Looking for a mostly data plan.

[Crow550]

So far I am looking at T-Mobiles $30 unlimited data plan and one of there Android phones. Maybe the Samsung T679 Exhibit II 4G.

Or maybe Virgin Mobiles unlimited data plan for $35 with like the LG Q Android phone.

Then again I may not really need unlimited data as when at Home I can connect the phone to my Wifi as I usually get horrid reception at Home anyways.

However I can't seem to find much on pay as you go data. I have heard of using pay as you go mobile broadband and just tether a smart phone to it. I might consider that but I don't think I want to haul two devices.

As for using only Wifi hotspots on a phone. My area has yet to put Wifi spots everywhere.

I mainly want a mini PC to browse the web or listen to streaming radio or use like Google Navigation.... Not too worried about calling or sms. Usually calls last about 3-5 minutes anyways lol. So yeah just seeking something for data usage.

Figured I would ask for some thoughts and opinions on this. Thanks.

 

[AstroManLuca]

T-Mobile is probably the way to go if you want lots of data for cheap and can live with just 100 minutes a month (overage is 10c a minute).

Page Plus has no-contract data on the Verizon network, but it's a lot more expensive if you want a lot of data. $55 for 2 GB, but at least you get a lot more minutes.

Virgin Mobile is cheap too, but it's on the Sprint network, which is pretty slow. Maybe not the best option.

The biggest advantage I think T-Mobile has is you can bring any phone you want (provided it has the right frequencies). And you can move a phone from one T-Mobile prepaid carrier to any other by just swapping your sim card. On the other hand, Page Plus does let you bring most any Verizon phone but they're really the only carrier that will do that outside of Verizon themselves. And Virgin Mobile will only activate Virgin Mobile phones, nothing else. So if you get sick of them you are out of luck and have to try to sell your VM phone used.

 

[Crow550]

Someone is my area is selling a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S for $70. However it's 3G....

 

[AstroManLuca]

Someone is my area is selling a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S for $70. However it's 3G....

The galaxy s is a better phone than the Exhibit II though. Better, larger screen, faster CPU and GPU, only thing lacking is the camera flash

 

[Crow550]

Well I don't care much for snapping pics. Only maybe for video chat.

Is there a huge difference between 3G & 4G?

 

[TuxDave]

Well I don't care much for snapping pics. Only maybe for video chat.

Is there a huge difference between 3G & 4G?

It's an amazingly huge difference in speed (assuming you're talking about 4G LTE). However you probably would only "feel" the difference when streaming video or downloading large files. For stuff like surfing ATOT.... not so much.

 

[Crow550]

So should I snag the Galaxy S for now until I find a good deal on a 4G phone or just save up now? I could budget $300. However I am trying to find what suits my needs and doesn't overkill as I am also not afraid to upgrade as time goes on.

$70 is a pretty good deal for a Galaxy S. However I might watch Netflix on it? Then again I really need something I can browse the web on and run various chat apps and so forth.

I suppose at the very least I can root it and use it as a Wifi device without cell service like a poor mans Ipod Touch right?

Back to the task at hand.... This might suit my uses. I don't plan to do any big downloads on the go. Streaming video.... Would be very rare. However possible.

I will browse around and think about it.

 

[TuxDave]

Isn't the Samsung Galaxy S really old? As in.... "it should be free" old?

 

[Crow550]

It got sold anyways. I was wondering that too which is why I was asking.

 

[Crow550]

Would the Samsung T679 Exhibit II 4G be sufficient enough or should I keep looking?

 

[Bman123]

You should of bought the vibrant for $70, i have one and stream netflix on it just fine. The highest i have seen my data speed is 5,500 kbps which is bad ass for 3g. If you want a 4g phone buy a galaxy s2 used its within your budget, big screen, 4g, @ good cpu/gpu

 

[TuxDave]

You should of bought the vibrant for $70, i have one and stream netflix on it just fine. The highest i have seen my data speed is 5,500 kbps which is bad ass for 3g. If you want a 4g phone buy a galaxy s2 used its within your budget, big screen, 4g, @ good cpu/gpu

Yeah I would've guessed an SGS2 was the next "good old phone"

 

[Crow550]

You should of bought the vibrant for $70, i have one and stream netflix on it just fine. The highest i have seen my data speed is 5,500 kbps which is bad ass for 3g. If you want a 4g phone buy a galaxy s2 used its within your budget, big screen, 4g, @ good cpu/gpu

I haven't bought anything yet....

 

[AstroManLuca]

It's an amazingly huge difference in speed (assuming you're talking about 4G LTE). However you probably would only "feel" the difference when streaming video or downloading large files. For stuff like surfing ATOT.... not so much.

T-Mobile doesn't have LTE. They refer to HSPA+ as 4G. I don't know how much of an advantage it has over regular HSPA, but T-Mobile's 3G is certainly fast, if not LTE speed.

Isn't the Samsung Galaxy S really old? As in.... "it should be free" old?

I have a Galaxy S myself. It doesn't feel as fresh and new as when I got it but it's still a good phone. $70 for a used one in good shape is not a bad deal at all.

Would the Samsung T679 Exhibit II 4G be sufficient enough or should I keep looking?

It's not bad. Probably the best option if you want a new phone with a warranty. It's a small notch below the Galaxy S in specs, but similar.

 

[Crow550]

Guess I will check it out on Monday then.

Unless anyone else has some suggestions.

 

[Crow550]

Amazon matched WalMart.coms price and threw in $15 worth of MP3s. Not bad. They also threw in a trial of Prime too.

This should be good for what I want out of a smart phone. Plus once the Warranty is up I can throw ICS on it if T-Mobile doesn't offer it.

 

[Chocu1a]

Amazon matched WalMart.coms price and threw in $15 worth of MP3s. Not bad. They also threw in a trial of Prime too.

This should be good for what I want out of a smart phone. Plus once the Warranty is up I can throw ICS on it if T-Mobile doesn't offer it.

Why wait? All you have to do is return the phone to stock to get warranty service. There is no reason not to root & rom your phone.

 

[Crow550]

Which Rom or Roms should I check out?

It seems CyanogenMod is the one to use. However last I checked they haven't got the cameras to work 100% on this model of phone yet.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Cruise over to XDA and browse the development forum for your particular phone model. Read through the various and you should be able to figure out which rom people are liking and what any issues are.

 

[AstroManLuca]

There's a pretty helpful XDA Wiki page here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Exhibit_II_4G

Normally I don't like wikis that much since they always wind up getting out of date, but in this case it has links to forum threads for the Exhibit II since it doesn't have its own forum at XDA.

Since it's not the fastest phone you might be better off sticking to Gingerbread roms instead of jumping in with ICS, although you can always switch between the two (that's the beauty of nandroid backups!). It looks like Peach Sunrise is the closest thing to a stock debloated rom, while RebelROM is an ICS-themed Gingerbread ROM. CM9 has fewer bugs listed than AOKP but both look to be pretty buggy in ICS.

The initial setup appears to be dead simple on the Exhibit II since the built-in Samsung recovery mode is able to flash Clockword Mod recovery. Once you have CWM recovery installed, the rest is easy, just download roms, boot into CWM, and flash them.

 

[Crow550]

Is Sprint really slow? As Virgin Mobile sure has a nice prepaid phone: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phones/htc-evo-v-phone.jsp

However I suppose I can save up and get a better phone on T-Mobiles if I am unhappy with the one I get.... Hrmmm....

 

[ImDonly1]

Is Sprint really slow? As Virgin Mobile sure has a nice prepaid phone: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phones/htc-evo-v-phone.jsp

However I suppose I can save up and get a better phone on T-Mobiles if I am unhappy with the one I get.... Hrmmm....

Depends, it was useable when I had sprint service. But then again anything ~1mbps is OK for web browsing for me. I think you can try it for 30 days and return the phone if you don't like it? If anything you will only lose the $30 monthly fee (or maybe they refund that too)? This depends a lot on location too.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/30-day-guarantee

The phone you linked also supports sprint's 4g wimax network which has much better speeds than their 3g network. It drains the battery faster though I believe.

 

[Crow550]

Well I already got the phone for T-Mobile. So I will just try this phone and various apps and see how the experience is and decide if I should stick with it or not.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Sprint is very slow. My 3G speed tests were usually around 300 kbps down, occasionally jumping to 700-800 kbps but more frequently they'd get even slower to under 200 kbps. Nowhere near 1 Mbps. That's just unacceptable for a modern smartphone. Also, the Evo V has WiMax 4G but that has terrible building penetration, it's slower than T-Mobile's HSPA+, it's available in limited areas, and development has completely stopped on it (coverage will never improve).

Sprint has promised an upgrade to their network, called Network Vision, but depending on where you are located it could take anywhere from several months to several years to actually improve coverage or speeds. They keep promising, but my speeds have only gone down, never up (aside from occasional spikes).

My recommendation would be that if you're going with a no-contract plan, you may as well just stick to T-Mobile or whoever works best and then reevaluate as the various companies improve their network. Maybe in 2013 (2014?) when Sprint finishes their network overhaul, their coverage will improve to the point where Virgin Mobile becomes a viable alternative.

 

[Crow550]

Well.... I think T-Mobile may not be the right carrier for my area....

I'm surrounded by Trees and cell phones don't usually work at my House. That's fine as I can use Wifi. However when I took a walk I got 0-3 bars and E data speeds.

When I had Straight Talk and it used Verizon I had 5 bars. Someone else I know has AT&T and gets full bars.

Anyways.... So I went to my local Wal-Mart with a Friend and got 0-2 bars and E data. While my Friend on AT&T got 5 bars. In the parking lot I got 4G at 1meg a sec along with 2 bars.

When I went to another area a few days ago and and went to a set of stores I got 4G at 4-8meg and full bars. However I don't live in that area.

One of my Sisters has Sprint and usually gets 3-4 bars in areas that I goto. She has a smart phone too but is uncertain on data speeds.

I don't know if T-Mobile is worth the price. Especially at E speeds. 3-4G seems to far and in between. Still running around town and testing....

I am considering of saving and maybe getting the unlocked Galaxy Nexus that Google is selling. Maybe.... However only T-Mobile and Straight Talk would accept it anyways right?

I was happy with the phone though. Did all I wanted out of it. Just couldn't open a crap ton of apps which was fine. However the carrier seems to be the issue.
Could the phone be the issue? My friend though had a basic Samsung Tracfone though.

So hopefully I can get a refund on the service and return this phone. Then back to looking around. Might as well try Virgin at this point. Can't be worse can it? Am I being unreasonable wanting at least 1mb in most areas? Heck anything higher than 500kbs. I wanna use various VOIP apps and what not.

Again still running and testing. Well see if I get enough areas I frequency goto that allow me to use the data at reasonable speeds for media and voip. However most people seem to text anyways and I still have that 100mins of Talk if I am in a store or area with E data wiht 2-3 bars..... So well see....