Need opinions & advice on 4G phones & pre-paid service

by FlyingHighNow 22 Replies latest jw friends

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  FlyingHighNow

  I dropped by Metro PCS the other day. I was intrigued by a sign that said: "Unlimited talk and text-- $25 per month".

  I went inside and one of the very, very young sales girls showed me a 4G phone Metro has on sale until December 31st for $79. They also have a 4g plan for unlimited talk, text and date for $30 per month, if you walk into one of their stores. Normally it costs $50.

  http://www.metropcs.com/metro/static/genericstaticpage.jsp?title=4GLTE&from=vanity

  I read reviews on the $79 the Coolpad Quattro. The reviewers liked the Lg Motion 4g phone that sells for $149 a lot better. The LG is supposed to have a longer battery life and stream video better.

  I am cutting back my expenses on many things right now. I'd like to get rid of my cable/internet/land line package. It costs a whopping $155 per month. I spend too much time on line and I'd like to break the habit. So, I figure I'll take the four PBS stations I can get with an antenna (That is all I pick up down here on the bottom floor.) I can use the cellphone for e-mail, etc and to make calls and texts. If I need a PC and internet I can go to the library. Later if I need a landline, I can do the magicjack.

  One thing I have heard is that some 4G phones can become wifi hotspots. Have any of you used a cellphone as a wifi hotspot? I know most companies charge for wifi hotspot outside the regular plan. I'm just wondering what you can use the wifi for. Can you use it for apple TV? Can you do the wifi hotspot if your phone is charging?

  I don't want to sign a contract. That is why I am considering metro PCS. Hopefully it will work in my partially submerged apartment. My tracfone does. My sprint cell service did not.

  I am open to suggestions, even if you think a contract company would be a better way to go. What can you tell me about your phones and what they do?
• 

  Balaamsass

  Go on the websites of the various services and check the service maps. A great deal is no deal if you have no service.

  Best Buy and Radio Shack frequently have poor nerds that seem to know what is a great cheap "deal" in the neighborhood.

  Have you thought of a DSL $14.00 teaser rate, with Magic Jack or another cheap Voip phone ?
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  This suggests mostly bad reviews on hidden costs and dropped service: http://www.phonedog.com/carriers/metropcs/reviews/

  I don't know much about these things, but I know I am finishing a 2-year contract with Sprint and they suck big time. I could live with the spotty internet but my main problem is their coverage. I have dropped so many calls in the last two years. I would rather pay more for decent service.

  Coverage for phones varies by regions and even within regions by the individuals. What someone swears by for them could stink for you, but I am going to go back to AT&T for better coverage- not to save money.

  I would say that if I needed to save money primarily, I would drop internet altogether on the phone and pop by the library or coffee shop (or wherever you like to get wifi) and check email and do other internet stuff on a tablet or laptop.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  Can you tell me more about this?

  Have you thought of a DSL $14.00 teaser rate, with Magic Jack or another cheap Voip phone ?

  At&t has good deals on wireless internet, but it would cost me $100 for the equipment, plus a month's bill upfront. I'd rather not have my pc attached to the internet, just because I spend toooo much time on line.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  Coverage for phones varies by regions and even within regions by the individuals. What someone swears by for them could stink for you, but I am going to go back to AT&T for better coverage- not to save money.

  I would say that if I needed to save money primarily, I would drop internet altogether on the phone and pop by the library or coffee shop (or wherever you like to get wifi) and check email and do other internet stuff on a tablet or laptop.

  Sprint was awful for cell service. I let my contract lapse and that was a lifesaver because I could not get cell service in my apartment. I had to walk outside. Not fun when the temp is five below zero fahrenheit with a foot of snow.

  I can afford $50 to $75 a month. I do not want a contract if I don't have to have one. I don't have a laptop. The internet for the Metro phone is included in the $30 unlimited talk/text/data plan. I know that if I get a phone over here and I don't get any coverage in my apartment, or driving around, that metro will take it back as long as I have not talked over 60 minutes.
• 

  finallysomepride

  I use my samsung galaxy 2 (3g) as a hotspot for my laptop when i'm away from home, works great, never had a problem, setup is so easy
• 

  ronwashington

  MetroPCS is CDMA based, so if your Sprint service was bad, you have a 99% chance of the same thing with Metro PCS. The data might be unlimited but they'll throttle. The data speeds may also be garbage so even if you used a phone as a hotspot, it would most likely be too slow for streaming stuff (plus you'll get throttled pretty quickly). You also mentioned magic jack. You'd have to have a PC with an internet connection for that to work anyway, so that's not really helping.

  If you want a contract free thing, try T-Mobile. They have pretty good pricing assuming you get coverage where you live. They have a pretty small 4G footprint, but that's changing as they are changing over to the same frequencies AT&T uses.

  I know you're trying to save money and somehow cut down on your internet usage, but in this case you can't have your cake and eat it too.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I know that if I get a phone over here and I don't get any coverage in my apartment, or driving around, that metro will take it back as long as I have not talked over 60 minutes.

  At least one of the reviews on the link I provided suggests that they tell you such stuff but there are hidden costs in even that. You decide, but keep in mind that you might be writing a review there soon about how you were misled. In Chicago, if I just needed phone w/o internet, I might cut costs with a throw-away phone from Best Buy or similar venues, then learn how to control usage.

  I just suggested a laptop or tablet for internet. You can use the phone, but I hate the tiny device for such. It certainly would cause me to limit my time on the internet if I had to do it all on the tiny screen.
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  FlyingHighNow

  You'd have to have a PC with an internet connection for that to work anyway, so that's not really helping.

  They are advertising one now that doesn't need the internet or a PC. I'll look into that later.

  I checked the map for coverage just now. Grand Rapids is one of the cities that gets 4G coverage. I will check on T-mobile. I got a brochure about t-mobile, too. I just checked AT&T wireless plans and they are expensive.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  I just suggested a laptop or tablet for internet. You can use the phone, but I hate the tiny device for such. It certainly would cause me to limit my time on the internet if I had to do it all on the tiny screen.

  That is the idea behind me getting a smartphone. I can check e-mails and fb to keep up with my daughter and something for an emergency maybe. It's too easy to waste time on line. I want to get that temptation out of my house and get used to life without being able to walk across the room to look up things I am curious about, which I do a lot. Later I may consider a small laptop or tablet. I think I wouldn't find them pleasant to surf the web with for any extended amount of time. I don't see that well when the fonts are tiny.