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Thinking of going to AT&T from Sprint

SoulTerror

SoulTerror

Android Enthusiast
I was just doing some reading on here to see if they are getting any new Android devices anytime soon, but haven't been able to find much information. Does anyone know if it would be a good idea or what? I really want to go to Verizon but the wife doesn't since they are more expensive.

I was really looking at the Backflip, played with it at the store and liked it, but I get mixed reviews about it. I read on here a lot of good reviews, and a few bad, and then a couple different people I talk to say it sucks as well. So I guess I'm a little confused if I should go to AT&T or not.

Thanks in advance!
 
Find some friends in your area that use Sprint and find out if the reception and call quality are good there. If so, go for it.
 
If you've read this forum much you'll see that most of it is whining and bemoaning our horrible android situation. If you want to iphone...come to AT&T, if not stay away for now. The Backflop is a toy/gimick phone which some like and if thats what you want go for it. at least it has a keyboard.

But if you want a real android phone so far we got nothing. We've gotten the backflop which is several OS versions behind, not the greatest in specs. The Dell Aero has been announced but its about as powerful as the backflop and thats all we got officially. We do have an unsubsidized Nexus One if you would like to shell out for it. But other than that nothing official and its pretty telling that the CEO of AT&T said we would have 5 android phones by june and we have a grand total of ONE.
 
What you can do is purchase an phone on a 2-year contract (like a Palm Pre or an iPhone 4 when it comes out), sell it on eBay for around $500-$600, and use that money to buy an unlocked phone. I suggested this to one guy on this board, he found a Palm Pre for one penny (doubt that is going to be available anytime soon), sold it on eBay and now he is looking to buy his phone.

The one major advantage of GSM is that you do not need to purchase a phone which is in their system, just one that works with the system. The Nexus One is available with AT&T 3G bands (which btw are 850 MHz/1900 MHz. 1900 is the stronger one as of right now but I believe they intend on building their LTE network on the 850). Most Canadian carriers use the same 3G bands as AT&T (and they have alot of great phones in Canada such as the Motorola Milestone, Acer Liquid E, HTC Desire/Triumph is coming, HTC Legend and many more).

I bought an Acer Liquid A1 for $360 on the internet. It works with the AT&T 1900MHz 3G band (and so far, my 3G has been strong in most places throughout the greater Houston area). The Liquid E (which released in Canada today) is pretty much the same phone only with 2.1 (I had to install it manually, then root it. The Liquid actually has a strong development community) and 512 megs of ram as opposed to 256.


Honestly tho, if Sprint is strong in your area, stay on Sprint. With WiFi, they will be getting the best subsidized phones. AT&T discontinued unlimited data today and Verizon is expected to follow suit. Then again, I use alot of data and not everybody does lol.
 
HustlinDaily said:
I bought an Acer Liquid A1 for $360 on the internet. It works with the AT&T 1900MHz 3G band (and so far, my 3G has been strong in most places throughout the greater Houston area). The Liquid E (which released in Canada today) is pretty much the same phone only with 2.1 (I had to install it manually, then root it. The Liquid actually has a strong development community) and 512 megs of ram as opposed to 256.


Honestly tho, if Sprint is strong in your area, stay on Sprint. With WiFi, they will be getting the best subsidized phones. AT&T discontinued unlimited data today and Verizon is expected to follow suit. Then again, I use alot of data and not everybody does lol.
Click to expand...

Where did you find the acer for sale?
 
I manually installed 2.1 which was leaked by Acer to the public (also installed an Eclair custom rom on top). For the most part, it has been stable (did have a couple of freezes but stable for the most part. Also the Liquid E released yesterday and that has 2.1 native so expecting Acer to release the official update soon).

Also a few people in the dev community working on FroYo.
 
I just did the exact opposite. I went from AT&T to Sprint, got an EVO, my first Android phone. Android on AT&T is an absolute joke, this is the main reason I switched. I just didn't like any of their phones. They are so madly in love with the iPhone that I believe they are purposely limiting Android phones on their network, they want no competition to Apple in house.

When I dug a little further and compared prices between the 4 major carriers I realized Sprint had MUCH better value.

Also, I live in a large metropolitan area, and I have noticed severely poor network performance from AT&T at large gatherings like sporting events. I'm talking 90 minutes for a text to get out. Forget about calls. This may be a minor issue to most people, but I work many of these events, so it's a big deal to me. My coworkers on other carriers, have dealt with slowdowns, but all were surprised with how bad mine was.

My advice, if you can deal with Apple, get an iPhone, but be prepared for network slowdowns in large cities. If you really want an Android phone, run, don't walk to Sprint or Verizon.
 
It is interesting. Location can make quite a difference to what carrier you choose.

I'd love to move from AT&T to Sprint and get that EVO. If I did, I'd have on in my hands this minute.

I live very near Sprint's home town, Kansas City. Coverage for Sprint for me is not that great. Have to be in a certain spot in my house to get reception; drops 2-3 different places on the freeway. Can't go to them.

I'm considering moving to Verizon, only due to finding a phone I want. But then I've read that GSM, overall, has advantages over CDSM. But who knows, maybe that's too much detail.
 
depends on where you are...I've never had an issue getting a data connection, but sometimes 3g is not within reach in the far reaches of north georgia...still decent enough around here...thats one of the reasons I dont want to HAVE To leave due to sucky Android support.
 
Ummm noone mentioned the absurd data cap on AT$T? Android phones draw a lot of data. Even some data you don't want, like ads in apps.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.
 
IOWA said:
Ummm noone mentioned the absurd data cap on AT$T? ...
Click to expand...

The new data rates are whack beyond all reason, no doubt.

That said, FWIW, I re-upped my 2nd line on my family plan, just before the change. When adding my unlocked N900, the sales rep offered me the $15/mo unlimited data plan, "because I was bringing my own phone". Following the changes, and putting the SIM back in my AT&T branded Moto Q, the system recognized that it was back on the network but I still have the option of switching from the now "$30 unlimited data/text" (used to pay for ea./text), to the $15/mo "unlimited data only".

Please note that I am off contract however, and my girl's e71x does not have the same option. She has more options for the capped data plans though, I'm guessing because she is still under contract.
 
I'm a bit confused. The $15/mo unlimited was for non PDA/Smart phones. They allow you to use that for smart phone?

If your phone isn't a smart phone, then when you add one, I suspect they may move you to one of the new plans. That has happened some over the past year, I believe for the 15 vs 30 dollar plans.
 
ewingr said:
I'm a bit confused. The $15/mo unlimited was for non PDA/Smart phones. They allow you to use that for smart phone?

If your phone isn't a smart phone, then when you add one, I suspect they may move you to one of the new plans. That has happened some over the past year, I believe for the 15 vs 30 dollar plans.
Click to expand...


I re-established the account w/Nokia N900, they offered to allow it on, in store, @ $15/mo. I had called a year earlier, CS said the same for the Nokia e71 (unlocked version). The next day, I put the SIM back in the AT&T branded Moto Q, which is now off contract. I guess the system recognized it because they have it as my "current phone". I'm guessing the option to move to the $15 plan is because its "paid off", and I'm no longer under contract. It was a smartphone when I was paying the $30/mo.! :p

Having the free texting is a bit of a bump, and not bad now that I think about it. But like you said, if I switch, they may change it "just because", and I may get frozen out of getting back on the "unlimited data/text". Figure I'll wait just in case I want to get a susidized phone again.


Here is what my line features looks like:


Web, Text & More
Listed below are some popular bundled features that include text messaging, web use, e-mail, video and music. For more details about a particular bundle, click the bundled feature name that interests you.

MessagingBundled FeaturesPRICETEXTDATASELECTMessaging PackagesMessaging Unlimited

AT&T Recommends $20.00 UnlimitedN/A SelectMessaging 1500
$15.001500N/A SelectInternational Messaging LD 100
$10.00100N/A SelectMessaging 200
$5.00200N/A SelectI no longer want to add this feature$0.00------No Thanks

Mobile Web PackagesBundled FeaturesPRICETEXTDATASELECTText, Web, Email UsersMessaging & Data Unlimited

$30.00UnlimitedUnlimited Current Web UsersData Unlimited
AT&T Recommends $15.00N/A Unlimited SelectFamily Data Unlimited
$10.00N/AUnlimited SelectI no longer want to add this feature$0.00------No Thanks






My other line:

Web, Text & More
Listed below are some popular bundled features that include text messaging, web use, e-mail, video and music. For more details about a particular bundle, click the bundled feature name that interests you.

MessagingBundled FeaturesPRICETEXTDATASELECTMessaging PackagesMessaging Unlimited

AT&T Recommends $20.00UnlimitedN/A SelectMessaging 1500
$15.001500N/A SelectInternational Messaging LD 100
$10.00100N/A SelectMessaging 200
$5.00200N/A SelectI no longer want to add this feature$0.00------No Thanks

Smartphone BundlesBundled FeaturesPRICETEXTDATASELECTSmartphone Bundle with MessagingSmartphone Personal Bundle

AT&T Recommends $50.00UnlimitedUnlimited SelectSmartphone Personal with 200 Messages
$35.00200Unlimited SelectSmartphone Bundle without MessagingDataPro 2GB for Smartphone Enterprise
$40.00N/A2GB SelectSmartphone Personal
$30.00N/AUnlimited CurrentDataPlus 200MB for Smartphone Enterprise
$30.00N/A200MB SelectDataPro 2 GB for Smartphone
$25.00N/A2GB SelectDataPlus 200 MB for Smartphone
$15.00N/A200MB SelectSmartphone TetheringDataPro 2GB for Smartphone Enterprise Tethering
$60.00N/A2GB SelectDataPro 2 GB for Smartphone with Tethering
$45.00N/A2GB Select
 
ewingr said:
I'm a bit confused. The $15/mo unlimited was for non PDA/Smart phones. They allow you to use that for smart phone?
Click to expand...

AT&T changed all their data plans on June 7th. You can be grandfathered in with the "unlimited $30 data plan" (which I hear actually isn't totally unlimited (capped at 5G), but that is another story).

The new smartphone plans (there are 2 of them) $15 for 200MB and $25 for 2GB BUT all Wifi access is FREE. So you only are charged for time on a non-Wifi network.

This should actually work great for a wifi capable device that stays in a wifi area most of the time.

AT&T New Data Plans
 
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