Related
Hello, I am going to visit USA in August for 1 month (many states), could you please advise me, which 3g network is cheapest for SMS (foreign SMS too) and 3g Internet (well, probably unlimited or best for Android heavy usage)
Thanks for attention
Read that AT&T has the best 3G coverage, but it's pretty expensive - 5 gb for $40, am I right?
P.S. Not sure if I chose correct place to post this thread
For no plan prepay you best bet is Tmobile. 3G coverage in almost all real cities. Edge in most small towns, and G everywhere else. I can get internet anywhere with it just slow internet if I'm in the middle of nowhere driving state to state. They have a data only plan for $38.99 a month unlimited(10GB). Or 500 anytime minutes free nights and weeksends, unlimited txt and unlimited data(10GB) for $59.99. If you go ATT you will have to run a credit check even to get 1 month of service and even then they don't have any data only plans so your bill will most likely be the 39.99 + $30 for 2GB data, + tax's which run around $10.
Thank you very much, in this case I'll take T-mobile unlimited data plan then
And maybe keeping second (old) phone with old sim card in roaming
Which plan do you think it is better to take for my sister if she doesn't use the internet at all and just SMS?
and are this unlimited SMS work if you send them abroad? I mean are they still free?
maxpower097 said:
For no plan prepay you best bet is Tmobile. 3G coverage in almost all real cities. Edge in most small towns, and G everywhere else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uh... just make sure that your phone supports Tmo's 3G bands (probably not)... 1700 AWS, not 2100 (i.e. UTMS 1700 not UTMS 2100)...
Yep, T-Mobile would be your best bet
Check out Simple Mobile.
They use T-mobile's network and offers $60 for everything INCLUDING unlimited international text message. If can get good T-mobile service in your area, you might as well sign up with them to save bunch. The only downside is you have to have a unlocked or T-mobile compatible GSM phone in advance as they don't provide subsidized phones.
hbkmog said:
Check out Simple Mobile.
They use T-mobile's network and offers $60 for everything INCLUDING unlimited international text message. If can get good T-mobile service in your area, you might as well sign up with them to save bunch. The only downside is you have to have a unlocked or T-mobile compatible GSM phone in advance as they don't provide subsidized phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, I am planning to but off contract Samsung Captivate (AT&T version of Galaxy S), but then unlock it for any GSM network
never heard about Simple Mobile, will google it, thanks
DarkVasyaK said:
thanks, I am planning to but off contract Samsung Captivate (AT&T version of Galaxy S), but then unlock it for any GSM network
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again... don't expect such phones to work with Tmo's 3G... you'll be stuck with EDGE...
You'll need the Samsung Vibrant if you want Tmo's 3G to work in the US... or a Behold II or MyTouch... plus Tmo has funky rules for Android phones on prepay (or not)... you may need to do their FlexPay ...
there's a good chance that you'll have to go with AT&T prepaid... given what you're planning...
Your Euro phones probably won't work with Tmo 3G but you very well might pick it up some places. Many many many people have picked up 3G on tmo's US network with INTL unlocked phones. One of the bands matches, the other doesn't. So it depends on which tower your near.
maxpower097 said:
Your Euro phones probably won't work with Tmo 3G but you very well might pick it up some places. Many many many people have picked up 3G on tmo's US network with INTL unlocked phones. One of the bands matches, the other doesn't. So it depends on which tower your near.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe what you say is incorrect. Not only are the frequencies around 2100Mhz different between Tmo's 1700/2100 (UTMS1700) and UTMS2100 different, but UTMS1700 *depends* on the 1700Mhz for uplink, so you can't even create a connection.
Actually...certain Asian phones operate on the same frequency bands as T-Mobile...but good luck getting your hands on one.
~Jasecloud4
Confused
So, I am going to buy Samsung Captivate
It's UMTS 850/1900/2100
If I unlock it for any sim and put T-mobile sim inside, 3g won't work?
I should use AT&T then? I saw at the web site that there is a 5 gb data plan for $60
I don't really want to buy T-mobile Samsung Vibrant because it's easier for me to buy international version then, but I don't really like how it looks.
And just one more question, I am going to live in Singapore for 1 year soon, does anybody know if 3g will work with Captivate in Singapore?
DarkVasyaK said:
Confused
So, I am going to buy Samsung Captivate
It's UMTS 850/1900/2100
If I unlock it for any sim and put T-mobile sim inside, 3g won't work?
I should use AT&T then? I saw at the web site that there is a 5 gb data plan for $60
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct. Tmo runs on a special band so only Tmo branded phones, and some "asian or INTL" phones can use tmo 3G. ATT 3G is US standard and can be used by most phones, but ATT doesn't have any unlimited dataplans anymore. They don't have any prepay dataplans, the only data only plans they offer are for the ipad. So your gonna pay much more, but ATT will give you better 3G coverage, but slower in the cities compared to TMO. TMO actually is beating out sprint 4G in most area's, but its coverage is spotty and only in large cities. I would go tmo and buy a throw away phone when you get here. Or get a tmo phone for the trip, then actually spend real money on a phone when you get home. You can get a TP2 for around $150-$200 here, and HD2 for $250, then you can ebay it off when you get home or sell it real quick on CL before you leave. If you haven't tried it the TMO HD2 is a beast.
well, I wanted to use tons of android apps using 3g internet, but in this case I should just use EDGE... don't want to buy special phone for 3g or something like that...
it seems that I have a choice between 3g with AT&T for $60 (5 gb) and T-mobile EDGE for $40 (unlimited data) ?
DarkVasyaK said:
well, I wanted to use tons of android apps using 3g internet, but in this case I should just use EDGE... don't want to buy special phone for 3g or something like that...
it seems that I have a choice between 3g with AT&T for $60 (5 gb) and T-mobile EDGE for $40 (unlimited data) ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you could get 100MB of data on AT&T for $20... but perhaps that isn't enough for you... seek out Wifi whenever possible? (that's what I do when traveling outside the US...)
or live with Tmo EDGE, which really isn't that bad and some would claim that you may be dealing with EDGE or EDGE-like bandwidth on AT&T as well, depending on where you go and congestion (hoards of iphone users)...
I know how At&t are gonna have HSPA+ 4g, I'm confused about the new devices they're gonna have that support HSPA+. Are they going to be able to connect to HSPA+ on T-Mobile's network.
So for example, I buy an unlocked HSPA+ tablet from AT&T, straight from their store. Is it going to be able to use T-Mobile's HSPA+ network if I put a T-Mobile SIM card inside?
Also, one last question, if I use T-Mobile's SIM card, do I have to do some special stuff to get it to work on their cell network? Like how you have to unlock an iPhone for it to work on T-Mobile?
Thanks
xAliceNine said:
I know how At&t are gonna have HSPA+ 4g, I'm confused about the new devices they're gonna have that support HSPA+. Are they going to be able to connect to HSPA+ on T-Mobile's network.
So for example, I buy an unlocked HSPA+ tablet from AT&T, straight from their store. Is it going to be able to use T-Mobile's HSPA+ network if I put a T-Mobile SIM card inside?
Also, one last question, if I use T-Mobile's SIM card, do I have to do some special stuff to get it to work on their cell network? Like how you have to unlock an iPhone for it to work on T-Mobile?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Unfortunately you will not be able to use HSPA+. HSPA+ is just an extension/revision of the current 3G. Effectively it is also called 3.5G/3.75G in some reports. They use the same 3G band of each respective company. The At&t tablet would work on 850/1900 band and T-mobile will work on their AWS (1700) band. So if you bought an At&t tablet, you may need to get it unlocked, not sure if they lock the sim on tablets. At best you would get Edge service with a T-mobile sim.
thanks man, argg
do you think it's worth it to change to at&t because I just heard of the Motorola Atrix and it sound PRETTY BAD ASS!
I don't know since people I know are always angry at AT&T for their service either..
xAliceNine said:
thanks man, argg
do you think it's worth it to change to at&t because I just heard of the Motorola Atrix and it sound PRETTY BAD ASS!
I don't know since people I know are always angry at AT&T for their service either..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NP. I have had every major carrier offered in the US. I have had at&t, t-mobile, and sprint within the last year. I had verizon a while ago and dropped them because they could never get my bill right. Honestly, the service is about the same. The question is how is the service in your area. I mainly stay in my area about 90-98% of the time. I live in a major city so all carries have great service. But I have stayed with At&t for the last few years. Every time I go to another carrier I kept my at&t service, go figure. So I would just look at coverage to where you travel the most and go with a carrier that will give you the best coverage for the best price. Do i prefer a carrier over another, yeah. I like GSM carriers better because I do like to surf and talk at the same time. Sprint can do this if your in a 4G coverage area and have a 4G phone. Verizon is a no go with this feature until they release their LTE phones. But At&t has a better coverage footprint than T-mobile that is why I stick with them. Hope it helps.
Wondering a bit about this too.
I have service through Bendbroadband using a HSPA+ SIM with USB modem Dongle by bandluxe. The service is stellar on the speed, but I can't use the dongle with everything (iPad), so looking for alternate routes before i decide to move to a different provider.
I noticed that the CTO of the company said in a comment regarding their service that any unlocked UE that supports HSPA/HSPA+ in the AWS band could be used, but also had an unclear reponse on cell phones with HSPA+.
I have a Huawei Comet (unlocked), it lists the same AWS Bands compatible, but says HSDPA (which I thought HSDPA + HSUPA = HSPA+ but at higher speeds, correct me if I am wrong), and has hotspot tether that works with tmobile web service no problem.
I plugged the SIM in, and it updates the bar with BendBroadband but I get no data. (might need to provide the IMEI or something)..
Curious if you think it should work, before i go knocking on their doors.
Some other specs:
the mytouch 4g (HSPA+) lists the bands as:850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz;UMTS: Band IV (1700/2100)
The comet is listed as: 850 MHz;900 MHz;1800 MHz;1900 MHz;UMTS: Band I (2100);UMTS: Band IV (1700/2100)
I am fairly sure the comet is HSPA+ but not advertised that way.
According to comments on the site, Bendbroadband technicians do not actually support moving of the SIMs. Bummer.. trying to keep my business local.. Bumping and moving to Tmobile once the month is up.
Any info on when this might released in canada.
I am on ATT and I feel terrible that another great handset is going to T mobile and F**** att is not interested. Carriers in Canada like rogers and telus have the same band for ATT.
( But again no 4G )
So curious to know if canada is getting one.
Just letting you know that Telus AND Bell use a 4G network (HSPA+)
The DHD actually came out on what was considered a 3G+ network, with DL speeds up to 14 Mb/s, which is really the American 4G standard. With Telus' LTE coming in soon, you can expect DL speeds up to 75 Mb/s... So yeah, canadians don't really lag behind in that aspect!
As for the phone coming out here, Bell and Telus are big fans of HTC, and Bell even launched the Incredible S! So I'd say the chances are pretty good for it to come out here... Only thing is that if it comes to Telus, it might take a few months, as they tend to take their time with phone launches, and Rogers is just a Sony fan...
is Telus received the HTC Deasire HD and the first Desire look to see the Sensation on Telus as well but Telus has issues with taking to long to release phones but dont be suprised to see the phone with bell as well since the Atrix was a hit and miss
TheSobadef said:
Just letting you know that Telus AND Bell use a 4G network (HSPA+)
The DHD actually came out on what was considered a 3G+ network, with DL speeds up to 14 Mb/s, which is really the American 4G standard. With Telus' LTE coming in soon, you can expect DL speeds up to 75 Mb/s... So yeah, canadians don't really lag behind in that aspect!
As for the phone coming out here, Bell and Telus are big fans of HTC, and Bell even launched the Incredible S! So I'd say the chances are pretty good for it to come out here... Only thing is that if it comes to Telus, it might take a few months, as they tend to take their time with phone launches, and Rogers is just a Sony fan...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dint mean to say that US was ahead in terms of 4G. I thought the band for 4G was different between the networks. However its really good to know they are the same. Will be jumping to get hold of sensation when its released in canada.
Now have to find out someone to ship me one
TheSobadef said:
Just letting you know that Telus AND Bell use a 4G network (HSPA+)
The DHD actually came out on what was considered a 3G+ network, with DL speeds up to 14 Mb/s, which is really the American 4G standard. With Telus' LTE coming in soon, you can expect DL speeds up to 75 Mb/s... So yeah, canadians don't really lag behind in that aspect!
As for the phone coming out here, Bell and Telus are big fans of HTC, and Bell even launched the Incredible S! So I'd say the chances are pretty good for it to come out here... Only thing is that if it comes to Telus, it might take a few months, as they tend to take their time with phone launches, and Rogers is just a Sony fan...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rogers uses the same type of HSPA+ network as well.. I really wish they wouldn't call it 4g though.
Having been on both sides , I miss the net speeds in Canada.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA Premium App
Is this phone going to work properly on rogers?
I've read that on rogers its only going to get 2G speeds...
I've been waiting for rogers to get a good phone for almost a year now, I'm going to leave if they don't get any good phones soon.
Rogers, Bell and Telus use 1900MHz for 3G.
The Sensation uses 1700MHz.
If you want a carrier that's compatible with the Sensation, you need Mobilicity (ME!) or Wind.
I think htc will release one with a compatible band
Thracks said:
Rogers, Bell and Telus use 1900MHz for 3G.
The Sensation uses 1700MHz.
If you want a carrier that's compatible with the Sensation, you need Mobilicity (ME!) or Wind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G2 was released with T-Mobile bands, then later released with support for 1900 as the Desire Z. I'm returning my Nexus S and am going to stick with the Nexus One for the time being - I really hope this model makes it to Telus. There's nothing about it that I'd change other than maybe a bigger battery. Sense is tolerable.
Thracks said:
Rogers, Bell and Telus use 1900MHz for 3G.
The Sensation uses 1700MHz.
If you want a carrier that's compatible with the Sensation, you need Mobilicity (ME!) or Wind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually,
Rogers, Telus and Bell use 850/1900 for 3G, and many phones with just the 850 UMTS frequency work on these networks (i.e. The Australian HTC HD2)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UMTS_networks
Thracks said:
Rogers, Bell and Telus use 1900MHz for 3G.
The Sensation uses 1700MHz.
If you want a carrier that's compatible with the Sensation, you need Mobilicity (ME!) or Wind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sensation only uses 1700 in the US for T-Mobile. But who cares about 1700? No one ****ing uses that band. 2100 is what's used worldwide, and that's the sensation the world will get. What we're wondering is when a 850/1900 Sensation will hit.
As an AT&T customer, I'm not even counting on AT&T to get it, nor do I care if they get the phone. I don't want to be thrown on their smartphone data plan anyway. I like importing phones and slapping a SIM in so I can keep going on the $15/plan
Anyway, so if Canada carries the Sensation, that means it will come in 850/1900 flavors.
Even if u have a smartphone u can still use the 15$ plan
drgopoos said:
Even if u have a smartphone u can still use the 15$ plan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use a non carrier smartphone you can get away with it. AT&T's not gonna make a huge list of all the smartphones in the world and blacklist them from the $15 plan.
They did it for the N1 but taht's because it was sold in the US targetted @ AT&T customers with the 850/1900 bands.
They can only really control the phones they sell to make sure that if you want data with their phones, if it's a smartphone you will be on the $30 plan. Suck it ATT.
dmo580 said:
if it's a smartphone you will be on the $30 plan. Suck it ATT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is no longer valid.
Att has changed the rules now. Even if u have a smartphone u can have the 15$ plan.
My wife has iphone and she is on 15$ plan
drgopoos said:
This is no longer valid.
Att has changed the rules now. Even if u have a smartphone u can have the 15$ plan.
My wife has iphone and she is on 15$ plan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well AT&T is rather nice to you. Up here in Canada, Rogers (AT&T's counterpart in Canada) forces you into a minimum $45 Data Plan if you upgrade from a normal phone to a smartphone. Negotiations never seem to work unless you're extremely lucky, or know someone in the business.
On the topic of the Sensation coming to Canada, I have my doubts on Rogers getting it. They haven't supported many HTC devices in the past, and I doubt they will now. Rogers always carries Samsung and LG, with the occasional Sony Ericsson device.
I'd be willing to put money on Telus and/or Bell getting the Sensation, while Rogers probably taking the Galaxy S II.
If the phone comes out on telus or bell ill still be happy, since telus/bell/rogers all use the same 3G bands now.
Actually in Canada, for BlackBerry you need a minimum of $40 V&D, but for any other smartphone, it's $50... That said, I hear in the US V&D plans can go as high as $100 (here too, but they're the exception, not the norm). Unfortunately though, around these parts most plans don't come with more than 1GB of data.
One of the benefits of our plans though, is that download speeds destroy US speeds. LTE here is 125 Mb/s vs the 14 Mb/s you guys get. For us 14 Mb/s is considered regular HSPA+ (3G+).
As a Bestbuy mobile rep though, I get a fair plan for myself ($35 all incl) for my V&D plan that gives me all the add-ons i need (unlimited txt, Caller ID, VM, early nights) + 200 min and 1 GB data. Pretty good if you ask me
As a Telus customer though, and back on topic, whichever new phone to come out first to Bell or Telus (Sensation or S2), will be the one I buy. I'm hoping both will launch this summer, but I don't really feel like leaving Telus unless I have to...
I am hoping that the sensation gets a GSM release. Being it supports the MAP bluetooth profile, i would like to get a Android phone for my Focus to work with the My ford touch system. There are no android phones in canada that i know of that work with that profile.
When is the glaxy s2 supposed to be released in canada?
ive been with every big phone supplier 4 at least afew weeks and htc is the only 1 im interested in. the galaxy s could be a great phone but they dont give you enough great features. if samsung had its own "friendstream" style social widget, it woyuld compete. but after flahsing sense 3.0 on my desire hd, ill never go back to plain android. every company's UI look sboring in comparision to sense 3.0. only flaw with htc right now is psx4droid doesnt work on the updated sense ui. oncenthat is fixed, this is easily the best brand phone
I thought I did my homework. But when I called t-mobile to find out if the quad band Infuse would work on their network, I didn't ask what kind of data speeds I would get. My bad.
So now I have this almost perfect device that gets 2g speeds. Not even 3g. And they're charging me $9.99 a month (for tethering) for this privilege because it's not a t-mobile phone.
So if any of you know a workaround, please let me know.
Otherwise, I'll have a one week old Infuse to sell.
Bob
BobK58 said:
I thought I did my homework. But when I called t-mobile to find out if the quad band Infuse would work on their network, I didn't ask what kind of data speeds I would get. My bad.
So now I have this almost perfect device that gets 2g speeds. Not even 3g. And they're charging me $9.99 a month (for tethering) for this privilege because it's not a t-mobile phone.
So if any of you know a workaround, please let me know.
Otherwise, I'll have a one week old Infuse to sell.
Bob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sell it. The Infuse does not support the UMTS1700 band that T-Mobile uses. Neither does any other AT&T phone that I know of.
For the most part, with a few rare exceptions, unless the phone was sold by T-Mobile USA, it won't get 3G speeds.
You can sometimes go the other way - 2-3 T-Mobile phones support the AT&T 3G bands, but it's rare.
I don't think any AT&T phones support the AWS (UTMS1700) band for T-Mobile, but I know that a few T-Mobile phones (Galaxy S phones) have the 1900 band, so they work on AT&T's 3G network.
Your better off selling the Infuse and getting something like it for T-Mobile, or just wait for the SGS2, and get that, because your Infuse will be stuck on 2G.
Longcat14 said:
I don't think any AT&T phones support the AWS (UTMS1700) band for T-Mobile, but I know that a few T-Mobile phones (Galaxy S phones) have the 1900 band, so they work on AT&T's 3G network.
Your better off selling the Infuse and getting something like it for T-Mobile, or just wait for the SGS2, and get that, because your Infuse will be stuck on 2G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what about when ATT takes over tmobile? Will it change then?
emeralds5668 said:
But what about when ATT takes over tmobile? Will it change then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not for existing devices, it's a hardware limitation
The tech guy I spoke with at t-mobile said it probably will -- but that's quite a while to wait. By then a GSM version of Kyocera's Echo might be out. Now I know what questions to ask.
B
Hi,
I am using a prepaid service after transferring number to Google Voice.
I am researching providers. It seems in my area T-mobile has decent HSPA+ speeds. But ATT 4g LTE may come soon, too.
So, the question: which phone meets these criteria
- future-proof
- unlocked/unlockable for use with T-mobile and ATT for data mainly
- ready out-of-the-box or after rooting/radio flashing for all the current and foreseeable bands?
I've read that one current ATT 4G LTE phone (can't remember which, maybe Skyrocket or Note) can have a radio flashed that will make it work on T-mobile HSPA+.
Thank you!
Galaxy Nexus. Unlocked and pentaband right out of the box, no flashing radios needed. Gets T-mobile and AT&T 3g and 4g. Super easy to root, dev community that is second to none..AAANNNNNDDD available brand new on google.com for $399.99 with a US warranty.
thank you! great.
I have about $300 saved from selling my VZW Droid. I'm almost there.
This will show my ignorance, but will it do AT&T 4G LTE, too?
Any other choices?
also, 5-6 months ago when I was considering the Nexus when I was still with VZW, there were complaints about the radio being weak. Even I went into a VZW store and the settings were showing -105dB and almost every other device, including the cheapest Pantech, were in the mid to high 70s.
How is the radio strength/quality on GSM version now?