Any info on the new phones?

**adam1991** · 05-03-2012, 12:20 PM

It seems T-Mo has caught my attention with their Samsung Exhibit II for $199, and then $30/month--all up, all in--for unlimited text and web and 100 minutes of voice.

Reviews are great for the Exhibit II, and it's a nice price. I can even find one used for $150.

I'm dying to know what the RW mid-range phone is going to be, and/or how it will compare to the Exhibit II--other than being a hundred dollars more expensive. I'm happy to pay for value.

I used to think RW was a no-brainer, but now I'm re-thinking things. Or am I going down a wrong path here?

Wave J here, just waiting. This is for my wife, who is on a very cheap prepaid voice-only phone setup. She wants to join the modern world, but neither of us thinks that the standard Big Three smartphone programs are worth that kind of money. When I heard of RW last year, I was excited. I guess I wasn't paying attention at all to everything that's out there, and now I'm (over)analyzing things.

**MobileBoost** · 05-03-2012, 04:00 PM

I'm in wave E or F. I haven't heard any info about upcoming phones yet. Thankfully since my wave is out a ways I'm sure we will know them from the earlier wave people.

I'm hoping for phones such as the newer Evo 4G and such since the other sprint MVNO's are getting their 4G, it's possible that RW will to match Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

I have a Galaxy S2 currently. It would be painful to have to downgrade to an old phone especially one that isn't running ICS! That alone may make me not pick up one of the phones on RW.

**whatcoverage** · 05-07-2012, 02:49 PM

I've seen that T-Mobile plan, but the wifi connection is needed to make any phone work at my house.
Just what are the best choices that give lots of texting when you don't need that many voice minutes.
We've got 4 PP phones now and mixed results depending on which family member. Teens love to text as all parents know by now.

**MobileBoost** · 05-08-2012, 01:22 AM

It depends heavily on your location to find out with prepaid companies will work the best for you. In my area T-mobile has good coverage by me, but has NO coverage in a state university town just 20 minutes away. Without coverage there, it makes their phones completely useless, which is why almost no one uses T-mobile in SE WI

**whatcoverage** · 05-08-2012, 09:20 AM

I agree. Once you're outside a big city, its a challenge. My house is in a shadow behind a hill from the tower so our street can only text. Voice won't work inside whether its ATT, Verizon or anyone else. Coverage is pretty good for many choices once you drive around the corner.

**clocks11** · 05-10-2012, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by adam1991

I used to think RW was a no-brainer, but now I'm re-thinking things. Or am I going down a wrong path here?

RW sucks, plain and simple. I recently switched back to TMO after trying RW for a few months. Slow speeds, inconsistent service (some days you can't make calls), non-existent customer support (no phone #, and they don't answer 75% of their emails). Also, RW nails you with massive taxes. The after tax difference between them and TMO is about $7. TMOs $30 plan is more than worth the price difference.

**MobileBoost** · 05-11-2012, 12:14 AM

Tmobile's 30 dollar plan only has 100 minutes, no service in the largest town near me, so they are pointless for someone who owns a business and talks to customers on the phone in an office without wifi and on the go.

**speedlever** · 05-11-2012, 06:27 AM

Well, the gap between the happy and the uphappy is pretty huge.

**Ian** · 05-11-2012, 10:56 AM

If T-Mobile went back and offered voip calls over wifi connections with the $30 dollar plan they would likely have a winner and be extremely stiff competition.... But not likely to happen......??????

**CTRobinson** · 05-11-2012, 06:20 PM

I just received an email from Republic "Re-confirming your Beta Wave":

This is a re-confirmation of your Beta Wave assignment for republic wireless. You're in Beta Wave B.

The Waves will open in phases over the course of this summer. When your Wave opens, you’ll have one week to join republic wireless. Now that you know your wave assignment, here’s what’s next:

You can keep an eye on republicwireless.com/beta-waves for info on when your Beta Wave can place orders and when you can expect to receive your phone.
When it’s time for your Wave to purchase, you’ll be notified a week or more in advance by email.
At that point, you’ll have one week to place your order and pay your startup fee. Your order will be processed and shipped based on when you paid.
Still have questions about how it works? Check out our Beta Waves FAQ.

We look forward to seeing you in republic wireless soon!

Yours,

republic wireless

No mention of the new phones though

**rjwilcox** · 06-05-2012, 04:30 PM

My son has the T-Mobile $30 plan and it has been a nightmare! Every month there has been an issue. Off the top of my head I can remember the following issues: applying the wrong $30 plan so the phone stops working after allotted minutes, charging for a long distant phone call for no reason which caused the phone to stop working, once the 100 minutes of talk is gone you cannot make or receive calls so my son added a new card a day early (like someone on a $30 Straight Talk plan would do); after the card was added he was able to make calls but the next day his phone would not work. T-Mobile charged 10 cents a minute (without informing us) for the call he made the day before because it was before the 30 days was up.
Every month we spend hours trying to get the phone to work and customer support is beyond bad. I would think long and hard before I went with T Mobile.
I was looking at the Exhibit II, as well, but for the $40 Simple Mobile (which I believe is owned by Straight Talk) plan. My sister uses Simple Mobile and has not had any issues.

**MobileBoost** · 06-06-2012, 01:20 PM

That's common with many companies that do anything on a monthly basis. The contract is for 30 days and 100 minutes. I mean no disrespect to you, but a contract is a contract. The contract lasts for 30 days on that plan with Tmobile. I'd recommend a different plan if you even plan on using the minutes. Most people use google voice and such with that plan or they actually don't talk on the phone.

**clocks11** · 06-07-2012, 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by rjwilcox

Every month we spend hours trying to get the phone to work and customer support is beyond bad. I would think long and hard before I went with T Mobile.

If you think Tmo customer service is bad, you have not dealt with RW customer service much. I've dealt with both, and hands down RW is worse.

**MobileBoost** · 06-08-2012, 02:12 AM

After my first port delay, I NEVER port. I always get a new phone number and inform everyone of the new one. Since then I've never had to talk to CS in a decade

I've been with around 6 companies in that time frame.

**sjv** · 06-08-2012, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by rjwilcox

My son has the T-Mobile $30 plan and it has been a nightmare! Every month there has been an issue. Off the top of my head I can remember the following issues: applying the wrong $30 plan so the phone stops working after allotted minutes, charging for a long distant phone call for no reason which caused the phone to stop working, once the 100 minutes of talk is gone you cannot make or receive calls so my son added a new card a day early (like someone on a $30 Straight Talk plan would do); after the card was added he was able to make calls but the next day his phone would not work. T-Mobile charged 10 cents a minute (without informing us) for the call he made the day before because it was before the 30 days was up.
Every month we spend hours trying to get the phone to work and customer support is beyond bad. I would think long and hard before I went with T Mobile.
I was looking at the Exhibit II, as well, but for the $40 Simple Mobile (which I believe is owned by Straight Talk) plan. My sister uses Simple Mobile and has not had any issues.

Just for a little balance to this post. I have dealt with customer service with many companies over the past year and TMO is hands down the best so either this guy had a bad conversation with someone or just had a bad rep but honestly, if you have complaints about TMO its not usually about their customer service.

I tried that plan/phone for 2 weeks to see if I liked Android and whether TMO would work for me. I had no problems with the phone or TMO but just decided to go with a cheap talk&text plan from PP at the time ($7/mo). I am actually considering keeping my PP minutes as backup and going back to the TMO $30 plan. Its also a BYOD plan now so you are not limited to the Exhibit II which I found kind of cheap with a plastic backing and limited memory. I'd look on ebay for a used higher model or kind of splurge for the Google Nexus for $399. But you know, you get what you pay for.

TMO works fine where I live. Sprint is worse.