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Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Vice President posted:

Country/Provider: USA/Tmobile

Contract: Out of contract, on month to month

I want to get an android phone, but I hate on-screen keyboards so I want a phone with a real one. I was thinking about trying to find a G1 for sale used to pick up and just use that by adding the data plan, instead of buying a new phone at a discount and re-signing a new contract. That way if the Droid or something similar comes to Tmo I can switch. I thought about a Cliq but I just don't think I'd use the motoblur part of it and I don't really like the keyboard.

Is this a good idea? If so, what's a good price for a used G1? I've seen anywhere from $150-300 on ebay and craigslist.

I would not pay more than $150 for a G1, the hardware just is pretty laggy. Great phone, loved it for a year, but not worth more than that (and note, that is with no contract).

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Captain Cool
Oct 23, 2004

This is a song about messin' with people who've been messin' with you
I'm looking for a new phone. I was looking to get a shared plan with my fiancee, but everything seems more expensive than our current plans.

# Country/Provider/contract status: USA. Me: T-mobile, long out of contract. Her: Sprint, under contract until August.

# Budget (phone/plan): We're currently each paying $40-45 per month. Maybe willing to go a little higher than this but not much.

# Features I know I want: I would like some data. I just need enough to look up weather, wikipedia, street addresses, etc once in a while. I currently have the $6 T-zones web, which is supposedly WAP-only but lets me do most of what I want.

She texts enough to need a plan, I'm better off paying per text most months.

Minutes aren't that important. We both have 300 anytime minutes now, and never go over.

I'm sure I could find a phone on any carrier that will work for me. Is either Sprint or T-Mobile worse than the other about locking down their newer phones? My current phone doesn't let apps access the network, and it's a bitch to transfer photos off of it.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Captain Cool posted:

I'm looking for a new phone. I was looking to get a shared plan with my fiancee, but everything seems more expensive than our current plans.

# Country/Provider/contract status: USA. Me: T-mobile, long out of contract. Her: Sprint, under contract until August.

# Budget (phone/plan): We're currently each paying $40-45 per month. Maybe willing to go a little higher than this but not much.

# Features I know I want: I would like some data. I just need enough to look up weather, wikipedia, street addresses, etc once in a while. I currently have the $6 T-zones web, which is supposedly WAP-only but lets me do most of what I want.

She texts enough to need a plan, I'm better off paying per text most months.

Minutes aren't that important. We both have 300 anytime minutes now, and never go over.

I'm sure I could find a phone on any carrier that will work for me. Is either Sprint or T-Mobile worse than the other about locking down their newer phones? My current phone doesn't let apps access the network, and it's a bitch to transfer photos off of it.


Lowest Sprint family plan is $119-$129. Any Mobile, unlimited text, unlimited data (including smartphone), unlimited gps, etc. Do you work anywhere, it is eligible for company discounts (IE Wal-mart employees gets 25% off a month, etc).

TMobile you may be able to hit $80-90 with no internet, but not completely sure. You won't be able to move her to TMo until August, you can obviously go to Sprint at any time.

Captain Cool
Oct 23, 2004

This is a song about messin' with people who've been messin' with you

Duckman2008 posted:

Lowest Sprint family plan is $119-$129. Any Mobile, unlimited text, unlimited data (including smartphone), unlimited gps, etc. Do you work anywhere, it is eligible for company discounts (IE Wal-mart employees gets 25% off a month, etc).
Right, and I know that a lot of carriers are doing unlimited or nothing, but we don't need that much.

My work has 8-12% discounts off of some Verizon and T-Mobile plans, but when you add up the costs it's barely worth it.

Nnep
Jun 17, 2007

3-2 2-0
Situation: My contract with AT&T has recently ended and i have sold my previous phone. Right now i'm out of contract and looking for a new month to month plan. This is more so a search for a good carrier service than cool phone (i know i'm getting old..)

Features i want (from carrier): unlimited text, 400-600ish minutes month, unlimited data would be nice but not a deal breaker, semi-decent free phone.

Features i want (from hone): text and preferably web, not a huge deal though. Doesn't have to have a ton of bells and whistles, would like to be decent though.

I'm looking to spend anywhere from 20-50 a month for it, the lower the better weighing options obviously, does this sound reasonable/possible?

Das MicroKorg
Sep 18, 2005

Vintage Analog Synthesizer
I'd like a phone recommendation. Plan/price doesn't matter right now, as I'm in Europe and will figure those out once I know about the phone (the plans are quite transparent here).

Phone must have:
- ability to sync my Google-Mail, -Calendar and -Contacs
- HDSPA
- tethering, i.e. connecting it to my Windows computer via cable or bluetooth, to go online "everywhere"
- a stable web-browser that displays webpages like on a regular computer (e.g. like Opera Mobile or Skyfire)
- a Google Maps client (either built in or via external app)


What would be nice to have, but not necessary:
- a web-browser that plays Flash videos (e.g. YouTube)
- a GPS receiver and navigation software
- a camera that doesn't lag too much
- external app availability (e.g. Facebook and Twitter clients)


I was thinking either iPhone, Palm Pre or a Nexus One once that is available over here, but I'm not sure whether those phones support all my must-haves. I've got a 2007 Windows Mobile phone right now, which does all these things, but is so terrible to use, unstable and worn out.

EDIT: With the three phones I mentioned, is it possible to change the operating system's language, by the way?

Das MicroKorg fucked around with this message at 14:04 on Jan 26, 2010

900ftjesus
Aug 10, 2003

Duckman2008 posted:

Lowest Sprint family plan is $119-$129. Any Mobile, unlimited text, unlimited data (including smartphone), unlimited gps, etc. Do you work anywhere, it is eligible for company discounts (IE Wal-mart employees gets 25% off a month, etc).

TMobile you may be able to hit $80-90 with no internet, but not completely sure. You won't be able to move her to TMo until August, you can obviously go to Sprint at any time.

I swear you're some kind of idiot. Stop suggesting retail Sprint plans. EPRP is $109 + $15 per line.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

900ftjesus posted:

I swear you're some kind of idiot. Stop suggesting retail Sprint plans. EPRP is $109 + $15 per line.

Meh, I'm still newer to that plan, my apologies.

decoy octopus
Oct 26, 2005

You fat Loco, you fat
And it's only 20% for wal-mart employees on sprint. 20% on Verizon and ATT and 14% on t-mobile for wal-mart/sam's club associates.

Captain Cool
Oct 23, 2004

This is a song about messin' with people who've been messin' with you

900ftjesus posted:

EPRP is $109 + $15 per line.
...which is still $20-30 more than we're paying separately. Okay, I guess I'll upgrade my phone in place.

kbar
Aug 9, 2002

Captain Cool posted:

...which is still $20-30 more than we're paying separately. Okay, I guess I'll upgrade my phone in place.
Yeah, but you're talking about a legit Sprint plan with a fully-supported no-bullshit 3G data connection on all their newest phones vs. a grandfathered t-zones add-on, which is basically a hack in and of itself. Sprint EPRP would be $55/month for each of you, and you'd both have unlimited SMS regardless of whether or not you need it. Overkill, sure, but nobody else is underselling them right now. I'm also quite curious how your girlfriend's swinging a voice plan with an SMS bundle for "$40-45/month" on Sprint, given that you didn't mention SERO or any other Cellphone Shack-favorite Sprint promo plans.

You're obviously never going to beat your current plan in terms of dollars, so the next step is pretty clearly to find out what your grandfathered t-zones plan is capable of and to decide if you're going to be happy with it long-term. I feel like I've seen a lot of folks on HowardForums bitching that it doesn't work reliably on T-Mo's AWS 3G-capable phones, so that's something to check out if you think you might want to leverage the massive perks of a 3G connection. Someone with more T-Mobile knowledge can probably address this better, but I believe they won't even sell you a subsidized phone that "requires" their new data plans without forcing you to cough up the cash for one of those plans, which means you're stuck trolling eBay/SA-Mart for a device.

I can share my own personal experience using the $5.99 t-zones add-on and an unlocked iPhone 2G (this was early/mid-2008). I wanted basically the same stuff as you ("oh I'll only need light data usage for Maps, Gmail, Reader, this'll be fine"), but the poo poo just didn't work reliably. Pageloads would time out pretty frequently, Google Maps would just sporadically be unable to load anything -- but if you tried refreshing or closing/re-opening the app sometimes it would go ahead and load anyway, but behavior patterns were really difficult to reliably predict. I tried popping my SIM into a Nokia Nseries smartphone for a few weeks and while I feel like it worked somewhat more reliably I still got a lot of similar behavior where poo poo would just randomly fail to load pretty often.

The experience was absolutely maddening so I ultimately decided life was too short to rely on a spotty-rear end $6 data connection that T-Mobile apparently didn't want me using. I'm really not sure if it was a t-zones prioritization issue against their full-price customers or general network shittiness, but I sure as gently caress wasn't going to cough up +$19.99/month for the "full" EDGE experience to find out: we shitcanned those assbags and went back to Sprint.

On what cellphone and in what capacity are you using t-zones successfully now?

EDIT: It's worth noting that T-Mobile's new EM+ plans are actually capable of beating Sprint EPRP if you're comfortable buying a phone on your own. For $70/month you can get two lines, 750 shared minutes, and unlimited SMS on both lines. You can add "data" to one line for $10/month or "smartphone data" for $25/month (I hate cellphone carriers). Assuming you get stuck with smartphone data you're still only looking at $95/month total for everything you want, which isn't a horrible situation.

kbar fucked around with this message at 10:49 on Jan 27, 2010

vanessa
May 21, 2006

CAUTION: This pussy is ferocious.

kalibar posted:

Yeah, but you're talking about a legit Sprint plan with a fully-supported no-bullshit 3G data connection on all their newest phones vs. a grandfathered t-zones add-on, which is basically a hack in and of itself. Sprint EPRP would be $55/month for each of you, and you'd both have unlimited SMS regardless of whether or not you need it. Overkill, sure, but nobody else is underselling them right now. I'm also quite curious how your girlfriend's swinging a voice plan with an SMS bundle for "$40-45/month" on Sprint, given that you didn't mention SERO or any other Cellphone Shack-favorite Sprint promo plans.

EDIT: It's worth noting that T-Mobile's new EM+ plans are actually capable of beating Sprint EPRP if you're comfortable buying a phone on your own. For $70/month you can get two lines, 750 shared minutes, and unlimited SMS on both lines. You can add "data" to one line for $10/month or "smartphone data" for $25/month (I hate cellphone carriers). Assuming you get stuck with smartphone data you're still only looking at $95/month total for everything you want, which isn't a horrible situation.

My plan is the "Sprint Fair and Flexible 200": 200 daytime minutes, nights/weekends start at 7 for $29.99 and 300 text messages for an additional $5 per month. I don't have a data plan because I've used it three times in my four years of having contracts with Sprint and am okay with paying the additional couple of bucks on the rare occasion that I do need to use data.

I like Sprint because the nights start at 7, which works great for me since we live in CA and my family lives in WI. But that T-Mobile EM+ plan does look rather intriguing...

Useful Idiot
Jun 11, 2009
I'm currently looking for a new phone in the 200-300 euro price range. So far I've been interested in the HTC Tattoo and Nokia 5800 Express Music. Both seem to have their good and bad sides (although so far the Tattoo seems to be worse than the 5800XM) and I'm not really sure on either one, so I'm open for suggestions. WiFi connectivity is a must, 3G connectivity is a plus. Battery life doesn't have to be excellent, but good battery life is preferable.

3G would be nice, since unlimited data plans seem to be rather inexpensive around here (about 10-20 euros a month for unlimited 3G usage). Considering my current phone is a Nokia 3120 Classic, there are no real downgrades in the 200-300 euro range so I'm all ears for your suggestions. Touch screen isn't a must have, but it would be nice.

Captain Cool
Oct 23, 2004

This is a song about messin' with people who've been messin' with you

kalibar posted:

I can share my own personal experience using the $5.99 t-zones add-on and an unlocked iPhone 2G (this was early/mid-2008). I wanted basically the same stuff as you ("oh I'll only need light data usage for Maps, Gmail, Reader, this'll be fine"), but the poo poo just didn't work reliably. ...

On what cellphone and in what capacity are you using t-zones successfully now?
Thanks for the info. I guess I did assume T-zones would get better with a new phone.

My current phone is a Samsung T509, and I usually wind up going through T-zones links for weather and Google for most other things. Google Maps (Local, rather) stopped loading images a while ago, but still helps me look up addresses and driving directions.

quote:

EDIT: It's worth noting that T-Mobile's new EM+ plans are actually capable of beating Sprint EPRP if you're comfortable buying a phone on your own. For $70/month you can get two lines, 750 shared minutes, and unlimited SMS on both lines. You can add "data" to one line for $10/month or "smartphone data" for $25/month (I hate cellphone carriers). Assuming you get stuck with smartphone data you're still only looking at $95/month total for everything you want, which isn't a horrible situation.
Neat. I think I assumed we needed to start with the $110 plan to get data, but now I see the $10 addon. My work should be able to get me 12% off EM plans, bringing them down to about the same price as EM+ with free phones.

Jihad Me At Hello
Apr 23, 2002

by FactsAreUseless
Fun Shoe
So I'm looking to start the A/T, once I get someone to take or cancel my Sprint EPRP plan I'll be getting a cheapo pay as you go deal. I'm looking to basically to get a $20 phone and then throw $50 on it and go. There really isn't signal in a lot of places on the trail. I'm not planning for this to be a lifeline. Just to use in towns. There seems to be a lot of options and most seem pretty similar. Any suggestions with who to go with would be appreciated. Also, I realize I'm asking for advice on a $20 phone and reliability is going to be poo poo. Basically, if it works it works if not, oh well.

cowofwar
Jul 30, 2002

by Athanatos
# Country/Provider: Canada (Rogers)

# Current contract status: Pay as you go

# Budget (phone/plan): Willing to drop money on a good handset, not willing to drop money on an expensive contract.

# Features I know I want: I mostly call long distance. I need a phone that can run skype, is GSM and sim-card drop-in ready. I'd like it to be able to use wi-fi and surf the net, etc.

yatagan
Aug 31, 2009

by Ozma
No current plan, located in Chicago. I just want to me able to send and receive texts since no one calls anyone anymore apparently and my ancient phone cannot do this. Very low utilization. Data/web would be cool but I don't want to pay extra for it, just want something as cheap as possible.

dZPnJOm8QwUAseApNj
Apr 15, 2002

arf bark woof
I'm going to run this by you guys before I pull the trigger tomorrow afternoon: I'm currently in Chicago, USA on a $20 family plan through Verizon. I'm looking to get a Nexus One, and while it is coming to Verizon in a few months, I won't be up for an extension or new-every-two for another eighteen months and don't really like my current situation enough to stick that out. Moreover, if the N1 plan is anything like the Droid's, its going to be out of my price range per month.

The plan right now is to pull my number off of the family plan, eating the early termination fee, and starting my own service with T-Mobile. Since my phone now is as dumb as they get, I understand the fee to be $175 - $5/month spent on contract, so I'd be looking at somewhere around $150. If I'm wrong on this, or if family plans have some extra complication or steps involved, please let me know.

Anyway, that's where I'm at after a weekend of weighing options and number crunching. This sort of straddles a few topics/carriers, so hopefully its not out of place in this thread.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Mein Eyes! posted:

I'm going to run this by you guys before I pull the trigger tomorrow afternoon: I'm currently in Chicago, USA on a $20 family plan through Verizon. I'm looking to get a Nexus One, and while it is coming to Verizon in a few months, I won't be up for an extension or new-every-two for another eighteen months and don't really like my current situation enough to stick that out. Moreover, if the N1 plan is anything like the Droid's, its going to be out of my price range per month.

The plan right now is to pull my number off of the family plan, eating the early termination fee, and starting my own service with T-Mobile. Since my phone now is as dumb as they get, I understand the fee to be $175 - $5/month spent on contract, so I'd be looking at somewhere around $150. If I'm wrong on this, or if family plans have some extra complication or steps involved, please let me know.

Anyway, that's where I'm at after a weekend of weighing options and number crunching. This sort of straddles a few topics/carriers, so hopefully its not out of place in this thread.


Just be sure to call Verizon to get the exact number.

djbaseball24
Nov 27, 2006
On Sprint, staying with them since I Get 20% off through Target, I have the Curve 8330, and I wanna upgrade so its either: Tour, Curve 8530, Hero or the Moment or wait for the tour2 but I don't really want to. Help me out pleaseee

djbaseball24 fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Jan 31, 2010

Grawl
Aug 28, 2008

Do the D.A.N.C.E
1234, fight!
Stick to the B.E.A.T
Get ready to ignite
You were such a P.Y.T
Catching all the lights
Just easy as A.B.C
That's how we make it right
# Country/Provider: Netherlands/Hi (Hi is the daughter company of the biggest provider KPN)

# Current contract status: €20/month for calling and texting + €10/month for unlimited 3G internet

# Budget (phone/plan): Right now I have a N95, which set quite a standard for me in regards of stability and having a phone that I can use to check my mail and browse the internet. Gaming would be a nice extra, not needed though. I can order any phone from this Dutch store.

# Features I know I want: Touchscreen, lots of application support, a long battery life (the N95 has the shortest battery life I had with any phone)

# Features I'd like, but don't require: >5GB internal space or a (micro)SD card included with the phone that's not too small, 5MP camera or better, slim phone but not too light

# Features I don't want: qwerty-keyboard

Right now I have my eyes on the HTC HD2, but I never used Windows Mobile so I don't know what to expect from it.

dZPnJOm8QwUAseApNj
Apr 15, 2002

arf bark woof

Duckman2008 posted:

Just be sure to call Verizon to get the exact number.

How should I handle this? When I go to order the phone on Google's webpage, it asks for my old number and suggests that it'll process the switch over; this is echoed by certain guides and discussions I've read basically saying don't contact or cancel your account, rather just let it get terminated when the number gets switched. I'm not trying to arguing any point, but I don't want to gently caress up and am curious about this.

yatagan
Aug 31, 2009

by Ozma

yatagan posted:

No current plan, located in Chicago. I just want to me able to send and receive texts since no one calls anyone anymore apparently and my ancient phone cannot do this. Very low utilization. Data/web would be cool but I don't want to pay extra for it, just want something as cheap as possible.

I take it there's no particular best "entry level" type phone? How should I approach getting one then, just go into a cell phone store?

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

djbaseball24 posted:

On Sprint, staying with them since I Get 20% off through Target, I have the Curve 8330, and I wanna upgrade so its either: Tour, Curve 8530, Hero or the Moment or wait for the tour2 but I don't really want to. Help me out pleaseee

I have used both the Tour and Moment, really fast, zippy phones, I have been happy with both. Its kinda a preference thing, the only thing BBerry does better than Android is better exchange support. Hero is a great phone, from what i hear a bit slower than the moment.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Mein Eyes! posted:

How should I handle this? When I go to order the phone on Google's webpage, it asks for my old number and suggests that it'll process the switch over; this is echoed by certain guides and discussions I've read basically saying don't contact or cancel your account, rather just let it get terminated when the number gets switched. I'm not trying to arguing any point, but I don't want to gently caress up and am curious about this.

Right, whatever you do don't cancel with Verizon, I'm saying call them to find out how much the termination fee is. Sorry for that confusion.

Whenever switching/porting your number, NEVER cancel. It will auto-cancel out (Verizon will just bill you your remaining usage and termination fee) when you port.

Tedronai66
Aug 24, 2006
Better to Reign in Hell...

Duckman2008 posted:

I have used both the Tour and Moment, really fast, zippy phones, I have been happy with both. Its kinda a preference thing, the only thing BBerry does better than Android is better exchange support. Hero is a great phone, from what i hear a bit slower than the moment.

Yeah, the hero is slower, but can be sped up some with rooting/using fresh/modaco/ttg on it.

Exchange support is terrible with android unless you pony up 20 bucks for Touchdown Exchange (best thing for activesync for gmail).

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Tedronai66 posted:

Yeah, the hero is slower, but can be sped up some with rooting/using fresh/modaco/ttg on it.

Exchange support is terrible with android unless you pony up 20 bucks for Touchdown Exchange (best thing for activesync for gmail).

Can touchdown exchange support push/refresh of multiple inboxes? Thats what seems to get the most complaints.

Tedronai66
Aug 24, 2006
Better to Reign in Hell...

Duckman2008 posted:

Can touchdown exchange support push/refresh of multiple inboxes? Thats what seems to get the most complaints.

I'm not sure since I only have one email, and I don't/can't use it for my work email via company policy.

Tony Phillips
Feb 9, 2006
Boring part - I'm an apartment manager about to transfer from one building to another.

I currently have a cell provided for me by the owner of the building. No idea on the specifics other than that I have a cheapo free Nokia that T-Mobile would give out like candy. I've never paid for it nor seen the bill, so am not aware of any specifics - I just have an extra line on the owners family plan. I use the cell for personal calls and have a land line at the building for business.

I will need to turn the cell in soon due to the transfer, and will now have to pay for phone service myself. Would like two lines, one to be used for personal use, and one for the business.


# Country/Provider: US - Seattle area. No current provider.

# Current contract status: N/A

# Budget (phone/plan): The cheaper the better on both phones. Would be happy to use the nokia, though I assume it's locked to T-Mobile. Would like to keep monthly bill under $100.

# Features I know I want: For the personal use one, unlimited text would be nice. 500 minutes should cover things. For the business, just the minutes would suffice, though I assume both lines would have the same features by default.

# Features I don't care about, plan or phone wise: Data or any online use. Style of phone. Don't need a camera, don't need a full keyboad, etc. The more plain the better.

Any idea on a plan that would cover my needs? Any chance getting a single cell and a basic land line would be cheaper?

Tedronai66
Aug 24, 2006
Better to Reign in Hell...

Beatnik-Filmstar posted:

Boring part - I'm an apartment manager about to transfer from one building to another.

I currently have a cell provided for me by the owner of the building. No idea on the specifics other than that I have a cheapo free Nokia that T-Mobile would give out like candy. I've never paid for it nor seen the bill, so am not aware of any specifics - I just have an extra line on the owners family plan. I use the cell for personal calls and have a land line at the building for business.

I will need to turn the cell in soon due to the transfer, and will now have to pay for phone service myself. Would like two lines, one to be used for personal use, and one for the business.


# Country/Provider: US - Seattle area. No current provider.

# Current contract status: N/A

# Budget (phone/plan): The cheaper the better on both phones. Would be happy to use the nokia, though I assume it's locked to T-Mobile. Would like to keep monthly bill under $100.

# Features I know I want: For the personal use one, unlimited text would be nice. 500 minutes should cover things. For the business, just the minutes would suffice, though I assume both lines would have the same features by default.

# Features I don't care about, plan or phone wise: Data or any online use. Style of phone. Don't need a camera, don't need a full keyboad, etc. The more plain the better.

Any idea on a plan that would cover my needs? Any chance getting a single cell and a basic land line would be cheaper?

If you're fine with a cheap nokia: Go buy another cheap tmo prepaid phone or buy one full price from tmo.

Sign up for Even More plus 1500 talk family + unlimited text. http://goo.gl/ILjU or 750 talk/text if you could swing that, which is the same price as the option below:

that or two EMP 500 talk plans, one with text one without. 10$ cheaper, but maybe 2 bills to deal with?

Tony Phillips
Feb 9, 2006

Tedronai66 posted:

If you're fine with a cheap nokia: Go buy another cheap tmo prepaid phone or buy one full price from tmo.

Sign up for Even More plus 1500 talk family + unlimited text. http://goo.gl/ILjU or 750 talk/text if you could swing that, which is the same price as the option below:

that or two EMP 500 talk plans, one with text one without. 10$ cheaper, but maybe 2 bills to deal with?

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated. Hadn't thought of it, but I may very well go with the two separate single plans, as I'll want to keep one active come the glorious day when I no longer have to manage and apartment building.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Beatnik-Filmstar posted:

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated. Hadn't thought of it, but I may very well go with the two separate single plans, as I'll want to keep one active come the glorious day when I no longer have to manage and apartment building.

TMobile plans are great, only other thing i could think of, if you do a lot of calling, is ATT Prepaid unlimited call/text for $60 a month.

Jayzer
Dec 16, 2003
I honestly don't pay much attention to phones, and I don't use mine very often. However, my Nokia 6126 has been acting up lately, and I'd like to replace it.

I'm not a Luddite; in fact, I'm a programmer, but I am in the midst of dealing with some type of repetitive strain injury (seeing a doctor for the first time tomorrow). Unfortunately, this precludes me from conducting too serious a search (I'm actually dictating this post using MacSpeech Dictate, if you're wondering how I can magically muster up the strength to ask for help but not to conduct my own search), but I have fairly low standards and my only aspiration is to not end up with a lemon.


Details:

# Country/Provider: US - AT&T

# Current contract status: None

# Budget (phone/plan): Ideally, I'd like to spend less than $50

# Features I know I want: It would be nice to have a full keyboard, but it's not a dealbreaker.

# Features I don't care about, plan or phone wise: Data. I believe my current plan is $40 plus 1000 texts, and I plan to keep it that way.


I'm trying to keep things cheap because I'm a freelance web developer who just sabotaged his own livelihood. Unless deemed absolutely necessary, I plan to avoid signing a contract, though I realize this limits my prospects somewhat. From what I've read in this forum so far, my impression is that the only economical option for me is to buy used on eBay. Is this the case? And if so, is there some cheap, ubiquitous, reliable phone that I can find and order without too much trouble?

I'm not looking for anyone to do any work for me. I'm just searching for the path of least resistance, and I'm feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the number of options available. I can see how the information I provided above may not be enough, and I can post more if needed. I would post some more official information regarding my plan, but unfortunately AT&T's website currently spits this out when I attempt to log in:

quote:

L132: We are unable to process your transaction at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. You may contact our Customer Care department at 1-800-331-0500 or dial 611 from your wireless phone.

:(

Jayzer fucked around with this message at 08:58 on Feb 3, 2010

900ftjesus
Aug 10, 2003

Tedronai66 posted:

Exchange support is terrible with android unless you pony up 20 bucks for Touchdown Exchange (best thing for activesync for gmail).

The Moment comes with Moxier Mail installed, it's $29 on the market otherwise, and I have no complaints about it so far or found anything it can't do.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

900ftjesus posted:

The Moment comes with Moxier Mail installed, it's $29 on the market otherwise, and I have no complaints about it so far or found anything it can't do.

**Edit I should read the whole post next time

Duckman2008 fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Feb 6, 2010

Grooveh
Apr 14, 2007
Why yes, I do enjoy banana bread muffins.
Country/Provider: USA/Verizon

Current contract status: None. Currently using a lovely flip phone on my dad's Verizon family plan, which I need to leave.

Budget (phone/plan): $300 phone, $60/month

Features I know I want: A good physical QWERTY keyboard that works well with large hands, unlimited texting, and at least 400 minutes. Optional: Wi-Fi, web browsing, GPS, and Google Maps.

I'd like to avoid a contract unless it's an awesome phone with a great reputation and all of the optional stuff I listed.

Virgin Mobile doesn't have good coverage in my area, and I've heard the same about Sprint from a friend, whose senior project partner recently had trouble getting reception in buildings where T-Mobile worked fine. Sprint's coverage map shows a mix of "best" and "good," and I went to a local Sprint store and noticed the Palm Pre on display only had two bars. If not for the possible coverage issue, the Samsung Moment and Sprint EPRP would seem like a no-brainer. I figured Sprint would just roam off Verizon towers and maintain a good signal strength, but now that seems uncertain.

The best alternative I've come up with so far is an unlocked $190 Nokia E63 with T-Mobile's $60 Even More Plus 500 Talk + Text + Web month-to-month plan, which I think would have the option of downgrading to the $40 data-less plan if funds were low and I wanted to rely on Wi-Fi for Google Maps.

I also have the option of joining my sister's Verizon family plan that has unlimited texting without data for $22/month, but I don't know if their messaging phones that don't require data are any good (Samsung Intensity, Motorola Rival, Verizon Wireless Razzle) despite being $200+.

internet inc
Jun 13, 2005

brb
taking pictures
of ur house
# Country/Provider: Canada/Telus

# Current contract status: 2½ years in a 3 year contract

# Budget (phone/plan): Unlimited for the phone and I'm going to keep my plan (includes unlimited data for smart phones)

# Features I know I want: full-sized keyboard and basically a phone I know I won't regret buying in 2 years. Tell me about the most badass phone out, I guess. I really don't know where to start my research and I'm kind of overwhelmed by all of it.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Grooveh posted:

Country/Provider: USA/Verizon

Current contract status: None. Currently using a lovely flip phone on my dad's Verizon family plan, which I need to leave.

Budget (phone/plan): $300 phone, $60/month

Features I know I want: A good physical QWERTY keyboard that works well with large hands, unlimited texting, and at least 400 minutes. Optional: Wi-Fi, web browsing, GPS, and Google Maps.

I'd like to avoid a contract unless it's an awesome phone with a great reputation and all of the optional stuff I listed.

Virgin Mobile doesn't have good coverage in my area, and I've heard the same about Sprint from a friend, whose senior project partner recently had trouble getting reception in buildings where T-Mobile worked fine. Sprint's coverage map shows a mix of "best" and "good," and I went to a local Sprint store and noticed the Palm Pre on display only had two bars. If not for the possible coverage issue, the Samsung Moment and Sprint EPRP would seem like a no-brainer. I figured Sprint would just roam off Verizon towers and maintain a good signal strength, but now that seems uncertain.

The best alternative I've come up with so far is an unlocked $190 Nokia E63 with T-Mobile's $60 Even More Plus 500 Talk + Text + Web month-to-month plan, which I think would have the option of downgrading to the $40 data-less plan if funds were low and I wanted to rely on Wi-Fi for Google Maps.

I also have the option of joining my sister's Verizon family plan that has unlimited texting without data for $22/month, but I don't know if their messaging phones that don't require data are any good (Samsung Intensity, Motorola Rival, Verizon Wireless Razzle) despite being $200+.


I'd recommend both TMo and Sprint, but given that Virgin uses Sprint towers if their reception is spotty, Sprint is likely to be as well. Give TMobile a try, especially since you aren't signing a contract with an unlocked phone.

Whoforthenwhat
Sep 20, 2009
# Country/Provider: Australia, Vodafone

# Current contract status: No contract

# Budget (phone/plan): Irrelevant, mainly because most of you are U.S.A and the plans are different there.

# Features I know I want: Qwerty keypad. Camera around 2MP is fine. Used mainly for Text and email, Calendar, web access. NOT Windows Mobile OS, unsure about S60 (as its an old OS now). Already have an Ipod Touch so Iphone is a bit of a waste. Reasonably rugged, I like my phones to last for years and can cope with the occasional knock. E63, E71, BB Curve (only 8520 available here) are my current thinking.

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900ftjesus
Aug 10, 2003

Duckman2008 posted:

Curious, any way to get that for other Android phones?

Really? My post said "it's $29 on the market" specifically. It's actually $24.99, but still.

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