Prepaid android, NO IDEA where to start? What phone to get? What service Provider?

[samak]

What is a decent prepaid service with Android that offers a data plan?
There are way too many phones and services available and I have NO IDEA where to even start looking.
I am thinking about getting the LG optimus elite with virgin mobile
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-...ite-phone.jsp#

But I am open to all suggestions!

1) What PHONE do you recommend? I just need a basic smart phone with a data plan, looking to spend around $200 for the phone.


2) What prepaid service/carrier do you recommend? T-mobile, Virgin Mobile, other?
What service/carrier offers an HONEST and decent data plan?

Virgin mobile says this about one of their unlimited plans:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-...ite-phone.jsp#
They say "All plans include 2.5GB/month of full speed data." Does that really mean full speed data, or do they start to slow you down after you use up the first 1 GB?

Do most of the phone providers start to throttle your data once you reach past a certain point? How high is that point before they start to throttle your data, 1 GB?


After typing my question, i found this post:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...ated-3-20-2012)
see section 5:[5]: Who are the major MVNOs and how do they differ from one another?

That seems to answer a lot of my questions. But I still dont know what to choose. I wonder why anyone would choose an MVNO, when the main phone carriers seem to offer the same or better prices?

[HF305]

The first step in choosing any cell service is to make sure their network will cover you at home, work, and wherever else you are likely to travel. Virgin and T-Mobile are the price leaders but their coverage is limited.

Virgin's data is always slow. Few even notice when throttling kicks in, the "full speed" is typically slower than the limit to begin with. T-Mobile gives you a full honest 5 GB which will be fast, if you have the coverage. For 3G / 4G speeds on T-Mobile you need specific phone models. Unlocked former AT&T phones will only work at 2G speed due to hardware frequency band limitations.

[vmobi]

Wirelessly posted (Virgin Mobile: Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/7.0.29952/27.1993; U; en) Presto/2.8.119 Version/11.10)

What is a decent prepaid service with Android that offers a data plan?
There are way too many phones and services available and I have NO IDEA where to even start looking.
I am thinking about getting the LG optimus elite with virgin mobile
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-...ite-phone.jsp#

But I am open to all suggestions!

1) What PHONE do you recommend? I just need a basic smart phone with a data plan, looking to spend around $200 for the phone.


2) What prepaid service/carrier do you recommend? T-mobile, Virgin Mobile, other?
What service/carrier offers an HONEST and decent data plan?

Virgin mobile says this about one of their unlimited plans:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-...ite-phone.jsp#
They say "All plans include 2.5GB/month of full speed data." Does that really mean full speed data, or do they start to slow you down after you use up the first 1 GB?

Do most of the phone providers start to throttle your data once you reach past a certain point? How high is that point before they start to throttle your data, 1 GB?


After typing my question, i found this post:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...ated-3-20-2012)
see section 5:[5]: Who are the major MVNOs and how do they differ from one another?

That seems to answer a lot of my questions. But I still dont know what to choose. I wonder why anyone would choose an MVNO, when the main phone carriers seem to offer the same or better prices?

Start by determining which phone best meets your smartphone needs/wants.
what do you intend to do with your smartphone? Stream movies, surf the web, messaging, etc, etc.

Then determine which network has the best coverage in your areas of primary use.

Find out if you have access to open WiFi networks or if you will depend on your cell phones network for your primary data needs.

Compare your network options.
Do you need 4G speeds? Will a 3G network provide enough performance for your needs? Not all 3G network experiences can be attributed to the network itself. A 3G evdo rev.0 device is slower than a 3G evdo rev.A device., etc., etc. Once you determine which device and network best fits your real needs, then explore the various mvno options available on your chosen network. Some mvno's have exceptionally affordable all inclusive service rates, while others may be focused on providing great rates for low usage subscribers. Be sure to visit your chosen networks mvno/prepaid forum here on Howard Forums and browse the various rants and raves for each.

[samak]

I narrowed down the choices to these two prepaid Android phones from t-mobile:

1 - Huawei Prism (T-mobile prepaid)
price: $130
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3697


2- Samsung Exhibit II 4G (T-mobile prepaid)
price $175
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3506



Do you think any of these will be a good choice?

[samak]

Wirelessly posted (Virgin Mobile: Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/7.0.29952/27.1993; U; en) Presto/2.8.119 Version/11.10)
Once you determine which device and network best fits your real needs, then explore the various mvno options available on your chosen network. Some mvno's have exceptionally affordable all inclusive service rates, while others may be focused on providing great rates for low usage subscribers. Be sure to visit your chosen networks mvno/prepaid forum here on Howard Forums and browse the various rants and raves for each.

I will only need to surf the web in areas where there is no WiFi.

I will look more into the MVNO/Prepaid forum that you mentioned. I just briefly looked at it, but so far I don't seem to know any benefits of using MVNO?

I found this on another post here:
"[1.2]: What is a MVNO?

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (“MVNO”) is a company that offers mobile telephone services by reselling the mobile services of another carrier, usually with certain limitations, but at a lower cost. In the U.S., there are MVNOs that resell AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon services at a lower cost than you can obtain service directly from any of them."
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...ated-3-20-2012

So why will someone want to get the service with certain limitations? Maybe an MVNO is not for me because I really need a data plan in order to access internet when there is no WiFi. I don't really care about any of the other talk or text features at all.

If I do get prepaid with T-mobile for example, and I want more data, will I be able to buy some service from another MVNO at the same time? For example, can I buy this "Red Pocket 10MB Data Refill PIN" if I need extra and want to see how their service is?
http://goredpocket.com/unlimited-refills/rg0.html


The reason I am thinking about going with t-mobile prepaid is I heard that virgin mobile is known to be slow.