Hey Everyone,
I currently have a Galaxy Nexus pre-ordered on Bell on a three year contract ($185 and $50/month for 500mb of data + 150 minutes). I found out that Mobilicity is also a GSM network that will work with the Galaxy Nexus and the price per month is only $17.50/month (for unlimited data, unlimited local calling and caller ID!) but the only downside is that many people report that the network drops often and there is no HSPA+ speeds. I know this may seem like a REALLY stupid question to ask, but do you guys think I should cancel the order, and then re-order the Galaxy Nexus unlocked for $800? (Taxes + cancellation fee). I mean with the network not supporting HSPA+ and the network itself not being supported in some areas in Canada (although I don't travel much and according to the coverage map I'm fully supported), is it really worth it from switching from my current order with Bell on a 3 year contract to Mobilicity?
Note: I realize its a fairly stupid question, but I haven't been thinking straight for the past few days and your comments will be extremely appreciated.
I go through 500MB of data in a week. That plan would never work for me. I have a T-Moble/Wal-Mart $30/month unlimited data (5GB at H+), unlimited text, 100 talk mins (I never talk on the phone) and bought an unlocked GN for $850. The closest plan would cost me $99/month with Verizon.
I don't get why people can't realize that buying a good phone and then getting a cheap plan is cheaper in the long run.
Taggard said:
I go through 500MB of data in a week. That plan would never work for me. I have a T-Moble/Wal-Mart $30/month unlimited data (5GB at H+), unlimited text, 100 talk mins (I never talk on the phone) and bought an unlocked GN for $850. The closest plan would cost me $99/month with Verizon.
I don't get why people can't realize that buying a good phone and then getting a cheap plan is cheaper in the long run.
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I pay $60 after taxes and fees per month on Tmobile USA with 1000 minutes, unlimited texts, and 5GB of H+ speeds. I got the Galaxy S II for $149 with a 2 year contract. Over 2 years I will pay a total of about $1400 after all taxes and fees, including the price of the phone. Over 2 years you will pay about $1,600 including the price of your phone... Who's saving money?
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Towle said:
I pay $60 after taxes and fees per month on Tmobile USA with 1000 minutes, unlimited texts, and 5GB of H+ speeds. I got the Galaxy S II for $149 with a 2 year contract. Over 2 years I will pay a total of about $1400 after all taxes and fees, including the price of the phone. Over 2 years you will pay about $1,600 including the price of your phone... Who's saving money?
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Huh?
$30 x 24mo + $850 phone = $1570
$60 x 24mo + $150 phone = $1590
And he overpaid for the phone considering most are getting it for around ~$700 shipped. So for most in his situation it'd be more like ~$1420 for 2 years + phone. And you got a good deal on your SGSII, as T-mo advertises it for $229. So we can say most people's annual cost in your situation is ~$1670.
So if we go with real-world math its ~$1420 vs. ~$1670....
Not to mention that you're on a contract, and he isn't. Some people don't like being in a contract and that's worth it for them.
Yea I'm a heavy data user.... so I thought. But looking at several past invoices I realized I only use about 200 minutes and about 1.5-2gb a month data. I utilize wifi at work, work, and hotels when I can.
I pay $60 a month on T-Mobile for 1000 minutes and 5gb cap.
Buying the phone outright and using the Nexus on a cheap plan (Simple Mobile or Walmart special) is the way to go.
I also have a Verizon blackberry through work. I'm ditching my personal line, buying the Nexus on a new contract price on the corporate account and saving my money.
500mb of data would kill me... especially if there are overages and penalties.
G2x - 2.3.7 CM7
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Towle said:
I pay $60 after taxes and fees per month on Tmobile USA with 1000 minutes, unlimited texts, and 5GB of H+ speeds. I got the Galaxy S II for $149 with a 2 year contract. Over 2 years I will pay a total of about $1400 after all taxes and fees, including the price of the phone. Over 2 years you will pay about $1,600 including the price of your phone... Who's saving money?
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$149 up front but you pay full price for the phone over the 2 years which is $15 a month or more extra on top of the 59.99 a month
martonikaj said:
Huh?
$30 x 24mo + $850 phone = $1570
$60 x 24mo + $150 phone = $1590
And he overpaid for the phone considering most are getting it for around $700 shipped.
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Correct 30x24+850=1570, which would work if there were no taxes and fees. And I did mine wrong I was going off of the time until I can upgrade again, my bad.
I'm still paying less than him after taxes and fees, and getting 10x the minutes.
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b1337 said:
$149 up front but you pay full price for the phone over the 2 years which is $15 a month or more extra on top of the 59.99 a month
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What? No. I pay $149 total for the phone, I'm not on a value plan.
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Towle said:
Correct 30x24+850=1570, which would work if there were no taxes and fees. And I did mine wrong I was going off of the time until I can upgrade again, my bad.
I'm still paying less than him after taxes and fees, and getting 10x the minutes.
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Look at my post again for a better breakdown... And even if he's paying 10% sales tax on his monthly purchases (there's no carrier fees involved with a pre-pay plan), that's only another $72 over 2 years.
That walmart/T-mo prepay play is an amazing deal. I'm looking to switch to it myself from my EM+ plan.
Towle said:
What? No. I pay $149 total for the phone, I'm not on a value plan.
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pinky up i need that plan!!
The point I'm trying to make is that there is no savings in buying a phone outright and going on an off contract plan (when comparing apples to apples with the plans). The only difference is one has a contract and one doesn't. Which I don't plan on leaving Tmobile anytime soon, or ever, because everyone else is more expensive.
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Towle said:
The point I'm trying to make is that there is no savings in buying a phone outright and going on an off contract plan. The only difference is one has a contract and one doesn't. Which I don't plan on leaving Tmobile anytime soon, or ever, because everyone else is more expensive.
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Well there is considering that this phone isn't offered on T-mobile... If you're going to be buying a phone full price to get one not available on the carrier, then you're saving money by going pre-pay or some form of off-contract service. And like I said, people see value in being off contract.
I wasn't trying to say you're doing the wrong thing (everyone makes their own choice for service that works for them), but I have to point out blatant math errors when you're trying to prove your point. He really is spending less money over 2 years.
martonikaj said:
Well there is considering that this phone isn't offered on T-mobile... If you're going to be buying a phone full price to get one not available on the carrier, then you're saving money by going pre-pay or some form of off-contract service. And like I said, people see value in being off contract.
I wasn't trying to say you're doing the wrong thing (everyone makes their own choice for service that works for them), but I have to point out blatant math errors when you're trying to prove your point. He really is spending less money over 2 years.
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I'm not saying anyone is doing anything wrong by going that route either, it's all personal preference. I just didn't like the statement "I don't get why people don't realize" when it's not true.
And your comparison isn't even valid. I'm pretty sure neither of us live in fake worlds and I paid $149 for my phone and he paid $850 for his. Even if they come out to be the same price over 2 years, I'm getting 10x the minutes, and don't have to fork over $600+ at one shot. Like I said, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the other plans whatsoever, I just don't want people saying that everyone else is stupid for not going that route, when it's all personal preference.
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I'm on someones employee t-mobile plan : ) 2k minutes my faves unlimited txt web tethering and insurance for $10 a month : )
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Towle said:
I'm not saying anyone is doing anything wrong by going that route either, it's all personal preference. I just didn't like the statement "I don't get why people don't realize" when it's not true.
And your comparison isn't even valid. I'm pretty sure neither of us live in fake worlds and I paid $149 for my phone and he paid $850 for his. Even if they come out to be the same price over 2 years, I'm getting 10x the minutes, and don't have to fork over $600+ at one shot. Like I said, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the other plans whatsoever, I just don't want people saying that everyone else is stupid for not going that route, when it's all personal preference.
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I simply covered the fact that most people are buying their Nexus' for ~$700, and T-mobile advertises the SGSII for $229.
That aside, I think his statement still holds strong. You've obviously crunched the numbers but most don't. Most people don't realize that there are fantastic off contract or pre-pay options that can save them $100's per year. Especially if they're coming from Verizon or AT&T, we're talking about moving from ~$100 per month to ~$30.
Thanks so much for the replies guys I think what I'll be doing is buying it on a three year contract, buying another phone unlocked after a year or so when it becomes TRULY obsoleted in terms of software + hardware and using the sim on that. (I also had a question: would the galaxy nexus be considered "unlocked" after I remove the sim? Or is it still locked to the carrier? Also, if it is locked to the carrier, could I just get it unlocked from an external source?) Also, I have 14 days to return the phone (as long as I don't use 15 minutes or 1.5 mb) Finally, I'm not on a two year contract, but a 3 year one. The best plan I could get is $70/month and I get 6GB of data + 200 minutes. I see how I'm losing money, but I'm in Canada and the plans here are MUCH worse than in the US.
mohitrocks said:
Thanks so much for the replies guys I think what I'll be doing is buying it on a three year contract, buying another phone unlocked after a year or so when it becomes TRULY obsoleted in terms of software + hardware and using the sim on that. (I also had a question: would the galaxy nexus be considered "unlocked" after I remove the sim? Or is it still locked to the carrier? Also, if it is locked to the carrier, could I just get it unlocked from an external source?) Also, I have 14 days to return the phone (as long as I don't use 15 minutes or 1.5 mb) Finally, I'm not on a two year contract, but a 3 year one. The best plan I could get is $70/month and I get 6GB of data + 200 minutes. I see how I'm losing money, but I'm in Canada and the plans here are MUCH worse than in the US.
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Hopefully it will be unlocked from Bell. The Nexus S was, and some people have reported Bell reps saying the Galaxy Nexus will be as well.
You should ask Bell for 6 GB though. I talked to a rep and told him that Rogers was offering me 6 GB for the 500 MB price (unadvertised, but it was all over mobile sites a week or two ago), and asked if Bell could do the same for me if I was signing a 3-year contract. He said they would. It's common for Bell and Rogers to offer the 6 GB at times... ask for it, and if you're signing a 3-year contract you might just get it. Why have only 500 MB if you can get 6 GB for the same price?
Wait, what? A THREE YEAR CONTRACT? I thought 24 months was hard enough!
momagic said:
Wait, what? A THREE YEAR CONTRACT? I thought 24 months was hard enough!
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It's the unfortunate standard for Canada. The two-year contract price for the GN is $599.99. That's F***ing ridiculous. This is why I decided to let my current contract run out in 15 months and not sign another. It's unlocked phones and the negotiating ability of switching for me now.
I'm also hoping the GN is carrier unlocked, as it should be, from Bell. Since I'm buying it outright anyways, I'll just drop my Telus SIM in and be a happy camper. Otherwise I have to wait until January when Telus and Rogers release it.
Prof-KOS said:
It's the unfortunate standard for Canada. The two-year contract price for the GN is $599.99. That's F***ing ridiculous. This is why I decided to let my current contract run out in 15 months and not sign another. It's unlocked phones and the negotiating ability of switching for me now.
I'm also hoping the GN is carrier unlocked, as it should be, from Bell. Since I'm buying it outright anyways, I'll just drop my Telus SIM in and be a happy camper. Otherwise I have to wait until January when Telus and Rogers release it.
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I can confirm that the Bell GN is unlocked. Just popped a Telus sim in and it worked.
If you are using a Galaxy Nexus from Europe on AT&T, does AT&T recognize the phone as a smartphone and force you into a smartphone data plan or can you go for the cheaper "dumbphone" plan?
Bump
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It shows up at a unknown gms phone
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*got to love spell check on the phone lol*
theorginazation said:
If you are using a Galaxy Nexus from Europe on AT&T, does AT&T recognize the phone as a smartphone and force you into a smartphone data plan or can you go for the cheaper "dumbphone" plan?
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Dont tell 'em. If they ask tell them its an unlocked nokia n75 or something. They consider that a dumbphone and it was a great smartphone for it's time.
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I had an Atrix previously, and they told me, when I called to update my IMEI, that they had to switch my plan to a non-smartphone plan - unlimited for $10 month. I went for it to try it out. Same speeds as with my Atrix.
Then reading another thread about how ATT throttles the non smartphone plan, and you have to call and pester them into hooking you up to a 4G smartphone plan to pump up the speed, I did that. Now it's up another $35 a month, and guess what. NO SPEED DIFFERENCE. I called and asked to be switched back, and they tried a bunch of different settings to keep pulling that $35 out of my wallet, but they just couldn't produce.
Long story short, take the non-smartphone unlimited.
Alright, thanks guys. I guess I am going to get the Galaxy Nexus instead of the SGS 2 now
I guess the question is, how do you go about it?
I'm on tmo right now, need to move to ATT for signal reasons....how do I get this dumbphone plan? I mean I don't wanna enter into a contract so I'll have to go into the store to order it...won't I have to show them my phone and then they'll just be like "uh...that's not a dumbphone?"
I'm using a dumbphone plan with my Vibrant right now. All you have to do is go into the store with a non-smartphone, get a sim, and then put it in your smartphone.
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Currently I'm on Verizon and to be honest, I hate it. I'm in an area where Verizon doesn't have 4G and AT&T HSPA+ speeds are much higher at my house on my girlfriend's phone.
I'm thinking about going GSM when my Verizon contract is up in August.
Here's my question/s:
How does GSM work and how do you pay for your phone service?
How much data do you pay for?
Just pop my t mobile sim card in and go. I'm on contract with them and pay 30 bucks for 5 gb
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Exodian said:
Just pop my t mobile sim card in and go. I'm on contract with them and pay 30 bucks for 5 gb
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But you don't have to be on contract with a carrier to use a GSM phone correct?
nklenchik said:
But you don't have to be on contract with a carrier to use a GSM phone correct?
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Correct, if you provide your own phone, they will provide a sim card and you pick your plan
Don't bait the trolls.
Depends if you subsidize and sign a contract. Best deal right now is get $30 T-Mobile plan, gnex $400 goggle play and get best phone ever. The catch with T-Mobile plan is 100 voice minutes and 10c minute overages which isn't bad if you don't talk a lot or use Google voice or something. T-Mobile also offers very competitive regular plans. If T-Mobile isn't great in your area Atnt has some decent alternatives especially if you can get a corporate discount. Or try the other carriers. There's a good thread on it somewhere in gnex forums.
teach a man to fish, you feed him for life. teach a man to fastboot, and you create competency. and less threads on xda.
nklenchik said:
Currently I'm on Verizon and to be honest, I hate it. I'm in an area where Verizon doesn't have 4G and AT&T HSPA+ speeds are much higher at my house on my girlfriend's phone.
I'm thinking about going GSM when my Verizon contract is up in August.
Here's my question/s:
How does GSM work and how do you pay for your phone service?
How much data do you pay for?
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You have some serious reading to do. I think you're confusing "GSM" and "Prepaid"... GSM is a network technology used around the world on hundreds of carriers. Prepaid is a type of service.
nklenchik said:
But you don't have to be on contract with a carrier to use a GSM phone correct?
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No, its your choice. You don't have to have a contract with Verizon or Sprint either... You just have to buy a phone full price and no one will force you.
If you're going to pay full price for a device, I would recommend going with an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) which runs off of AT&T or T-Mobile's network, but saves you about 50% of the cost of running on AT&T or T-Mobile proper. These are "Prepaid" with no contract. You save money because they're not subsidizing prices of phones, and they often have little or no customer service.
As @rbiter mentioned above, there is a great service plan (which I use) from T-Mobile that is only $30 monthly but of course has severely limited minutes. The other front runner on AT&T's network is "Straight Talk" which offers UL Talk/Text and "Unlimited" (actually like 2gb) data for $45. Above that, T-Mobile offers similar prepaid plans with 2gb throttles for $60 or 5gb throttles for $70. Other options include Simple Mobile which has similar plans/pricing.
I recommend reading the Prepaid thread in General. LOTS of people are doing this with the Galaxy Nexus. Read through and ask in there we'd be happy to help with the specifics.
So I know this probably isn't going to be one of the best questions, but do guys think I should stick around with Verizon and get the Dinc 4glte, or should I move to Sprint and get new Evo? I really wanna know what you fine gentlemen ( and gentle women) think.
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i think... GSM
I would stick with verizon. Sprint has horible reception at least where i live and their customer service is even worse. Also the evo 4g was a crappy phone, my wife had one and it was nothing but issue after issue. It also had horible battery life, and would sometimes not charge even though it said it was.
Shano56 said:
i think... GSM
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+1, CDMA networks have a faster LTE capability but GSM will bring you a lot more benefits particularly with nexus devices. Personally, I am thinking about going to AT&T or T-Mobile after my contract with Verizon expires next April and buying a gnex or the next nexus device if it will be available by then. Verizon is, in my opinion, the best network in terms of customer service and cell reception but they are also aware of that and take advantage of that fact by leaching their customers and bloating phones for no reason. You are far better off with a GSM network like AT&T for good reception or t-mobile and you can still get an unlimited plan for a reasonable price.
Thanks a lot guys! I really do want to stick with Verizon, but with the income I make being a 16 year old dishwasher, its kinda hard to afford it. The only reason I would move to sprint is because of the cheaper contracts and the Evo (even though I've heard some pretty interesting defects on it.) I still have until December to make up my mind if I don't want to pay for early termination.
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Yeah I highly recommended T-Mobile for those who have their coverage in their area. If not, then ATT. I suggest T-Mobile first, because at least in my opinion, they have cheaper prices and better customer support. I pay $15 a month right now on T-Mobile
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I was comparing prices over the weekend and found that as of right now, it is cheaper for me and my wife to stay with Verizon. Our contract is up in Dec, if signing a new one forces us into the tiered plan, we will probably switch to sprint, they still have unlimited as of right now. But if I can keep my unlimited even though we sign a new contract, I will stay with Verizon and buy my phones through swappa or Google if they really do come out with a new Nexus that they will sell themselves. It all depends on the unlimited factor for me. If would like to check out t-mobile but I don't know anyone around me who has it. AT&T is a no go, we left them for Verizon because of poor reception, we called and they said they had a tower down in our area due to corrosion, that means rust to me and that is just lazy on their part.
It might be time to rethink my usage and dependence on a cell phone.
You can get a $25 T-Mobile phone and a free sim if you go into the store or $1 if you buy online to test out their coverage
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So looks like the next (and possibly all) batch of Nexus phones will be GSM. Currently I am grandfathered in on Verizon's Unlimited 4G data and am currently not under contract.
Been trying to think of a way to jump ship to a GSM carrier to get the next Nexus, but still keep my Verizon plan should I want to come back (their coverage in my area is considerably better than any of the GSM carriers), but without keeping it active (put it on hold?). Looks like the best I can do is put the account on hold for a maximum of 90 days.
I've considered the pay as you go plans, but again would lose my Verizon unlimited 4G after 90 days
Thoughts?
Switch to the cheapest possible voice plan, buy a Wifi Hotspot off of ebay and throw your LTE sim in it. Still paying for 2 plans, but at least you'll have unlimited data no matter which GSM carrier you go with.
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Fumetsu said:
Switch to the cheapest possible voice plan, buy a Wifi Hotspot off of ebay and throw your LTE sim in it. Still paying for 2 plans, but at least you'll have unlimited data no matter which GSM carrier you go with.
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+1
However there's no point since yiunwant the Nexus as your device... Even with unlimited data, it may not be worth holding on to. Perhaps sell it, I think there's a site or something where you can do so, or craigslist it, I'm sure you'll make a couple hundred and then just go to a Verizon store with them.... worth looking into IMO.
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