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Best Carrier for Touch Pro 2

I am currently without contract and I'm considering upgrading to the touch pro 2. I am seeing that there are differences between the t-mobile and sprint versions such as a 3.5 jack in the sprint version. Assuming plans and coverage are all equal what's the better phone?
I have some specific questions.
Is the FM radio disabled on all carriers or just verizon?
Do cooked roms work on CDMA or just GSM versions?
Is the gps unlocked on them? I have OnCourse and have no intention of paying a monthly fee for gps.
Does Interent Sharing work through the regular data plan on sprint and verizon like it does on t-mobile or do I have to pay extra?
Are there any other known differences in the phone between carriers.
I am most seriously considering Sprint and T-Mobile so if people have any Carrier specific comments other then plan pricing and coverage because those can be looked up. I am just trying to avoid a carrier war, this is about the phone versions not which is the best carrier.

from what I have read up on:
FM radio is missing some stuff to work on the CDMA versions, the GSM just needs the program installed.
Cooked roms are working for the GSM versions, the HardSPL unlocker has not been made for the CDMA versions. So, no for CDMA.
I do not think GPS is locked. I'm using Garmin on mine.
As for internet sharing, i think this is at the discretion of the carrier. If you're doing like gigs and gigs a month, they might frown upon that.
And for the differences, visual? the 3.5mm jack and the battery cover is different.
I'm on Sprint.

sancmat said:
Assuming plans and coverage are all equal what's the better phone?
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That's a fairly big assumption.
Can you add an unlimited data for $15 a month for any basic plan on both?

sancmat said:
Assuming plans and coverage are all equal what's the better phone?
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Click to collapse
Ummmmm...... you'd be hard pressed to find someone that agrees with that.
IMHO coverage is everything, and in my area Verizon wins hands down! Same with call quality and data performance.
But this is where people will have differing opinions. I like to think of Sprint as the "I will never, ever, ever leave the city plan"

Let me rephrase. It's not that all carriers are equal but depending on how you use your phone and where you live one carrier may be better for one person than another. I wanted this to be a discussion about the differences in the phones and CDMA vs GSM not that sprint has the best 3g coverage, tmobile has the cheapest plan, verizon has the clearest reception, or at&t has the fastest 3g network (these are not facts or opinions I am just using them as examples). Personaly for where I live and how I use the phone I am considering two carriers.

1. FM Radio only works with tmo so far. probably we will get it for cdma, but not guarantee.
2. HardSPL is not out for CDMA yet so no custom roms yet, but this WILL happen. just give it a few weeks.
3. GPS is not locked on Sprint. I don't know about the others...
4. I agree with superX10. share your internet (we have a great app that turns your phone into a wifi router!) its free. you way over do it and the carrier is going to want some money. I think this will be the same regardless of carrier.
5. Visual: they all look slightly different. Not a big deal to me, but something might bother you. I don't think tmo has a 3.5mm headphone jack (correct me if i'm wrong). This means you need a converter & you can't charge and use headphones at same time.
Personally, none of these things are deal breakers. CDMA actually has a GSM sim card also, so if this gets unlocked there is a potential for it to be really versatile for you. I wouldn't worry about the differences and go with the carrier gives you best service for the best price. For me it is sprint and I can't think of a reason to regret it. yet.....

dont bother
I wouldn't bother considering any of the phone's features right now. Go 100% for the network. The CDMA will be open soon enough and you wont be able to tell the difference between the two.

Touch Pro 2 on AT&T

Well I decided to leave my cyanogenmoded (5.08) G1 and try out the backflip.
Im miserable.
This thing is stuck in 1.5 (i dont think i can endure that for too long and q3 looks like too long lol)
Not to mention its LOADED with att crap apps..
AND
Now ive lost my $10 a month unlimited family data... with the G1 att didnt seem to care that I had that- now this Backflip is announcing- identifying itself as a smart phone to the ATT network... so it automatically changes my plan to the $25 a month within 24 hours...
200mb for 15 is not enough data... i will surely go over and frankly i think i could go over 2gb (lots of email and browsing... youtube etc)
SO
Will the Touch Pro 2 announce it self to the att network as a smart phone? Will any unlocked tmobile phone do that? I was told that the G2 Hero will not via another post but I am liking the look of the touch pro 2 a bit more- especially if I can port android to it...

Yes any TMobile unlocked phone will work with ATT just not ATT 3G. You will be limited to Edge. Same as taking an ATT phone and using it with Tmo. You will only see an Edge connection. 3G on ATT and Tmo are on completely different bands. Other then that the phone will work as normal. I'm surprised you were allowed to keep your unlimited data plan. ATT killed those off last week. New deals are $15 for 200mg or $25 for 2GB. You may want to call ATT and just make sure you still unlimited because if you just renewed they might has pulled a switch on you.

maxpower097 said:
Yes any TMobile unlocked phone will work with ATT just not ATT 3G. You will be limited to Edge. Same as taking an ATT phone and using it with Tmo. You will only see an Edge connection. 3G on ATT and Tmo are on completely different bands. Other then that the phone will work as normal. I'm surprised you were allowed to keep your unlimited data plan. ATT killed those off last week. New deals are $15 for 200mg or $25 for 2GB. You may want to call ATT and just make sure you still unlimited because if you just renewed they might has pulled a switch on you.
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Well ATT did not let me keep the family data unlimited plan once I switched to the backflip...
I TRIED to do this quietly- I just threw my sim in the backflip and didnt say anything- but it sent me a text message a few hours later stating that it automatically signed me up for the 25/month data plan.
With the G1 it seems they (Att) did not know I was using a PDA - the G1 Did not report to the network that it was a PDA as the Backflip ( and I would assume any ATT PDA ) does.
What I am asking is- will the Touch Pro 2 (or any other NON-AT&T phone) act the same as the G1- could I tell AT&T that I am going to use my "Dumb phone" because I don't like the backflip (or what ever reason) - have them switch the Family data plan on for my line- and then put my sim card into a Touch Pro 2 and not have them know (as I did for the G1).
It would be nice if there was a list of phones that this is possible for... it would also be helpful if we knew HOW AT&T KNOWS that we are using a PDA - is it based on the IMEI number? Is there an android process or service or something in the background that announces it? Could we shut it down or change the ID number in such a way that AT&T's system would see a "Dumbphone" instead of a "Smartphone"/"PDA"
Just some thoughts...
Also- I understand that tmobile and att use different 3g bands and thus I would not get 3g- i don't care, frankly 3g is not that much faster than 2g (edge) any way.

No an HTC 8525 was the last phone I used where ATT or Tmo didn't pick up it was a smartphone and gave me the 9.99 unlimited plan. The HTC 8925 and up (TP2, TILT2, and HD2) all said "This phone is not compatible with this network, please call support to upgrade your plan." If I were you I would call support and blast the hell out of their ear. You should get the smartphone unlimited plan for $25, especially if you had a previous unlimited plan. All those are supposed to be grandfathered in. Tell then you never would have gotten the phone if you new you wouldn't be able to get unlimted data anymore. Its a new enough rule change they should be able to bump you up a couple support tiers and hook you up with the old unlimited plan. I know when they stopped doing the prepay plans they were calling accounts in for 2 weeks after the deadline until corperate said ok guys no more prepay its over. Then that actually quit selling it. So you should be able to get them to give you the proper unlimited plan. BTW what condition is your TP2? If its in mint I have a TILT2 I would be willing to swap. Then you would get ATT 3g. If you didn't know the TP2, TILT2, and Rhodium are all the same phone but different carriers.

Haha well the reason i was asking about this was because I wanted to see if I could use the TP2 on ATT with the 10 dollar family data unlimited plan... since apparently i can not I am not going to buy one lol :/.
At this point i need to find a phone that works on att, runs android, and allows me to use the 10 dollar unlimited plan without att recognizing the phone as a smart phone.
Does anyone have any suggestions? (other than the G1) Preferably something with a qwerty.
THANKS!

Not sure that phone exists yet, but who knows. I defenately know your not gonna be able to use your 9.99 data plan with any phones made in the past 3 years. They recognize the ime number and know its a smartphone now. ATT even puts what type of phone you used that month on your bill. I used his ATT sim card to unlock my phone, and he brought in his bill saying he used an iphone 21 days of the month and a Touch pro 2 for 1 week. I don't know why it said a week because it was more like 1 minute. But he said anytime he puts his ATT sim card in another phone it shows up on his bill as a new phone for a week.

Thanks- yeh its looking like G1 FTW!

Is there a hardware difference between the tilt 2 and tp2?

jwzg said:
Is there a hardware difference between the tilt 2 and tp2?
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Yes, the TILT2 has a chrome bezel around hte sides where the TP2 has black alum. The KB is different too. The TP2 has an actual QWERTY keyboard with numbers on top. The TILT2 merged the nubmers into the UIJKNM keys so you have to hit a function button then the number. Also the TILT2 is just a touch more modern feeling and looking. Even the slider feels like a higher quality. As for the internal chips I beleive they are the same except for the radio chip for different 3G networks.

maxpower097 said:
Yes, the TILT2 has a chrome bezel around hte sides where the TP2 has black alum. The KB is different too. The TP2 has an actual QWERTY keyboard with numbers on top. The TILT2 merged the nubmers into the UIJKNM keys so you have to hit a function button then the number. Also the TILT2 is just a touch more modern feeling and looking. Even the slider feels like a higher quality. As for the internal chips I beleive they are the same except for the radio chip for different 3G networks.
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The radio chip was what I was interested in. If the HTC TP2 rom will load on either device, will that allow the phone to run on either 3G network? I'm a Fuze owner so I don't have the first clue. I just would like to know.

The rom will flash on either device, but the 3G will not work on both ATT or Tmo. You will have to pick one or the other. Tmo runs on 1700mhz and 2100mhz, ATT runs on 850mhz? and 2100mhz. If you use a tmo phone on ATT you will just get edge, and vice versa.

Don't quote me on this, but it all has to do with what IEMI's ATT has is its data base, thats how the phone tells the network what kind and make the phone is.
The Nexus one for att 3g doesn't show up as a smart phone.....yet

TP2 T7373 (SEA edition) runs on Edge with ATT. $15 for unlimited. I once put my sim into a Blackberry and they switched my plan to $25/m. I took my sim out, put it back in my TP2 and then called them. They asked me the IMEI # and switched me back to the $15/m unlimited (MediaNet). Hope this answers your question.

HTC TP2: Cm7 vs WinMo
I do not know whether to turn to you below: : Confused:
Recently, they have gained from a TP2 that already had android 2.3.7.
I want the phone to 7.2.0-RC1-Hero Caynogenmod was changed back to WinMo, but only forum I read that the WinMo on how to make android (or next)!
Very slow and unstable for mal (as iron is not present).
Please help me, especially in how the program could be "android HTC TP2 is connected to the PC to WinMo to make him know what to do, and then step by step.
Important! : Sírás: (not just the android to WinMo on the card next to it alone!)
(I want to stay next to the robot, but if more than 2 of the stability and the "speed" of the WinMo is OK!)
A big thank you in advance for your help! : Good:

Dude this thread is 3 years old, post in the touch pro2 section, type is name in search device box on top.

Thunderbolt and ALL future 4G VZW devices require a UICC SIM card.

Thunderbolt and ALL future 4G VZW devices require a SIM card inserted into them for authentication. I just posted this on VZW forums because someone asked so here's a re-post for the HoFo members.
The SIM card is required for ALL 4G devices even when in CDMA only mode. See this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removab...dentity_Module
VZ is adopting SIM-technology for all 4G and beyond future releases for ease of use because you can switch your account profile from phone to phone as long as it's a VZW 4G device and it will seamlessly work. No more calling support, you just swap the SIM card. No more *228 except for PRL updates but that in theory should be done automatically too in the future.
If you really want to know what's in the Thunderbolt here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UICC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA_Su...dentify_Module
The Verizon 4G LTE SIM cards have 3 components in them (3 modules that are transparent to the end-user):
1. CSIM: Authentication to the CDMA 1X voice/data and CDMA EvDO rA data 3G network.
2. USIM/ISIM/USAT/ISIM: USIM is used for LTE/GSM/UMTS/HSPA data authentication. The last 3 are for roaming.
1. USIM is also used for native direct Verizon SIM card roaming when abroad (outside of the US) as long as the device hardware has the processing (baseband) and antennas to have the overseas bands.
2. ISIM is used for IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) authentication. Basically in the future Verizon wants to do VoLTE and move voice into IP (VoIP). This allows for ALL-IP simplified network management. Also device management and stuff that makes the device automatically work when it connects to ANY network in the world /w VZW roaming agreement (aka SMS/MMS).
3. USAT: Application toolkit for the SIM card. If you're not a developer forget about it.
4. ISIM (Intelligent SIM): One of the functions/applications is remote modular address book movement. (Only up to 256K). So if your address book contains up to 256K you can move it onto the SIM card and move your address book seamlessly transparently to the end user between any VZW device. There are other functions that only the engineer would understand.
"The application has been ported to the UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card), so that a card with CSIM, SIM, and USIM can operate with all cellular networks worldwide."
Get it? One phone, one network, 6 continents, every-where on planet-earth! Ah don't you just love technology? >.<
Also countering AT&T's stupid advertising the Thunderbolt will be able to do simultaneous voice and data like all AT&T 3G phones when in an upgraded area.
**Upgraded area=Area where Verizon has done network infrastructure upgrades to allow simultaneous voice and data on both CDMA and LTE. You will have simulaeous voice and data in ALL areas covered by LTE in which the data will be on LTE and the voice will be on CDMA 1X currently. In areas without LTE coverage that have been upgraded even the old native CDMA 1X/EvDO rA network will be able to do simulaeous voice and data (not all complete, in LTE areas yes, in non-LTE areas where they will get LTE yes by 2012). Basicall if you're in a metro area you will have simulaeous voice & data on ALL Verizon technologies, and then expand from there to the rural areas for the entire country by 2012.
Now with that said and done, VZ counters EVERY SINGLE CLAIM made by AT&T marketing in which VZ:
1. Support every function that AT&T does but does it EVEN BETTER
2. The superior VZW network in which VZW has invested billions of $$$ in.
These days it's not a technology limitation, it's the amount of $$$ you want to invest. Everything is possible, it just costs $. Heh.

thanks for the info...very informative

Stinks, I wanted to use this phone over seas too, I thought the SIM card thing was universal but ah well.

Not a surprise at all considering LTE is based on GSM, but nice job supplying details.

Would one be able to use a Thunderbolt SIM card in a laptop that was so equipped so that one only needed one data plan?
A Verizon sales rep I spoke with said no, it will not be possible, but you never know whether to believe what a sales rep says.

Robertus said:
Would one be able to use a Thunderbolt SIM card in a laptop that was so equipped so that one only needed one data plan?
A Verizon sales rep I spoke with said no, it will not be possible, but you never know whether to believe what a sales rep says.
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Almost certainly not, at least until they start making laptops with LTE radios. Or preferrably, a combined EVDO/LTE radio compatible with Verizon's SIM for CDMA scheme. No telling how long that will take, though.

Robertus, yes if you get a 4G USB stick like the UML290.

FCC is here:
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas...=N&application_id=579333&fcc_id=\'NM8PG05100\
Looks like part of the delay is the updated RF testing for the SVDO and SVLTE support! w00t!

willzzz88 said:
Looks like part of the delay is the updated RF testing for the SVDO and SVLTE support! w00t!
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This is a HUGE plus for vzw network, as from this point on with all the 4G devices they are becoming on of the worlds most modern providers in the world.
Thank you as always for your great info willzzz!

The old native EVDO Rev. A is not capable of doing voice and data, and SVDO is a software feature, not hardware. Verizon is upgrading to CDMA 1X Advanced, in order for SVDO to work. Voice over LTE was tested with this phone, but it weren't as successful as the LG 4G device. The tentative date for this device was changed 3 times, with the iphone being the main reason for the delay. Verizon doesn't know what their LTE data surcharge should be, or if they should go free for a limited time. I'll find out later at work as to what's with their reasoning for the delay now.

After reading that I'm still not sure... so will the thunderbolt be global or not?

I'm about to get Thunderbolt, and through my company we get very nice discounts on vzw plans. Once I get unlimited data on thunderbolt you are positive that by swapping SIM's with UML290 they won't automatically change my plan to data card plans?
That's what I'm worried the most. Also, the other day when I tried to buy UML290 outright, they didn't really wanna sell me unless i sign a contract or month-to-month, which means credit check etc... Is this required? I just want to pay for UML290 full price $250, and leave the store, they obviously don't make it easy.

milan03 said:
Also, the other day when I tried to buy UML290 outright, they didn't really wanna sell me unless i sign a contract or month-to-month, which means credit check etc... Is this required? I just want to pay for UML290 full price $250, and leave the store, they obviously don't make it easy.
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They wouldn't let me do that at a corporate store for my Droid X the other month either. I just went to a reseller and bought it outright. You can probably buy the device from a Verizon authorized dealer without signing up for anything.

Does Straight talk BYOD plan use Tmobile network or ATT or both?

Hi!
I'm considering to switch to straight talk since my vm triumph has been giving me alot of problems, so I wanted to ask which network does straight talk run on? I have always been a fan of tmobile android phones and can get them for cheap prices aswell, but if I buy a tmobile android phone, does it mean that i wont be able to use 3g? also tmobile service is pretty sketchy in my area, thats why i didnt get simple mobile.
And do the phones from att or tmobile have to be unlocked to be used with ST?
Thanks !

Closed, post in proper section

Verizon Predicament

Ok, so I have a rooted HTC Thunderbolt with Gingeritis 3D and is getting pretty old. I want to upgrade to the S3, but the problem is that i'll lose my unlimited (bastards). I've looked into getting a cheap plan from other carriers that have the S3 and then modifying it to work with verizon and use the other carrier as a business phone, but I can't find a plan cheap enough. I really hate the tiered plans with verizon so I'm trying to avoid that at all costs, but I don't feel like paying $700 for a freakin phone. Anyone have any ideas on a work around of some sort?

You're most likely screwed, I just lost my unlimited data recently because someone on my plan upgraded, so we all lost it, you might as well suck it up, no offense, Verizon is closing all loopholes to keep unlimited.
-Sent from Marino's Galaxy Nexus-

Phones from sprint and virgin mobile generally tend to be cheaper. Im not sure how you plan on modifying GSM units to function on CDMA networks (then again, im not very tech savvy) but chances are buying an off contract phone is the way to go. The CDMA variant of the galaxy nexus is always a cheap viable option. My 2 cents.

buckfuddy said:
Phones from sprint and virgin mobile generally tend to be cheaper. Im not sure how you plan on modifying GSM units to function on CDMA networks (then again, im not very tech savvy) but chances are buying an off contract phone is the way to go. The CDMA variant of the galaxy nexus is always a cheap viable option. My 2 cents.
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You can't, because:
1. You'd have to do something I can't mention her for legal reasons to get the Sprint version to work on Verizon.
2. The Sprint version has an embedded SIM, so no SIM slot that the Verizon version uses/needs for the LTE SIM.
3. Different frequency of LTE, so you wouldn't even get LTE.
4. Sprint has terrible data speeds and close to no LTE coverage (take it from me, I used to work for them).
5. Verizon is crazy expensive all in the name of "coverage" (take it from me again, because I used to work for them too, even though it doesn't take a genius to see it).
I say buy an AT&T/T-Mobile version unlocked (or international i9300 if you want) and hop onto Straight Talk. $45 a month unlimited everything (ok, well they'll throttle you if you use a lot of data), and you can choose if you want an AT&T or T-Mobile-based SIM. By a lot of data I mean generally over 2-3GB. But you can go on their Facebook page and make a support ticket lying and saying some app used a lot of data, and they'll usually un-throttle you in a day or less.
I tell people not to go for Verizon unless no other carrier has decent service in their area or unless their company is paying the bill. Because they have horrible customer service, destroy blockbuster devices with branding and bloatware (and locked bootloaders), and are crazy expensive.

Product F(RED) said:
You can't, because:
1. You'd have to do something I can't mention her for legal reasons to get the Sprint version to work on Verizon.
2. The Sprint version has an embedded SIM, so no SIM slot that the Verizon version uses/needs for the LTE SIM.
3. Different frequency of LTE, so you wouldn't even get LTE.
4. Sprint has terrible data speeds and close to no LTE coverage (take it from me, I used to work for them).
5. Verizon is crazy expensive all in the name of "coverage" (take it from me again, because I used to work for them too, even though it doesn't take a genius to see it).
I say buy an AT&T/T-Mobile version unlocked (or international i9300 if you want) and hop onto Straight Talk. $45 a month unlimited everything (ok, well they'll throttle you if you use a lot of data), and you can choose if you want an AT&T or T-Mobile-based SIM. By a lot of data I mean generally over 2-3GB. But you can go on their Facebook page and make a support ticket lying and saying some app used a lot of data, and they'll usually un-throttle you in a day or less.
I tell people not to go for Verizon unless no other carrier has decent service in their area or unless their company is paying the bill. Because they have horrible customer service, destroy blockbuster devices with branding and bloatware (and locked bootloaders), and are crazy expensive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Virgin Mobile has a $25 plan that might suit one's needs. Then again, I'm not sure about the compatibility of VMs phones with Verizons network.

buckfuddy said:
I believe Virgin Mobile has a $25 plan that might suit one's needs. Then again, I'm not sure about the compatibility of VMs phones with Verizons network.
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For 3G they'd work, if you can do the thing that I can't mention. But VM uses WiMax for 4G, not LTE, so it wouldn't work.

I'm going to second the Straight Talk suggestion. While they don't guaranty you will have reliable service, it is certainly worth the savings and is usually pretty reliable. If you put up the cash to buy a phone outright, you will save more then that then if you were to stick with Verizon.
I have my Infuse on ST right now, and it's been just fine. I've been getting speeds equal to my service when I was on AT&T and have only had a few hiccups when it comes to data, bet never when it comes to actual phone service.
There are particular data heavy apps I've used that seemed to kick me off the data network, which I think is the only reason I had issues with my data. It usually resolves itself after a while though. One of those apps was a remote desktop app that I was just testing out from work for the first time on my phone (always used my tablet for it before), and my data pretty much stopped working as soon as I tried using it. Then after about an hour or so I was able to use data again. Tried calling in the issue, but I spent about 30 minutes on hold and just hung up. Which brings up another downfall of ST, it's usually not a good idea to attempt to call customer service in the middle of the day.

el_roy1985 said:
I'm going to second the Straight Talk suggestion. While they don't guaranty you will have reliable service, it is certainly worth the savings and is usually pretty reliable. If you put up the cash to buy a phone outright, you will save more then that then if you were to stick with Verizon.
I have my Infuse on ST right now, and it's been just fine. I've been getting speeds equal to my service when I was on AT&T and have only had a few hiccups when it comes to data, bet never when it comes to actual phone service.
There are particular data heavy apps I've used that seemed to kick me off the data network, which I think is the only reason I had issues with my data. It usually resolves itself after a while though. One of those apps was a remote desktop app that I was just testing out from work for the first time on my phone (always used my tablet for it before), and my data pretty much stopped working as soon as I tried using it. Then after about an hour or so I was able to use data again. Tried calling in the issue, but I spent about 30 minutes on hold and just hung up. Which brings up another downfall of ST, it's usually not a good idea to attempt to call customer service in the middle of the day.
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When you fill in the APN, remove any "Proxy" fields except for "MMS Proxy." It's one way they try to limit what apps can connect to the network. But other than that they're good. It's full AT&T or T-Mobile service (you choose the SIM type), running on the base network, not the Prepaid/slow-network. So if you have good AT&T or T-Mobile service in your area, you'll the same coverage/speeds on Straight Talk.

I bought a used (T-Mobile) GS3 for $450 and use T-Mobile's $30/mo pay-as-you-go 4G plan (100 minutes, unlimited texting, 5Gb data before throttling). There are other no-contract plans out there for other types of users as well. Doing the math, just buying the phone instead of paying higher rates for the carrier to subsidise some of it easily evens-out over its lifespan - or comes way ahead. I would have paid about $1000/yr at Verizon. Now I'm paying about $580/yr considering the price of the phone. If I keep the phone after two years, this drops to $360/yr. And I get better service quality over-all.
I'm sure you can find a used Verizon GS3 - heck, you can even get them NEW for less than "$700".
If you're actually getting a good deal with Verizon, then just buy the phone out-right.