Palm Pixi Plus

[pontifex]

Other than finding someone who uses AT&T where I live, is there a way to find out how good the signal will be? the coverage map says moderate. The verizon map shows digital signal here but there's usually only 1 bar, if that.

 

[RossMAN]

Other than finding someone who uses AT&T where I live, is there a way to find out how good the signal will be? the coverage map says moderate. The verizon map shows digital signal here but there's usually only 1 bar, if that.

I've found the best method is to ask friends, family and co-workers who they use and their signals are like at home and work.

The information is far more accurate and useful than looking at coverage maps.

 

[cronos]

Other than finding someone who uses AT&T where I live, is there a way to find out how good the signal will be? the coverage map says moderate. The verizon map shows digital signal here but there's usually only 1 bar, if that.

It's actually the other way around. Every single carriers and MVNOs have their coverage maps on their websites. There may also be 'crowd-sourced' coverage maps out there of certain networks. These are somewhat okay, but to *really* know what kind of coverage you'll be getting, you need to ask people who are actually using these services.

 

[pontifex]

figures...i live in a very rural area and everyone I know uses Verizon.

 

[dlock13]

It's actually the other way around. Every single carriers and MVNOs have their coverage maps on their websites. There may also be 'crowd-sourced' coverage maps out there of certain networks. These are somewhat okay, but to *really* know what kind of coverage you'll be getting, you need to ask people who are actually using these services.

Exactly. If you were to look at a map of T-Mobile and Sprint where I live, you'd think you're going to get amazing coverage. However, if you try them out (admittedly I've only tried out T-Mo), you're going to hate every second of your service.

figures...i live in a very rural area and everyone I know uses Verizon.

That is how I was, too. I was trying to get off my parent's Verizon account, and the only two cheap options were prepaid T-Mo or Aio Wireless which wasn't available when I was switching. T-Mo kept dropping in and out of 4G to 3G to 2G to 4G etc... It was horrendous. AT&T has LTE coverage everywhere in my town. When they flipped the switch, it seriously turned on everywhere. In places I struggled to get Verizon's LTE, I was getting full bars of AT&T LTE. Granted, I'm on Aio so it is throttled, but it is plenty fast enough.

You'd be better off trying to find a prepaid AT&T carrier. Their service has been excellent for me over the past 9 months.

 

[pontifex]

Exactly. If you were to look at a map of T-Mobile and Sprint where I live, you'd think you're going to get amazing coverage. However, if you try them out (admittedly I've only tried out T-Mo), you're going to hate every second of your service.



That is how I was, too. I was trying to get off my parent's Verizon account, and the only two cheap options were prepaid T-Mo or Aio Wireless which wasn't available when I was switching. T-Mo kept dropping in and out of 4G to 3G to 2G to 4G etc... It was horrendous. AT&T has LTE coverage everywhere in my town. When they flipped the switch, it seriously turned on everywhere. In places I struggled to get Verizon's LTE, I was getting full bars of AT&T LTE. Granted, I'm on Aio so it is throttled, but it is plenty fast enough.

You'd be better off trying to find a prepaid AT&T carrier. Their service has been excellent for me over the past 9 months.

I would be using a prepaid carrier. a lot things would have to change before I went back to paying one of the big carriers.

 

[dlock13]

I would be using a prepaid carrier. a lot things would have to change before I went back to paying one of the big carriers.

I recommend you check out one of the AT&T MVNOs then. I have Cricket Wireless which is now AT&T owned, and I love their service. I've used it for the past 9 months, and I've paid $45 per month for 2.5 GB of data and unlimited everything else since last September. They have a plan for $40/month ($35 with autopay) that includes 500 MB of data (throttled thereafter) and unlimited everything else.

If you're interested at all, I could send a referral which gives us both a $25 credit if you stay on their service for 60 days.

Regardless, you can do so much better than PagePlus.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Page Plus is basically for when Verizon is the only option due to coverage. They don't have the best rates but that's the price you pay. At least you're not looking to get a high end smartphone since PP doesn't allow them.

One other option for checking coverage, if you can't find anyone around you who uses a carrier other than Verizon, is to go to a third-party coverage assessment. One I've used in the past is Root Metrics. If you check out their map and zoom in on where you live it might give you a sense of how well the different networks stack up. There are probably other options as well, that's just one I've used.

Also I will second anyone recommending the Lumia 520 as a cheap phone. It's technically a smartphone and does a great job with that, but it's also very good if you don't need mobile data. Just connect to WiFi when you can. It also has really good offline maps so you can use it as a GPS even with data turned off. Call quality is clear and the speaker is really loud, and it's more durable than most smartphones.

 

[pontifex]

Page Plus is basically for when Verizon is the only option due to coverage. They don't have the best rates but that's the price you pay. At least you're not looking to get a high end smartphone since PP doesn't allow them.

One other option for checking coverage, if you can't find anyone around you who uses a carrier other than Verizon, is to go to a third-party coverage assessment. One I've used in the past is Root Metrics. If you check out their map and zoom in on where you live it might give you a sense of how well the different networks stack up. There are probably other options as well, that's just one I've used.

Also I will second anyone recommending the Lumia 520 as a cheap phone. It's technically a smartphone and does a great job with that, but it's also very good if you don't need mobile data. Just connect to WiFi when you can. It also has really good offline maps so you can use it as a GPS even with data turned off. Call quality is clear and the speaker is really loud, and it's more durable than most smartphones.

nothing in my exact area. it varies a lot in nearby areas. thats for AT&T. doesn't even have anything close for Verizon.

 

[pontifex]

I recommend you check out one of the AT&T MVNOs then. I have Cricket Wireless which is now AT&T owned, and I love their service. I've used it for the past 9 months, and I've paid $45 per month for 2.5 GB of data and unlimited everything else since last September. They have a plan for $40/month ($35 with autopay) that includes 500 MB of data (throttled thereafter) and unlimited everything else.

If you're interested at all, I could send a referral which gives us both a $25 credit if you stay on their service for 60 days.

Regardless, you can do so much better than PagePlus.

whats wrong with PP? I've used them for a few years now and have been happy. As mentioned, I use a RAZR V3 and barely use it (less than 100 minutes a month), very rarely text, and don't want to pay for data.

whats a better Verizon prepaid carrier?

 

[dlock13]

whats wrong with PP? I've used them for a few years now and have been happy. As mentioned, I use a RAZR V3 and barely use it (less than 100 minutes a month), very rarely text, and don't want to pay for data.

whats a better Verizon prepaid carrier?

I was just suggesting away from PP. I guess since you don't use data, it won't matter what prepaid option you choose. There is a $25/month option from Cricket, but you can only use basic phones.

There is some Prepaid/Contract comparison website, but I cannot find it for the life of me. It does a great job showing you nearly every company's options. I'll keep searching for it.

Edit: Found it after I posted this.

Edit: That wasn't it... Let me keep looking.

Edit: I finally found it! What a ridiculous name for a website. Here we go!

 

[AstroManLuca]

whats wrong with PP? I've used them for a few years now and have been happy. As mentioned, I use a RAZR V3 and barely use it (less than 100 minutes a month), very rarely text, and don't want to pay for data.

whats a better Verizon prepaid carrier?

Page Plus is pretty much the only game in town. I think most criticism of PP is because of their data plans and heavy restrictions on which smartphones you can use. But if you don't care about data it doesn't really matter.

The big limiting factor, then, is the restrictions on which phones you can activate on Page Plus. Any old feature phone like a Samsung Gusto or LG Cosmos will work, but smartphone options are very limited. The Lumia 520 is a great phone that sits in between feature phones and smartphones, costing very little while offering way more features than a basic flip phone. But you can't get it or anything like it on Page Plus. You'll have to go with a basic phone or a used smartphone.

 

[gmaster456]

If all you do is call people, rarely text and don't want to pay for data, why are you bothering with a smartphone? What isn't your RAZR doing that you want? It sounds like it has all your bases covered and it doesn't seem like you're really interested in any other carrier, so why bother?

 

[pontifex]

If all you do is call people, rarely text and don't want to pay for data, why are you bothering with a smartphone? What isn't your RAZR doing that you want? It sounds like it has all your bases covered and it doesn't seem like you're really interested in any other carrier, so why bother?

you already asked this question and I already answered it.



On a side note, the company I bought the Pixi from is refunding my money and they don't even want it back. They just said to dispose of it as you wish, lol. Must not be worth their time to deal with a return.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I know you already said you weren't interested in the Kin phones, but I wanted to add my personal experience with them. My brother got one a few years ago because he wanted WiFi without having to buy a smartphone and a data plan. He returned it almost immediately because it was such a piece of shit.

It's the exact opposite of what you want. The call quality was poor. He would constantly drop calls or hit the mute button with his face because it doesn't have a proximity sensor to turn the display off while on a call. And the ringer volume was nearly inaudible even when turned up to the highest setting.

Honestly I think you're best off getting a feature phone to replace your RAZR, if your RAZR is on the way out. You could get a Pre Plus but it's getting very old as well and if your experience with the Pixi was that bad, I doubt a Pre would be any better.

If you want to go the smartphone route, the best Android phone you can get on Page Plus is the Droid X2.

 

[pontifex]

Does anyone know why the Droid x2 get such poor reviews compared to the Droid X? looking at the sites and its really bad

 

[AstroManLuca]

Does anyone know why the Droid x2 get such poor reviews compared to the Droid X? looking at the sites and its really bad

I read AT's review of it. The conclusion was that it wasn't a huge upgrade. The biggest difference (maybe the only significant difference) is the dual core CPU (the X has a single core).

A lot of people seemed to be getting on their case for not having LTE or a front facing camera. There was a lot of hate for Motoblur as well. Of course, no LTE is a good thing now because it means you can activate it on Page Plus.

Basically, the Droid X was pretty good when it first came out. By the time the X2 came out, it was a little better but not "better enough" considering it was a full year later.

Having used one (an aunt got one for Page Plus), it's not super quick but it works. It runs an old version of Android (2.2) but could probably be upgraded... might not be worth it though. Especially if you don't plan on using much data. As just a phone, it's probably fine, and you get the added benefit of being able to use it on wifi. The disadvantage, of course, is going to be battery life compared to a feature phone. If your data is off that will improve, but you won't be able to go a week without charging like many feature phones can.

 

[pontifex]

I managed to get the Pixi Plus to work! Found a review on Amazon of all places that described the fix. Guy had the same issues I did and he went into some menu, like ##786# or something like that and hit the reset button. He said this resets the phone to factory defaults and also resets the cell radio.

I tried it and I was able to get signal. Been using the phone for a few days now.

Battery life sucks, even with everything turned off but Wifi, and thats not even using it all day. Don't think it could even go 24 hours. Turned off wifi and battery life is much better. Guess I'll just turn on wifi when I need it and leave it off the rest of the time to save on battery.

Call quality is pretty good. Signal strength was slightly better on the Razr V3. Launching apps/menus is a bit slow, even the built in ones. good thing I don't need to use them that much.

I bought 2 extra batteries, a touchstone charger, and touchstone cover for real cheap also.