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so, i have an HTC evo "4g" with sprint that i got on launch day, but im really disappointed because sprint 4g has sucked in seattle and chicago. it only works outdoors and even then it feels like sudden bursts and not sustained speed.
i had a g1 on T-Mobile and was happy with it, but I've been in the evo/sprint world for a while so i need some help:
i see that T-Mobile is having an "any phone free" deal this weekend. it seems like it might be worth it to sell my evo, pay the etf fee with sprint, and go back to T-Mobile. what I'd like are some honest unbiased answers if possible, to the following questions.
1) sprint seems to have good prices, $69. unlimited data and 450 any mobile minutes + $10 data fee. is it the same price with T-Mobile? seems to be (500 minutes)
2) what rate of speed does T-Mobile throttle to after 5gb is exceeded?
3) the g2 is what im looking at, but what are similar phones from T-Mobile that I should look at and what are the drawbacks or advantages of the top two or three other phones?
4) can any new T-Mobile phone be rooted easily or do recent hboot/radios/firmware updates make it difficult on the g2 or other phones?
5) how is indoor T-Mobile hspa+ or hsdpa signal? wimax at its 2.x ghz and barely penetrates windows so indoor reception is basically none. what frequency is T-Mobile 4g, how is their coverage?
thanks for any responses. I'd like to make a decision tonight or tomorrow morning to switch or not (and choose the right phone).
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Short awnser: BUY A G2.
Sent from my HTC Vision
I'll try to answer as best I can.
Although the G2 is my very first Android device, I've been so impressed by it. I would definitely recommend it!
I believe that you're throttled down to EDGE speeds, which is damn pretty horrible because I actually get EDGE where I live and only get HSDPA signal (3G signals) on campus. When I'm on EDGE, I only get about 10kbps... yes, it sounds horrible. But when you are in a good part of town, I've seen mine go to as high as 7mbps!
As of right now, I'm sure that if you get a G2 this weekend, that the root process will be the same. I rooted last month using the gfree method by first getting a temp root and then permanent root. It's pretty cool since a lot of people say that this is the method that results in the least bricked devices. If I can do it, it'll be easy.
T-Mobile signal will really just depend on your location.
The alternative to the Tmobile G2 is the MyTouch4G. I've read that the MT4G is faster; however if the physical keyboard is what you want, then the G2 is the way to go. Both devices are pretty similiar.
Hope I helped.
interesting. thanks for the replies. so when you get throttled after 5gb they always restrict you from the hspa+ network and only let you connect to edge, at whatever connection speed you can manage to pull in from those towers? I figured it would be a set kbps limit. I was also looking at the mytouch 4g and dell streak because I love the huge screen, but the dell streak support community seems to be basically non existant for some reason.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I actually did EXACTLY this almost a month ago (kinda weird since I live near Seattle too, lol). Bought an Evo on launch day because of the hype etc. and don't get me wrong its a great phone, but the battery life left a lot to be desired, and the 4G sapped battery extremely hard and almost never worked indoors, even when the area was blanketed in 4G coverage.
Eventually I really got put off by the way Sprint treated me after I went through 4 different replacement phones but thats a whole different story. I demanded to be let out of my contract and I've been with T-mo since then w/ a G2. They're great so far and I really love the Even More + plans. $59.99/month and no contract. Can't be beat in my opinion and there's just no way I can go back to a contract, I know I wont have the G2 for 2 years that's just impossible the way technology goes.
So anyways.
1) Plans are about the same price, except the one good thing about Sprint is unlimited calling to ANY mobile carrier, not just T-mo. But it really depends how you call, I really don't call much. Also as I said the Even More+ no contract plans are the beeeest if you're like me.
2) I can't give you good info, never capped. I know a lot of people can give you good info though.
3) Most hardcore Android users will say to just get the G2. It is 99.9% stock android, and has great features. The Streak doesn't have the best support but that's your own deal depends wat you're into. The MyTouch4G isn't your best bet because man that skin is terrible, and to be honest the design is just terrible compared to the G2 (chrome + cheap plastic = ew).
4) G2 is easily perm-rootable, not exactly one click but not impossible. Can't say for the other T-mo offerings.
5) I get great cell penetration inside. Haven't had tons of HSPA+ experience, but its on the same spectrum as their UMTS and HSDPA (1700 I believe?) which is pretty high frequency but I think they space their towers well. A quick comment on the UMTS/HSDPA speeds is that I've been consistently pulling 1.8mbps down AND up. On Sprint I could maybe push that down, but never up. Oh and one other thing, WiFi calling is awesome. I'm home for the weekend and there's very weak service here. Hop on WiFi and you can make calls/texts. I don't like having to rely on it because I wish service would just work here, but its nice to have just in case.
Obviously you're gonna get some positive views of the G2 in this forum but I think I can offer some good perspective cuz I did have the Evo before.
wrb123 said:
so, i have an HTC evo "4g" with sprint that i got on launch day, but im really disappointed because sprint 4g has sucked in seattle and chicago. it only works outdoors and even then it feels like sudden bursts and not sustained speed.
i had a g1 on T-Mobile and was happy with it, but I've been in the evo/sprint world for a while so i need some help:
i see that T-Mobile is having an "any phone free" deal this weekend. it seems like it might be worth it to sell my evo, pay the etf fee with sprint, and go back to T-Mobile. what I'd like are some honest unbiased answers if possible, to the following questions.
1) sprint seems to have good prices, $69. unlimited data and 450 any mobile minutes + $10 data fee. is it the same price with T-Mobile? seems to be (500 minutes)
2) what rate of speed does T-Mobile throttle to after 5gb is exceeded?
3) the g2 is what im looking at, but what are similar phones from T-Mobile that I should look at and what are the drawbacks or advantages of the top two or three other phones?
4) can any new T-Mobile phone be rooted easily or do recent hboot/radios/firmware updates make it difficult on the g2 or other phones?
5) how is indoor T-Mobile hspa+ or hsdpa signal? wimax at its 2.x ghz and barely penetrates windows so indoor reception is basically none. what frequency is T-Mobile 4g, how is their coverage?
thanks for any responses. I'd like to make a decision tonight or tomorrow morning to switch or not (and choose the right phone).
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in the exact situation as you. Loved my EVO but Sprint's customer service is absolute ****, 4G coverage is poor, reps constantly lied about when coverage was coming to my area, and the battery life of the EVO was horrible.
1.) Base plan is $79.99. I get 10% off through student rate and talked customer care into giving me Android preferred web plan which is $20 instead of $30. So my net bill is quite a bit lower than my Sprint Everything Plus bill was.
2.) Don't know. I've personally never gone over 5 GB of data on any phone I've owned.
3.) Galaxy S 4G and MyTouch 4G. Both have FFCs. Neither have keyboards. GS4G has faster data but poor upgrade history and it's yet to be seen if the Vibrant dev community efforts will be compatible.
4.) Don't know. This is better handled at whatever other phone your considerings respective community.
5.) T-Mo 3G is 1700 MHz downlink and 2100MHz uplink. Coverage is fair in Eastern Washington. Certain areas are still EDGE only. Haven't had any issues keeping a decent 3G signal indoors in dense areas. My EVO actually roamed indoors in a few places which I thought was pretty pathetic. My average speeds range from 2-6 Mbs down and 1-1.8 Mbs up.
I was in the same boat. Wanted to leave Sprint for T-Mobile.
It's 2011 and all T-Mobile could give me was EDGE indoors and out. Not worth the money. Especially when the coverage map showed HSPA+ coverage. I live in Tampa, FL.
Sprint isn't any better (claims indoor 4G, can't get it outside or inside), but it was cheap at the time. Not so much now since they keep jacking up prices. First removal of employee discount on almost everything, and then the stupid +$10 premium data on EVERY smartphone.
I guess I'll be letting AT&T or Big Red milk me for money in the near future.
TL;DR - Coverage maps are bull****. You have to take the hard credit pull hit and try the phones out for yourself. I returned my T-mobile phones in less than 24hrs with no questions asked.
Man I am LOVING my G2. And believe it or not, one of my favorite things about it is the battery life!!!! I've gone almost two days without much charge at all and I'm still sitting at 22%. Seriously impressive. I am running the cyanogenmod 6.1.1. It's pretty damn smooth but it seems to have a few quirky behaviors. But then again, most custom ROM's do too. But for the most part it's simply the ****. I show this phone off to the iphone 4 followed by plenty of questions afterwards.
It's a dope phone. Go for it. You won't be disappointed.
Hot_Hands said:
1.) Base plan is $79.99. I get 10% off through student rate and talked customer care into giving me Android preferred web plan which is $20 instead of $30. So my net bill is quite a bit lower than my Sprint Everything Plus bill was.
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Could you give a little more info on the $20 Android Preferred web plan over the normal web plan? never heard of this.
martonikaj said:
Could you give a little more info on the $20 Android Preferred web plan over the normal web plan? never heard of this.
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Click to collapse
I also have have the $20 andriod preferred web, you have to ask to speak to customer loyalty dept. And you have to have been with Tmo for a certain number of years, I don't know how long the requirement is but I have been with Tmo for Nine Years.
Sent from my HTC Vision
I believe the requirement is 1 or 2 years. I was a customer for 4 before my EVO misadventure so I smooth talked them into letting me have it. You must talk to the loyalty department. No other department will be able to do it and will probably have no idea what you're talking about.
joemm said:
I also have have the $20 andriod preferred web, you have to ask to speak to customer loyalty dept. And you have to have been with Tmo for a certain number of years, I don't know how long the requirement is but I have been with Tmo for Nine Years.
Sent from my HTC Vision
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Click to collapse
Alright thanks, well I got a while to go before I'm there . It just seemed like they were pretty reluctant to make my plan any cheaper than it already is. The Even More+ $59.99 plan is pretty cheap already and I can't argue with it.
I'm not sure if it'll apply to Even More Plus plans since the data plan is included and not a separate add-on.
Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
GSM version of Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile does not go up to 41Mbps speeds. It can only go up to 21Mb (this is the reasoning why Galaxy S2 on T-Mobile went with Qualcomm's CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos to hit 41Mbps speeds), this is all speaking theoretically as well. Realistically, I haven't gotten to those speeds.
And people "need 30Mbps" on their phones simply because.... they can.
HSPA+ in its current implementation is definitely not as fast as Verizon's LTE, but as you said it surely is fast and it is more than enough for most people. You can definitely expect upwards of 10mbps down, which is great.
Its really a personal call. Some people are on Verizon because its the only carrier available consistently in their area, or they've been a long-time customer, or they're part of a family plan with others on Verizon.
If you're on T-mobile and happy with your service, you're definitely saving money staying with them. If you can buy it unlocked it is definitely a good choice. You're not missing out on anything by staying with T-Mo and the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus.
Cause we like to stream stuff?
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
zephiK said:
GSM version of Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile does not go up to 41Mbps speeds. It can only go up to 21Mb (this is the reasoning why Galaxy S2 on T-Mobile went with Qualcomm's CPU instead of Samsung's Exynos to hit 41Mbps speeds), this is all speaking theoretically as well. Realistically, I haven't gotten to those speeds.
And people "need 30Mbps" on their phones simply because.... they can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats your speed in NYC ?
martonikaj said:
HSPA+ in its current implementation is definitely not as fast as Verizon's LTE, but as you said it surely is fast and it is more than enough for most people. You can definitely expect upwards of 10mbps down, which is great.
Its really a personal call. Some people are on Verizon because its the only carrier available consistently in their area, or they've been a long-time customer, or they're part of a family plan with others on Verizon.
If you're on T-mobile and happy with your service, you're definitely saving money staying with them. If you can buy it unlocked it is definitely a good choice. You're not missing out on anything by staying with T-Mo and the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My buddy has been testing his Nexus and Droid X on Verizon....Nexus got up to 27mbps and DroidX on 3G pulled only 500kbps. I mean I would rather get constant 2-3mbps then switchs between LTE 27m and CDMA 500k. I want to switch to Verizon because it will be the same price as Tmobile, but I am affraid that LTE will kill battery and CDMA is dirt slow. I am in Boston area by the way.
also some reviews say that LTE kills battery while car charging....this just scares me.....i can stream music + use Google navigation at the same time and have brightness at auto and i still dont charge my phone in car....my 1250 battery in HD2 lasts 12-14 hours on that heavy use.
kolyan said:
but I am affraid that LTE will kill battery and CDMA is dirt slow.
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Click to collapse
Both of these things are very true.
I have the LTE nexus, and yes, LTE does do a number on the battery, and yes, it is ever so slightly thicker. however, I'm pulling 10 mb/s down in a very poor coverage area, and a reliable 40+ mb/s down when I get closer to the city. (I live on an away facing side of a hill a few miles outside of a town). Also, without 4g, atleast in my area, I can pull 1-2 mb/s down, but thats not as reliable. I like that speed, and I am willing to charge my phone twice in a day.
In all reality, you wont notice too much of a difference between 10-20 mb/s (HSPA+) and 30-50 mb/s (LTE in my area) on a phone. What you will notice is the difference between coverage and no coverage. Which again favors the Verizon model.
These are THEORETICAL max speeds you are talking about.
In reality the speeds you get will be no where close to the theoretical max speeds the technology can handle. Those speeds might be attainable if you are the only one on the network and are standing under a cell tower.
T-Mobile HSPA+ speeds in NYC are 5.4mbps down, and 1.6mbps up (tested on my friend's International Galaxy Nexus)
LTE max theoretical speed is 299.6 mbps. In reality the speeds I tested in NYC on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus are 26.79mbps down and 7.20mbps up.
http://www.speedtest.net/android/114425608.png
Results will vary but I pull 1-1.5Mbps on 3g so I can live with that. Verizon is the only carrier at my house. T-Mobile doest have coverage in the rural area where I live. If I went with them I'd only have service at work and while running errands downtown.
I get 3g at home and LTE just a few miles away. Part of me wishes that I could use T-Mobile but its not practical where I live and do business.
One last thing, LTE reception is great in the basement of my workplace!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I'm curious to see Verizon LTE speeds once people start buying LTE phones.
It is almost important to note that LTE is not only faster, but also capable of keeping the signal while you are moving rather fast. Like in cars and trains
Sent from Galaxy Nexus hspa+ 16gb
I get 40-50 mb/s down and 10-20 up, thats why
kolyan said:
Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are answering your own question. TMo and AT&T will be slower but use less battery. In the end I'd just decide if you want to be on Verizon or want a GSM phone. Your call.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
kolyan said:
Can anyone explain this to me ? All I hear is LTE kills battery, so whats the point of LTE when T-mobile HSPA+ 42Mbps has pretty much the same speed as LTE without causing any battery drain. And why would you need 30Mbps anyway on a limited data plan ? My current Tmobile 3G (not 4G or HSPA+) pulls anywhere from 2.5-5.0 Mbps right now....on older HD2 and Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE does kill the battery, but there is an extended battery (Still, I'm not sure how well the battery life improves with the extended battery)
The speed is all about how you feel and what you need. I'd say if you get great LTE coverage in your area and where you're going to be and you'd be fine with the smaller battery life and such, go for the LTE model. HSPA+ speeds are proven to be slower than the LTE speeds (i've seen some users get up to 15-16 down and 12-13 UP while HSPA+ get's us 8-10 DOWN 5-9 UP) But what are you going to do with the 15 mb/s speed?
Since you are T-Mobile, I don't know if you're going to have to switch data plans to access the HSPA+ speeds as some people who are on AT&T (including me) had to do this as well.
rexdog1888 said:
I get 40-50 mb/s down and 10-20 up, thats why
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Click to collapse
And what can you do with that, that you can't do with 10 mb/s down on HSPA+?
[hfm] said:
I think you are answering your own question. TMo and AT&T will be slower but use less battery. In the end I'd just decide if you want to be on Verizon or want a GSM phone. Your call.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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lol...not that easy. I am on Tmo with contract (200 to break now and 100 in a month) I very much prefer GSM over Verizon, but my wife doesn't get any service at work. I am somewhat happy with Tmo, I get service everywhere but when I go places like skiing there is usually just 2g with GPRS or EDGE at best.....I have no idea about Verizon. My battery is just amazing.... I never use any chargers other then at night. Price for service will be the same at both, but I will have to make new 2 year contract at Verizon, I will also get Nexus for myself at $150 and Incredible for wife for free....so new phones is nice to get... my wife not really happy with current Nexus One and I would love to have GN. If I stay with Tmo.... paying 650+ for NS is pricy....
kolyan said:
lol...not that easy. I am on Tmo with contract (200 to break now and 100 in a month) I very much prefer GSM over Verizon, but my wife doesn't get any service at work. I am somewhat happy with Tmo, I get service everywhere but when I go places like skiing there is usually just 2g with GPRS or EDGE at best.....I have no idea about Verizon. My battery is just amazing.... I never use any chargers other then at night. Price for service will be the same at both, but I will have to make new 2 year contract at Verizon, I will also get Nexus for myself at $150 and Incredible for wife for free....so new phones is nice to get... my wife not really happy with current Nexus One and I would love to have GN. If I stay with Tmo.... paying 650+ for NS is pricy....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, lets weigh out the pros and cons.
VERIZON
Pros:
1) You only spend about 400 going with Verizon.
2) Your wife may get signal at work.
Cons:
1) Battery life using LTE (But you can always turn off LTE)
2) Your wife may not get signal at work. (You never know..)
TMO
Pros:
1) You stay with a company that you've known and have been with for a while.
2) You get to have the flexibility of staying on a GSM provider. Meaning you get the freedom of switching world phones whenever you need to and not having to get it activated and what not.
Cons:
1) You spend more money. (About 250 more just for the GN, and maybe more for your wife's new phone.
2) Your wife will still not get any signal at work.
I guess its really what makes your wife happy. ;D Kidding. I'd bet on Verizon, but only if having a weak battery and not having places to charge your phone aren't complete deal breakers.
Speed won't really be a BIG BIG factor because while LTE and HSPA realtime speeds do differ, the coverage area for both aren't super complete. In both cases, you'll be constrained to 3G/HSPA. But then again this has to do with your coverage area that we know nothing about.
going to Verizon with 2 new phones, Google Voice porting, and paying Tmobile cancelation fee should all be pretty much covered by selling my tmo phones. My wife doesnt really care if she gets service at work she is not picky. In reallity i guess its all about me wanting Nexus and better coverage, but cdma and lte is a big compromise for me.
i'll figure this out soon.....
Think of it this way,
You can get 2 Ferraris:
One with the original Ferrari engine.
And one with 4 cylinder engine in it.
You will do 30 mpg on your 4 cylinder engine Ferrari and will get to the same place as the other Ferrari goes, but just a "little bit" slower.
I made the switch to Verizon and not planing on swapping to a 4 cylinder engine any time soon.
martonikaj said:
And what can you do with that, that you can't do with 10 mb/s down on HSPA+?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything you can do on a home internet service.
Now that verizon has the Samsung galaxy nexus, I was wondering if anyone heard or knows any sort of news for the release on tmobile? I was thinking to import it but I don't want to go through the hassle of sending it back and forth if something were to happen to it.
No , nothing flying around anywhere about that. If it ever does, it will be a while. The ATT GSM variant passed through the FCC a while back, so ATT is def getting it. You might be in for a looong wait if you decide not to import, that is if Tmo even gets it, which I doubt we will.
I'd be very wary of signing a contract with T-Mobile right now. They are looking to get out of the US market as quickly as possible. If the rumors about selling contracts to Leap Wireless, or the DirecTV deal are true, I'm not sure I'd want to be under contract knowing that I might be stuck in limbo once the company decides their long term plans.
I just got off of them after being a customer since 2002 after the Voicestream buyout. It feels good!
triStateMindgate said:
No , nothing flying around anywhere about that. If it ever does, it will be a while. The ATT GSM variant passed through the FCC a while back, so ATT is def getting it. You might be in for a looong wait if you decide not to import, that is if Tmo even gets it, which I doubt we will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, that was the Telus version that passed the FCC just like how the Bell Mobile passed the FCC a few weeks before that. There has yet to be a GNexus for GSM USA carriers that has even been hinted at with filings.
edgeicator said:
Wrong, that was the Telus version that passed the FCC just like how the Bell Mobile passed the FCC a few weeks before that. There has yet to be a GNexus for GSM USA carriers that has even been hinted at with filings.
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Click to collapse
Well initially the GT-i9250T was hinted to come to ATT, so if this one is headed for Canada instead of ATT now then there ya have it. It's gonna be a while if ever.
as of right now there is no reason to expect a TMO USA launch anytime soon.
the device exists but there is no reason to expect it.
an AT&T launch will probably be in the spring however.
If your a tmo customer, your best bet is to just import the phone like most of us here did. it's a lot more money, but it's worth it.
and as far as TMO dying. tmo isn't going away for a few more years. i've been with them for 10 years and i'll stay with them for as long as i possibly can. don't feel like giving up my nice cheap plan with unlimited data.
If the Galaxy Nexus were to come to att, would I be able to unlock it for tmobile? Would hspa+ work work with an att phone?
Sent from my Samsung galaxy tab 10.1
Mitchmoney said:
If the Galaxy Nexus were to come to att, would I be able to unlock it for tmobile? Would hspa+ work work with an att phone?
Sent from my Samsung galaxy tab 10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The International version features pentaband. If the AT&T version is pentaband then yes it will work.
neok44 said:
as of right now there is no reason to expect a TMO USA launch anytime soon.
the device exists but there is no reason to expect it.
an AT&T launch will probably be in the spring however.
If your a tmo customer, your best bet is to just import the phone like most of us here did. it's a lot more money, but it's worth it.
and as far as TMO dying. tmo isn't going away for a few more years. i've been with them for 10 years and i'll stay with them for as long as i possibly can. don't feel like giving up my nice cheap plan with unlimited data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! TMO is actually a great company for customer service and for phone/data service, as long as you live in an area that they cover. I have to be honest, people keep bragging about LTE and all that. Who needs 40Mbps on their phone?? Unless you're tethering, 2Mbps suffices.
Now that TMO inherited a nice $4 billion cash bonus and spectrum from AT&T, we might see them continue to roll out even more bandwidth. They're already enabling 3G over the 1800mhz band, so iPhones are able to latch on in certain markets. They're not going anywhere...yet.
The $700 price I paid for this phone was well worth it. Keep in mind (because I did not know this) that you will only have a warranty through the company who bought it for you (Expansys, Negri, etc). Samsung will not give you a warranty.
I hope that tmobile does expand but I'm just not sure if it's worth paying 640 on negro electronics.. I will try to sell my vibrant for 200 but that is still 440 that I need to spend on this phone... Is it really worth it for a phone?
Mitchmoney said:
I hope that tmobile does expand but I'm just not sure if it's worth paying 640 on negro electronics.. I will try to sell my vibrant for 200 but that is still 440 that I need to spend on this phone... Is it really worth it for a phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES! .......
allen099 said:
Exactly! TMO is actually a great company for customer service and for phone/data service, as long as you live in an area that they cover. I have to be honest, people keep bragging about LTE and all that. Who needs 40Mbps on their phone?? Unless you're tethering, 2Mbps suffices.
Now that TMO inherited a nice $4 billion cash bonus and spectrum from AT&T, we might see them continue to roll out even more bandwidth. They're already enabling 3G over the 1800mhz band, so iPhones are able to latch on in certain markets. They're not going anywhere...yet.
The $700 price I paid for this phone was well worth it. Keep in mind (because I did not know this) that you will only have a warranty through the company who bought it for you (Expansys, Negri, etc). Samsung will not give you a warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, i live in one of their 42Mbps locations, and honestly, i get pissed that i walk into a tmo store and see them getting 25-30Mbps down and i can't get over 5Mbps.
and then theres the lack of 3G in my home unless i walk outside, and signal cutting out in the hockey stadium, but considering my family is paying about $50 less per month than if we were with another company, we put up with it.
i'm 99% sure my signal issues are due to my plan or some other bull**** though. gonna go to a store with my Gnex and switch sim cards with someone in the store and see what happens, because i know the nexus is capable of 21mbps down. so if they're getting 30 i should be getting around 15, not 1-5.
Same here. I'm in NYC where we should be getting those super-fast data speeds, but the best I've ever gotten is about 5Mbps. Florida is more flat so I assume you should be getting better speeds than me, especially if the phones in the store are reaching that high. It's most likely your SIM, as you said.
Even still, getting 2Mbps and paying much less for the data plus having the capability to tether for free (with or without root) is a huge plus. Comes in real handy when tethering.
allen099 said:
Same here. I'm in NYC where we should be getting those super-fast data speeds, but the best I've ever gotten is about 5Mbps. Florida is more flat so I assume you should be getting better speeds than me, especially if the phones in the store are reaching that high. It's most likely your SIM, as you said.
Even still, getting 2Mbps and paying much less for the data plus having the capability to tether for free (with or without root) is a huge plus. Comes in real handy when tethering.
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Click to collapse
oh yeah the tethering alone is enough of a reason to stay. me and my girlfriend go up to orlando a lot, and even though the hotels give you free internet, a lot of times it sucks, like 1Mbps or less (probably damn people torrenting lol) so i usually get around 3-5 up there so i toss on the wifi tether and we both have internet. her on her netbook and me on my transformer.
comes in handy at my school too when their crappy wifi kicks out lol.
I actually have changed my sim cards, and even had tech support take a look at our account and they said they fixed it. I'm getting better DL speeds on the GN than my N1 though so thats at least nice.
neok44 said:
well, i live in one of their 42Mbps locations, and honestly, i get pissed that i walk into a tmo store and see them getting 25-30Mbps down and i can't get over 5Mbps.
and then theres the lack of 3G in my home unless i walk outside, and signal cutting out in the hockey stadium, but considering my family is paying about $50 less per month than if we were with another company, we put up with it.
i'm 99% sure my signal issues are due to my plan or some other bull**** though. gonna go to a store with my Gnex and switch sim cards with someone in the store and see what happens, because i know the nexus is capable of 21mbps down. so if they're getting 30 i should be getting around 15, not 1-5.
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Just because your phone is HSPA+ (21Mb) ready, doesn't mean that you're gonna get 21Mb!!!!!!!!
keep in mind that HSPA is an advanced 3G network, depending on where you are,
and the connection to the closest tower etc., the numbers are gonna vary. I'm in NYC and around, I average 4-9 Mb, which realistically unless you're tethering to multiple devices, what more do you need??
Oh and I would love to see that 25-30Mb download, really........ That's usually what I get at home when connected to my FiOS router , of course that's Mb, not MB.. So when I hit 25-30 with FiOS, I realistically top off at 4Megs/Sec Download, which is effin fast........
The Galaxy S2 is the fastest device currently in the store, with its HSPA++ (42Mb) Radio, that device averages 5-13Mb, even when the Thunderbolt came out on Verizon being one of the first LTE if not the first LTE device, I ran tests in was hitting 12-19Mb, now, after millions more hopped on the network, it hardly breaks 10-12....
One more thing, even if you can pull 100Mb/Sec, I'f the server you're pulling from only allows 10Mb/Sec Upload, your 100Mb doesn't mean squat ..
triStateMindgate said:
Just because your phone is HSPA+ (21Mb) ready, doesn't mean that you're gonna get 21Mb!!!!!!!!
keep in mind that HSPA is an advanced 3G network, depending on where you are,
and the connection to the closest tower etc., the numbers are gonna vary. I'm in NYC and around, I average 4-9 Mb, which realistically unless you're tethering to multiple devices, what more do you need??
Oh and I would love to see that 25-30Mb download, really........ That's usually what I get at home when connected to my FiOS router , of course that's Mb, not MB.. So when I hit 25-30 with FiOS, I realistically top off at 4Megs/Sec Download, which is effin fast........
The Galaxy S2 is the fastest device currently in the store, with its HSPA++ (42Mb) Radio, that device averages 5-13Mb, even when the Thunderbolt came out on Verizon being one of the first LTE if not the first LTE device, I ran tests in was hitting 12-19Mb, now, after millions more hopped on the network, it hardly breaks 10-12....
One more thing, even if you can pull 100Mb/Sec, I'f the server you're pulling from only allows 10Mb/Sec Upload, your 100Mb doesn't mean squat ..
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first off, be nicer in the future, you see I've been here for a long time and have contributed a lot around the forums, that generally means i know what i'm talking about so you don't have to repeat the obvious and add all the exclamation points, it just makes you seem like a bit of a douche.
NOW. if you don't believe me i'll go back and take a damn picture. I saw two guys at a local t-mobile store one with an HTC Amaze and the other with a Galaxy S 2. The HTC Amaze hit 23Mbps download 7Mbps upload. the GS2 hit 33Mbps download, 10Mbps upload. these weren't results, they did it right in front of me and i watched the whole thing.
My Nexus One, which features a 7.1Mbps max chip, in the same store, in the exact same spot, got 1.5Mbps. i've yet to test my galaxy nexus in that store.
now obviously as you said, the amount of people on the network and location makes a difference. But when i see phones hitting 20+ and my 21Mbps capable device isn't getting over 1.5, there's an issue.
so far, best i've gotten on my GN is 5.5Mbps. which i'm perfectly happy with, i just want that all the time, not this 1.5mbps BS when i'm in a 42 area.
and from the sounds of it, you live in an area that has really crappy signal, because most of the GN LTE speed tests i've seen are 30Mbps+ Saw one that hit 75Mbps, though not sure if i believe that one.
neok44 said:
first off, don't treat someone like a dumb ass when they might know (or in my case know) what they're talking about. all it does is make you seem like a ****.
NOW. if you don't believe me i'll go back and take a damn picture. I saw two guys at a local t-mobile store one with an HTC Amaze and the other with a Galaxy S 2. The HTC Amaze hit 23Mbps download 7Mbps upload. the GS2 hit 33Mbps download, 10Mbps upload. these weren't results, they did it right in front of me and i watched the whole thing.
My Nexus One, which features a 7.1Mbps max chip, in the same store, in the exact same spot, got 1.5Mbps. i've yet to test my galaxy nexus in that store.
now obviously as you said, the amount of people on the network and location makes a difference. But when i see phones hitting 20+ and my 21Mbps capable device isn't getting over 1.5, there's an issue.
so far, best i've gotten on my GN is 5.5Mbps. which i'm perfectly happy with, i just want that all the time, not this 1.5mbps BS when i'm in a 42 area.
and from the sounds of it, you live in an area that has really crappy signal, because most of the GN LTE speed tests i've seen are 30Mbps+ Saw one that hit 75Mbps, though not sure if i believe that one.
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I'm not treating you like a dumb ass, I don't even know you....
I live in NY, and in MY experience with the THUNDERBOLT, I never seen it hit more that 20...I don't even hit more that 40Mb/Sec on my Fiber Optic Landline service, most times its 25-35, but realistically my download rate tops off at 3.5 megs....
So if a phone hits 75, that means a Netflix movie should be fully buffered in around 15-20 secs, damn that's impressive, I would love to see that, maybe then I'd change to Verizon and start paying $150/mo.
I do believe you bro, Iv'e seen posts here on XDA with people hitting upwards of 50, but I don't think that's the realistic speed that the device is getting during use.
I don't think the GN will ever come to carriers that have the GS2.
You might be right because I was watching about 2 months ago of an interview with samsungs ceo in the USA on cnbc and he said that verizon is the only one without a SGII so the galaxy nexus will be their own version of the SGII... I hope they still bring it to a carriers!
My AT&T contract is about to expire. I thought I would give a TMO monthly 4g a shot. I've driven 700 miles in the last 2 days along I-40, data coverage is non existent.
GNEX stays on G and sometimes R.
Any secret APN settings I need to know about?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
My weekly commute between Austin and Houston is same - almost non-existent data coverage. Once in a major population area, then everything's good.
Too bad at&t break-up fees mostly went to DT, otherwise TMo could really use it to shore up the data coverage.
It would help if you stated where you lived or travel to so people within the same city could provide you a basis of comparison.
Oh man this reminds me of the days I was on Tmo. Its best to just sign back on with At&T or get VZW
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Tmo is really good if you're within their HSPA+ areas...but you can't beat $30 a month with unlimited text and Web (1st 5gb @ 4G) and 100 mins.
babymatteo said:
Tmo is really good if you're within their HSPA+ areas...but you can't beat $30 a month with unlimited text and Web (1st 5gb @ 4G) and 100 mins.
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Exactly. You need to be in a decent size city in order to utilize TMobile. Anywhere outside it's a hit or miss, more likely a miss.
Let's see, you're comparing a PREPAID (no roaming) vs a POSTPAID (roaming).
Of course it's not going to go well if you're travelling down highways in middle of nowhere.
I love tmobile - choose your carrier dependent on your needs. Check a coverage map before signing up.
wonshikee said:
Let's see, you're comparing a PREPAID (no roaming) vs a POSTPAID (roaming).
Of course it's not going to go well if you're travelling down highways in middle of nowhere.
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Bingo. You don't get to roam on AT&T like their Postpaid plans. You kinda had to know what you're getting into with Prepaid.
T-Mo is great in cities, but you're kidding yourself if you think you're gonna get HSPA+ (or even UMTS) on a freeway between cities. Just not how their coverage is.
You could look at Straight Talk, which is an AT&T MVNO. You could probably get a bit better coverage with that. Still doesn't roam but AT&T's footprint is probably better.
It all depends on where you're usually at. For the particular areas in So Cal where I typically travel, live, and work, AT&T is by far the worst of the carriers I've had (T-Mo, Verizon, ATT).
OK, I'll be a little more specific. I took a trip from Little Rock, AR to Knoxville, TN. I traveled along a major Interstate, Interstate 40. I recall seeing "4G", for a reasonable amount of time (maybe 2 minutes worth), in Nashville. I say that's reasonable because I drove through Memphis so quick I guess my phone never had a chance to find "4G" data service.
I spent the entire trip swapping out sim cards, mainly using the TMO. When I would become frustrated with the TMO service, mostly on "G", I would pop in my AT&T sim. Instant "4G" service. One second TMO "G", the next AT&T "4G". Not really sure how this is possible. They both charge about the same for their service, but their service is not the same.
I paid $60 for TMO unlimited talk, text, and data. Only later to find that, with those whopping 46 kilobytes per second download speeds, when I was lucky enough to get data, I would never even get close to my metering limit of 2 gigs. With those speeds I would be lucky to even use up 1 meg of data.
How can they charge so much for their "Nations largest 4G network"?
WHAT A JOKE.
I thought AT&T was ripping me off with their prices. I know feel like I have the greatest network provider on earth.
I did call the StraighTalkSIM folks to ask about data speeds. They were kind enough to let know that the fastest speeds I would see would be equivalent to AT&T's "3G". I can live with that for a cell phone bill that would be about 40% of what I pay now. I'll probably give them a try.
dmappdev said:
OK, I'll be a little more specific. I took a trip from Little Rock, AR to Knoxville, TN. I traveled along a major Interstate, Interstate 40. I recall seeing "4G", for a reasonable amount of time (maybe 2 minutes worth), in Nashville. I say that's reasonable because I drove through Memphis so quick I guess my phone never had a chance to find "4G" data service.
I spent the entire trip swapping out sim cards, mainly using the TMO. When I would become frustrated with the TMO service, mostly on "G", I would pop in my AT&T sim. Instant "4G" service. One second TMO "G", the next AT&T "4G". Not really sure how this is possible. They both charge about the same for their service, but their service is not the same.
I paid $60 for TMO unlimited talk, text, and data. Only later to find that, with those whopping 46 kilobytes per second download speeds, when I was lucky enough to get data, I would never even get close to my metering limit of 2 gigs. With those speeds I would be lucky to even use up 1 meg of data.
How can they charge so much for their "Nations largest 4G network"?
WHAT A JOKE.
I thought AT&T was ripping me off with their prices. I know feel like I have the greatest network provider on earth.
I did call the StraighTalkSIM folks to ask about data speeds. They were kind enough to let know that the fastest speeds I would see would be equivalent to AT&T's "3G". I can live with that for a cell phone bill that would be about 40% of what I pay now. I'll probably give them a try.
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Sorry that T-Mobile Prepaid doesn't have service in your area (no roaming + leave the city = no service)...
Try Straight Talk because it uses AT&T. You still don't get roaming though, so the footprint is smaller than the actual AT&T coverage map. You'll get full HSPA+ speeds where available with Straight Talk.
So I have a play store Gnex running Xenon HD I cant seem to get decent speeds. Coverage is spotty around here in Myrtle Beach, but sitting in the same place in my house with the same number of bars showing yields very different results. Sometimes its up to 5mbps down sometimes its 200k down. What has your experience been with GSM version Gnex and data speed? List off your carrier and location. Ive attached my best speed with T-Mobile
poopymt3g said:
So I have a play store Gnex running Xenon HD I cant seem to get decent speeds. Coverage is spotty around here in Myrtle Beach, but sitting in the same place in my house with the same number of bars showing yields very different results. Sometimes its up to 5mbps down sometimes its 200k down. What has your experience been with GSM version Gnex and data speed? List off your carrier and location. Ive attached my best speed with T-Mobile
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Very lucky
I'm in the UK and use Virgin Mobile, i don't get anything above 1.8mbit anywhere
Just north of you, here in Wilmington, NC, I average around ~6Mbps down and ~1Mbps up on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. There is always variance, although I'd say the connection is pretty stable. I'm totally happy with the GNex's network performance; although my vision might be a bit clouded as I just jumped ship from Sprint. I was getting a choppy/sporadic 100kbps down and 200kbps up on the best of days with Sprint 3G! My data speeds/reliability on the GNex puts that to shame....even when I'm forced to use T-Mobile's Edge network.
--DC
DamienChaos said:
Just north of you, here in Wilmington, NC, I average around ~6Mbps down and ~1Mbps up on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. There is always variance, although I'd say the connection is pretty stable. I'm totally happy with the GNex's network performance; although my vision might be a bit clouded as I just jumped ship from Sprint. I was getting a choppy/sporadic 100kbps down and 200kbps up on the best of days with Sprint 3G! My data speeds/reliability on the GNex puts that to shame....even when I'm forced to use T-Mobile's Edge network.
--DC
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+1000
I've really been trying to give sprint a chance, but, this week, I bought a GNex and decided to give the TMo Monthly 4G a try. I haven't canceled my Sprint plan yet, although it's only $90 at this point (contract is almost up!!!). I've been blown away by the data speeds. I just pulled 8.2Mbps down and 2.09Mbps up. This is probably 20x faster than I'm getting with sprint. Safe to say this is a good deal. I'm probably going to cancel Sprint this week and pony up the $90, but I'm also going to have change from the $30 plan on TMo to the $60. I need more than 100 minutes, and the VOIP methods aren't too reliable yet, from what I gather.
Im in NYC. This phone gets the same exact speeds as my sgs2 which is a 42mbps device. Average 10-13 down, and 1 up.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
This is the fastest i got with Vodafone UK, at home in Leyton, East London. i would usually get around a constant 6,7,8MB/s
Anyone running on AT&T HSPA +?
looneylu said:
+1000
I've really been trying to give sprint a chance, but, this week, I bought a GNex and decided to give the TMo Monthly 4G a try. I haven't canceled my Sprint plan yet, although it's only $90 at this point (contract is almost up!!!). I've been blown away by the data speeds. I just pulled 8.2Mbps down and 2.09Mbps up. This is probably 20x faster than I'm getting with sprint. Safe to say this is a good deal. I'm probably going to cancel Sprint this week and pony up the $90, but I'm also going to have change from the $30 plan on TMo to the $60. I need more than 100 minutes, and the VOIP methods aren't too reliable yet, from what I gather.
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Same situation here. Thankfully, I can get by with the 100mins/mo since additional minutes are only $0.10ea. I've never used 400min/mo, so the $30 plan works for me.
Glad to know T-Mobile works so well in MYR...I go that way pretty regularly, but haven't had a chance to yet since switching over to the GNex. Definitely good to hear! Anything has to be better than Sprint. Their voice coverage and pricing is decent; but I simply cannot handle dial-up speeds!
Having a "GSM data speed" thread is kinda pointless. There are so many different carriers, and even extreme variations within carriers, that just make it useless.
poopymt3g said:
Anyone running on AT&T HSPA +?
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I am on Straihg Talk AT&T HSPA+. The Att tower is right down the street. I usually get higher than this. But like said above there are a lot of factors at play when it comes to speedtests, so I am not sure how it will relate to your area or carrier.
looneylu said:
+1000
I've really been trying to give sprint a chance, but, this week, I bought a GNex and decided to give the TMo Monthly 4G a try. I haven't canceled my Sprint plan yet, although it's only $90 at this point (contract is almost up!!!). I've been blown away by the data speeds. I just pulled 8.2Mbps down and 2.09Mbps up. This is probably 20x faster than I'm getting with sprint. Safe to say this is a good deal. I'm probably going to cancel Sprint this week and pony up the $90, but I'm also going to have change from the $30 plan on TMo to the $60. I need more than 100 minutes, and the VOIP methods aren't too reliable yet, from what I gather.
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if you are only going for the 2GB Tmobile plan for $60, have you considered the Straight Talk $45 BYOD plan with a tmobile sim? should get you the same service for less...
www.straighttalksim.com
poopymt3g said:
Anyone running on AT&T HSPA +?
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Here is my random AT&T HSPA+ speeds gotta love the range.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
pdxtechdoctor said:
if you are only going for the 2GB Tmobile plan for $60, have you considered the Straight Talk $45 BYOD plan with a tmobile sim? should get you the same service for less...
www.straighttalksim.com
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I'm definitely considering Straight Talk... I just have to gauge how much data I actually use. Coming from Sprint's unlimited, I never worried about it, although at their speeds I couldn't actually do much. i'm in my trial period right now... Straight Talk has made me nervous with their soft data caps. Seems like everyone is confused as to what it is, but I'm definitely going to give it a try once this month is up. I'm going to give them a whirl with both the TMo sim and AT&T sim
looneylu said:
I'm definitely considering Straight Talk... I just have to gauge how much data I actually use. Coming from Sprint's unlimited, I never worried about it, although at their speeds I couldn't actually do much. i'm in my trial period right now... Straight Talk has made me nervous with their soft data caps. Seems like everyone is confused as to what it is, but I'm definitely going to give it a try once this month is up. I'm going to give them a whirl with both the TMo sim and AT&T sim
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Data usage on Straight Talk really depends on your area and how many other ST users there are in that area. I'd say try it out and see how it goes. Worst case scenario is you find out you'll use too much for your area and you gotta go back to T-Mobile. The only "issue" is that ST charges $15 for the SIM (which is also an activation kit effectively), whereas T-Mobile's Monthly 4G SIM + activation kits are like ~$0.99. Gets a little spendy to try out ST AT&T and ST T-Mobile. Worth it if you find out what's best for you though, of course. Just really wish ST would cut you a break on the SIM if you pre-purchase a month of service with it.
Bloomington-Normal Illinois, T-Mobile monthly 4G. I get around 1.7 average down and 1.5 up.
Was just in St. Louis last week. Got around 3 down and 3 up, downtown and around the arch.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
What radio are you using? I get about half the download speed I did with my sg2.
On your sprint online account if you look in your detailed bill there's an option to view your statistics which show you how much data you use in nice graphs. Also txts and minutes used. Check it out.
looneylu said:
I'm definitely considering Straight Talk... I just have to gauge how much data I actually use. Coming from Sprint's unlimited, I never worried about it, although at their speeds I couldn't actually do much. i'm in my trial period right now... Straight Talk has made me nervous with their soft data caps. Seems like everyone is confused as to what it is, but I'm definitely going to give it a try once this month is up. I'm going to give them a whirl with both the TMo sim and AT&T sim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App
DamienChaos said:
Just north of you, here in Wilmington, NC, I average around ~6Mbps down and ~1Mbps up on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. There is always variance, although I'd say the connection is pretty stable. I'm totally happy with the GNex's network performance; although my vision might be a bit clouded as I just jumped ship from Sprint. I was getting a choppy/sporadic 100kbps down and 200kbps up on the best of days with Sprint 3G! My data speeds/reliability on the GNex puts that to shame....even when I'm forced to use T-Mobile's Edge network.
--DC
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Lol woop woop. Decided not to pay for my tmobile this month as I get free sprint through work, loving my download on sprint... Sarcasm...
On gnexus, I got about 5mbps average all times a day here in Colorado.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Speed test
I'm getting decent speeds on tmobile
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium