Should I buy a Pre3 as a second phone?

[HelloNNNewman]

Originally Posted by qbenguy

I've also been considering moving on to another carrier. And I now know that if/when I buy a Pre3 that I would have to. I've been leaning towards TMobile or Verizon. I hear that they have the better all data plans and I've heard that AT&T can be quite expensive. Who are you leaning towards. Are you also considering a Pre3 and that's why you're leaving Sprint?

Thanks again for your input. Appreciate it.

I'm switching over to T-Mobile with a Pre3 as my main phone and something else to play around with (not sure which yet). T-Mo has a better network right now and is GSM (which I miss).

[RumoredNow]

Originally Posted by HelloNNNewman

I'm switching over to T-Mobile with a Pre3 as my main phone and something else to play around with (not sure which yet). T-Mo has a better network right now and is GSM (which I miss).

Has T-Mo moved their 3G to the right frequency for Pre 3 in your area yet?

Careful you aren't stuck on EDGE till the upgrade hits your region...

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Originally Posted by HelloNNNewman

I'm switching over to T-Mobile with a Pre3 as my main phone and something else to play around with (not sure which yet). T-Mo has a better network right now and is GSM (which I miss).

Have you read up on the new T-Mo subsidizing (or not subsidizing info)? Also from what I have read if you go on a bring your own phone plan, they still make you sign a 2 year contract with ETF.

[qbenguy]

Originally Posted by HelloNNNewman

I'm switching over to T-Mobile with a Pre3 as my main phone and something else to play around with (not sure which yet). T-Mo has a better network right now and is GSM (which I miss).

Once I get my Pre3 and figure out how to make the switch, I'm also moving on to T-Mobile. Thanks for information. Hope it goes well and smooth.

[HelloNNNewman]

Originally Posted by RumoredNow

Has T-Mo moved their 3G to the right frequency for Pre 3 in your area yet?

Careful you aren't stuck on EDGE till the upgrade hits your region...

Not sure, but as my daily driver phone I won't use much data during the business week, so not having high speed won't kill me if that happens.

Originally Posted by OldSkoolVWLover

Have you read up on the new T-Mo subsidizing (or not subsidizing info)? Also from what I have read if you go on a bring your own phone plan, they still make you sign a 2 year contract with ETF.

Meh... it's a company phone, so they don't care about signing 2 year contracts because the line would just be move over to someone else if I left.

[bobbysworldrox]

So i finally decided to take the plunge and get me a pre 3. Actually excited for it and will be installing preware as soon as i get it. If theres anything i should know about the pre 3, I'll gladly take some advice

[slight9]

@qbenguy and helloNewman - I had Sprint for three years and was happy with the service and plan, but T-Mobile is just cheaper for my needs. They have a bunch of Pre-Paid options and decent enough service in most urban and suburban places (I'm East Coast). Plus, with pre-paid you are not locked in so if it sucks you can switch, AND, even cooler, there are not a bunch of taxes, surcharges, E911, etc. on your plan. You literally pay the amount plus your state's sales tax.

So, my initial plan was to buy the Pre3 and use T-Mobile's $30 plan with unlimited text and data (first 5GB at HSPA+) and 100 minutes. Additional minutes are just 10 cents after the 100. So, if you're a light talker or have a landline at home, you would be fine. I bought the sim card (Pre3 is regular sim, not microSIM) online and it was free and free shipping from t-mobile.com. But when I tried to activate that specific plan it didn't work. Customer Care said you need to buy a "starter kit" at Walmart which will have a phone and a SIM and only if you do that can you get on that plan. Once you're on the plan, you can swap the sim into any phone, but you need to follow that procedure to get the plan.

Anyway, they have a bunch of other plans, including a $30 plan with 1500 minutes + texts, and 30MB data. I'm trying it out now since I'm mostly on Wi-Fi, and until the refarm is complete (at least 3 more months), EDGE is slow anyway, which will prevent me from using it too much out of annoyance. They have a $60 plan which is unlimited talk text and web (2GB at the HSPA+ speed, anything over that is EDGE). Again these plans are pre-paid and the sim card itself is almost always free.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm happy to share my experience if it benefits others.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

I thought the two gig plan was $50? It's been a week or two since I was checking.

[qbenguy]

Originally Posted by HelloNNNewman

I'm on Sprint right now too (not for long) and unfortunately the Pre3 will not work on that network. The Pre3 is a GSM phone (Sprint is CDMA).

Did you read? "Sprint buys up the rest of Clearwire for 2.2B" Sprint buys up the rest of Clearwire for $2.2B; Mobile Technology News

[slight9]

@OldSchoolVW, I think the 2GB plan is $60, and the 100MB plan is $50. Both are unlimited talk and text, and pre-paid. Pretty decent value. The 100MB isn't as bad as it sounds if you're around WiFi at home and at work. On my Htc Evo 4g on Sprint's unlimited unlimited (blah blah blah), I was only using about 30MB of mobile data, and everything else was coming over WiFi.

[RumoredNow]

Originally Posted by slight9

@OldSchoolVW, I think the 2GB plan is $60, and the 100MB plan is $50. Both are unlimited talk and text, and pre-paid. Pretty decent value. The 100MB isn't as bad as it sounds if you're around WiFi at home and at work. On my Htc Evo 4g on Sprint's unlimited unlimited (blah blah blah), I was only using about 30MB of mobile data, and everything else was coming over WiFi.

But Straight Talk is only $45 a month for unlimited everything including 411 information!!!!!

Reports are if you exceed 2GB in consecutive months they will look at your data use, but that is hard to do unless you are a heavy tether user or you stream a lot of vidz/music.

You don't have to buy a throwaway phone either. They have a Bring Your Own Phone Plan. You can only get the SIM online... Cost is $15. Cheaper than that throwaway phone and you can't get booted for running an unauthorized device.

And here is where it kicks T-Mo's behind. H+ speeds everywhere without waiting and hoping your area is next for the system upgrade.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

What is posted above is why the wife and I are planning on going ST this summer instead of T-Mo, looked at both and when I dug in, ST was the better choice unless the wife or I decide we want to subsidize again.

[slight9]

I don't blame you at all. I hope it works out well.