I really want that plan but how do you get by with 100 min? I know some of you use Google voice but that cost money to. Are there any free things I could use to make calls over 4g on TMobile? I really want to go to straight talk but all the talk about being cut off scares me. I wouldn't go over 2 gig a month but some times go over 100mb a day. any experiences with that?
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krouget
Android Enthusiast
I'm under contract with VZW until April 2013, but I've been left unimpressed with their habits, lately, which have me leaning strongly towards giving them up.
LTE is certainly fast, when its working, but for the most part, I contend more with poor battery life and spotty coverage, even in areas where its supposedly strong. I'm not sure if its the phones radios and/or VZW, but I've owned more than three devices and have my hands on a number of others, to say it's something consistent, at this point.
At near double the price of alternative plans, VZW's time may be up, unless between now and closer to April, Google releases a $350 LTE device with better than average battery life.
Actually, Google Voice doesn't cost a penny if you are using the web to make and receive your calls - either from inside Gmail (on a browser window on a desktop), or through an app that routes the calls over your data connection. I use Talkatone. There are other apps available in the Play Store.
When I tried signing up for it to save my number it said it was 20 bucks. I never go over 300 minutes but there's not a TMobile plan like that and if I just add the extra 20 bucks to credit to cover more minutes I might as well pay 50 for unlimited everything on straight talk...then again the cap scares me. What to do what to do. how much data do calls use if I did something like google voice and how good is call quality over 4g? Anyone have experience with TMobile sim on straight talk?
Wow low blow. So it does cost money like I said originally. And I have enough know how to use it. With my current situation I don't have wifi so it would be over 4g. My question was legit. If I can root a phone and install roms I know I could use that. You're giving yourself to much credit. It doesn't take a degree.
gone down sout
Newbie
Uh, I'm not a teenage girl?
Seriously, I'm pushing if I speak on the phone once or twice a day, 2 or 3 minutes total. Majority of daily communication is done via text, and longer conversations are skype'd.tsilvernail
Newbie
I'm not sure he was intending to insult you, it is annoying to set up the first time and, for the uninitiated, it can be frustrating. If you're into rooting, etc. you should have no problem.
as for a $20 charge...I have never been charged anything from google voice...ever.
You can always opt to not port your number to GV, and create a new GV number based off of area codes where you live. this is free to do. simply give your GV number out to your friends.
I use an app called "groove ip light" on my old Droid Incredible. It is not set up with any carriers atm so the only number associated with it, is my GV number. When I'm on wifi (or in theory, if I had 3g on my phone) when i receive a call through my GV number, it rings that phone, no minutes
required.
Of course it might be worth your time to pay a one time $20 fee to use your real phone number (saves you from updating people to a new one) instead of paying an extra $20/month or whatever to get more minutes. the initial cost is nothing compared to the long term savings, especially when you consider that regardless of how many times you switch phones and phone numbers, you can always have your google voice number stay the same and you will never have to tell people about a new phone number as long as google voice exists.
I hope that sheds some more light on GV, I'm a huge fan of it and as soon as I switch to T mobile, I will be using the $30/mo. plan with GV so i don't burn minutes.
Seriously, no low blow intended. I was just stating fact - that doing this sort of thing is not for everyone. I have no way of knowing what level of tech expertise you have, and you may *well* have *far more* of it than I do. That wasn't the point. I was simply saying that it isn't for everyone, and unless someone is both really confident and can live with 3G VOIP calling quality, with a few bugs here and then.
The limit on the $30 plan on 4G data is 5 gb, not 4 gb.
The $20 applies only if you want to port an existing number to Google voice, one time. If you get a new number from GV, however, it costs you nothing.
My bad. I might set up a new number when I switch anyways. I never go over 300 min which is what my plan is now. I was just wondering about the data usage and how well it works on 4g. I could do the 30 a month with 100 min if the Google voice worked. Then I would get a full 5 gig never throttled which I would never go over and not worry about getting cut off. Any ideas? Thanks guys.
ArmageddonX
Android Expert
I sincerely hope there is a Verizon version of some sort, somehow, eventually. It's the best 4G coverage in my area.
~ ArmyX
~ ArmyX
tsilvernail
Newbie
i believe after you hit tmobile's 5gb threshold they throttle you down under 1mbps but i could be wrong about that.
whatever they throttle down too, i know that it will certainly be faster than the 3g on my sprint iphone. My best download speed, EVER, on sprint was 980kbps
it usually hangs around 250-500kbps.RickyDavis1051
Well-Known Member
i believe after you hit tmobile's 5gb threshold they throttle you down under 1mbps but i could be wrong about that.
whatever they throttle down too, i know that it will certainly be faster than the 3g on my sprint iphone. My best download speed, EVER, on sprint was 980kbps
Wooowwwwwww thats so pathetic
MT Rotor
Android Enthusiast
That's my plan
sean76
Android Expert
tsilvernail
Newbie
my understanding of this is that it will not have built in wifi calling like some tmob devices do. You will still be able to use Apps like groove ip to make wifi calls through google voice though.
I could be wrong, but I believe this to be the case.
This is how I read it as well.
They made a point to speak on the fact that the tMo version could be EXACTLY the same as the unlocked version (no carrier add-ons/changes at all), since they wouldn't even be adding their wifi-calling feature.
I read that as, "the Nexus 4 from the Play Store will not have a wifi-calling feature and tMo will not be adding that feature to the version they sell."
I have a GV (Google Voice) number and I make calls using Groove IP Lite from my GNote10.1 tablet. However I don't know how to receive calls on it.
While composing this post the idea came to me that I probably can't receive calls since my GNot10.1 does not have a phone number, it does not have a place for a sim card. This leads to the questions if I have a phone with wifi but the service has expired can I use the number for it as the forwarded number in GV and receive wifi calls?
Will the Nexus 4 be able to receive wifi calls without a sim card?
Yeah, I am not quite sure this $300 price tag for the Nexus 4 is for all countries around the globe. It will be sold for $450 and above in Europe and I am not sure for the Asian market, probably same for them. But it is a capable phone after all, it is definitely worth the money.
Go to your Google Voice settings and make sure your calls are forwarded to Gmail. That will forward it to Groove IP as well.