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T-Mobile or Ting?

M

matt832

Member
The more I research the more I get discouraged. Looking to move on from my old Moto Triumph on VM $25/m plan. Narrowed it down to three phones I'd consider- S3 , LG Optimus G, and HTC 4G LTE. Of those only the S3 can be had in a flavor that will work on T-M.

Only plan I would consider is the $30/m plan, low minutes user moderate data user. Initially was set on Ting, $25/m would be fine for my needs. Then discovered no 4g in my area on sprint. Decided T-m would be a better option, but see there is no 4G here either. I'm in Mid-Michigan, travel infrequently out of my general area, mostly to Chicago, but need service when I do - GPS, Pandora etc.

What are the odds T-M will have 4G in my area before Sprint? Given the choice would you choose T-M again over Ting on the Sprint network? When I commit to a phone it will be for several years so I want to make the best choice. Open to low cost suggestions....
 
matt832 said:
The more I research the more I get discouraged. Looking to move on from my old Moto Triumph on VM $25/m plan. Narrowed it down to three phones I'd consider- S3 , LG Optimus G, and HTC 4G LTE. Of those only the S3 can be had in a flavor that will work on T-M.

Only plan I would consider is the $30/m plan, low minutes user moderate data user. Initially was set on Ting, $25/m would be fine for my needs. Then discovered no 4g in my area on sprint. Decided T-m would be a better option, but see there is no 4G here either. I'm in Mid-Michigan, travel infrequently out of my general area, mostly to Chicago, but need service when I do - GPS, Pandora etc.

What are the odds T-M will have 4G in my area before Sprint? Given the choice would you choose T-M again over Ting on the Sprint network? When I commit to a phone it will be for several years so I want to make the best choice. Open to low cost suggestions....
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First, check if t mobile has refarmed for 1900 hspa in your area, if they have the optimus G should work perfectly fine. though not quite as fast as a tmobile phone.
Second I would take tmo hspa over sprint any day hell over sprint lte even.

Real world speeds vary by market but any market that has decent tmo coverage will get upwords of 10mb/s sprint cant come close to that.
Good tmo markets get over 25mb/s.
Also detroit is getting lte so I dont know how far out from there they will go initially in a few years I would guess you should be covered by tmo lte though.
also unless price is your concern the S4 or htc one would be excellent options. and even those can be had through google somewhat cheaper it looks like.
it is unfortunate that tmo has got into the lte game so late they are just barely coming out with decent lte phones.
Another phone option you may not have considered (because of the lack of lte) is the nexus 4 8gb version under $300 $350 16gb version. And the best part it actually has lte with a very simple software change.

Out side of the bigger cities on your drive. the tmo coverage would be slower say 200kb/s and possibly down in the 80kb/s in some areas it should be enough for gps and pandora though.

Check sensorly map for your home/work locations see what real world people have to say about the coverage.
 
Just looking at the coverage maps, it looks like T-Mobile has better overall coverage in the Southern part of the state, even if in rural areas you might be limited to 2G. On the flip side, Virgin Mobile does have some coverage in the NW part of Michigan.

As mentioned, T-Mobile has (or is in the process of) turning on LTE coverage in both Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Chicago, and Sprint is as well. But the advantage, as was pointed out, is that T-Mobile has HSPA+ coverage in many 3G areas, giving you "4G speeds" over 3G.

Also, as pointed out, an unlocked GSM Optimus G will work on T-Mobile, including LTE; as Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Chicago have been refarmed to run 3G on the AT&T frequencies. You might also consider the Nexus 4, which is similar to the G but without LTE, though at $300 or $350, direct from Google, is a bargain.
 
Well I decided to experiment with Ting. Picked up an EVO 4 LTe on ebay for $52 so I'll give it a try. Will keep looking for the Optimus G or the S3, I've read where the sprint Optimus G can be flashed to Nexus so that is very tempting. I guess it depends on if the S3 GSM or the LG CDMA shows up first at the right price.

I should be able to get my $50 out of Evo 4 LTe if I decide to move on.
 
matt832 said:
Well I decided to experiment with Ting. Picked up an EVO 4 LTe on ebay for $52 so I'll give it a try. Will keep looking for the Optimus G or the S3, I've read where the sprint Optimus G can be flashed to Nexus so that is very tempting. I guess it depends on if the S3 GSM or the LG CDMA shows up first at the right price.

I should be able to get my $50 out of Evo 4 LTe if I decide to move on.
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In my opinion one of the great things about gsm phone, no need to sell the phone and buy a new one if you want to change carriers.

Best thing about prepaid, try and dont like move on.
 
Fifty bucks is a steal, even if it just ends up as a mini wifi tablet; I'd'a jumped on that!
 
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