Ps I got an oomi. 40$ one time fee for a Google voice box you can hook up a proper phone to. No monthly fees.
Sent from my Droid Charge on Verizon 4G LTE Tim C <bb...@crone.us> wrote: >On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 8:17 PM, Michael Canfield <slozuk...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> I have heard the wallymart straight talk is a good deal. I just wonder >> about service coverage. >> > >With Straight Talk you choose either AT&T or T-Mobile as your base network. > You can voice roam to the other, but it is not technically supported - in >other words they might turn that off. There is no data roaming, from what >I understand, though SWMBO is not a heavy data user. > >You can buy "normal" phones on Straight Talk that are CDMA (i.e. no SIM, no >worky in Europey), I know nothing about those other than they are slightly >cheaper and run on Sprint, so I would not buy one*. > >Big disadvantage of prepaid is the up-front cost of the phone, you are >basically buying a computer with a fancy radio and touchscreen at retail >price so it can be quite expensive. Google's $300 Nexus 4 was a low price, >but average smartphones would be around $500, give or take, new, less >30-40% on Craigslist. ALSO NOTE if your prepaid account goes inactive you >will lose your phone number. Look at Google Voice to get a permanent >number to forward, but your caller ID will be wrong and it is another level >of indirection. > > >> He is mostly interested in unlimited text/data so he can use it for >> internet access/entertainment as well as a communication device for calls >> back home. Limited calling minutes aren't much of an issue with Sprints >> 450 minute plan as cel to cel and after 7pm to 7am are unlimited. That is >> $69.99/month. Everything else including roaming on other networks is also >> included. >> > >T-Mobile's 100-minute, 5GB data plan ($30) is the best price if you don't >average more than 250 minutes per month ($0.10/min overage). If you have >an Android phone (possibly also iPhone?) there are apps to use data for >calls, if that's an issue. 5GB is pretty much unlimited, in my experience, >and I think they just downgrade you to 3G rates if you go over. > >Postpaid Sprint and T-Mobile offer unlimited data, VZ and AT&T do not. In >my experience the connection rates on Sprint have become very poor since >they got the iPhone - I often see rates in the 50-80Kbps range now. That >could be regional. T-Mobile offers HSPA+ rates up to 42Mbps which should >be a much better experience, but I think the initial cost for phones is >higher. > > >> Is roaming included in the prepaids? Do they have the same coverage as >> contract phones? I have been told that they don't and that in rural area >> they don't work as well. Is there any truth to that? >> > >Generally no, yes but of course without roaming, and sort of. It isn't so >much rural as region - I get horrible Sprint service in DC and VA, for >example, but I get service fine in the empty forests around NC. Meanwhile >a friend couldn't get Verizon at his new house south of Raleigh. The >northern SC coast has strange T-Mobile coverage. Moral of the story is >that there are pockets everywhere, so it is worth going to the places where >you will be and borrowing someone's phone - no one network has universal >coverage, especially indoors. Also, not to be ignored, phone hardware is >really significant to receiving a signal - Samsung is the worst I've had, >Motorola is the best, but I don't know how if that holds true across >product lines. > >* I have recently had to force roaming [to Verizon] at home just to get a >Sprint signal, I assume it's because of their LTE conversion since I used >to get good signal with this same phone in the same place. Because of that >I would not buy a Sprint-based prepaid phone if I expected to keep it for a >while. > >You can always dial '911' in the US from an inactive phone, so you can just >keep a charged battery and a phone from another network in the trunk if >that's a concern. > >As you can see from Mitch's response, voice-only prepaid plans are priced >much more competitively, so your son might give some thought as to whether >he could survive without data. I use Google Maps too much, but a lot of my >iPhone-toting peers are always in WiFi range and navigation doesn't matter >to them. > >Best, >Tim >_______________________________________ >http://www.okiebenz.com >For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com >To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > >To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
