[wplug] google phone query

Justin Smith justin at js-wordsmith.com
Tue Jul 23 08:13:24 EDT 2013


Pat covered the basics, so I'll just throw in a few extras.

T-Mobile's branded prepaid service is fantastic. I use it myself. The $30 plan Pat linked to is among the best deals in the industry, IMO. But if you talk on your phone more than 100 minutes a month and don't want to jump up to paying $60 per month (the next reasonable tier), you could always get service from a T-Mobile mobile virtual network operator. An MVNO is a company that resells service on somebody else's network - in this case, T-Mobile.

Solavei, at $50 per month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texting, and 4GB of high-speed data, is probably the best overall deal. But since the company is based on (optional) multi-level marketing, I steer clear of it.

Platinumtel/Ptel has two plans: $40 per month for minutes/texting/1GB data, or $50 for minutes/texting/2GB data. They recently launched GivMobile, a subsidiary which offers the same plans AND lets you donate 8% of your monthly bill to a limited selection of charities of your choice. Use coupon code GIVHOFOBOGO on GivMobile to get a SIM card and two months' worth of plans for the price of one plan. (I almost switched to GivMobile earlier this month.)

There are two caveats with MVNOs: you won't have in-store support or roaming. Since most in-store support is so laughable these days, I don't think you miss that much. T-Mobile's official prepaid does have a very limited selection of voice roaming, but I only ever used it once when I was in the boonies of Grove City getting my rifle worked on.

In regard to the Nexus 4 itself, I have one, and I'm generally satisfied. Its key advantage is its "hackability." Just a few weeks ago, I enabled the Nexus 4's hidden LTE antenna for a free speed boost! There is also a wide variety of community-developed Android variants available for it. Android may be open source, but I don't like how Google develops it behind closed doors. Being able to switch to a community variant that's developed in the spirit of FOSS means a lot to me.

Typing without a keyboard IS difficult...until you try Swype. Instead of hunting and pecking for tiny on-screen keys, Swype lets you trace a pattern in the onscreen keyboard corresponding to the word you want to type. So instead of typing t-h-e, I'd press down on t, drag my finger over to h, over to e, and lift up. It inserts spaces and punctuation automatically. You don't need to have pinpoint accuracy; Swype is actually based on the notion that touchscreen keyboards are inherently inaccurate. IMO, it makes entering text faster and easier than a physical keyboard.

So that's about it. Good luck with your decision.

On Tuesday, July 23, 2013 12:11:24 AM Zachary Uram wrote:
> I am thinking of purchasing the google nexus 4 phone, but I had some questions.
> 
> How do I get cellphone service once I buy the phone. I heard getting a
> prepaid plan can save lots of money.
> 
> Does anyone know of any good deals. Will it be hard to physically open
> up the cellphone to add SIM card?
> 
> Is registering and setting up the SIM card difficult?
> 
> I would just hate to buy a google phone and find out I can't get
> cellphone service working on it.
> 
> Anyone have a google phone, do you like it?
> 
> 
> 


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