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Top US Provider? (Please Rate)

Hey community,
I am currently not under contract with any provider…at the very least I want to give each provider a solid look before signing a new contract. Since I value the input of this community so much I am interested to see your thoughts. I don’t need help choosing a phone…also I am in the USA so for the purpose of this thread I am not interested in how the services would be rated worldwide.
Please add a vote to the poll…please don’t just pick the provider you are currently with but rather who you would choose if you had the chance…if anyone has relevant info please post it. My needs are simple…data and voice…coverage and customer service are very important. Let’s not turn this into a forum to bash providers…that is not my interest…if you have a chip on your shoulder please express it elsewhere…
I have added the top national carriers to the poll.
Thanks!

Well this thread was a BUST

You went with T-Mobile i'm guessing? Lol, I think you were right.

Oh hey, you posted that on December 11th, 1:43 and you reposted today on June 8th 7:43...

T-Mobile is extremely good if you live in a metro area...best call quality, good coverage, no dropped calls, fast data speeds (4-5mbps+ in some places)

At&T as it´s the only carrier that have HTC devices which work with 3G in México!

Tmobile has the best phones imho
Verizon tends to have the best signal
and AT&T is just a general all rounder
I currently have AT&T and aside from their pitiful phone selection and ludicrous data plan, i usually have good service

PurpleLlamaLover said:
You went with T-Mobile i'm guessing? Lol, I think you were right.
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Funny...I actually have not updated my phone yet...kinda want HD2 but kinda want an Android phone too...I am draging my feet.

metro now owned by T-mobile
I went out today during my day off and seen what was out there to offer. Shopping for a family plan with at least 3 lines, I have a buddy and his wife where I stay maybe 1 week a month who haven't had phones and need them (have kids etc). I couldn't find even close to a better deal than what Metro T-mobile offered me in the store. First I'd like to say that going into a cell store is most generally pointless, because you will get a better deal 90% of the time going online to shop phone plans. However this was certainly an exception.
I was coming from Boost, and wanting to port my number over. Porting over from another company will usually get you a slightly better deal. They have a current (4 for 100) promotion at the metro/t-mobile dealer. That seemed to be a decent price for a family plan. We all have fairly new, decent phones already that can be carrier unlocked fairly easily. So I asked if I would need to purchase SIM cards which seems to be the norm, I was figuring 100 for the plan, then probably 25 a piece for activation/sim cards etc... Then i was kinda shocked.
She then said since I'm porting over from another carrier that I'll get a new phone (up to 240.00usd) for myself, AND each additional line. There will be a 15 dollar activation fee for each line.
So I'll be at around 180.00 out the door. That includes: unlimited talk, text, and unlimited data with no throttling. And the phones I have to choose from don't suck. I'm still deciding between.
LG Stylo 4 (we already have 3 in the house, they are decent midrange phones)
LG Stylo 5 (another gig of ram, slightly better glass, and android 9)
Samsung a10e
Samsung a20
Moto g7 power
Granted, all of metro's phones seem to have a ton of bloatware on em... but i can't pass this deal up because the best part is: NO CONTRACT
I'm probably going to be selling 3 stylo 4's on swappa

To get the AT&T Captivate or Not?

I posted a thread in the general section, but no one has responded, so I'm hoping maybe someone from these subforums can help me.
As most of you know, the Captivate is available through Amazon for only $50 and the deal has definitely made me want to buy it. However, at the same time, I'm afraid it won't fit my needs somehow and am contemplating waiting for the T-Mobile's G1 Blaze.
I like the Captivate and all, but my first apprehension would be the lack of physical buttons. The G1 Blaze has a full QWERTY keyboard which comes in very handy when playing games, ESPECIALLY emulator games. I love the idea of being able to bust out old school games on the go if you're bored. The Captivate can certainly do that, but I find touch screen phones don't go well with emulator games.
In addition, AT&T's plans feel a big expensive to me. $25 for limited data and $40 for a small amount of minutes. However, the tradeoff would be a good, strong, consistent signal. T-Mobile's plans are cheaper, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get a good signal inside my university's lecture halls and dorms.
Do you guys think I should get the Captivate or wait it out for the G1 Blaze?

Isn't there a 30-day try out period for AT&T? I would check that out.

Sprints Galaxy S variant - the Epic 4G - comes out at the end of the month and has both a full QWERTY and unlimited data/text for approximately the same price. Don't know how Sprints coverage is in your area, but that is something to check out.

Ah, but isn't sprint going to charge an extra $10 a month for 4G service even if you don't get it for ALL 4g phones?
That's the deal breaker for me...
Like another member said, I'd try out the providors for 30-days (which is what I'm gonna do, I'm on the fence about TMOUS and AT&T as well)

Oh yeah! I forgot there was a 30 day trial period. I'll give the Captivate a try then. I should be able to weigh the cons and pros by the same time next month as I'll be on campus by then.
@mesaone: I really don't like CDMA networks or phones. I tend to swap phones a lot. I went from an old school BB Curve to a Touch Diamond to a MyTouch 1.2 this year already x)

[Q] Help choosing phone and provider, please?

I have a MyTouch 4G on T-Mobile. In a year or less the AT&T buyout of T-Mobile may happen and.... I have to decide what's next for me.
1. I'm happy with the MyTouch and my T-Mo plan but I have no contract and therefore no protection at all against whatever changes may result from the buyout.
2. Physical or on-screen keyboard is fine, no preference.
3. I need VERY little voice time, less than 100 minutes a month for the last 10 years so the 200 minute senior plans from AT&T or VZW are fine for me.
4. I need LOTS of data so price is a consideration.
5. I MUST have UMA or WiFi calling to cover all the places I need my phone but I think that's impossible, I doubt AT&T will add that and I know VZW won't.
6. The choice is between VZW and AT&T, don't want to go into reasons for that. I have a lot of very bad experiences with AT&T and a lot of good experience with VZW, offsetting that is that my current phone(s) are GSM.
So.... should I try to live with AT&T or get a new phone and go with VZW? Price will be exactly the same either way but I'll need to sell some phones and get a new one (eBay or Craig's List, no contract!)
And, if the recommendation is VZW what CDMA phone is close to the MyTouch 4G in performance and features?
Any suggestions much appreciated, thanks!

Anybody?
10 Characters

I'm not really sure what verizon phone is the closest to what you have right now, but they do have a few good smartphone options. I will say that if you're planning on switching, you should do so before the 7th because there will be no more unlimited data on new plans after that.

I've been on sprint for awhile now mainly because the pricing. The evo 4g is comparable to the mytouch 4g. The evo 3d just came out for sprint recently which is a beast of a phone but I'm not upgrading just yet. Explore all your options and visit androidcentral, they have many reviews of android phones from all carriers. I'd suggest looking over there to get some more input
Sent from Erik Estrada

the merger has not happened yet and it will be at least 8 months till it goes down and then prob at least half a year till everything gets switched. People are worried but it takes time to get thing swiched over. You might even get a cheap trade off phone when that happens. There is nothing cheaper than TMO and you seem to be happy with it. Why not just stick with it till the merger happens.
Pick up a Sensation or a G2X and stay on Tmo as long as you can.
But if you really want to switch then I would pick verizon (unfortunetely there are not phones on vzn that I really care for right now but you cant go wrong with the network availability and speed but super high prices).
As mentioned you should consider sprint, closest to tmobile in prices and decent network with 1 nice phone which is the evo 3D.
gluck.

Thanks for the answers!
First, I have no contract nor will I, I'll stick with T-Mo as long as possible but it's never too soon to start searching Craig's List or Ebay for a phone if I do go to VZW. Question is, if I port my number now, will I still have unlimited data next month or the month after on a month to month deal?
Pricing, Sprint is the most expensive option by far, both VZW and AT&T offer senior plans which I had when I was with VZW before, Sprint has nothing similar. BTW, T-Mo only saves me $5/mo over VZW. I get more minutes I can't use/don't want with T-Mo but who cares?
Coverage: I switched to T-Mo because they had coverage where I need it, VZW doesn't (I know, that's the reverse of most people's experience!) but w/o UMA/WiFi calling I'll be back to no coverage in most places where I need it regardless of who I chose.
(T-Mo used to offer an unlimited data only plan with per minute voice, that was the best for me but it's no longer available.)

technology moves pretty fast these days.. i would ride out your t mobile plan until the merger gets closer then look into plans and phones. As one person stated verizon is dumping unlimited plans after the 7th so maybe thats a deciding factor for you.

Thanks

TheIceCreamMan said:
technology moves pretty fast these days..
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I agree but I'm usually happy with a phone that's a little behind the curve.
i would ride out your t mobile plan until the merger gets closer then look into plans and phones. As one person stated verizon is dumping unlimited plans after the 7th so maybe thats a deciding factor for you.
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I looked at plans and phones today, VZW still has the Old Fart's plan for $30/mo so that's fine, the data is a worry. I can get the unlimited plan today but w/o a contract will I get to keep it next month?
With the 65 Plus plan for $30 and the data plan for $30 I'd be paying only $5/mo more than T-Mobile but with no UMA/WiFi calling which is a major problem and the reason I'm staying with T-Mo as long as possible!
The change from unlimited data is a good reason to switch today but with no guarantee that I can keep the unlimited plan I'm scared to change!

I don't know how unlimited data works without a contract, you'd have to ask Verizon. As for wifi calling, why not just use Google voice?

On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate UMA as a 10, WiFi Calling as about a 6, Google Voice as a 0. It's just not an acceptable alternative but it is an alternative I suppose...

I would suggest not to try AT&T - pretty poor network .. Also, they dont seem to have an unlimited data plan.

I agree with that but I suspect that AT&T will remain T-Mobile for some time after the buyout, as in honoring my current plan and maybe continuing to offer UMA/WiFi calling. I expect everything will continue unchanged for some weeks, maybe months? I'll switch when I have to unless something unexpected happens.
I'm able to switch any time, I have an old VZW BB, an 8330, so I can port my number over right now if I need to....

4G network T-Mobile
At this rate, when people test 6G we started erecting 4G network is OK

I have a month to month deal with Verizon. Coverage is good here in Western PA, much better than AT&T. Very happy to still have unlimited data!

I have had sprint for a short time, but it has been really good.

arunprakashl said:
I would suggest not to try AT&T - pretty poor network .. Also, they dont seem to have an unlimited data plan.
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Unlimited data seems to be as extinct as dinosaurs, those who have it will be allowed to keep it (for who knows how long?) but new customers can't get it.
I have an unlimited plan with T-Mo but I'm sure that'll be going away, the question is how long will it last after the buyout? I'm guessing I'm OK for at least a month but then????
For most customers, the lowest limit offered by most companies is more than adequate.

With AT&T for awhile now. Not too impressed with coverage or service. I wouldn't recommend them at this point. Would have stayed T-mobile but their coverage was worse where I need to go. If T-mobile works for you, why change. When AT&T merged with Cingular, it didn't affect customer of either company until they signed up for new contracts, which sounds like it won't be you.
I don't know if it is a precursor to what's coming but a new T-mobile device from Huawei is being tested by the FCC with T-mobile and AT&T HSPA+ bands. Max speed @ 42mbps. Engadget has a small article on it.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side.

US - Switching carriers after 12 years, whats out there?

Hi All,
I'm debating tossing the towel in with Sprint, and am looking for what you guys are suggesting. First and foremost, I need Windows Phone, so right away AT&T is very attractive. But here's my delemia.
Currently, I have Sprint with the following plan.
1500 Anytime + Unlimited Data + Unlimited Messaging + Unlimited M2M + 3G/4G on 4 lines
Total $215 a month (and rising, this was originally $160 with my work discount a year ago)
Well, thier service has been horrid, data speeds are pathetic and I'm just wanting to give up with them.
So that pretty much leaves me with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Verizon = out of question, for my plan it's like 360 bucks.
AT&T = most likely, as I can align my package to what I use, plus get roll over and keep that M2M or (anymobile if you will) for relativly 180 bucks, BUT, the kicker.
With TMobile still having an unlimited data plan (ala capped), would you guys think it's worth the risk to sign up with tmobile and hope the plan carries through?
Also, I read alot about congestion on AT&T, and honestly, I can't imagine it's worse than Sprint. Sprint just friggen sucks really bad lately, data speeds are 10x slower than Dial Up.
Anyone else switch from Sprint to another carrier recently want to chime in? This is gonna cost me nearly $1200 so I want to make sure it's worth it.
Thanks!

I recommend us cellular. I have been with them for over 12 years and service has always been great. phone selection isn't always good because they are a small carrier but they have a lot of android phones and at least one windows phone.
Sent from my MIUI SCH-i500

why do you need a windows phone?

Why do people need iPhones?
Really though I have apps to support in marketplace.

so as someone that's been with t-mo for over 10 years now...yes is a good one and worth the risk...
there's still a good chance that att will buy them, but there's a lot of opposition and legal challenges coming up
I think you can clearly get a better deal...and since they don't have larger user bases, the network doesn't tend to be as saturated and they tend to try harder to keep their customers...once you learn the tricks during the every two year renegotiation....
I would suggest, you take as much time as you can to try out their service int eh first 15 days they give you, to see what their network coverage is like in your area, but where I am, it's more than adequet. and the nice thing about them, that I'm experienceing, is while I don't have a 4g phone, my speeds keep getting better as they improve the hspa network speeds, unlike LTE, which if you don't get an lte phone now, you won't get any better performance until you upgrade...
I've been with spring a long time ago, left att to go to t-mobile, and had a verizon work phone a year ago that I gave back...I'm still very happy with t-mo and will stick with them unless att buys them.

I need help deciding which carrier/phone/plan

Ok, I've looked at all the carriers and the resellers to include post and pre. I've been on a family plan for ever and I'm about to drop off and start my own family plan with my daughter.
I've just gotten a settlement and want to pay up front for at least the first year or more but want to stick to under 2K. What I'm having trouble with is deciding which is best. Everything I read is this is better but another says different.
When I drop off the Verizon and start my own I'll lose the unlimited data so I need to consider data, 4g, unlimited and whatever on 2 androids and what is the best latest and greatest.
Sprint looks like cheapest but no 4g unless I'm seeing it from for Arkansas and Indiana. Verizon has best coverage but data is limited and raises price when you go over which I would. ATT is expensive and has 2Gb cap which is about same for T-Mobile.
I'd love to buy two unlocked kick ass quad cores and do Simple which would be 4G but hear it's unreliable.
Anyone have any recent experience like mine that can share some input? I'm needing 2 Androids (best phones) with unlimited data (or a ton of it) and unlimited text and pic, plus around 1000 or more minutes.
My brain is fried, only reason I'm asking... Prolly over thinking but it's a lot of money.

go with sprint or tmo?
since data is obviously a big must for you, i would suggest considering sprint above all. it will give u the unlimited data and relatively affordable prices. theyre launching the samsung galaxy nexus with 4g lte support very soon, and that of course, is a great developer phone.
if not the galaxy nexus, you will want to consider the samsung galaxy s ii epic 4g touch. it is sprint's version of the galaxy s 2 and definitely a phone that can hold its own. both phones are about 199 up front, and are quality samsung smartphones that should last you two years.
tmobile is a good carrier to consider because even though data is capped at 2gb, its 4g hspa+ network is pretty fast, and if oyu go over, they will only throttle your speeds, not charge you an overage fee. the throttling will be annoyingly slow (i speak from experience), but at least you wont pay overages. for tmobile phones, i would consider the htc one s or the samsung galaxy s ii. both phones are solid, dual-core phones and the one s launches with android 4.0 on board.

ynksrule93 said:
since data is obviously a big must for you, i would suggest considering sprint above all. it will give u the unlimited data and relatively affordable prices. theyre launching the samsung galaxy nexus with 4g lte support very soon, and that of course, is a great developer phone.
if not the galaxy nexus, you will want to consider the samsung galaxy s ii epic 4g touch. it is sprint's version of the galaxy s 2 and definitely a phone that can hold its own. both phones are about 199 up front, and are quality samsung smartphones that should last you two years.
tmobile is a good carrier to consider because even though data is capped at 2gb, its 4g hspa+ network is pretty fast, and if oyu go over, they will only throttle your speeds, not charge you an overage fee. the throttling will be annoyingly slow (i speak from experience), but at least you wont pay overages. for tmobile phones, i would consider the htc one s or the samsung galaxy s ii. both phones are solid, dual-core phones and the one s launches with android 4.0 on board.
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I've been thinking it's going to be sprint but not having the 4G is bugging me big time. It's almost as if they painted the whole map with 3G though so it will help. Daughter will be staying put in college but I'll be bouncing all over the place helping family take care of different things until I start getting low on funds again.
I cant do the throttled data as it will most likely be my only internet in the Toy Hauler that I'll be sleeping in and I like my Netflix to much. Maybe someone will know some magic combo that is better than anything I've seen so far. Have two weeks till she can port her number.

which sprint phone?
that makes sense, if cellular data is going to be your primary source of internet, then sprint's unlimited plan is probably the way to go. (but i would like to hear if anyone has any better ideas).
what smartphone are you leaning towards for you and your daughter?

If you're looking for an available quad-core then no questions asked it's the HTC One X.
And you want 4G? Don't make it a priority in your checklist, 4G won't have the same coverage as 3G in the next 2-3 years and by then you'll probably be getting a new phone. IMO get into a carrier with the best 3G coverage if data is a must for you. You won't need anything faster on a mobile device anyway.

ynksrule93 said:
that makes sense, if cellular data is going to be your primary source of internet, then sprint's unlimited plan is probably the way to go. (but i would like to hear if anyone has any better ideas).
what smartphone are you leaning towards for you and your daughter?
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I had been looking to buy a digitizer for a G2X my niece had laying around and hitting Simple Mobile then my daughter told me she's paying 94 per month to ATT and has the smallest minute package and only 2GB of data. I'm used to being unlimited and paying less than that so I think that's insane.
I was looking at 2 that was on sprints site both being 1.2 dual, Nexus and G11 S Epic. Daughter already has an Iphone and I will if I have to (she asks) buy her another but I'd hate giving money for a mac phone. Would rather pay double for an Android than the iphone.
cepcamba said:
If you're looking for an available quad-core then no questions asked it's the HTC One X.
And you want 4G? Don't make it a priority in your checklist, 4G won't have the same coverage as 3G in the next 2-3 years and by then you'll probably be getting a new phone. IMO get into a carrier with the best 3G coverage if data is a must for you. You won't need anything faster on a mobile device anyway.
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That One X comes out in June to sprint. I can stay in my family plan I'm in now if hers being att doesn't try and lock her into another two year.