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Need unlocked smartphone for T-mobile:

B

basslover1

Golden Member
I'm going to ditch Verizon here shortly and go to T-mobile. Before any of you call me crazy for ditching Big Red because "They have the best coverage EVAR!" around here they suck. Well, I get coverage but barely, their data speeds are horrible and the signal is so weak it just rapes my battery.

With T-mobile's value plan I can get two lines for 74.99 + tax, but I need a phone to bring over to them. Now, this phone is for my 61 year old mother, so she NEEDS a hardware keyboard. She's been using a Samsung Alias for 5 years now so obviously she doesn't need anything bleeding edge.

I was looking at picking up a Mytouch Q or Mytouch 4g slide but I'm open to anything that is pretty recent (1 year old or so) but it's gotta be new and I'd like to avoid spending over 250 for it. If it's going to cost me that much I might as well just put her on a regular contract and get a free blackberry or something.

What's out there that has a querty keyboard that'll work on T-mobile's 3G bands?
 
I think the best QWERTY smartphone on T-Mobile is the MyTouch 4G Slide (basically the same dual core CPU as the HTC Sensation but in a slider form). Unfortunately the only "new" ones available are some unlocked ones on eBay that are currently selling for a bit over $300, and other than that the "official" no-contract price is somewhere north of $500 if you buy it from T-Mobile or Amazon or something.

Other, cheaper slide smartphones are available, but they're also older and thus not available new. Models like the G2 and MyTouch 3G Slide would probably work but you're not going to find one new in box. Maybe you could look into Blackberries; I know nothing about them so I can't say if you can find a no-contract one new for under $250.

Basically you're going to have to either reconsider your new-in-box requirement, or your budget requirement, or your QWERTY requirement. You can get a used MT4G Slide or G2 for under $200 from eBay where you still have some form of buyer protection. You can get a brand new in box Samsung Exhibit II or Nokia Lumia 710 inside your budget, but they don't have a keyboard. And the MyTouch Q is a slider that T-Mobile sells off contract but even it is $300, which is really more than it's worth considering it's pretty outdated.

EDIT: Like lupi says, eBay is not a bad place to get a used phone. I'd certainly rather buy from eBay than Craigslist, because eBay and Paypal will usually side with the buyer if there's a problem. The only disadvantage is you won't get a warranty if something breaks AFTER you get the phone.
 
basslover1 said:
I have no problem about buying on eBay I just don't know what to search for, I never had much interest in qwerty smartphones.
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Well like I said look into the MyTouch 4G Slide, read the descriptions carefully and make sure you're not getting one with a cracked screen or anything. It has a smallish screen like most sliders but it's fast. Dual core processor, 768 MB of RAM, basically the same as the HTC Sensation and very similar to the Evo 3D and Rezound.
 
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Just browse tmo for the current keyboard phones then google for what the previous versions were callled. Wholesalers will have those often in new/open-unused for a fraction of what a new current revision phone cost.
 
pretty much any modern unlocked or international model gsm phone will work with t-mobile. However, if you want a phone that also supports 3g/4g data on T-mobile, your selection is very very slim. In such case, why don't you just start a new account with T-mobile as you'll be using their value plan and data anyways. For new activation, you can get phones for very cheap or even free.
 
lupi said:
Just browse tmo for the current keyboard phones then google for what the previous versions were callled. Wholesalers will have those often in new/open-unused for a fraction of what a new current revision phone cost.
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Yea I've been looking and there's a couple of sellers that have the new Samsung Sidekick on there for less than 200, I might do that. I would really like to get her the Mytouch slide 4g but since it isn't that old they're still in the 300+ range, at that point I might as well get a Gnex and tell her to deal w/o the keyboard.

silvscorp said:
pretty much any modern unlocked or international model gsm phone will work with t-mobile. However, if you want a phone that also supports 3g/4g data on T-mobile, your selection is very very slim. In such case, why don't you just start a new account with T-mobile as you'll be using their value plan and data anyways. For new activation, you can get phones for very cheap or even free.
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Because the value plan doesn't subsidize the phone, you pay full price for a device for a monthly rate discount. I could just stick her on a regular t-mobile line with phone subsidy but then that isn't any cheaper than Verizon.

I can get a family value plan on T-Mo for 74.98 before my 12% discount, much better than my Verizon which is 98 after a 20% discount but before taxes.

I'm ok buying the phone outright because she's going to keep it for at least 3+ years.
 
if you're having trouble picking something out or want to wait for prices to drop more, they have that nokia on the prepaid that looks like a blackberry. could have her use that for awhile and then when you find a deal just keep it in a drawer as a backup as with tmo all you need to do is insert a good sim card on a tmo branded or unlocked gsm phone and you're good to go.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-N...layer/16002377
 
your grandma could definitely use the Lumia 710. My girlfriend loves it. She sold her iPhone for the Lumia. It's buttery smooth and everything just works flawlessly.
 
silvscorp said:
go check the FS section on xda-developer forum and I am sure you'll find something you like.
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Good idea, I'll stop by there later.

lupi said:
if you're having trouble picking something out or want to wait for prices to drop more, they have that nokia on the prepaid that looks like a blackberry. could have her use that for awhile and then when you find a deal just keep it in a drawer as a backup as with tmo all you need to do is insert a good sim card on a tmo branded or unlocked gsm phone and you're good to go.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-N...layer/16002377
Click to expand...

That might work. I was trying to find a BB Torch because I think she could do well with that but those are still in the mid 200 range. Thanks!

shortylickens said:
Check Amazon against ebay.
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I'll try that as well.


openwheel said:
your grandma could definitely use the Lumia 710. My girlfriend loves it. She sold her iPhone for the Lumia. It's buttery smooth and everything just works flawlessly.
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I'm sure she could figure it out easily, but she wants a keyboard because 1 she really isn't that tech savy and a touch screen would really confuse her (seriously), and 2 she likes fake nails so touch screen only would be difficult for her.
 
Ended up getting her the Mytouch Slide 4g today from T-mobile, they're running that free smartphone deal, now just to show her how to use the damn thing.
 
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