Switching to Android (VirginM) from 2 iPhone 3GS's (ST-ATT) - Bunch of questions...

[TurtleCrusher]

Hello all. I apologize if this is somewhat long-winded.

I currently have two iPhone 3GS's (mine is 16GB white, wifes is 8GB Black) and currently use Straight Talk (ATT Sim/towers) for a total of $85 a month unlimited everything. But this isn't without gripes. Both phones are severely throttled on data 100% of the time. Speedtest doesn't even work on cell towers. There's considerable lag from request to receive of data. It wasn't this way when I was post-paid with AT&T. I unlocked my phone and used a t-mobile sim to do the trick to change apn settings to no change. I even jailbroke and used tetherme and still nada. And the GPS on my 3GS blows, while my wifes is alright.

My wife was watching TV (very weird) and saw an ad for Virgin Mobiles $35 plan (300 mins, unlimited text and data) which really would work well for us. Needless to say I've been researching phones since then and have a general consensus on what features we need. I'd like an ICS (4.0) 1GHZ phone with a keyboard (have had the 3GS for 2 years, still hate the OSK). The Kyocera Rise for $75 looks like it'd be solid enough for me. I pretty much use my phone to surf the web using Opera Mini, play words with friends and Pandora. For being a pseudo-PC enthusiast, my mobile needs are quite low.

My wife OTOH, would like a phone that's fast at GPS, can do facebook quickly and can take the same or better photos than our iPhone 3GS. This complicates things a bit, but I'm actually willing to spend more on hers as she will NOT upgrade for a long time if I get her something nice. Also music audio quality would be desired. The HTC One has been hitting $100 on deal sites lately and I might scoop one of them up for her.

I'm not worried about speeds per se, but I'm just wondering how fast is Sprint's 3G network. Is it adequate for Pandora, Facebook, GPS, downloading apps, general/light surfing?

And finally, what happens when I travel the west coast with these fellas? I'm planning on going to Reno, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and San Fran in late May. Does VM get good service in the metropolitan and tourist areas? Here's VM coverage "map."

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'll be selling my iPhones to offset the costs of getting these, so I cant really go above $200 total on the phones. I think I can get $125 for my unlocked 16GB 3GS and $75 for the locked 8GB 3GS.

 

[richierich1212]

Sprint service sucks here in the Bay Area. I'm sure it's much worse in Reno and Lake Tahoe.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Sprint service sucks here in the Bay Area. I'm sure it's much worse in Reno and Lake Tahoe.

I'll only be there for a week, but I just need to know if it works there or not.

By sucks you mean unusable for Pandora and Opera Mini? Because that's almost how bad being data-restricted on StraightTalk is. Most of the time.

 

[Bman123]

Don't waste your time with virgin Mobile, there is a reason the data is unlimited, and its because its extremely slow. How much data you really need tho?

 

[Bman123]

You can use page plus (Verizon pre paid) $40 a month unlimited text unlimited calling 200mb of data, $55 a month unlimited text unlimited calling 2gb data or $70 unlimited everything. The problem with this is the data is only 3g not lte but it surely is faster then sprint 3g and you know you'll have the best cell coverage available in the united states.

You can use any 3g Verizon phone easily but none of them go higher then 2.3.6. You can use newer phones that have 4.0+ on them but if they are lte they will only be able to use 3g data. I use the $40 a month plan since my data usage is really low with a Motorola droid RAZR that I got off craigslist locally for $125

I've used virgin Mobile, straight talk (both att and t Mobile) and now page plus and i won't leave page plus for anything, sure I get the slower 3g data but in my case a newer phone with the best coverage was only available on page plus that was reasonable prided phone wise.

Decent gsm phones are expensive, they really hold their value. While CDMA phones are a dime a dozen.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Don't waste your time with virgin Mobile, there is a reason the data is unlimited, and its because its extremely slow. How much data you really need tho?

Looking at Sprint in my area, 2mbps is the norm. That's doable for me. Opera Mini compresses pages to 35-100kb, which loads pretty fast even on ATT edge.

I don't see what usage requires more than 250KB/s besides video. I'm also doing this to save $$, as the $35 plan works for me and my wife in regards to our usage.

 

[ImDonly1]

If you are throttled submit a support ticket on the ST Facebook page and say your speeds are throttled making the data unusable and to unthrottle you. Should get a response from the rep in a day. Then, turn on airplane mode for 10 seconds and back off.

I noticed sometimes my data is iffy if I connect to 3G after leaving wifi. Toggling airplane mode usually works.

 

[s44]

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'll be selling my iPhones to offset the costs of getting these, so I cant really go above $200 total on the phones. I think I can get $125 for my unlocked 16GB 3GS and $75 for the locked 8GB 3GS.

It's too bad you're so budget-limited, because the $175 deal on the Samsung Galaxy Victory would have been awesome. The One V is *not* the current One, but a first-gen (well, die-shrunk, but still) single-core Snapdragon -- i.e. slower than the i4 -- while the Victory is basically a SGS3 with a smaller screen.

I'd really work on getting yourself unthrottled, and get secondhand deals on Swappa (hey, there's a Captivate Glide for you now...).

 

[s44]

important point to note for you...

 

[bearxor]

Have you considered TMobile Value Plans? It would be $100/mo for two lines with unlimited minutes and text and 2.5GB high speed data on each line.

Looks like Portland had decent HSPA PCS coverage, so your wife could just continue to use her iphone and you could pick a new phone. Not really sure what you'd find on the Android GSM side with a keyboard though.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Have you considered TMobile Value Plans? It would be $100/mo for two lines with unlimited minutes and text and 2.5GB high speed data on each line.

Looks like Portland had decent HSPA PCS coverage, so your wife could just continue to use her iphone and you could pick a new phone. Not really sure what you'd find on the Android GSM side with a keyboard though.

This move is for reducing monthly cost. From $85 on ST to $70 on Virgin. I'm not paying $100 a month, especially for edge-speed internet on my iPhones. That's an extra $360 a year. No thanks.

 

[Ashenor]

I guess i am the type of person that would rather take my lunch to work twice a month or something to save the difference if money is that tight and have way better cell service.

 

[ImDonly1]

important point to note for you...

Thread is BS I just got 6/1 on my iPhone this morning. Only thing that is true is to leave the proxy blank, but iPhones don't even have a place to type that.

 

[bearxor]

This move is for reducing monthly cost. From $85 on ST to $70 on Virgin. I'm not paying $100 a month, especially for edge-speed internet on my iPhones. That's an extra $360 a year. No thanks.

Sorry, I presumed from your original post that the issue was the data throttling on AT&T's network, not the cost. I figured the TMo VP wasn't really that much more and you seem to get quite a lot of HSPA coverage on PCS all around Portland. My bad.

Edit: and that's only $180 more a year because you're not switching to VM because it sucks.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Thread is BS I just got 6/1 on my iPhone this morning. Only thing that is true is to leave the proxy blank, but iPhones don't even have a place to type that.

I did the same thing, and both of my iPhones register nothing on the speed tests. Literally nothing.

 

[hanoverphist]

i had my daughter on VM and she hated it. i have to admit, it would piss me off when she didnt answer the phone, so i started testing it. holding the phone in my hand and calling it but not ringing really angered me. she switched herself to tmobile because she got sick of the crap signal and slow browsing.

 

[OSULugan]

I just switched away from VM to T-mobile's prepaid.

I live in the Reno area, and VM was "okay" for speed. I didn't have a 4G phone, and I was still on the $25 a month plan (x2 for myself and my wife). It certainly was a must to use Opera Mini to get decent page loads on the 3G connection.

Rather than go to $70 a month for the two of us, I chose to go to the $100 a month plan on T-mobile for 1000 shared minutes and unlimited data @ 4G. I know that the comparison is T-Mobile 4G vs. 3G, but the difference in speed is night and day. Well worth the extra money to me.

That all being said, you'll get service in Reno, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento and San Francisco. Coverage in between will be spotty if you're driving.

 

[ImDonly1]

I did the same thing, and both of my iPhones register nothing on the speed tests. Literally nothing.

Then definitely contact ST support on facebook and ask to be unthrottled.

 

[Anonemous]

I'll only be there for a week, but I just need to know if it works there or not.

By sucks you mean unusable for Pandora and Opera Mini? Because that's almost how bad being data-restricted on StraightTalk is. Most of the time.

www.sensorly.com gives a crowd sourced map of 3G/4GWimax/4GLTE coverage (it's not the entire coverage map but it gives a good indication what speeds/signal people are getting)

In the S. Bay Area, Sprint 3G is 1.0Mbps-2Mbps. LTE ranges from 5-25Mbps and 4G Wimax is 6-10Mbps.

I would recommend checking out coverage maps. VM is a great deal at $35/mo IF you get 4G Wimax signal. Currently it's not being capped so if you get a good signal you are good to go.

For Reference:

Sprint 2G-3G

Sprint 4G Wimax

Sprint 4G LTE

 

[OBLAMA2009]

coverage and data speeds of prepaid companies is so crappy it ought to be a crime for them to even claim to have data. remember theres a reason prepaid companies dont have working display phones out...

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I've gone with the Kyocera Rise phone. I've not activated it yet, but have been using the apps on wifi and what not. The phone WAYYYYYY faster than the 3GS. The only downsides so far is the camera and the battery life, which I knew about. Since batteries are really cheap (and easily replaceable), it won't be an issue.

All I'm waiting on is a buyer for my 3GS...

 

[TurtleCrusher]

3gs sold! The sprint network is slow, but it isn't anywhere near as laggy as att. Latency on the towers is about 110ms. Download is always around 220KBS and upload is 105KBS. Service is solid around town.

 

[ImDonly1]

3gs sold! The sprint network is slow, but it isn't anywhere near as laggy as att. Latency on the towers is about 110ms. Download is always around 220KBS and upload is 105KBS. Service is solid around town.

Glad it worked out for you, but I don't think I could go back to anything under 1 Mbps now.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Glad it worked out for you, but I don't think I could go back to anything under 1 Mbps now.

It hasn't been bad. Pretty usable speeds thus far.