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PC Magazine review, "Editors' Choice"

Faydes said:
Phone deserves it to be honest. its by far the best no contract phone in existence.
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The no contract galaxy nexus is only 50 dollars more.
But it is nice to see virgin mobile is rolling out a great line up of new phones. And it's nice to see they're being well received.
 
"Sprint's 3G network, on the other hand, is significantly slower. I saw an average of 1.1Mbps down and .8Mbps up in Queens, but not even half that in Manhattan. "

I would love to have those kind of speeds. In a tiny, no-name city like Milwaukee, we get maybe 150kbps downloads on the average, and two-digit upload speeds on the data. Seriously, the upload speeds of this network rival that of a 1997 56k modem.

The phone is fantastic, the data service, not so much.
 
aurora40 said:
The no contract galaxy nexus is only 50 dollars more.
But it is nice to see virgin mobile is rolling out a great line up of new phones. And it's nice to see they're being well received.
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Yes, the phone is $50 more, but like they said, it's the plans that really make the difference.

For me, no other carrier (including mvno's) will do what I need for less than $50 and most want $60-$70 per month.

And before anyone points out ____ carrier, or that you can use Google Voice, trust me, I studied this for weeks and weeks back in January. With Virgin, there is no work arounds using data, no fear of losing my service or number, and I know exactly what I'm getting and what to expect. They also won't close up their closet and be gone tomorrow.

It may not be the fastest, or the best coverage, but you know where you stand, and it's cheap.
 
KryptoNyte said:
"Sprint's 3G network, on the other hand, is significantly slower. I saw an average of 1.1Mbps down and .8Mbps up in Queens, but not even half that in Manhattan. "

I would love to have those kind of speeds. In a tiny, no-name city like Milwaukee, we get maybe 150kbps downloads on the average, and two-digit upload speeds on the data. Seriously, the upload speeds of this network rival that of a 1997 56k modem.

The phone is fantastic, the data service, not so much.
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That sucks. Here in Vegas, speeds are around 700kbps-2.4mbps. 4G speeds on the other hand is 3-4mbps on-street coverage and upwards of 13mbps in-building coverage.
 
Amen Leslie Ann.. bang for the buck VM pretty much beats the competition. I keep wishing there was something better but I have been with VM since like 2003 and I am still here.

I wish I got the speed you guys get. Best i have ever gotten when speedtesting is about 110k down and 50 up :(
 
meh, I'm ditching VMUSA like a hot potato once the next nexus is out and going T-Mobile as it's not just crap coverage in my area:
Detroit, MI - Fastest Mobile Networks 2012 | PCMag.com
It's crap coverage for the entire metro areas.

It's a nice phone, and the VM prices are now just OK, but I'll take a phone that's going to receive updates and a better network for a $15 more plan any day of the week.
 
cutterjohn said:
meh, I'm ditching VMUSA like a hot potato once the next nexus is out and going T-Mobile as it's not just crap coverage in my area:
Detroit, MI - Fastest Mobile Networks 2012 | PCMag.com
It's crap coverage for the entire metro areas.

It's a nice phone, and the VM prices are now just OK, but I'll take a phone that's going to receive updates and a better network for a $15 more plan any day of the week.
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And once you use your 4G allotment you drop down to 2G EDGE speeds which are slower than Virgin's throttled 3G speeds. Be prepared.
 
OverByter said:
And once you use your 4G allotment you drop down to 2G EDGE speeds which are slower than Virgin's throttled 3G speeds. Be prepared.
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thats why i came back to vm those edge speeds are brutal.i get around 50kbs when throttled and even if i try to go light on my data use i still cant get a full month on 5g not even close.most months i spend half my time throttled.

i still might return my evo and stick with tmobile if vm cant fix the problems i am having but that is something i would rather not do.
 
OverByter said:
And once you use your 4G allotment you drop down to 2G EDGE speeds which are slower than Virgin's throttled 3G speeds. Be prepared.
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very true..but its 5gb of 4g then throttled..i dont even use 2gb so i should b fine lol. its also $30 per month. virgin is great,but the service itself is just horrible. customer service is a no no..
 
Ask around before you switch and see how coverage is in the places you frequent.

$30 isn't such a great deal if coverage is terrible in your area. Make sure you ask about data, not just voice coverage. I can't get T-Mobile data inside my house.
 
Leslie Ann said:
Ask around before you switch and see how coverage is in the places you frequent.

$30 isn't such a great deal if coverage is terrible in your area. Make sure you ask about data, not just voice coverage. I can't get T-Mobile data inside my house.
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I can agree with this. Of course, in my case I was getting between 100 and 300 kbps 3G speeds with Virgin Mobile in my house, depending on time of day, and I get around 3000 kbps with T-Mobile. I could get WiMax in my house, but it was still slower than what I'm getting with T-Mobile.

Actually, I might change the advice to knowing what coverage is like in places where you will use your phone. At home, my data speeds don't technically matter, as I'm on Wi-Fi. But in the places I go, I got between 50 (yes, dial up speeds) and 500 kbps on Virgin in some areas (couldn't get WiMax), and a max of 2.5 mbps with WiMax; with T-Mobile I get a low of 2.5 mbps and typically get over 5 mbps to a max speed of 8 mbps (that I've measured so far).

I also like the advantage of not having to worry if I should leave 4G on because of how it will drain the battery. But as was pointed out, it depends on what works the best in the areas where you want to use your phone -- especially when talking about VM and T-Mobile.
 
Almost forgot, back to the original topic. While it might sound cool and all the editors choice is given to each carriers flagship. Give it a month and the 4S will probably be the editors choice.
 
OverByter said:
Almost forgot, back to the original topic. While it might sound cool and all the editors choice is given to each carriers flagship. Give it a month and the 4S will probably be the editors choice.
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Heheh, not to take anything away from the V 4G, but you make a good point. In fact, if you look, the Moto Triumph is also an "Editors Choice":
Motorola Triumph (Virgin Mobile) Review & Rating | PCMag.com

There is a list of 11 best android phones, and the V 4G is not mentioned there.
The Best Android Phones - Slideshow from PCMag.com

To some of the coverage/cost statements, of course it will depend greatly on your plan needs and the area you live in. For me, I couldn't make calls at home on VMU unless I was upstairs right by a window. T-Mobile has great connectivity even in the basement. For someone else, the opposite may be true.

One plus of a phone like the GNex, is I can use TMo, ATT, Straight Talk, Red Pocket, and more. Unfortunately most CDMA phones can only be used on one provider. You can't even take a VMU phone to Boost or Sprint, which seems silly (wouldn't affect coverage other than roaming, but more rate selection).

But if you talk a lot, and have good Sprint coverage in the areas you frequent, VMU is pretty much unbeatable for the price.
 
Even though the devices don't interest me, Virgin's offering the iPhones will bring in much needed monies to VM/Sprints coffers. Between the additional funds and the need for increased bandwidth required by the iPhone should help speed up the rollout of Network Vision.
 
as others had said it doesnt matter how great a phone is if you cant get a decent signal.even with how much i love the nexus and boy do i love that phone i decided to get another evo today.i dont understand while i get such a bad signal here with t mobile but i was hoping it was the exhibit 4g but its not.i did a side by side comparison earlier and my evo had -55 dbm(the best i ever got) and the nexus had -97dbm.i also get much better 4g here on the evo and while the 2 phones are not even in the same league imo i would rather have a lesser phone and better service.
 
euphan1555 said:
as others had said it doesnt matter how great a phone is if you cant get a decent signal.even with how much i love the nexus and boy do i love that phone i decided to get another evo today.i dont understand while i get such a bad signal here with t mobile but i was hoping it was the exhibit 4g but its not.i did a side by side comparison earlier and my evo had -55 dbm(the best i ever got) and the nexus had -97dbm.i also get much better 4g here on the evo and while the 2 phones are not even in the same league imo i would rather have a lesser phone and better service.
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One of the advantages of the Nexus is that you aren't tied to T-Mobile. Straight Talk, though it costs a bit more, should have solid coverage since it uses AT&Ts network. Unfortunately, T-Mobile, like Sprint/VM, seems to have spotty coverage. Though both Sprint and T-Mobile seem to be working hard to upgrade/expand their coverage.

While I can't claim I don't have decent Sprint coverage, my problem is that I had such horrid speeds using VM. I rarely even saw 1mbps, I averaged about 250-300 kbps down, and frequently would get dial-up speeds. Luckily, I have solid T-Mobile coverage in my area and typically am getting around 5mbps (without having to turn on an extra antenna).

But I agree, one of the pains of getting a cell phone is finding a provider that works well in your area. No matter how good the phone is, if you can't get a signal (or bandwidth) then the phone isn't worth a lot.
 
mogelijk said:
One of the advantages of the Nexus is that you aren't tied to T-Mobile. Straight Talk, though it costs a bit more, should have solid coverage since it uses AT&Ts network. Unfortunately, T-Mobile, like Sprint/VM, seems to have spotty coverage. Though both Sprint and T-Mobile seem to be working hard to upgrade/expand their coverage.

While I can't claim I don't have decent Sprint coverage, my problem is that I had such horrid speeds using VM. I rarely even saw 1mbps, I averaged about 250-300 kbps down, and frequently would get dial-up speeds. Luckily, I have solid T-Mobile coverage in my area and typically am getting around 5mbps (without having to turn on an extra antenna).

But I agree, one of the pains of getting a cell phone is finding a provider that works well in your area. No matter how good the phone is, if you can't get a signal (or bandwidth) then the phone isn't worth a lot.
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i did plenty of research on straight talk, red pocket and simple mobile and none of them have a decent data plan.until vm decides to cap 4g this is the best plan i can get and if/when they cap it im just gonna get a used t mobile phone of of craiglist and go back to t mobile since they are the second best i can get here.
 
OverByter said:
Almost forgot, back to the original topic. While it might sound cool and all the editors choice is given to each carriers flagship. Give it a month and the 4S will probably be the editors choice.
Click to expand...

I'll be the guy who calls people wrong on the Internet and say "WRONG!". Today, PC Mag reviewed the Virgin Mobile iPhones, but they still say the EVO V is their Editor's Choice for VM.
Apple iPhone 4S (Virgin Mobile) Review & Rating | PCMag.com
 
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