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  #1  
Old 05-21-2013, 12:14 PM
daw_two's Avatar
diesel enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Germantown, TN
Posts: 5,449
Smart Phone nerds --- assistance requested

I have been notified that as part of cost savings measure, I am losing my company provided cell phone. Yes, they will pay me an allowance per month in order to be available on my phone for work. I need a new phone by May 31st.

I currently own an iPad wifi only model. I'd like to be able to "tether" my iPad to use the data plan that I have with my new Smart Phone. While I'm leaning toward an iPhone, I am open minded about some other type of phone. I plan on buying my phone outright, so it will be mine to do with whatever I want. My iPad monthly wifi usage has been under 2G per month. I don't anticipate this changing drastically. I don't see a need for unlimited data. I'm thinking 3G of data, unlimited text, and voice should do the trick. Where I live, all the carriers are on the same tower. When I travel, if I have no coverage, so be it. Cspire and T-Mobile are in the mix along with the major carriers.
  1. Which phone would you recommend?
  2. Will I have to jailbreak my phone?
  3. Do carriers restrict the use of jailbroken phones?
  4. Which carrier is the most understanding in regards to tethering?
  5. Which carrier would you recommend?


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  #2  
Old 05-21-2013, 12:37 PM
I miss my MBZ
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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Do you, perchance, work for a large investor-owned utility in the Carolinas ?

I do, same deal (reimburse for personal data plan) and the same due date. I think that we are getting the short end of the stick (the advertised reimbursement is less than any data plan costs per mo, and doesnt include a voice plan....

That being said.

1) Jailbreaking may not be an option - my company's plan says that you must install a corporate-approved app to recieve company email/calendar stuff on your PMD - and that this approved software will not work on jailbroken iphones (not a surprise). this might be just a scare tactic, but its something to know if they are talking about "installing a special app for corporate data"
The phone will work just fine without the corporate app

2) deleted.

3) IIRC, the two top models right now are the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iphone 5 - they'll do anything a phone can do nowadays. I dont keep up on this stuff that well so my info may be old.
I know that older iphones can be had for free with a 2yr contract.

4) many phones nowadays can become a 'mobile hotspot' - where you turn on a setting on the phone, and it becomes a wifi hotspot, then you connect to that with your iPad/wifi-only device - works, but your connection speed is still limited by whatever speed your phone can get and it consumes phone battery quicker. Speed varies widely by location.

5) I am not rich enough to own any apple devices, but my understanding is that there are a few "synergistic" benefits to owning multiple apple devices - sharing files is easier, you can allow yourself to remotely wipe one device from another (in case you lose one?), itunes music shares and syncs through easier - all of these services can be replicated with other opener-source tools but Apple makes it easy from what I hear.

Just some things to keep in mind.

-John
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  #3  
Old 05-21-2013, 12:46 PM
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Hi John --- not the same company. I'm going to be receiving $35 a month non taxable. There are no restricitions on the phone; interesting, huh? At present, I do not plan on syncing my phone to the company email, calendar, etc. I will continue to receive text messages and I plan on tethering my iPad, so I can have easier system access than having to carry my laptop and a company provided air card --- which I guess may be the next thing I permamently request.

I'm on call pretty much 24x7 every week, but seldom get called. I take care of the corporate database systems.

Anyone here have "Straight Talk" from Walmart? $45 a month and it piggy backs on AT&T, Verizon, etc.
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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
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04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more
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  #4  
Old 05-21-2013, 01:02 PM
Inna-propriate-da-vida
 
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I know two people with Smart Talk, and they are quite happy with the service.
Believe that you are technically not supposed to tether, but unless you use quite a bit of data, you should be fine.
Look at your usage stats from your current plan and see how much data you use.
I think Straight Talk throttles you at either 1.5 or 2 gig per month.

I would switch to Straight Talk myself, but supposedly ATT is going to roll out a similar plan of their own in the next month.

Currently I tether my phone to my laptop when necessary, but it is a more expensive data plan, $50/month instead of $30/month.
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  #5  
Old 05-21-2013, 05:48 PM
Redefining normal daily
 
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$35 a month will cover most of a monthly plan on Virgin mobile - all of them are unlimited text/data, minutes per month varies by price.

No contract, sprint network, we've be perfectly happy with them as service providers.
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  #6  
Old 05-21-2013, 06:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramonajim View Post
$35 a month will cover most of a monthly plan on Virgin mobile - all of them are unlimited text/data, minutes per month varies by price.

No contract, sprint network, we've be perfectly happy with them as service providers.
All very nice IN THEORY. However, it matters not if the plan is $5, everything you can want BUT poor cell coverage. Even if you get excellent cell coverage, a wonderful company to work with but in my usual area, the signal is weak and sucks, it is meaningless to me.

I'd say that a person should find out what is good IN THEIR USUAL AREA. For instance, T-mobile was great (Heads and Shoulders above AT&T) to work with. However, in my workplace, I got 1 bar of signal. Behind the glass in the middle of the store, I lost half my calls which went to voicemail. For a business, it is unacceptable. As such, I had to go tell the hottie that gave me a trial run that I was returning the phone and why.

IMO, the PO should ensure that he/she/it has a return policy for the company, try out their phone and see which one has better signal before returning it. At which point, make the informed decision. A cheap price is meaningless if you lose half your calls. Do that, I would.
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  #7  
Old 05-21-2013, 09:00 PM
Save the manuals!
 
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I would get an iPhone 5 on tmobile. No contract so if you hate them you can switch. I have a iPhone 5 with cingular and I am happy with the service and I love the phone.
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  #8  
Old 05-21-2013, 09:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gatorblue92 View Post
I would get an iPhone 5 on tmobile. No contract so if you hate them you can switch. I have a iPhone 5 with cingular and I am happy with the service and I love the phone.
Don't they have a trial period where you can cancel out with no issues? Around here it is a couple of weeks or something. IF you get a phone, you should know in a couple of weeks if you like the signal reception or not. If not, dump it.
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  #9  
Old 05-21-2013, 10:25 PM
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Get the Nexsus 4 from Google and a sim card from Tmobile.You might even be able to get a discount through your company if its big enough.
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  #10  
Old 05-22-2013, 01:32 AM
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+1

Cannot beat the Nexus4 for the money. Amazing phone and lightning fast. I wouldn't bother with Iphone until at least they come up with a better screen than that teensy thing they have right now.

Android does not need any special apps for tethering, its built into the OS. What the Apple requires i'm not sure. I dont think any of the providers will care if you tether. In fact they probably hope you exceed your data plan's allotment so they can charge you extra. The "unlimited" plans generally have disclaimers allowing them to charge you extra if you tether a lot (i.e. stream hours of video etc from the tethered device)
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Last edited by Ara T.; 05-22-2013 at 01:44 AM.
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  #11  
Old 05-22-2013, 12:10 PM
daw_two's Avatar
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Germantown, TN
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another day

Well.....I'm sure the "cost saving measure" has been anything but.....

We aren't getting out of the phone business --- first false statement.
We will save money --- second false statement.

Today marks the 2nd day I'm in Phone Hell. Straight Talk cannot use an iPhone 4,4S, or 5from Verizon because of the GSM vs. CDMA

so....

Do you think Straight Talk could use an iPhone 4S or 5 from AT&T (GSM)? Nope ---- something about they don't have SIM cards.



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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more
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  #12  
Old 05-22-2013, 02:21 PM
Simpler=Better's Avatar
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Location: Baltimore, MD
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A Samsung S2 or S3 (Or a Google Nexus 4) will run you around $175-$250. Both of these phones can be setup as a wifihotspot. If you want a keyboard, get a Samsung Relay (It's great). This is peanuts compared to what you pay for a "free" phone on a monthly plan (typically $50/mo x 24 months=$1200).

Then get a pay as you go plan from one of your local providers who has coverage- AT&T, Straight Talk, T-Mobile. Depends on your area.


Quote:
Originally Posted by aklim View Post
All very nice IN THEORY. However, it matters not if the plan is $5, everything you can want BUT poor cell coverage. Even if you get excellent cell coverage, a wonderful company to work with but in my usual area, the signal is weak and sucks, it is meaningless to me.

I'd say that a person should find out what is good IN THEIR USUAL AREA. For instance, T-mobile was great (Heads and Shoulders above AT&T) to work with. However, in my workplace, I got 1 bar of signal. Behind the glass in the middle of the store, I lost half my calls which went to voicemail. For a business, it is unacceptable. As such, I had to go tell the hottie that gave me a trial run that I was returning the phone and why.

IMO, the PO should ensure that he/she/it has a return policy for the company, try out their phone and see which one has better signal before returning it. At which point, make the informed decision. A cheap price is meaningless if you lose half your calls. Do that, I would.
This right here.

I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile, and because of the random tower locations I now get AMAZING reception. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one at work who can make a call from his desk.
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  #13  
Old 05-22-2013, 07:47 PM
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I've posted about this in detail. Do a search. It should answer all of your questions on phones and plans with Net 10. They are owned by the same people that own Straight Talk but you can bring your own unlocked GSM phone.
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  #14  
Old 05-24-2013, 07:20 AM
daw_two's Avatar
diesel enthusiast
 
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GSM vs. CDMA ---- and no sim card

Okay, I get the GSM vs. CDMA.
and
I understand people on Craigslist selling a used phone with no sim card --- reused it in their new phone, etc.
but
I don't understand StraightTalk saying you can bring an iPhone from AT&T to them only if you have the sim card. They sell a sim card but it does not work with LTE phones nor the iPhone.

I decided to go with the Galaxy S3 --- might swap it out because it is so big.....but I do like the readable of the screen. At least it's a lot smaller than the Note. Oh....and I went with walmart.com Family Plan (1 line) that uses T-Mobile. My only concern is when I do these cross country trips for Mercedes parts, I will have some dead zones.

For $40 a month, no contract, and do what I want it to do.....that's good for me!!!!
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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more
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  #15  
Old 05-24-2013, 07:54 AM
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Having worked in the cell phone industry for 12 yrs, including being a cingular store owner and retailer for 4 yrs...I would go prepaid for sure...and just make sure it rides on at&t or Verizon...with a personal preference for Verizon...This is coverage based advice...

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