Android Phones

[ImaPoser]

OK. I seriously need to get a smart phone now. Debating between a new galaxy S2 with sprint on a 2 year contract, or going this route and getting page plus. What would I need to do, buy any verizon ready smart phone off craigslist? Any suggestions on which one to go with?
New work phone is a nextel/sprint, stupid phone. Didn't realize how much I used the old smart one to keep up with the world, and I now have more time than ever to browse around....

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by ImaPoser

OK. I seriously need to get a smart phone now. Debating between a new galaxy S2 with sprint on a 2 year contract, or going this route and getting page plus. What would I need to do, buy any verizon ready smart phone off craigslist? Any suggestions on which one to go with?
New work phone is a nextel/sprint, stupid phone. Didn't realize how much I used the old smart one to keep up with the world, and I now have more time than ever to browse around....

You know that the Verizon Droid works with PP. There are also a few phones for sale on their web page. If you go to HowardForums.com there is a Page Plus thread that will list some of the phones used. You can call PP and ask the operators which smart phones they've activated successfully.
So far, any Verizon phone that I've activated on PP has worked just fine.
Most of my phones are refurbished models that I buy on eBay.

[ImaPoser]

Originally Posted by MrBob

. If you go to HowardForums.com......

are they typing in english over there? Holy crap there's a lot of initials flying around on that site. I may have to suck it up and just go with one of the majors. I don't really care to learn all the geek needed to go with PP.

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by ImaPoser

OK. I seriously need to get a smart phone now. Debating between a new galaxy S2 with sprint on a 2 year contract, or going this route and getting page plus. What would I need to do, buy any verizon ready smart phone off craigslist? Any suggestions on which one to go with?
New work phone is a nextel/sprint, stupid phone. Didn't realize how much I used the old smart one to keep up with the world, and I now have more time than ever to browse around....

I chose the droid because it was pretty cheap, parts were fairly cheap, it's a proven durable/bug free phone, and it comes with a very clean version of android (not full of motorola/htc/samsung crapware). It has good battery life for a smartphone, and it works without a hitch on PP.

I don't really need the physical keyboard, since I got the Swype app, the touchscreen is faster to type on. So having the keyboard makes the phone a bit heavy.

BTW, I got my page plus through Kitty wireless- they make it really easy to set up a payment program and get started.

[SnowMule]

Originally Posted by MrBob

I clicked the link and liked it, even got kind of excited for a minute, and then...

The free doubleTwist desktop app requires MacOS X 10.5

I have 10.4.11

If you've got 10.4.x and don't plan on upgrading anytime soon, I wouldn't go iThing because iTunes v10 requires ≥10.5.8 and the latest version of iThing requires iTunes 10.

My iPod locked up on me last week, fixing it gave me the latest firmware... no worky with my computer.

So... yea, looking into the droid x or x2. Want it mostly as a media player for now, but will probably move my phone service to it if it suits my needs.

[Stinez]

well...my phone just took a shit. (Android 3)

Customer service couldn't help (Rebooted 2 ways, 3 times)

They want to send me a "refurbished" phone for the 20 day old phone I now have. Fuck that, they should be sending me a NEW phone.

So luckily I bought the phone at Costco and Costco has a 90 return policy so we'll see where that gets me.

[troidus]

Originally Posted by Stinez

well...my phone just took a shit. (Android 3)

Customer service couldn't help (Rebooted 2 ways, 3 times)

They want to send me a "refurbished" phone for the 20 day old phone I now have. Fuck that, they should be sending me a NEW phone.

So luckily I bought the phone at Costco and Costco has a 90 return policy so we'll see where that gets me.

I once wrecked a 30-day-old truck. The body shop manager told me that I was "lucky" that I got a new factory bumper, that usually it's a used or aftermarket one, even for trucks that new. I wasn't happy to learn that.

[Stinez]

Originally Posted by troidus

I once wrecked a 30-day-old truck. The body shop manager told me that I was "lucky" that I got a new factory bumper, that usually it's a used or aftermarket one, even for trucks that new. I wasn't happy to learn that.

I'd feel bad, and take my medicine, if I had wrecked the phone.

It was rebooting every hour but working fine until they tried to do a forced reboot on it. Then it stopped working all-together.

[troidus]

Oh, I wasn't giving you grief for being upset about getting a refurbed phone, I was commiserating with you. As I said, I was considered lucky, when I would have thought it SOP to issue a new part.

[MrBob]

Originally Posted by ImaPoser

are they typing in english over there? Holy crap there's a lot of initials flying around on that site. I may have to suck it up and just go with one of the majors. I don't really care to learn all the geek needed to go with PP.

Just ignore all the technical blather. Get a Droid with a clear ESN, phone PP from a phone other than the one you want to activate, and have fun. Takes about 10 minutes. Go on their web page and buy minutes. The 29.95 monthly plan is a pretty good deal and will give you 100 GB of data to play around with as well as 1200 minutes of calls.
The prices have come down on the Droids and they're a proven commodity. A few weeks ago I sold my perfectly good Droid with accessories on eBay for 150.00 and I've seen refurbished units priced in that range.

[Stinez]

Update on the Droid 3 issue:

After spending >an hour on the phone with verizon tech (level 2) and their determination that the phone was screwed and needed to be replaced I took it to the verizon store and they were totally clueless so I took it back to the booth at the Costco store to see if they could help.. (They work for Wireless Advocates)

5 minutes in their hands had me working like new.

The only issue is that "like new" includes erasing everything that I had installed on the phone since I got it. (I've now installed a micro-SD card to serve as my backup per their recommendation)

With that I'm back to liking my phone and I have a bit more insight into the ineptitude of verizon customer service.

One other issue is that verizon decided to send me the used phone that I refused to accept (I was notified by e-mail but with the phone down I didn't see it until it was fixed). I replied that I found a competent individual who was able to fix my issue and that I STILL didn't want their used phone.

Life is good.



PS No problem troidus.

[ImaPoser]

Originally Posted by MrBob

Just ignore all the technical blather. Get a Droid with a clear ESN, phone PP from a phone other than the one you want to activate, and have fun. Takes about 10 minutes. Go on their web page and buy minutes. The 29.95 monthly plan is a pretty good deal and will give you 100 GB of data to play around with as well as 1200 minutes of calls.
The prices have come down on the Droids and they're a proven commodity. A few weeks ago I sold my perfectly good Droid with accessories on eBay for 150.00 and I've seen refurbished units priced in that range.

Did more research. 100MB of data is next to nothing with how I count on using my phone. I'm going to go with sprints unlimited plan.

So, here's what you can 'do' with a 100MB of data...

6000 emails per month, or 220 per day
100 web pages per month, or 3.4 per day
5000 iPhone optimised web pages per month, or 166 per day
20 iPhone Apps per month, or less than 1 per day

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by ImaPoser

Did more research. 100MB of data is next to nothing with how I count on using my phone. I'm going to go with sprints unlimited plan.

The biggest factors with the stats you show is

A.) How much do you use 3g vs. Wifi- i.e., I wouldn't download apps or watch videos unless I'm on wifi. It's a hell of a lot faster, for one thing.

B.) Even if I use another 200mb of data (at $10/100mb), I'm still paying less than my sprint plan, and have better reception.

That's how it worked out for me, anyway.

[PoundSand]

Originally Posted by slackmeyer

The biggest factors with the stats you show is

A.) How much do you use 3g vs. Wifi- i.e., I wouldn't download apps or watch videos unless I'm on wifi. It's a hell of a lot faster, for one thing.

B.) Even if I use another 200mb of data (at $10/100mb), I'm still paying less than my sprint plan, and have better reception.

That's how it worked out for me, anyway.

a) depending on where you are, what phone you have, and what service provider, 3g (and especially '4g') can be faster than wifi by quite a bit.
b) 100MB is what, a couple hours of music streaming? a smartphone becomes a *lot* more fun, and a lot more useful with unlimited data. ;D

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by PoundSand

b) 100MB is what, a couple hours of music streaming? a smartphone becomes a *lot* more fun, and a lot more useful with unlimited data. ;D

Ahh, true enough. I'd love to stream radio from seattle at the jobsite. But paying that much per month for it? I don't think so. And what really got me to switch away from sprint was the inability to make a call from home.