Ting plans are decent if you don't plan on using any data.
Not sure what you mean by "any" data? A friend of mine who is a bonehead has her data chopped by VM halfway into her service month every cycle. I don't. If you require truly "unlimited" data that's great but that doesn't cover every user.
Their phones are more expensive than VM also; $193 for the LG Optimus Elite? VM had it for $150 the day it came out, you can get it at radio shack for $60 today. The Victory is more expensive too, VM has it on sale right now for $187.
Agreed, I did notice in the entry level and old model phones VM is cheaper, perhaps I should have clarified the intent of my reply was toward those seeking premium phones.
I'd bet when the S3 is priced it's cheaper too.
You could have had an S3 on Ting last year is the point. "I'd bet" that by the end of the summer you can get an S3 on Ting for chump change.
I wouldn't want to be stuck on a plan with such a limited amount of data if i had a Note or S3.
I'm not sure where you're coming from there. Pretty sure there is virtually no limits to data usage on Ting if you are willing to pay for it. The beauty of it is that you only pay for what YOU use, so if you want to be a data hog I'm not subsidizing it with a plan sold to the both of us as "unlimited". Never mind Ting like Virgin is a NO CONTRACT carrier so what do you mean by "stuck"?
If I was going to change plans I'd switch to a GSM carrier. At least then I would have more options in choosing a plan without being stuck paying whatever the carrier decided to charge for the phone I want.
Fair enough, I was suggesting Ting merely as an alternative to VM, not comparing apples to oranges. However I don't think any GSM carrier offers a rate/phone combination any cheaper than Ting on the top shelf phones. And for instance with T-mobile most of your arguments against Ting also apply. Their phones are expensive. Their plans cost more and throttle data usage. So I think each person should weigh their needs and make their own decision.
You can buy the following today on Ting:
Galaxy S3
Galaxy S4
HTC One
Galaxy Note II
You cannot buy any of those today on Virgin Mobile.
In a month VM will throw us the bone of giving us the oldest of the above at a price we can only speculate upon. And you can't take the phone to any other carrier. Aren't we lucky.
To be sure I am happy today still with my Triumph at $25 a month. Even though using it requires powering down and swapping batteries twice a day and many apps are now ignoring Froyo. It still runs fine. When it's time for new hardware and I want something impressive, VM will not be my first choice.