google selling galaxy nexus direct...more to come?

[Adramalech]

Yeah, just make sure you buy the Pre-paid SIM activation kit from T-Mobile.com.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/T-Mobile-Prepaid-SIM-Activation-Kit

If you get impatient, like I did, and try to buy it in a T-Mobile retail store, they'll screw it up, activate it, and then you won't be able to use it for the $30 5GB plan anymore.

Thank you for this tip. I ordered both the phone and the SIM card today. I cannot wait for them to arrive. 30 dollars+taxes and fees for something like this is great

 

[hans007]

i have a tmobile no contract plan, and i save more than enough to pay for an extra (no contract) mifi while still undercutting verizon plans.

unlocked gsm phone - check
no contract - check
great tmobile service in major metros - check
verizon network for when I'm traveling - check

as much as i'd wish tmobile has "great service" in major metros. it doesnt and i really like them as a company otherwise. not even close and even the voice / text coverage in some areas can go from ok to horrible really fast. i really wanted to stay there given they were like the underdog and the biggest google supporter (i had a g1, mytouch 3g slide, g2, all through them) but deutsch telecom is just bleeding them dry by taking all the money (since deutsch telecom is well not doing so hot i've read) and not investing it into infrastructure. case in point the breakup fee they got from at&t of 3 billion, dt just pocketed most of it, and left t-mobile with 1 billion to use for upgrades.

i was on t-mobile from 2004 to about 2011 so like 7 ish years and the only reason to be on it was it was cheap and back when data didnt matter so much it was competitive. the data service and coverage even in LA / SF / las vegas for me was subpar probably tied for worst with at&t in the bay (i.e. it was so bad i switched to verizon so i could actaully finish phone interviews for jobs), and in LA where i live now, its pretty terrible too (one of my friends is still on it and just waiting for his contract to end... we have lost him at concerts because he cant respond to texts etc... it is quite irritating and he hates it). i finally could not take it anymore and just paid the extra when i could not make it through a job phone screen without it dropping my call when i lived in the oakland area in the bay (even tried that wifi calling thing on my g2 at the time)

maybe its better in some other parts of the country but its definitely a "you got what you paid for" thing at least in the metro areas ive been living in. you also get gprs or maybe edge at best on a lot of the freeways in sparsely populated areas. which uh kind of sucks if you use google maps navigation or something.

that said, its quite cool google is giving the sell phones directly idea another shot. the nexus one kind of failed at it, but it was pretty poorly marketed and well android was still not so polished back then. an ICS phone is definitely competitive with anything else out there. i'd hope in the future though the chances are slim they'll keep doing it , but given all the carriers are going to random gsm/cdma + LTE combinations im not holding my breath as far as google ever selling unlocked phones again.

 

[bearxor]

St is 42 if you get the 3 month refills. Also sprint is 69 + 10 data fee. You also forgot all of the taxes on postpaid plans. So there are even more savings.

I went with the lowest offered plans since on each carrier since I presume most of us care about data more than voice. Sprint has a $59.99 250 minute plan + $10 Premium Data.

 

[Xenon]

I tried to order the phone from the link on the first page but it wouldn't process. Darnit

 

[GTaudiophile]

Mine shipped as well.

Xenon: I had a few issues with Wallet yesterday. Had to refresh/log-out and log-in a few times for it all to work.

 

[GTaudiophile]

BTW, I have been with TMO for 10 years.

Never had a billing issue.
Never had a customer service issue that wasn't solved in under 5 minutes.
Since I travel to Europe frequently for work, having the flexibility of an unlocked phone/pentaband 3G/unlocked phone to swap SIM cards is highly attractive.

 

[Xenon]

Mine shipped as well.

Xenon: I had a few issues with Wallet yesterday. Had to refresh/log-out and log-in a few times for it all to work.

That did it.

I'm taking a bit of a step backward going from Verizon lte to T-Mobile "4g" but I'll be able to lower my monthly bill by a significant amount.

 

[Dulanic]

That did it.

I'm taking a bit of a step backward going from Verizon lte to T-Mobile "4g" but I'll be able to lower my monthly bill by a significant amount.

In most cities, T-Mobile HSPA+ is more than fast enough for most everything.

 

[vshah]

my experience with tmo has been limited to nyc, washington dc, pittsburgh, and seattle, but it's kicked ass in all those places. on the drive from nyc to pitt however, through central PA, i did indeed drop down to gprs at times.

 

[Xenon]

In most cities, T-Mobile HSPA+ is more than fast enough for most everything.

I can certainly live with those numbers.

 

[QueBert]

It's a shame they don't offer the white version

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

How about double the storage, larger battery, and LTE support..

LTE drains battery, so the bigger battery doesn't offset much. If you're using this on AT&T, I don't consider Verizon LTE and AT&T 3G to be THAT big of a deal.

HSPA+ is plenty fast and when people show off their SGS2 Skyrockets with 20-30mbps, I can pull in 6-7mbps on my SGS2. Not sure about you guys, but I can't see using that much bandwidth at this moment being truly beneficial. I can stream 720p video at that speeds, and my screen isn't even going to take advantage of that. Furthermore, until carrier bandwidth limits are more reasonable, who needs 30mbps with 2GB of data?

Furthermore, 6mbps of 30mbps on my desktop connection is rarely an issue. Sure only if I'm a massive newsgroups guy, and how often are you going to be doing that on a cellular connection anyway?

 

[cronos]

LTE drains battery, so the bigger battery doesn't offset much. If you're using this on AT&T, I don't consider Verizon LTE and AT&T 3G to be THAT big of a deal.

HSPA+ is plenty fast and when people show off their SGS2 Skyrockets with 20-30mbps, I can pull in 6-7mbps on my SGS2. Not sure about you guys, but I can't see using that much bandwidth at this moment being truly beneficial. I can stream 720p video at that speeds, and my screen isn't even going to take advantage of that. Furthermore, until carrier bandwidth limits are more reasonable, who needs 30mbps with 2GB of data?

Furthermore, 6mbps of 30mbps on my desktop connection is rarely an issue. Sure only if I'm a massive newsgroups guy, and how often are you going to be doing that on a cellular connection anyway?

This. I seriously do not understand people's infatuation with super high speed mobile data with all the quota, cap and throttling that pretty much every single carriers have imposed these days.

Sure, you can watch like three Netflix movies per month in smooth hi-def without any buffering. Awesome! And then what?

 

[preslove]

Quality of coverage area > speed. I can drive my car and still get pandora radio just about anywhere around me with T-Mobile. I think that's pretty damn good.

 

[Ravynmagi]

This. I seriously do not understand people's infatuation with super high speed mobile data with all the quota, cap and throttling that pretty much every single carriers have imposed these days.

Sure, you can watch like three Netflix movies per month in smooth hi-def without any buffering. Awesome! And then what?

It's not about downloading more. It's about doing what I currently do faster with less time wasted.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

This. I seriously do not understand people's infatuation with super high speed mobile data with all the quota, cap and throttling that pretty much every single carriers have imposed these days.

Sure, you can watch like three Netflix movies per month in smooth hi-def without any buffering. Awesome! And then what?

Unlimited data, no throttle, no hard line internet at home so its great for me

 

[Ksyder]

Micro USB to USB OTG Host Cable This one is $1.43 shipped. You can find it cheap as $1 shipped. I have one but bought it from Amazon seller for couple bucks and it works great. By default you can only use FAT32 formatted drives but if you use app like USB Mass Storage Watcher OTG, you can even mount NFTS drives. How about 2TB NTFS external hard drive to mounted to your phone or tablet. Enough storage for you? Pair this with Micro USB to HDMI MHL adapter and you can carry your entire media collection with you and play it on any TV with HDMI.

Does this work with the stock rom on SGS2?

 

[vshah]

Does this work with the stock rom on SGS2?

You'll probably need a kernel that supports it

 

[Midwayman]

Only if it included a miniSD card slot. I could live with the slightly outdated hardware and the pentile display. Data caps and low on board storage... ugg. Carting around a USB dongle for more storage isn't really a realistic option most of the time.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I got mine today, around 4:00 PM EST.

Box seal unbroken!

 

[GTaudiophile]

A few pics...

 

[zoiks]

Awesome. Too bad you can't buy the white version though. I got that one from that wacky online daily deals site.

 

[basslover1]

Bought one of these with the intention of switching to T-Mobile but when I received the phone there is a noticeable purple discoloration of grays its especially annoying comparing it to my Verizon gnex which has a nearly perfect screen. Not sure if I should just deal with it or send it back for a replacement.

 

[dlock13]

Bought one of these with the intention of switching to T-Mobile but when I received the phone there is a noticeable purple discoloration of grays its especially annoying comparing it to my Verizon gnex which has a nearly perfect screen. Not sure if I should just deal with it or send it back for a replacement.

Get a replacement. That's a known defect with these devices. >_<

 

[basslover1]

Get a replacement. That's a known defect with these devices. >_<

Yea I had seen that there were a lot of complaints about screen discoloration. Oh well, guess I'll have to call/email google on Monday to see about a replacement.

Kinda sucks because I was planning on switching to t-mobile on Monday, guess that can wait.