T-Mobile vs. AT&T in NYC

[KingGheedora]

I'm switching from iPhone 3G to an Android phone very soon (like this week, most likely the Samsung Galaxy). This phone is out on both carriers this week. Right now my contract is up on AT&T. The service has been terrible -- slow speeds, dropped calls being the main issues. Are those issues specific to the iPhone, or will any 3G phone on AT&T have this problem? One of the things I'd like to do is spend less on my monthly bill. After taxes I'm at around 90$/month. I have the option to drop this by $15/mo. if i switch to the 200MB capped plan. This shouldn't be a problem since I haven't gone over this bandwidth anyways. I don't care about having a "subsidized" phone. T-Mobile Pro's: Cheaper, uncapped, no contract necessary. Cons: not sure the service quality in NYC, and coverage in other parts of the country (don't travel much though). How are the 3G speeds? Will these carriers roll out 4G any time soon? I don't imagine the ATT network will get any better with additional iPhone 4 users coming on in NYC.

 

[preslove]

I don't know about the quality of service, but with T-Mo you can get a cheaper plan (even more plus) if you buy the phone unsubsidized. Add to that 35% Bing cashback (get it soon, because it's ending at the end of July) and it's a very good deal.

 

[vshah]

tmo is great in manhattan, i routinely get >3mbps down and >1mbps up on my nexus 1. no issues with dropped calls either. also, i hit ~2gigs every month for the past year (streaming music in the car) and have not had any issues yet.

the only complaint I have is that deep inside my office building i'll usually drop down to a (very strong) edge signal. 3g penetration isn't the best in large buildings. at home in my apt, or near a window, it is fine.

i travel to DC and pittsburgh often. DC, i have 3g signal all the way. when driving to pittsburgh, i'll drop down to edge for a large part of the journey through northern PA. as always, check coverage maps. places i've visited with fast 3g coverage: nyc, poughkeepsie, pittsburgh, dc, seattle

 

[AMDZen]

Neither one, both are horrible in NYC. Verizon is where its at

 

[vshah]

Neither one, both are horrible in NYC. Verizon is where its at

what was your experience w/ tmobile?

 

[KingGheedora]

I don't know about the quality of service, but with T-Mo you can get a cheaper plan (even more plus) if you buy the phone unsubsidized. Add to that 35% Bing cashback (get it soon, because it's ending at the end of July) and it's a very good deal.

How do you do the cashback? That applies to the unsubsidized phone right?

 

[AMDZen]

what was your experience w/ tmobile?

On the east coast, not a whole lot recent. I know AT&T just completed a huge build in NYC so it might be that both have improved since I've been there. However I know a few people who live there and all they did was complain about both.

Everyone I know there is on verizon now as of 2 years or so ago. It looks like by what you're saying its definitely improved a lot