Help Finding the right carrier for Android

[FerraraZ]

I'm a current iPhone user and have had an Android phone in the past and loved them. I love my iPhone as well but I want to get out of AT&T and onto another carrier.

I recently got a job in State College, PA (16801) so my purchase is mainly referential to the service I'll find there and in Central PA.

I was mainly looking at the Droid X for Verizon or the HTC EVO for Sprint but was wondering if anyone had any input on the matter.

I can get 22% off of Verizon from my employer depending on what plan I choose and also 20% off of Sprint so price is not a major concern but I certainly wouldnt mind saving money with Sprint if the service is ok in Central PA.

Lastly I dont understand roaming on Sprint. Will I be able to roam with voice and data with my unlimited Sprint Nationwide plan?

 

[Bateluer]

The Dx and Evo are both nice phones, however, both obsolete now. The Evo should be getting a refresh soon, and Verizon will be refreshing the bulk of its Android offerings in another month or 3. Unless you have a pressing need to upgrade right now, I'd hold off. This is the smart thing to do.

Now, back to restricting myself from jumping on Best Buy Mobile's free Android phone deals for the holidays . . .I never said I was smart.

 

[FerraraZ]

See thats what makes it soo hard. State College, PA wont be getting any LTE within the next year so I figure it wont hurt to get a non LTE phone now and just upgrade to one if its beneficial later down the line.

 

[nsafreak]

See thats what makes it soo hard. State College, PA wont be getting any LTE within the next year so I figure it wont hurt to get a non LTE phone now and just upgrade to one if its beneficial later down the line.

I thought long and hard about it myself, got some opinions from folks on the two phones I was looking at on Verizon (Droid X & Incredible, went with the Incredible) and thought about the likelihood of LTE coming to my area. Since I do live in Denver, CO it's one of the areas that will be a part of the initial LTE rollout. However it's been my experience in the past that it's not always wise to purchase one of the first phones based on a new standard. I've done the whole "cutting edge" thing before and I'm starting to run out of bandages . My thinking is that the Incredible that I'll be receiving from Amazon in a bit will be plenty sufficient for at least 2 years. And in those 2 years the phone manufacturers will have time to improve the phones that use the new LTE standard. So in all likelihood when it comes time to upgrade the phone again I'll have a much more solid offering of phones available to me than the folks that jumped on early.

 

[olds]

My Plan:
Everything Data Family - with Any Mobile, Anytime, 1500 minutes

Roaming:
I was just on vacation and stopped in a Sprint store to be sure. I didn't want to get home and have a $500 phone bill. The employees told me that I have unlimited calls to other cell phones (regardless of carrier), data and can roam for free. The 1500 minutes I have on my plan only applies to calls to landlines.

 

[Dulanic]

With Sprint you can roam all you want if your plan includes it. Almost all do too... but if you roam a crapload (>50% of the time) they may cancel you but that seems extremely rare.

 

[boomhower]

Roaming on Sprint:
Greater than 50% of you minutes or 800 total
More than 300MB's of data
Meet either of those consistently(i.e. for several months) and they will cancel your contract, no you won't have to pay an ETF. But you will not get billed for any roaming fees regardless how much.

Also when you are roaming out of network cell to cell is not unlimited, they go against your anytime minutes.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

what? I did not know that sprint didn't charge for roaming.

 

[shortylickens]

Boost Mobile.
Seriously. All the big guys are out to fuck you. Verizon was supposed to be the best and they flat out lied to me about the costs and my contract. I paid a lot more for my phone specifically to only have a one year contract. When I called to cancel after one year they claimed to not know anything about it.
Sprint has fucked me over. AT&T. T-mobile not so much but they arent too good anyway. They have to be nice to their customers.
At least with the prepaid groups you can quit if you are getting screwed.

 

[Adul]

Sprint gives you 30 days to return the phone and get out of the contract. The plans that come with their smart phone also gives you a full discount at the 1 year mark. Customer service is better than it has been in the past.

Verizon, you can't upgrade yearly with them. Has a prob the best network and a good selection of Android phones. Even if a couple of them are binged, you can at least undo that (xda-developers.com). Though it is best to find out how coverage for your area, it maybe better served by another provider.