I have had an AT&T 8x for 9 days and in a 7 day billing period I have only used 250Mb of data out of 4096Mb. I had an iPhone 5 last month on Sprint and I used 1750Mb of data on it before I returned it, 14 days. I have used both phones to the same degree and have even used the 8x as a WiFi hotspot. I am worried one of the 2 companies is lying and if it is AT&T and I stay I am going to get screwed. I have 2 days to figure this out. I heard that the Windows Phone 8 devices are very data efficient but 400Mb vs. 1750Mb sounds to good to be true. Does anyone have any helpful information? Have any of you AT&T users noticed low data usage? If this is true I was going to buy the Nokia Lumia 920 on a second line to share but I don't want to do that if AT&T is lying.
Iphone is problem not ISP.
Iphone consume HUGE amount of MB.
Android and WP8 are more efficient in that way.
(iphone 5, especialy siri, cuz everything on iOS is stored on cloud, android and wp8 is stored on phone) and that is quitly big difrence.
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So let's start this off by saying I tend to be a very frugal person. So frugal that about a year and a half ago I opted to get the Galaxy Tab (7 inch) from Verizon on a 2 year contract for only $100 on a $35 a month 3GB data plan. I slapped Skype on it, grabbed an online number and tied that into my Google Voice account and for a total of $41~ a month ($6 a month on average for an online number for Skype and unlimited minutes) I had a device with unlimited calling, unlimited texting, and 3GB of data which turned out to be plenty since I used the wifi when I was at home. This was awesome despite holding up a 7 inch tablet to my head to make phone calls, which I didn't care. I mean yeah people look at you funny but I was the one laughing since I was saving over $50 a month on my phone bill. And I could play Angry Birds on a big screen! I really really loved this setup.
I sold that tablet to my brother 9 months ago now and he just kinda carried over the plan. I did that since I moved to Chile for that amount of time and now I'm moving back to the States come next week and I want a similar setup. No carriers offer data only plans though that work well in my area. I switched from AT&T to Verizon since big red's coverage was 100x better where I mostly used my phone. However the data plan I had gotten with that tablet has gone away due to the "Share Everything" stuff although it still is only $40 a month for the share everything tablet data plan but none of the newer tablets they offer catch my eye since I really want that 7 inch sweet spot which is actually able to still fit in most of my pant's back pockets. This brings me to my best thought so far but there's one large caveat...
Mobile hotspots. I have narrowed down the choice between Verizon's Mifi 4510L and US Cellular's Samsung SCH-LC11 and then using that to connect to a Nexus 7 which looks like a better and more powerful Galaxy Tab that I had only used a year ago. I'm definitely leaning more towards US Cellular though since they offer a 2 GB plan for $25 a month and only an extra $10 per GB used above the 2GB limit while Verizon's crazy pricing for their Mifi 4510L starts at $50 a month for 4 GB of data which I'd probably never use all of it. I never even used 2 GB from what I remember from before. Although that's still a huge bargain compared to pretty much everyone else who has opted for those ridiculously overpriced plans for their rinky dinky smartphones. I kid of course. The base pricing for the devices is $188.99 out the door for a pre-owned certified Mifi 4510L without a contract and $200 (after $50 MiR) for the Samsung on a 2 year contract. After a year the Samsung would save me $300 but that's also stuck on a 2 year contract, although if I had to cancel it'd only be $150 to do so and I'd still be ahead $150 above big red. But the one large caveat to this is the battery life which on the Samsung is about 3 and half hours active usage and the Mifi 4510L says 5 hours but the Samsung has a removable battery. Now I drive fairly often and at my work and home I'll more than likely have wifi access, thus negating the need to plug in the mobile hotspot, the tablet however would also use up more battery due to the wifi being on all the time. It's definitely a trade off but one I'm willing to make I believe since on the US Cellular (Which has really great service where I live although I don't believe I can get 4G from either) side of things I'd be saving $900 a year.* So what does xda think about this? Any thoughts or insight? Other suggestions that I more than likely missed? Or mistakes in my plan? (I've been known to make plenty of those.)
Now I do know that it doesn't have to be a tablet. I'm tempted to get the Galaxy S III off-contract and just use it wirelessly the same way. However I'll still be lugging the mobile hotspot wherever I'll be. Other bonuses to the hotspot is... It's a hotspot. Super easy to share my connection. Although I was able to do that with my old Galaxy Tab very easily as well so not a huge deal. Thanks to those that stuck through my huge post and seemingly large amount of rambling. I didn't mean to post this much but it just turned out this way.
*This is accounting that I never have to pay an extra $10 for a GB over the 2GB use and accounting for a $100 for a normal plan. I could go ahead and say I'd be saving $1800 over a normal smartphone plan although I have around $400 to put down at first so saying an average smartphone goes for $200 with a 2 year plan I'm still saving $1600 once those 2 years are up.
TL;DR - I'm cheap and want to get a mobile hotspot and use a tablet (Nexus 7) connected to it via wifi as my phone to get the cheapest monthly data plan and run all my talk and texts through Google Voice / Skype.
When I got my first Android device at Christmas 2011, which was an old HTC Desire that offered a rather lowly specification compared to more recent devices (especially in the storage department where there was less than even 1GB of internal storage for apps), I instantly fell in love with the operating system. Having never utilised a smart phone before in daily life, besides Samsung's failed Bada OS which frankly sucked, I just loved the practicality of being able to access the internet wherever I was. From simply checking the date for someone's birthday on Facebook when I enter a shop, or scanning a barcode and finding a better price in the shop next door, to simply playing some Angry Birds whilst waiting for someone, I really found a smart phone incredibly useful. Since I predominately use a smart phone for its apps, and seldom actually make phone calls and not even a ton of text messages, the natural choice would probably be a tablet. However, since my old HTC had a rubbish old battery and was getting grubby, I needed a new phone also. The hybrid tablet/phone Galaxy Note fitted this perfectly and I got it on a monthly contract from 3 around 4 months ago now. The unlimited 3G data (no 4G here in the UK till September at the earliest) was especially appealing for just £27 GBP a month. However, now the Note 2 has been announced and, besides it being much more powerful and having improved software, a 4G version (which I presume will come to the UK as it is getting 4G now) is set to release. So, does anyone know when you can get an upgrade on a 3 Mobile 2-year contract?
I have been a loyal Sprint customer for ten years now (please don't judge). At one point, I was even on SERO and my wife convinced me to switch to a family plan (once again, please don't judge). Anyway, here I am today out of contract with 2 smartphones (Evo and Epic 4G), 1500 anytime minutes, an Airave (since Sprint doesn't work in my home), terrible 4G service (in Central Florida) and a $155/month bill all after a 22% discount. I'm ready to make a drastic change.
After looking at Sprint's website, combined my wife and I use a monthly average of 1200 minutes (about 1000 of them are mobile-2-mobile), 3000 text messages, and about 1.9GB data. We are pretty equal on data on texts, but I use about 300-400 minutes and she uses the rest (her phone doubles as a work phone).
I have been going back and forth with either renewing Sprint, signing my life away to Verizon, or going prepaid. The benefit of going with Verizon is that I also get a 17% discount (work) off their service. However, that only covers the data plan (stupid). So, I could fork over about $138+tax and move to unlimited everything with 4GB of shared data. My wife likes this idea because we don't have to worry about roaming and Verizon has decent service in Central Florida (as well as other places that we travel). Plus, she can get an iPhone 5 (but she may change her mind if navigation doesn't improve). Since we have a newborn though she is constantly taking pictures with her phone and sending them to family so I thought an iPhone 5 would be decent for that.
I like the idea of buying a couple of Galaxy Nexus's and going with two Straight Talk lines. We have been on Android devices for so long I hate to give them up especially after seeing Jelly Bean in action. Plus to me an iPhone is just like my iPad just pocket sized...why do I need two? However, if we travel to an area where there is no service the phone doesn't Roam, it just stops working. She is in sales and unfortunately has to work at times such as Christmas where we will be in an area where T-Mobile and/or AT&T don't work but Verizon does.
I thought about even putting her on Straight Talk and me on TMo $30 using the VOIP (since I work from home I don't see myself going over 100 cellular minutes a month if I'm careful).
Now, I've been reading about Solavei ($50/mnth) which allows roaming but I'm not to keen on MLMs. (I've seen MLMs break a few friends). However, since you don't have to participate in them this could be an option.
So, the question is, what would you do? Is the Galaxy Nexus worth the $350 on a prepaid vs. buying an iPhone 5 and getting locked for another 2 years? The money isn't really the issue (since we are already budgeted for the $155 per month but it would be nice to save some $$). How often do you find yourself Roaming on Straight Talk or TMo? How is the VOIP? What about Solavei (I read a forum about it and it sounds enticing, but once again MLMs bug the hell out of me).
I guess I'm not looking for some straight answers, but maybe someone to help me straighten out my thoughts. I really appreciate any feedback.
Thanks for reading.
So I'm in the process of buying a new phone. I personally don't have a lot of money to spend so the $200 price point is one I'm trying to hit, but I'm not opposed to spending $300 for a vastly superior phone. I would like the phone to be on the smaller side of things, don't approach the phablet territory (~6 or greater inches). I'm not a big phone spec guy, I don't care to have the fastest processor or huge amounts of ram seeing as the most taxing thing I do on my phone is play Clash of Clans. I don't care to have a high resolution screen at all, 720p would be fine. I would like it to have good wifi support and be able to get 4G LTE, now the last and most important part is it NEEDS to have a all day in to tomorrow type battery.
Priorities:
1. Cheap
2. Big battery
3. LTE support
4. Good wifi support
Here are a few phones I'm looking at
Moto X,G,E Nexus 5???, BlackBerry Z10.
I'm really just looking for suggestions here because all of those phones seem to be besides what I'm looking for, let me know if there are any phones that I'm missing.
Thanks,
Beefy
Xiaomi Mi3
http://m.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_3-5678.php
ZTE Grand Memo 2 LTE
http://m.gsmarena.com/zte_grand_memo_ii_lte-6154.php
iNew V3
http://www.devicespecifications.com/en/model/ab922b5e
Huawei Ascend P7
http://m.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_p7-6124.php
Just a few phones around that price range that have better specs.
Moto G is a great phone though I must say.
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Using XDA App
I could hook up with Boost through my account and you and I would get some saving from doing that but I am new to forums and dont want anyone complaining if its against some policy I not aware of. As a side note I been using them for 3 years and they been good to me and I gotten my bill with them by getting discounts every 6 month I paid on time some my monthy bill is $15- a month cheaper than when I started. You can PM if needed. I am now paying $40 a month using a Galaxy S3 and it getting LTE service where I live. I get 2.5 gb of data month before throttled. I never gone other the limit so dont know how fast it is when throttled.
Hello guys!
Do you have the problem like I do that I really would like to buy a fresh, new, fast phone with a new original battery, but looking at the current market I can not find any that suits to me? I am not talking about poor performance or lack of choice, but size... I'm really not interested in those enourmous 6"-6.5" phones because that big size is not comfortable for me, even though I have big hands.
Where is the era of 5"-5.8" phones gone? Do you think the large phones trend will ever stop?
In my situation I'm trying to look at used phones market, but this is also super problematic. If I find a used 5.5" device that suits me, it's battery is pretty much dead. I could buy a new battery and replace it without a problem, but there is no way I can find an original/genuine battery that will have a reasonable and solid life time. This is pathetic I think the dying 2-years batteries is the main trick that corporations use today to force us to change phone every 2-3 years ?
Do you feel me?
Well the way I've decided to combat this is by subscribing to Samsungs access program where I pay like 40 a month and in 9 months I can upgrade to the note 21 or S21 (if I choose to switch). I had the note 9 for 2 years and what I've noticed is I refuse to outright sell my phones for cheap rates after dropping 1200 plus on it. So now I've accumulated phones over the years since Samsung switched up and stopped allowing the early upgrade program with carriers. I got stuck with an s7 plus and 2 note 9s that are just collecting dust. I'm not selling either one for a few hundred dollars. And with insurance from Verizon, if anything happens to my phone I can just get a refurbished one sent to me and then I'll just trade that one back in when I'm ready to upgrade next year. This way I get the fresh new flagships every year and stop accumulating phones. The only downside is the fact that I wanted a phone with dual sim capabilities but Samsung only sells single sim in the US. I guess you can't have it all. Hopefully they eventually fix this issue and provide esim and/or dual sim capable phones in the future.
Now as far as smaller phones, I am not too sure. I believe all the major brands now have been offering smaller variations like the s20 e or fe or whatever its called. The only downside to this is I believe although they are cheaper then the full size flagships, they sadly do have less features and/or tech such as the cameras.
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