My current carrier is tmobile and I own a my touch 3g and I am looking for a better android running phone.
So what would be a good unlocked android phone to buy? Other than the ones tmobile offers. I have seen a few sites with unlocked android phones for any carrier.
HTC Espresso: myTouch 3G Slide
thricemin said:
My current carrier is tmobile and I own a my touch 3g and I am looking for a better android running phone.
So what would be a good unlocked android phone to buy? Other than the ones tmobile offers. I have seen a few sites with unlocked android phones for any carrier.
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Click to collapse
I was thinking of grabbing a myTouch if you want to unload yours - send me a message if you do decide to change.
There is a simple two word answer that can't be beat: Samsung Vibrant. It's the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S and should be the best/most powerful phone T-Mobile has as of this month when it comes out. $199.99 with a 2-year contract rpice. Not sure how much full retail is but then there is the ATT version which has a crazy low full retail price of $349.99.
You should check out the Nexus One unlocked and start rocken
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=559
Hey guys I am looking to buy this phone:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/Samsung-Dart-Prepaid
The samsung dart, and to unlock it to use on AT&T. Would this mean that it will not be recognized as a smartphone, or does it use AT&T 3g frequencies meaning that it will be recognized and a data plan will be added?
I need to make a quick decision as I'm leaving to go on vacation for a month tomorrow and my friend needs a phone.
the lg thrive is now available on att prepaid for $179
Did you ever end up getting the Dart?
I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?
xdabyk said:
I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?
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No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.
you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
lowandbehold said:
No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.
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Thank you. Does that mean I can use the Samsung Galaxy S2 No-Contract Model I buy from/for T-Mobil Prepaid now for other carriers of GSM? May I understand from your reply message(s) that T-Mobile is a GSM format carrier(and so is AT&T?) as opposed to Verizon and Sprint being a CDMA guys? If so, I can use the phone as long as my next carrier is a GSM guy? Does this make sense?
djjuice said:
you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds
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To: djjuice -
Thank you. I will do some homework in order to understand what "locked", "unlock" and " . . . will not get the same 4g speeds" mean.
Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.
Thank you, quarlow.
My budget is around $600 max. So I'm inclined to purchase an HTC Amaze 4Z or Samsung Galaxy S2 for use for T-Mobile Prepaid at Target or at T-Mobile. T-Mobile Net Shop is selling Galaxy S2 Re-Furbished at a discount price. Hear Galaxy S2 have high rate of initial failures and therefore maybe better to buy a re-furbished one that has failed once and was repaired by qualified repairman. Below is how I come to think of buying a smart phone now. I've been happy with a simple prepaid phone buying 100 minutes at a time, which lasts more than a year for me. I also use a Sony Clie, a PDA running Palm Desk Top, which has gone obsolete long time ago. With a smart phone such as Galaxy or Amaze 4Z, I can leave not only the PDA but also a digital camera home. I do not need to access my PDA data over internet. I will import necessary data from my PC to my new smart phone either via cable or via WIFI before going out. That's why I want to remain "Prepaid Customer" not a customer with monthly fees. (Besides, I am not so much interested in leaving my data at ISP's servers.)
Thank you.
I haven't heard of high failure on the Galaxy S II's for TMo. But I have seen several studies showing refurbished devices have lower failure rates because they can have problem components replaced, and have to pass full qa testing twice.
If you are going to put all your data on your phone via USB on the computer, or wifi, then data compatibility won't matter. That changes the whole issue of taking it to another carrier. Any att or TMo phone that is unlocked will make and receive phone calls, text messages and mms messages just fine on the other network. You will only notice the difference when web browsing, or downloading files. If you aren't going to do that, then it wont make a difference.
Knowing that and your budget I would say get a international version of the phone. Get the Galaxy S II (i9100), or the Galaxy Note, or the Galaxy Nexus. All of those phones are top tier, and international versions will receive updates quicker. The Nexus being the Google device will be the first ICS device to get the next version of android, so its the most future proof. The GSM version of any of those phones will likely come unlocked.
The i9100 has a 4.3" screen, and 1.2Ghz dual core Exynos chip. The TMo version has a 4.5" screen (same resolution) with 1.5Ghz dual core qualcomm chip. The bigger screens did have issues with splotches and vertical lines far more than the 4.3" screen. With them being the same resolution the smaller screen is crisper. The Exynos chip is made by Samsung and widely regarded as the better chip, even at a slower speed. It also comes with a more powerful gpu than the qualcomm chip. So, the graphics are better, and games run better. The att version (i777) is almost exactly the same as the i9100, except it has the U.S. norm of 4 buttons, vs the international 3 buttons. The dev support on xda for the i9100 is unmatched by any other phone, its an amazing device with a huge support and user base.
The Galaxy Note is a 5.3" half phone half tablet with a stylus, and 1.4Ghz dual core Exynos chip. Its screen is a whopping 1280x800 resolution. But, for some that's too big.
The Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65" screen with 720p resolution (this screen is pentile which means it doesn't have as many sub pixels as it could. Its hard to explain, Google pentile vs rgb and there should be plenty of explinations. But, most reviews say at that resolution you need a microscope to tell). But the real strength with that device is that its the pure Google device. Its running Android the way its meant to be ran, unbloated and unrestricted. That is the Rolls Royce of Android phones for the next year. The Nexus S is last years Google device, and will be the first gingerbread device with an official ICS upgrade, if it isn't already upgraded. Its like a Mercedes at this point, its got the pure android experience, but its running last years tech: 4" screen, 1Ghz single core hummingbird chip.
I'm sure that is way more information than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helps.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
quarlow said:
Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.
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Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
lowandbehold said:
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
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Att 3G runs on 850 and 1900, with preference on 1900 generally. The TMo looks to have 850, but not 1900. So like the vibrant the support will be spotty at best. It may work in some places, but not everywhere.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
To quarlow and lowandbehold -
Very informative! Thank you very much.
I will stay with the plan to go for a Galaxy S2(i1900) or an HTC Amaze 4Z for TMO Prepaid. If there be good prepaid phone service(s) available from other carrier(s), I'd definitely want to learn about.
I tried looking around earlier but I couldn't really find a definite answer. With Metro's bring your own device plan
it says the galaxy nexus is compatible to be flashed to metro, is this correct?
Are all galaxy nexus's unlocked or do I have to buy a specific model, like the verizon or sprint model?
It doesn't really specify on their website.
Any help would be appreciated.
I've been with Verizon since the 90's and want to stay with the Samsung Galaxy line. Currently have the Note 4 Developers Edition.
My research has shown that Samsung & Verizon are making it harder & harder to gain root. I believe in the near future, it will be almost impossible to root the Galaxy lineup under Verizon. I'm sick of only having 1 rom to choose from on the verizon phones that have gotten root.
For this reason alone, I'm seriously thinking about switching from Verizon to Tmobile, Sprint or AT&T. Seems tmobile, sprint & att are ok with us gaining root and using a ROM.
Can someone make a suggestion as to which carrier I should switch to?