I need help picking out a smartphone

[killxswitch]

I find the idea of not being locked into a 2 year contract very attractive. Are there any downsides to, for example, T-Mobile's (or Virgin Mobile's) month-to-month voice and data plans?

[asdf1223]

Originally Posted by bhaarat316

who has the best 4g network?

I always thought it was Sprint. I know Verizon has the largest area covered but not always greatest reception.

Verizon has the best coverage, AT&T is faster. Sprint's WIMax is dead and they just started deploying their LTE so no one really knows.

Originally Posted by j05son

I've always found nationwide coverage to go:

1 Verizon
2 AT&T
3 Sprint
4 T Mobile

As far as Verizon's 4g LTE network, it's faster than my comcast high speed internet through Speed Test. I believe AT&T is faster (I know for sure their 3g was/is faster) but just not as widespread. Also no way will Sprint have 4G LTE in the majority of major cities by years end. They were ungodly slow at rolling out 4G and now their trying to save money with combining wimax and all their other **** components in LTE. Plus they're at like a 1.4 BILLION dollar loss since they brought out the iPhone including a 629 million loss in just this quarter.

Sprint's only called the now network because they're going to be bankrupt in a few more years...

Sprint will get bought out by some other company pretty soon so I doubt they go bust anytime soon. Too valuable spectrum.

[asdf1223]

Originally Posted by killxswitch

I find the idea of not being locked into a 2 year contract very attractive. Are there any downsides to, for example, T-Mobile's (or Virgin Mobile's) month-to-month voice and data plans?

The downside is that you have to pay full retail everytime you buy a new phone and if you change carriers you'll have to get a new phone or be stuck with a phone that is much much slower(2g speeds).

Have you had a look at Straight talk? 45 dollars a month for unlimited talk text and data(well 2-3 gigs of it). Uses AT&T/T-Mobile's network. (You get to pick which one). Have been using it for a couple of months or so. Works great.

[killxswitch]

Originally Posted by asdf1223

The downside is that you have to pay full retail everytime you buy a new phone and if you change carriers you'll have to get a new phone or be stuck with a phone that is much much slower(2g speeds).

Have you had a look at Straight talk? 45 dollars a month for unlimited talk text and data(well 2-3 gigs of it). Uses AT&T/T-Mobile's network. (You get to pick which one). Have been using it for a couple of months or so. Works great.

Over the life of a 2 year contract though even paying full price and then getting the lower-cost contract means saving several hundred dollars. Data plan prices are stupid high.

Straight Talk is another I am looking at. T-Mobile has a $35/month unlimited data plan I am interested in though. I don't use that many minutes, especially with web calling.

[j05son]

Originally Posted by vidae

lolwut? usrsbrah?

Sprint overpaid on the iPhone and are releasing it on their piggyback companies of Virgin and Cricket. They're in the red by a billion and a half this year and their CEO had to give a large portion of his salary back so the board wouldn't drop him. They aren't doing well. Plus they're CDMA when GSM was clearly the better decision and the switch to LTE won't go nearly as smooth as Verizon. Plus wimax is a dead technology that they have to phase out.

Originally Posted by asdf1223

Sprint will get bought out by some other company pretty soon so I doubt they go bust anytime soon. Too valuable spectrum.

Something big will have to change as the government can't allow Verizon to buy them without allowing AT&T to buy T-Mobile. Would it be a monopoly if there were only 2 options (Verizon and AT&T) when those options use to be the same company? The prepaid companies (Boost, Virgin and Cricket) are holding Sprint above water for now.

Originally Posted by killxswitch

I find the idea of not being locked into a 2 year contract very attractive. Are there any downsides to, for example, T-Mobile's (or Virgin Mobile's) month-to-month voice and data plans?

I never understood what was bad about a contract. Will there be a point where you won't have a cell phone? There is a difference and trade-off between postpaid and prepaid. You'll have to pay more for your phone and you'll have a lower priority on the network then postpaid customers.

Most of the time you get a work discount for postpaid that helps bring down the price.

edit:

It's rumored that Apple will hold their iPhone keynote Sep 12th with a release around the 21st.