I want a good cheap 3G unlocked smart phone for-T-Mobile

[dagamer34]

Maybe I'm just a horrible writer or something because there's a serious lack of comprehension going on.

IF he's on an unsubsidized plan, AND he goes and buys the $50 SGS3 which puts him back on a subsidized plan, THEN over two years he will be more out of pocket vs a N4 since the subsidized plan cost more than the unsubsidized plan.

Well, the Nexus 4 is the best deal ever on a smartphone. Only problem is that it looks like it will be a couple of months before you can get your hands on one at the $299 price point. And if you're paying T-Mobile for it, all benefits if the deal disappear as well (I don't recommend Craigslist either, don't encourage price gouging).

 

[TuxDave]

Well, the Nexus 4 is the best deal ever on a smartphone. Only problem is that it looks like it will be a couple of months before you can get your hands on one at the $299 price point. And if you're paying T-Mobile for it, all benefits if the deal disappear as well (I don't recommend Craigslist either, don't encourage price gouging).

Good we're on the same page. Now if you mentioned the unavailability of the N4, we would've been on the same page earlier. Not sure why you and Red Storm thought I was saying something otherwise. /shrug Blame my stereotypical bad English as an engineer.

 

[Artista]

My head hurts after reading all the calculation posts. lol

I checking and I am on a old plan, which at the time was the best on the planet. 1500 minutes for $40 and I added on data (which I do not really use much) and unlimited text.

Total a month is ~$80 a month.

I called T-mobile and I get switch to a plan that cost around ~$45-$60 a month but that is the un-subsidized price in which IF I get a new phone I have to pay full price.

The cost of the new subsidized plan in which I can get a "free" phone or "reduced price" (pay in services via locked into a contract) is around ~$80 a month. That is basically what I pay now anyway.

I have to compare the total contract price to the price of buying a unlocked phone from a third party plus the reduced rates for that contract plan.

I refer a real keyboard, and find that most of the HTC phones offered by T-mobile has much to small a "virtual keyboard" which make me have to retype everything. (tried a friends phone)

Basically I want a better phone, though not leading edge, at the cheapest price and unlimited plan I can find. Prefer no plan but if a contract makes it cheaper then, why not? (with a real keyboard or big enough where you do not need a pointy object to hit the right letter or number, etc.)

 

[maniac5999]

My head hurts after reading all the calculation posts. lol

I checking and I am on a old plan, which at the time was the best on the planet. 1500 minutes for $40 and I added on data (which I do not really use much) and unlimited text.

Total a month is ~$80 a month.

I called T-mobile and I get switch to a plan that cost around ~$45-$60 a month but that is the un-subsidized price in which IF I get a new phone I have to pay full price.

The cost of the new subsidized plan in which I can get a "free" phone or "reduced price" (pay in services via locked into a contract) is around ~$80 a month. That is basically what I pay now anyway.

I have to compare the total contract price to the price of buying a unlocked phone from a third party plus the reduced rates for that contract plan.

I refer a real keyboard, and find that most of the HTC phones offered by T-mobile has much to small a "virtual keyboard" which make me have to retype everything. (tried a friends phone)

Basically I want a better phone, though not leading edge, at the cheapest price and unlimited plan I can find. Prefer no plan but if a contract makes it cheaper then, why not? (with a real keyboard or big enough where you do not need a pointy object to hit the right letter or number, etc.)

So, at minimum, you're saving $80-$60=$20/mo by going pre-paid. $20/mo is $480 over a two year contract. That number can almost double if you use that low $45/mo number. Bringing your own device is without a doubt the way to go then. As others have said, the Nexus 4 is one of the most awesome phones out there (if you can live with limited storage) for $299/$349. If you want instant gratification, however, it may be worth it to pick up a Galaxy Nexus 2 or SGS3 used off ebay.

Also, phones with physical keyboards are rapidly going the way of the dodo.

 

[Chiropteran]

I still think if you are going to pay full price for the phone, at least try the T-mobile prepaid plans. If you can get by on 100 minutes a month it's only $30/month, including 5GB of data and unlimited texts. It's not like you are locked in, as you can easily get a SIM for $1 or less and put only $30 for one month into it, if you don't like the plan for any reason you can just go back to whatever your contract plan was going to be.

 

[s44]

Typing on a 16:10 4.5" (T-Mo SGS2)/16:9 4.65" (Galaxy Nexus) is pretty easy, though you really should learn Swype. Typing on a 5.5" Note 2 is insanely easy.

 

[Artista]

So, at minimum, you're saving $80-$60=$20/mo by going pre-paid. $20/mo is $480 over a two year contract. That number can almost double if you use that low $45/mo number. Bringing your own device is without a doubt the way to go then. As others have said, the Nexus 4 is one of the most awesome phones out there (if you can live with limited storage) for $299/$349. If you want instant gratification, however, it may be worth it to pick up a Galaxy Nexus 2 or SGS3 used off ebay.

Also, phones with physical keyboards are rapidly going the way of the dodo.

The ~$40-$60 is not pre-paid, it is again, a contract with T-mobile.

I use a good 1000 minutes a month on the phone sometimes even nearing my 1500 minute limit.

I will look at a few of these recommended phones. I guess today is the day to get a phone being black Friday.

 

[s44]

The other alternative for you, plan-wise, is to get the T-Mobile flavor of Straight Talk. Unlimited talk and more data than you're probably going to use for $45/m. You don't get roaming on AT&T towers though, if that makes a difference.

BF isn't a great day to get an unsubsidized phone, so don't worry too much about that unless you plan to get the subsidized plan.

 

[maniac5999]

I've never tried straight talk. From what I've heard, they're bitchy about data, but generous on minutes. I think they also use T-mo's network. It sounds like it'd work well for you (but not for me, I'm a data guy, I do too much talking on the phone at work) Getting them on the $45/mo plan vs your $80/mo plan with contract will save you $35/mo or $840 over a two year contract.

 

[s44]

I've never tried straight talk. From what I've heard, they're bitchy about data, but generous on minutes.

The data stuff seems mostly to be on the AT&T side.

 

[Thegonagle]

Straight talk uses all 4 big networks. Which one depends on A) which Straight Talk phone you use, and B) for GSM phones (or the Bring Your Own GSM Device program), which ZIP code you provide as your "home" area.

 

[Chiropteran]

The ~$40-$60 is not pre-paid, it is again, a contract with T-mobile.

I use a good 1000 minutes a month on the phone sometimes even nearing my 1500 minute limit.

I will look at a few of these recommended phones. I guess today is the day to get a phone being black Friday.

Are you sure? $40-$60 sounds like the contract prices before you add in data charges.

Cheapest value package for 1 line on t-mobile.com is $49.99 but that includes no data at all. $60 gets you 2gb of data, but $60 being the minimum is a bit different from your $40-$60 range

Cheapest individual plan I see (which would let you get a subsidized phone) with data is Classic Unlimited - Unlimited Nationwide 4G, for $89.99/month.

Cheapest pre-paid package is the $30 for 100 minutes, but in your case you need more minutes, you might want to look at straight talk, seems like the $45 unlimited everything plan would be perfect for you, and generally any t-mobile phone will also work on straight talk.

 

[maniac5999]

I suggest you click on my Free iPod referral link. Thanks.

You're giving away an iPod in exchange for being infected with a pile of malware??? SWEET!!!

Also, that guy has gone from three to seven posts since I made mine, I wonder where the other four are.

 

[kaerflog]

i suggest you go to the following Online store to buy, very cheap andriod 4.0 ICS Dual Core phone.
I bought from them before, very good service, maybe you can try

http://www.chinasolomobi.com/produc...4.0-WCDMA-Smartphone-Dual-sim-5MP-Camera.html

This is the equivalent of flushing your money down the toilet.

 

[Fire&Blood]

You argued with a bot and I'm not sure you won lol.

Anyway, the most convenient way to save is to simply downgrade do a value plan. Total bill should be half of mine, I pay $107 for lines. Other 3 carriers don't have better deals, Walmart plan and Straight talk the only cheaper alternatives.

Assuming you want to upgrade once a year, with the $299 Nexus 4 you would spend less than $1k for the 1st 12 months, less than $700 phone and all fees combined in the second year, if you should keep the phone for 2 years. With Nexus updates, this awesome combo of hardware and a future proof LTE chip, I would argue no other Q4 2012 Android will age even remotely as slow as the Nexus 4 will.

Without discounts and/or grandfathered plans, for equivalent unlimited plans on other 3 major carriers you are looking at $1290 or more for the first year with a $199 contract phone , depending on the carrier.

 

[soccerballtux]

Lots of good suggestions. I can stay with T-Mobile or move. The best deal with the most money saved is what rules.

In regards to what I paid: No I didnt pay a lot for this phone. It is a unlocked Black Berry that I bought at CompUSA for ~$75 three years ok.

I want 3G speeds instead of EDGE and a better screen for mobile Internet. Yeah the ATT sub $200 phones may be crap but they are light years ahead of what I have.

Decisions.

Quick, take a look at Virgin Mobile's website. They have the HTC evo V 4g, for 150 dollars, and the Samsung Galaxy S 2 4G, for 300 dollars. Both are pretty good deals the HTC is dual core, 1 gigabyte of RAM and has a 3 D display. The Galaxy S 2 is the same as the 1 that was on Sprint a year ago. It is a 4.5 inch screen.Both are currently running Android 4. HTC will be getting an update to 4.1, S2 probably will as well.

Virgin Mobile uses sprints network, it's not the best coverage, but you get 350 minutes and unlimited texting and data for 35 dollars per month. the 4g in both of the phones is WiMAX which, again doesn't have the best coverage but you can check clear.com for whether or not you'll have 4g in your city is WiMAX.
It looks like those deals in the phones run out the 26th though so you need to check that out now.