[Q] going to US - ISP and phone - help! - General Questions and Answers

Guys, I need advice. I'll be in he US for some time and I need to be online on the go.
I got a European Galaxy S (1, the original) - is there any carrier that would give me a good data plan? Would 3G work? If not, what is the best option for EDGE?
I'd also consider buying a new phone. However, there is no Galaxy S2, nowhere. No carrier. Wtf? Sprint looks nice with the unlimited plan, but a Nexus as a *NEWS* phone? I am puzzled.
Isn't there any good dual core phone in the US?
And why does every provider seem to ***** about *tethering* - what a silly name for something normal.
Seriously, how do you survive this in the US?

Related

Best Android tablet for ~$200?

I'm looking for an Android tablet, preferably under $200.
Features wanted:
Preferably upgradable to Froyo (by rooting etc)
I don't care about resistive/capacitive, and Galaxy Tab is too expensive
Thanks
I would get the Hauwei Ideos S7 because it is unlocked and you can use it as a 7" phone.
Being a new Verizon customer myself, how do you activate this on Verizon? (Always an AT&T/TMobile customer before, SIM all the way...) xD
You can only activate things that verizons sells on verizon.
I would do a AT&T GoPhone or T-Mobile prepaid option for this baby
I would check att first, with tmo you will only get 2g/edge network. Other than that, its fine.
Sent from Jt's Samsung Galaxy Tab!!

Samsung Dart on AT&T?[Need quick decision]

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?

[Q] Buying a no-contract smart phone

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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
lowandbehold said:
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

Lenovo S8 :: 3g on AT&T possible with tweaking??

Hey guys/gals,
I'm relatively new to advanced cell phone workarounds/programming/software-know-how, but Im not one of those punks who knows NOTHING about technology and phones. Ill cut right to the chase, and the answer so far has been not gonna happen, but is there any way to get a Lenovo S8 to work on AT&T's 3g network? It has a 900/1800/1900 GSM band and the weird china-only 1890/2010 W-CDMA radio in it, but I've been under the impression that AT&T runs 3g on the 1900 band. Is there any way to tweak a setting or do anything to get it to work? (That question was asked knowing the answer is 99.9% absolutely not, so please dont blow up at me, just asking again for good measure.) Or alternatively, I have a Samsung Focus and a Nokia Lumia 900 that work perfectly fine at my disposal, is there any way for me to make a franken Lenovo and take the radio out of the Samsung or Nokia and put it in the S8 to make it a usable phone in the United States? I bought the phone as a gift for my girlfriend, she HAD to have a gold phone and the iPhone 5s was outta my price range full retail, plus the S8 is as gold as it gets. She loved it until she realized it was on EDGE speeds at maximum, basically rendering the phone un-usable, so she switched back to her busted up silver iPhone 5. Right now I have a $200 paperweight, and 2 phones with radios in them that I know work on AT&T's network. I dont mind if the Lenovo ends up bricked, its a waste of money anyway if I cant get it to work. Give me any ideas you have everyone, thanks so much!!!
-Daniel
RE:
Any ideas guys???
one last bump, thought at the least someone would reply calling me an idiot for thinking it was even possible, please guys any ideas?

[Completed] Need Help with possibly Moving to Sprint from Verizon.

So I posted in the Sprint Galaxy S4 section. The reason for this was I am familiar with the S4 on Verizon and thought maybe I would got to Swappa.com
and get a Sprint S4 if Sprint looked like it might work. I would however like to ask people in general about Sprint with any phone that they have.
I basically want to know the same questions about any phone possibility with Sprint.
So I will in quotes show you what I posted in the S4 area of Sprint on XDA. Any help would be MOST appreciated.
("Hello to all in this Forum.
I am starting here because I have a Galaxy S4 with Verizon and it has served me well for years and does everything I need.... so why look elsewhere.
It also seems that there is still alot of good development for the S4 here with yall on Sprint.
The reason for leaving Verizon is that to keep my Unlimited Data for two phones my bill is close to $270.00 dollars a month.
We just cant keep doing that any more.
SOOO What I am trying to find out is with Sprint is:
*Is the service good number one?
*Can you easily get TWRP on any phone ( which is best) is the S4 a good contender?
*Can you get a WiFi hotspot easily?
*If you can get a WiFi hotspot how many GigaBytes before they Throttle, how bad is the Throttling?
I use well over 100 Gb of data a month per line with Verizon..... Will Sprint poo poo a brick and shut me down if I do that with them?
We live in the country and the Verizon phone is our only source of Internet. We broadcast our Hotspot and do Netflix, and Amazon Prime as this is our only source of TV.
I looked on a map recently, It shows in my area the best coverage for 4G LTE. The LTE plus is not bad either.... although I dont know what phone uses LTE plus.
Any help or thoughts on this would be SOOOO much appreciated. This would be a huge and scary jump for us because once you lose Unlimited with Verizon... you'll never get it back, and right now they work and do everything very well...... We just pay through the Nose for it.
Thank you!!")
swc2001 said:
So I posted in the Sprint Galaxy S4 section. The reason for this was I am familiar with the S4 on Verizon and thought maybe I would got to Swappa.com
and get a Sprint S4 if Sprint looked like it might work. I would however like to ask people in general about Sprint with any phone that they have.
I basically want to know the same questions about any phone possibility with Sprint.
So I will in quotes show you what I posted in the S4 area of Sprint on XDA. Any help would be MOST appreciated.
("Hello to all in this Forum.
I am starting here because I have a Galaxy S4 with Verizon and it has served me well for years and does everything I need.... so why look elsewhere.
It also seems that there is still alot of good development for the S4 here with yall on Sprint.
The reason for leaving Verizon is that to keep my Unlimited Data for two phones my bill is close to $270.00 dollars a month.
We just cant keep doing that any more.
SOOO What I am trying to find out is with Sprint is:
*Is the service good number one?
*Can you easily get TWRP on any phone ( which is best) is the S4 a good contender?
*Can you get a WiFi hotspot easily?
*If you can get a WiFi hotspot how many GigaBytes before they Throttle, how bad is the Throttling?
I use well over 100 Gb of data a month per line with Verizon..... Will Sprint poo poo a brick and shut me down if I do that with them?
We live in the country and the Verizon phone is our only source of Internet. We broadcast our Hotspot and do Netflix, and Amazon Prime as this is our only source of TV.
I looked on a map recently, It shows in my area the best coverage for 4G LTE. The LTE plus is not bad either.... although I dont know what phone uses LTE plus.
Any help or thoughts on this would be SOOOO much appreciated. This would be a huge and scary jump for us because once you lose Unlimited with Verizon... you'll never get it back, and right now they work and do everything very well...... We just pay through the Nose for it.
Thank you!!")
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Greetings, unfortunately this is not what assist is for, it is for guiding new members to the correct forum to ask their question. You are a senior member and have asked your question in the correct forum already, hopefully the experts there can give you some advice
Good Luck
Sawdoctor

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