I'm one of those people someone alluded to above- one who is not carrier-loyal and will jump if presented the right deal. I've been with Verizon for five or six years now, but I'm growing increasingly wary of their antics but, more importantly, the amount I pay each month for service. I've been telling myself I can't get rid of unlimited data, so I had come to terms with spending nearly $800 for the phone (I'm not upgrade-eligible, anyway).
For what, though? What says I'll get to keep unlimited data once my contract expires? I went to TMobile the other night and tested the Note II. While I was there, I tested the waters regarding ETF assistance and picked up some literature on month-to-month plans (something else I've been threatening to do for a while).
For my needs, HSPA+ is going to be a sufficient filler for LTE, especially considering the money I'll be putting back into my wallet. As an added benefit, the TMo Note II a) has a dormant LTE radio, making it a bit future-proof and b) should not chew the battery as quickly on HSPA+ as compared to LTE.
I'm damn close to making the jump. As I was telling the CS rep at Verizon today when asked why I was considering leaving, the delayed Note II release is the catalyst rather than the cause. I've been considering a PAYG type plan for a while now; it just took the right thing ticking me off to follow through.
So, for those of you still waiting on Red to finally let go of this thing, I feel your pain. I suffered through the Galaxy Nexus mess last year (and the trademark Verizon update drag-assedness over the last year) with many of you, I'm sure.
-Brian
Hey this sounds VERY similar to my experience. I was going to go to verizon from AT&T and pre-ordered an iPhone 5 in store and a Note 2 online (why I was following this thread). I went in a t-mobile store on Thursday just to check out the Note 2. It is a sweet phone. Employees seemed bored to talk to me since I told them I was probably going to Verizon. I expected more of a push from them...
Anyways, I saw a brochure for small business plans and opened it. OMG- SWEET DEALS for small business. If you have a business set up with an EIN you can get a 1000 minute a month plan with 5G of 4G data for $40 a month! That rivals a lot of prepaid and is better than some. The kicker is that is a lot of data for that price and their HSPA+ network is actually pretty fast. More on that in a bit.
SO I asked a sales reps what the catch was on the prices. She told me that the prices don't include a subsidized device. BUT they will actually set you up on a payment plan for the device interest free, you just have to pay $250 up front plus the taxes for the whole device, SO I paid about $300 with tax for the note and I have a $20 a month payment plan for 20 months for the remaining cost of the note 2 ($650). I also got the tethering for $10 and insurance for $8. So basically I pay $78 a month and that includes tethering and device insurance and I get 5 GB a month high speed data and more minutes than I would need. ($10 a month more gets you unlimited talk also). Plus, since the phone is not subsidized, it will actually be paid off in 20 months not 24(contract length). A similar plan on verizon is $110 for unlimited talk and text and 4 GB data. That does not include device insurance. So you get 1 GB less data and unlimited minutes.
I did a speed test on the note 2 in store and it was in the mid teens (15 Mbps I think)
So I went ahead and signed up for t-mobile and got my note 2. I went into the verizon store yesterday and tested their speed vs t-mobile. T-mobile was faster down and a bit slower up but they were very similar.
T-mobile will also be rolling out LTE soon and note 2 supports it.
As for the iPhone, we are just going to put a sim card in my wife's iPhone 4 from t-mobile. They said their 3G network will be compatible by the end of November and also they are poised to get the iPhone 5 sometime soon according to the reps (but that of course is speculation). My wife will have unlimited talk and text and 5 GB data for $50 a month and bring her own device from AT&T once our contract is up next week.
So I just thought I'd share. We will be saving about $60 bucks a month over the same service with Verizon and that includes my Note 2 monthly payment.
My wife didn't care for the iPhone 5, she likes her iPhone 4 just fine, BUT we were getting her the iPhone 5 since we would be paying for it anyways with verizon's service prices plus her 4 is not compatible with CMDA. If/When she can get the iPhone 5 on t-mobile we will have to pay a few hundred up front and 20-30 a month more but we will still be paying less than on verizon by quite a bit and you have to pay a chunk up front with them too.
Sorry for the long post just thought I'd help some people that are getting fed up with waiting for the Note 2 on verizon and let them know there are other solutions, especially if you own a small business.
Here are some links to check prices on plans:
Small Business Unlimited Phone Plans | Business Savings | T-Mobile
Share Everything Calculator - Verizon Wireless