THSCC Forums

In case anyone is considering doing the Galaxy Nexus + ATT/Tmo MVNO thing. You might want to wait until the Nexus 4 is available:

https://play.google.com/store/devices/d ... =microsite

At $299 with no contract for a top-shelf phone, it's a steal. I plan to get one and give my Gnex to Kendra to get her off of sprint. Even with a healthy IBM discount we will save $25 per month on just one phone when switching. So long, contracts!

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

... And they are sold out 15 minutes after release.

I did manage to order one. If anyone is interested I'll give my impressions of the Nexus 4 I'll be happy to share. If no one cares, I won't

This is good timing since Kendra's Samsung Epic on sprint is giving some indication of hardware problems (random power-off when moved or keyboard slid open)

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Sure, why not? What about no 4G LTE . . . is that an issue for you? I like the 4G on my Galaxy Nexus (which I also like but since it is my first smartphone I'm not exactly an expert).

Thanks,

Dick

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

I see real world speeds on HSPA+ of up to 10 Mbit/s. Plenty for anything I need to do. T-mo is even faster. Theoretical limit of HSPA+ is 42 Mbit/s, so as always it's carrier limited, not hardware/bandwidth.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

AT&T doesn't have HSPA+ 42, they only have rolled out 14 & 21. T-Mobile does have HSPA+ 42, and it is apparently as good as AT&T and Verizon's LTE (in select markets, obviously haha).

Mine's in the mail; I guess I F5'd at the right time.

Currently have an HSPA+ connection on AT&T. The phone is pretty cool, as well.

How do you like yours, Mike?

I got caught in the Google Play cluster-f*ck. My order is still showing pending even though I got my order through before 9am.

My guess, it has something to do with my order of a bumper at the same time.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

I promised that I would share my experiences with tracking apps. I went out an read a bunch of reviews and articles and decided on Cerberus. It's $4 on the play store. There are plenty of free options out there made by "hobbyist" developers but as one reviewer rightly pointed out, these apps require a deep level of access to your phone so it's worth a few bucks to purchase an app from a reputable company.

You could go read the reviews, or just take a look at the web app screenshot below that I just took which I think is pretty convincing that it's a great package. Everything I have tried works perfectly.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Sooooo.... I bought a smart phone. Nexus and ATT will allow the 10c/min plan if I want. I'm probably going to start there but I'm sure I'll be on one of the "plans" shortly...

-Scott

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THSCC Timing & Scoring

Back from the dead...


I *really* need to make a change from VZW. Wife and I have Droid X2 phones, we're on a shared plan, something like 600 minutes talk, NO text, wife has 2GB data and I have Unlimited data (grandfathered from an old plan before they stopped offering unilimited). We pay $135/month after a 17% company discount.

A couple of things to note:

1- we'll be losing our 17% discount next billing cycle because I'm no longer working for this company- this will make our bill $150+, which is unacceptable.
2- we are currently under contract, but contract ends ~Aug 8th IIRC
3- we would like to add texting- the only reason we don't have it now is because I couldn't justify and additional $20/mo to add it to our current plan
4- we are not heavy data users
5- I have heard about "AOL" Assumption of Liability coming into play with these Verizon unlimited data plans- basically you sign over your plan to someone else, usually in exchange for $$ (the buyer pays the seller in my case- because this is the only way the buyer can get Unlimited data thru VZW). It looks like the going rate is ~$200 for this, but no one can/will confirm or deny that this can be done, and most seem to say that I would lose my current cell number (and I'd like to keep it if possible).

I've looked at Republic Wireless, Page Plus, Straight Talk, etc, but can't bring myself to pull the trigger on any of them. We've never had 4g/LTE phones, so we should be OK with 3g for now.


Discuss.

So $135 is ok, but $150 is not?

My wife and I have VZW with a plan almost exactly what you described (600 minutes, 2GB shared data) but addtional we have unlimited texts for about $150/month. I had to get unlimited texting or go broke as my wife texts almost as much as a teenager.

I've seen cheaper plans, but around here VZW has _the_ best coverage, hands down, (especially if you live in BFE) and I don't want to be searching for a signal.

BTW, 4G LTE is like lightning compared to 3G. You WILL notice the difference if you are browsing the web.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

It's not just a matter of $150 being too much, even $135 is too much IMHO.

I'm just sick of paying through the nose to VZW, it's crazy to me to pay that much for a cellphone. It was easier to deal with in the recent past because my employer contributed $50/mo to my bill since they required me to use my personal phone for business. So, I've lost that and will soon be losing the 17%, which adds up to a hefty increase in my out of pocket costs.

I'm sure 4gLTE is faster, but since I havent' had a hit of that crackpipe yet, I don't know what I'm missing, so I'm OK limiting myself to 3g IF it saves me some $$$$.

Paging Mike Whitney...

I just recently moved three lines off Sprint to Straight Talk and added a fourth new line. One extra line and I am paying less than I was with Sprint and that included a 15% discount with Sprint. Other that some weirdness with using their website, I am have been happy so far. I am not a heavy data user. I did buy all new GSM phones including a Google Nexus 4 for myself (which is a steal for an unlocked GSM phone).

Richard

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

FYI: VZW offers a 15% discount to Veterans. Just bring a copy of your DD214 to a VZW store. They will scan a couple of areas and give you the form back. Not quite as good as the employee discount from the company I retired from but it helps.

Dick

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

You can't force yourself to use 3G data only unless if it's a hardware limitation with the phone. Every cell provider has stood up 4G/LTE towers and it only switches to 3G if there are no 4G towers in the area (see: West Virginia). You can't save any money on a plan by forcing yourself to 3G data only.

Richard: What type of SIM are you using in your N4s? I am using my N4 on AT&T proper (contract is up in January) and I have about a 50% success rate with something working on the first try (I'm looking at you Youtube). I know T-Mobile has less coverage than AT&T, but they do have HSPA+42 in the Triangle so it'll be 4x faster than AT&T.