[wplug] google phone query

[Mike Semcheski]

If you get a Nexus 4 and go to a T-Mobile store with some money for a
months service and a SIM ($60 for data +$10 for SIM +tax) you should be
able to walk out of the T-Mobile store with service in about 10 minutes.

Some notes:
Nexus 4 is a great phone / great value.
MVNO's don't have storefronts you can walk into, but you should be able to
get their service online.
Ordering a T-Mo SIM online and getting it in the mail is cheaper than going
to a store.  Don't know about ATT.
Replacing or inserting a SIM is pretty easy.


On Tue, Jul 23, 2013 at 11:51 PM, Matthew Hughes <huesm at aol.com> wrote:

> I would second on Ptel as I have it for my gsm AT&T Motorola Atrix 2.
> $40/month for unlimited talk/text, 250mb at 4g and then unlimited edge.
> Where I live in greenfield it is edge but Sq.Hill and Shadyside are 4g and
> iirc downtown is too. if you google MVNO you will find several lists of
> them but you will need tmo or at&t as they are GSM and sprint/verison are
> CDMA, as is Solvie.
> tmo was having a sale on sim cards 99 cents and ptel had free phone and sim
> if you buy a month of service on the website.(still there).www.ptel.com
>
> I read slickdeals.net a lot and if you don't talk a lot the $30 tmo plan
> is
> the cheapest out there.
>
> My guess is it will not be hard to open the phone.
> registering the sim was not difficult and if they want you to pay some
> activation walk away.
> also howard forums will have something to say.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 23, 2013 at 8:13 AM, Justin Smith <justin at js-wordsmith.com
> >wrote:
>
> > 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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>
>
>
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