The future of wireless plans (Verizons new plans)

It runs off of Sprint, and you get throttled down to about 300k after 2.5 gigs of usage. They don't have many good phones with the exception of the iPhone which is about to debut on Virgin Mobile USA.

 

I have no doubt that at one time they probably deserved the rep, I was just saying in the 10 years our company has been with Sprint, I've had next to no problems with coverage and the service has improved alot in the last few years.

I looked at the iphone 4s when I upgraded my phone a couple weeks ago, but found that the Photon 4g was superior in battery life and is a droid phone. I prefer the highly customizable droid architecture over the restrictive IOS.
They should have the same iPhones that everyone else does since they arent restricted to AT&T anymore.

Scion could be right about data speeds, the few times I try to look up something on the browser, it reminds me of slow dsl/fast dialup...but to be fair, I dont normally turn on 4g since I spend most of my time outside the 4g area so the 4g radio is just another battery drainer. When I have been inside the loop, it was significantly faster with 4g on.

 

Sir, with all due respect since you are a 99'er (close enough). Could you please not call it a "Droid" ? lol. "Droid" is a licensed term with LucasFilm and Verizon Wireless. Non Verizon branded "droids" are simply Android phones

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a dick, and it's not a big deal, it's just something that I notice people say way too often.


You're right though, Sprint isn't bad at all for voice and text, plus you have Verizon old 1x network to fall back on if you do get in a fringe area. (If you're rooted, you can even force roam onto Verizon). Sprint is in the process of it's "Network Vision" plan, which is supposedly going to improve 3G speed nationwide.

 

T-Mobile's HSPA+ is just fine for me. I take my laptop all around town and use my phone as a mobile hotspot. The speed is fine because remotely all I do is surf the net and check email. The only time I watch video is at home.

Even when they slow down my speeds after 2-3GB in a billing period, it's still fast enough.

 

Sprint is doing away with WiMax phones from what I've read, going to LTE.

 

I agree with Page Plus. Very good service.

If any of you have good HSPA+ coverage from AT&T. I highly recommend Red Pocket
http://goredpocket.com

$60 unlimited text, minutes, and 2GB of data (not throttled, you can use it all in one day if you can).

Don't buy the sim card from their store. Go to Amazon and get one for $1.00 or so

 

How does that compare to using an AT&T phone with Straight Talk ($45 unlimited plan)? I thought their cap/throttle point was 2GB, though I might be remembering wrong.

I like my T-Mobile prepaid plan, but I usually thought of Straight Talk as a back-up (primarily for service via AT&T's network). Might look into Red Pocket too though.

 

So I just did a quick spreadsheet. I was already eligible for an upgrade a few months ago. I've been satisfied w/ my phone and really wanted to wait longer before upgrading. Same as my wife.

EDIT: NM my math was off. Still looks like I'm getting an upgrade now. I was curious to check out the upcoming Galaxy Note/Journal, the HTC counterpart of that, and the Droid Razr HD but I'd rather save the money. I don't feel like I'm sacrificing much going with the S3.

 

If you use Straight Talk with an AT&T SIM, it's the same coverage as Red Pocket. They both use the AT&T Go Phone coverage map (It's almost the same as postpaid coverage). Only difference is that multiple people on Howard Forums have said that if you start using over 100MB in a day, they will actually terminate your service, without warning or refund. Some users have reported being throttled as well.

So far my experience on my Nexus with Red Pocket has been great. HSPA+ coverage from AT&T where I work and live is relatively good. (4-8 mbps)

 

Bleh.

One thing I hate about all the prepaid plans is how hard it is to get information on their data plans. A lot of them say unlimited data, but good luck trying to figure out when/if you actually get capped/throttled/terminated at some arbitrary bandwidth usage. Taking action at 100MB is a joke. Glad some of the info comes out in forums, but don't really like looking up user reports to figure that stuff out.

 

i'm lost how does a service like red pocket work? i'm a complete newb, so dumb down the explanation for me lol. also you need an unlocked phone for that? are android phones all unlocked? (unlocked means free of a certain carrier right?)

 

I've been on it for over a year and am happy with it. I'm on the old 300 minute/ unlimited data / unlimited text plan for $25/month. I have wifi in the places I'm at most often so I barely use 3G data and have never been throttled.

However, the 3G is somewhat slow. For my purposes (email, GPS mapping, light web browsing), it's fine. If you stream video/music you probably won't like it.

There is supposed to be new 4G service but my phone is not capable. Also, there aren't too many attractive choices for smartphones on VM right now, and the price is now $35/month.

 

No worries, I can explain it for you.

Unlocked phones mean it is free to use on any GSM network with the compatible frequencies. Most Android handsets are not unlocked.

In the U.S.A, you can use Red Pocket on any AT&T branded phone (even if it's locked, since it runs on the same network), or any international/European unlocked phone that will work on AT&T here in the states.

My best recommendation for an unlocked Android phone is the Galaxy Nexus since it's pentaband. Meaning it will work on T-Mobile and AT&T 3G frequencies. (You can use Red Pocket, Straight Talk, T-Mobile Prepaid, Simple Mobile, Jolt, etc)

The way it works is simple. You buy the unlocked device, purchase the SIM card, activate the SIM card, and put it in the phone. It should then start working. You may have to configure certain settings to get MMS (picture messaging) working, but it's really simple and most pre-paid providers will give you the settings to get it working on your phone.

 

Exactly. I totally understand.
Luckily, from all the reports on Red Pocket you can use your 2gb's all in one day and you won't get throttled down to EDGE or anything. You simply won't have data. You will still have voice/text service though.

I really wish an AT&T MVNO, would offer up to 5gb of data like the $30 Walmart/T-Mobile plan.

 

That would be great. The more I think about it, I doubt I even cost T-Mobile much (hardly any minutes/texts, and turns out I don't even use much mobile data since I usually have WiFi). Even at $30/month, they can make some good money.

Wish there was a GSM Republic Wireless too (AT&T or T-Mobile). Actually...just having more than one device to pick from would be nice (maybe partly why there is no GSM Republic Wireless).

 

hmm sounds easy enough. another question, i'm looking at that red pocket site right now...they have a section called "plans" you choose one of those and it just lasts for 30 days? thats it? then you're done?

i see there is an option to "refill" so i assume that means if you wanted to sign up for another 30 days, you just go ahead and do so when you need to? so its sort of like just if you had a phone where you paid for minutes and having to refill those, except it offers, depending on the plan: web, text, and minutes?

if you have a smartphone, obviously they use wifi, i assume you could just sign up for the talk/text plan and still be able to use internet on the phone through wifi? it doesn't force you to sign up for a plan with mobile web does it?

lastly (i think lol) what if you dont use all of the minutes you pay for in the 30 days? do they roll over or anything like that?

sorry for the questions, appreciate the responses

 

What the heck?

So... what you are saying is, after I use more than 2.5 gigs usage, I get faster service?

 

Don't have experience with them, so maybe Scionxa can provide better answers, but...

Yeah, basically have 30 day contracts. Not sure if they have any, but some others offer daily or by-the-minute plans. Can go with $1-$3 a day (get unlimited minutes/texts and maybe data for the days you actually use the phone, no charge for days you don't use their network). Or can get something like 1000 minutes, and that's good until it runs out (or...they expire...usually around 3 months I think, so can't abuse too much). I think you basically end up putting money into a balance, and then you can use that balance to pay off one of these plans (more relevant for the daily and maybe per minute plans).

Yeah, you can just refill. I think for T-Mobile, you can set it up to charge your credit card and add money to your balance every month. I use a 3rd party site though, since they offer small discounts (my $30 plan is actually ~$28, plus I earn "rewards"). Can do a "refill" program through them too. From these sites, you get a PIN, which you can input via T-Mobile's site to refill your account.

I'm doing a monthly plan with practically unlimited everything, and it really isn't all that different from a "normal" plan. I just have to buy my own phone (at full price unfortunately, but the monthly savings more than make up for that).

I never really thought about it, but I guess you could try to get talk+text only. I wouldn't really want that with a smartphone, but not sure why they would stop that.

No rollover with any of these plans AFAIK. The plan is strictly for 30 days of service (your "contract" is over after that, although you can renew). Maybe some special plan somewhere lets you roll them over, but wouldn't count on it.

 

Yup, you pretty much summed it up. No roll over or anything, and if you don't need data, if your phone is capable of using WIFI, you're more than free to use that as you please.

Do you use Calling Mart to save on your plan? I do the same thing you do and end up paying about $57 now a month for the $60 Red Pocket plan.

Going pre-paid is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm always around wi-fi at home, or at the office and though I thought I used a lot of data (Around 5 gigs a month on my Verizon line), it was mainly due to me never switching on WIFI while at home or at work since LTE was just that fast.