actually mean "no/poor coverage".

There are still widgets, and some really nice Samsung ones at that but they are huge resource hogs. It's not stock Android but it's BETTER than stock Android (IMO). Stock Android is fugly and TouchWiz (Samsung's overlay) is a huge improvement.

For $60 a month you can get the Vibrant with data/text/mms/500 minutes/nights&weekends, free t-mobile-to-t-mobile calling. No "premium data fee" nonsense. This price is the no-contract EM+ price. You can finance the cost of the phone if your credit is good enough.
Sprint is upcharging simply because they can.

[Smokexz]

Originally Posted by 48593039584729

3G coverage is still growing, and in the Gulf Coast a government entity is holding up 3G spectrum from T-Mobile until 2011 so it's not that T-Mobile doesn't, it's that they can't in some places.

Still, EDGE on the Vibrant is a lot faster than EDGE on a CLIQ/myTouch/8320 (any blackberry really, they're really slow web browsers). Opera Mini works extremely well over EDGE too, 3G like.

GPS will be fixed in early sept. along with other fixes (it's a maintenance update). Also make note that the bar display on the Vibrant much like other Samsung's is sporadic because it refreshes so frequently. It also is a bit off, zero bars doesn't actually mean "no/poor coverage".

There are still widgets, and some really nice Samsung ones at that but they are huge resource hogs. It's not stock Android but it's BETTER than stock Android (IMO). Stock Android is fugly and TouchWiz (Samsung's overlay) is a huge improvement.

For $60 a month you can get the Vibrant with data/text/mms/500 minutes/nights&weekends, free t-mobile-to-t-mobile calling. No "premium data fee" nonsense. This price is the no-contract EM+ price. You can finance the cost of the phone if your credit is good enough.
Sprint is upcharging simply because they can.

Okay thanks! I am going to T-Mobile tomorrow to see what I can do, the phone is something I have to worry about, the plan won't be very different from my current BlackBerry. I am seeing if I could sell my BlackBerry if I could fund the purchase of the phone itself. So it is still going to be 2.1? Or 2.2? I hope they include the fix with 2.2, because the GPS was essentially broken right out of the box(at least they can fix it with software, unlike Apple...). Thanks for the help guys, Also, sorry with so many questions, is the T-Mobile G2 going to be worth the wait or should I just get the Vibrant? To my understanding the 1.2 Dual-Core Snapdragon was still below the Samsung Galaxy 1GHz Hummingbird... I heard from Engadget that the phone felt a bit sluggish for the processor, but they said they expect a very big speed improvement with Froyo... Thanks so much for your help folks.

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