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Changing carriers, device comparison/opinions pleas?

robbiegreene508

robbiegreene508

Member
So I've convinced the Wife to change carriers and phones. I'm new to the whole Android phone scene, even to this site, and I'm really starting to get into rooting, Roms, mods, etc. Basically I've done nothing but read and read, both in the forums as well as going to the local Barnes & Noble and picking up just about every magazine and book on Androids. Up until now, if I could make and receive calls/text and surf Craigslist, then I was content and happy. But now I really want to get into exploring everything these phones are capable of.
Currently we have Virgin (USA) Mobile, and I've got to say I can't make a bad comment against their service. I have never dropped a call, been without a signal, and their customer service has been awesome. If I call their customer service to complain about a hangnail on my finger, they tell me how sorry they are and credit me a months ($55 unlimited) service. The only thing I've recently noticed is their lack of handset options and unwillingness to accept a different carriers phone. After some research I found out they pretty much just repackage Sprint phones (may or may not ALWAYS be the case), so they are always either behind a bit in technology and/or extremely expensive to constantly upgrade. For example, last month they JUST released the S3 and iPhone 4 locally. I went into buy a discounted S2 and they were sold out, was talked into a Kyocera Event for my wife and I. (On the little display spec sheet they put out, the 5 features made them comparable. I just thought I was being saved $200 each phone)
So yeah, I was naive. I bought them. Wife was happy, I'm not. Especially after my "research". So I've been looking to buy a new one... Again, which wife wasn't happy about and certainly didn't understand. But I convinced her to swap with me. I've found the best deals to be a contract with T-Mobile for both service and phone cost.
My two options are; Galaxy S3 or LG L9. Let the opinions and debate begin please! What would you choose; and why? Thanks!
 
I would advise getting a cheap GSM phone to try out T-mobiles service as prepaid before jumping into a two year contract, they can be very spotty in some areas.

As for S3 vs L9 I would probably go for the S3. Spec wise the S3 is just way ahead, better camera, screen, Quad core CPU, memory etc etc. plus if you ever want to get into playing around with various android roms and rooting the S3 has a larger dev community.

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III - Full phone specifications
 
Cronis - The T-Mobile S3 is the dual-core Snapdragon variant, not the I9300 that you linked. They have two variants, a non-LTE model (no longer sold), and an LTE version (currently being sold). Here's the link to the LTE model.

Samsung Galaxy S
 
moved you to the device/comparison forum.

for me the s3, s4, note 2, htc one, and soon to be htc one max (t6) would be the ones i get. i would suggest maybe looking into sprint which is what i'm on. i have never had any issues with them and i'm looking forward to the note 3 or htc one max when they come out.
 
Thanks... As far as "financing" through T-Mobile, I've looked into it and its not an option I want to pursue. Its also not really as advertised. While my credit is fine for their service, when I looked into the L9, they asked for $180/down and $28/month PER LINE. It means I'd be paying Rent A Center like financing, probably like double/triple the cost of buying outright. Going thru the local 3rd party retailer, the Galaxy 3 and L9 are free (the other phones they carry are mediocre, nothing that stands out,two are old school flip basic phones for $50, the other is HTC One for $299 and S4 for $199, and these are current "sale" prices). I've wanted a Galaxy S phone since i had the original (on T-Mobile). Back then my plan was like $140 with shared minutes or something, so i only left because you couldn't beat the prepaid companies prices for unlimited. That too, my "new" or upcoming T-Mobile contract plan is $90/month for both lines, unlimited everything with 2.5 of 4g per phone (unlimited 3g after), or $110 unlimited 4g. I'm currently paying $55/month for unlimited with 3g Virgin. I'm not completely dumb, I'm sure they get their phone money out of me somehow. But the upfront costs are nothing, (except having to pay sales tax on full retail price for a "free" phone, thanks Taxachusetts!) and the monthly plan is either cheaper or the same price for better service (4g) with T. That's tough to beat. And I've had T-Mobile before, like i said, service was great. I'm in a city area so I'm not worried about that. Basically it comes down to not wanting to pay $500 upfront for a phone (plus 7.5% sales tax). I could do that with Virgin for a s3, but I also want gsm just in case.

To me, I'm just looking at the quick, easy and cheaper solution up front. And obviously the best phone I can get, which to me is either the 3 or L9, at the store I'm going to go through. I thought I had done a pretty good job limiting my options down to what the better options were under these circumstances. Not saying this to be a jerk, please don't take this that way, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot in this forum, but if I thought or felt there were other options for me, I would've included them up front. I thought I've done a pretty good job not buying completely on impulse, I've visited every local cell store, retailer, 3rd party and carrier around. I've searched online at the carriers web sites, I've personally called and spoke with the customer service/sales teams... And these truly are the phones I think I need to compare/decide between. Now it time to sh*t or get off the pot, as I either need to make a purchase to not miss the current sales promotion, or I need to pay Virgin for another month of misery with my phone...
So far, it appears the S3 is the winner if I've read the posts right? And I should double check, thanks for reminding me, to make sure I'm not getting the stores old stock of 3g S3's and they are lte. Otherwise I know the L9 is 4g, and that'll win by default. Any more opinions/thoughts?

Thanks again guys!
 
Here's a secret that the carriers don't want you to know. Outside of T-Mobile right now, when you buy a device at "upgrade" price, you really aren't only paying 200 or whatever the cost is for the phones. They've secretly baked in the amount necessary to pay off the full cost of the phone into the service cost and there's no way to opt out, even if you pay the full retail cost for it. At least with T-Mobile, they're upfront about it and give you the option to not pay extra for the device if you pay full retail or bring your own phone.
 
Locally/used ads currently an option are the HTC Nexus One, Nexus S 4G, both for T-Mobile, LG motion for Metro, or a Galaxy S2 and stay on Virgin..
 
So, I'm officially a T-mobile/S3 owner... excited, then I read this... why did I just buy a new S3 that is only 4G, and not lte??? Don't get me wrong, this is 1000x better than what I had, but I actually went through T-Mobile and I end up with old stock??!! Thats bullsh*t... I actually just checked, my manufacturing date is 12/2012. My wife's is 1/2013... Wtf, am I going to have to throw a b*tch fit with customer service already!!??
 
How long realistically do I have before 4G is completely useless because of lte? Will I get a year out of it?? Also, isn't a 2012 manufacturing date "technically" a good thing for lawful unlocking/modifying reasons?
 
robbiegreene508 said:
So, I'm officially a T-mobile/S3 owner... excited, then I read this... why did I just buy a new S3 that is only 4G, and not lte??? Don't get me wrong, this is 1000x better than what I had, but I actually went through T-Mobile and I end up with old stock??!! Thats bullsh*t... I actually just checked, my manufacturing date is 12/2012. My wife's is 1/2013... Wtf, am I going to have to throw a b*tch fit with customer service already!!??
Click to expand...
Most carriers have a 14 days exchange window. Though there may be a restocking fee.
 
robbiegreene508 said:
So, I'm officially a T-mobile/S3 owner... excited, then I read this... why did I just buy a new S3 that is only 4G, and not lte??? Don't get me wrong, this is 1000x better than what I had, but I actually went through T-Mobile and I end up with old stock??!! Thats bullsh*t... I actually just checked, my manufacturing date is 12/2012. My wife's is 1/2013... Wtf, am I going to have to throw a b*tch fit with customer service already!!??
Click to expand...

You didn't buy from T-Mobile. T-Mobile doesn't do contracts anymore. However, T-Mobile authorized resellers, aka, not corporate stores, sell older devices and contract plans.

Those horrible quotes on installment plans that you got, were they from the same store? Those numbers make no sense and that is not how T-Mobile operates.
 
Yeah, went through Staples T-Mobile. And fyi, the phone/price quotes came straight from the horses mouth... t-Mobile customer service on their sales line. Just go to their mobile website, the s3 lte I JUST pulled up, was $232 DOWN PAYMENT. ***CORRECTION: $246 DOWN, $10.75/month x 24... S4 is obviously more*** If you don't have A1 credit, there is a drop down box, where you need to select A1/excellent or "building", as your credit status. It isn't even done by an actual score per individual person/basis, it is either perfect with 0 down or "not good enough" and a large down payment. If your referring to my "rent a center" like financing charges, I just said that as a joke. I'm not sure if the final price is exactly the same or if it carries any interest or not truthfully. When I heard there was a phone down payment of any amount, that was enough for me. I can sign a 2 year contract with no deposit, but ive got to pay 1/2 the phone upfront? Didn't make sense to me, I really just wanted the cheapest, best way in...

And just fyi, you can still get a contract through T-Mobile themselves. I'm not sure if you can walk in and ask at a store, but you can do it over the phone, online, and an option she also mentioned was going through the phone, but taking my referral number or whatever and going into the actual t-mobile store to finalize, sign and pick up your phones. Again, what customer service/phone sales TOLD me, I didn't do that. I went through with my credit check/application over the phone, took my confirmation number and walked into Staples to take advantage of their phones and pricing.
 
Either way, you should have a 14 day return policy if you want, like JHawk mentioned, especially Staples. But they may try to charge you a restocking fee, and if they do try, tell them you want to cancel the full service on buyers remorse and they will most likely let you return your phones without a restocking fee and get different phones.
 
Yeah, there's no restocking fee, I just checked my receipt. I just don't know what it'll do for me, especially if they are only selling the s4 4g, and NOT the lte. I wonder if I called T-Mobile and acted like I have a defective phone, and go through the Manufacturers warranty. Think I'd "happen" to get an lte in the mail? Oh well, whatever. I also got the Staples $10/month insurance. If I smash it out of anger they supposedly send me a Staples Gift Card for full retail price at time of purchase, in my case it was $750 or something crazy, minus a $50 deductible. It's also on the paperwork. Anyways, it allows me to buy ANY replacement phone up to $750 (I can cover any difference if I want a $1200 phone, I can buy an iPhone if I want instead). It also allows 2 replacements per year (2 "free" replacement phones per 12 months). Opinions on how I should or how you would go about this? Try to fight it now with Staples or T-Mobile, or just wait it out for now and maybe replace in a few with a 4 or maybe another phone/new release?
 
One thing we don't want you to promote is something illegal, that is a whole different ball of wax. If you want you can take them back but if your going to want the LTE then you have to pay for it. The insurance company wouldn't give you a LTE anyways, they would give you a refurbished 4G
 
robbiegreene508 said:
And just fyi, you can still get a contract through T-Mobile themselves. I'm not sure if you can walk in and ask at a store, but you can do it over the phone, online, and an option she also mentioned was going through the phone, but taking my referral number or whatever and going into the actual t-mobile store to finalize, sign and pick up your phones.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. T-Mobile (corporate) no longer does subsidy + contract. However, people can be confused, because their down payment + installments give the same vibe as a contract, except that once your "term" is up, your installments cease, making your plan cheaper.

robbiegreene508 said:
If you don't have A1 credit, there is a drop down box, where you need to select A1/excellent or "building", as your credit status. It isn't even done by an actual score per individual person/basis, it is either perfect with 0 down or "not good enough" and a large down payment. If your referring to my "rent a center" like financing charges, I just said that as a joke. I'm not sure if the final price is exactly the same or if it carries any interest or not truthfully. When I heard there was a phone down payment of any amount, that was enough for me. I can sign a 2 year contract with no deposit, but ive got to pay 1/2 the phone upfront? Didn't make sense to me, I really just wanted the cheapest, best way in...
Click to expand...

I'll re-run the numbers for you. I'll do the best comparison that I can. And FYI, the Staples website has got to be the most unfriendly website I've ever used for smartphone plans.

Galaxy S3 LTE: $504 total
Excellent credit = $0 down, $21x24
"Building" credit = $246 down, $10.75x24

Nexus 4: $432 total
Excellent credit = $0 down, $18x24
"Building" credit = $210 down, $9.25x24

HTC One: $552 total
Excellent credit = $0 down, $23x24
"Building" credit = $252 down, $12.50x24

Galaxy S4: $552 total
Excellent credit = $0 down, $23x24
"Building" credit = $252 down, $12.50x24

Phone: $600 total
Excellent credit = $0 down, $25x24
"Building" credit = $300 down, $12.50x24

As far as the plan goes, here's how they compare:

T-Mobile's new plans are $80/$100/$120 for a two-line plan with unlimited talk and text, and 500MB/2.5GB/unlimited high speed data per line (throttled after you reach your limit on the lower two plans).

The same three plans at Staples cost $100/$140/$160. So, as you can see, these plans are $40/mo more expensive than T-Mobile's offering ($20 if you don't need a decent chunk of data per line).

Assuming you get two higher-end phones, like the HTC One or the Galaxy S4, your monthly cost on T-Mobile's new plans would be $105/$125/$145 for the first 24 months, and then drop to $80/$100/$120 thereafter, unless you upgrade. Yes, going through Staples will save you more money up front if you don't have excellent credit. But, you'll pay more in the long run, you'll have an outdated phone, and you'll want to upgrade sooner, thus putting you on a non-stop treadmill of higher costs.
 
Well guys, either way, I appreciate everyone trying to help. I wasn't trying yo stir up a debate or even discuss doing something illegal. I was just simply trying to find the best phone for my free buck, haha. Its a done deal either way, I'm sure no matter what I won't terminate my contract in 14 (13) days now unless something extraordinary happens. And I'm so far truly happy with the phone, even if its not lte. Its still a major upgrade from what I had. Thanks again
 
Keep us posted also on how you like TM coverage service.

remember to change your carrier in your profile ;)
 
Good call... so I called customer service about the 4g/lte. He told me to do a system update and see if it came up. It didn't but he called back and told me he was sending me two lte's... so I dunno, we will see if it happens. If it does, great, if I don't get them no biggie.
 
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