Want to upgrade to Smart Phone for data, what are my options?

[lesamourai]

I'm a long time T-Mo prepaid customer (gold) with a nice number I want to keep. I'm currently using a cheap Nokia and want to upgrade to a smart phone so I can surf the web and check emails on the go. What are my options as I have voice only under my current prepaid plan? I don't talk much on my phone and just want to surf the web on the fly. Thanks!

[adam1991]

T-mo's web site has all the options listed. How much web surfing do you want to do? Do you want to do any texting? Do you want to stay with the prepaid model, or do you want to do a contract/postpaid model?

Prepaid/no contract plan info:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

No contract phone info:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phones

I just read an article that talks about how people are going to prepaid overall for all carriers, for a number of reasons. To me, it makes sense; I have zero reason to be held to a contract. But, if you want a contract/postpaid setup, t-mo offers those as well:

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/i...ual-plans.aspx


A very popular plan is the new-activations-only, web- or walmart-only $30/month plan that gives unlimited web (first 5GB at 4G speeds), unlimited text, and 100 minutes voice. Yes, it's new activations only, but if you poke around here you can find out how people have moved their numbers over to that plan once activated.

You buy your own phone or bring your own phone to the prepaid plans. I think t-mo's web prices are high; find a phone you like anywhere, new or used, and bring it to the party. For example, t-mo sells the Samsung Exhibit II for $250, while walmart and amazon have it for $190. Used, it's about $100. That's just one example (and for $100, it's a fine phone).


If 100 minutes of voice isn't enough, you can simply pay t-mo's ten cents/minute overage as you use them, or you can use some VoIP mechanism to make calls using your huge data allowance. I use Vonage Mobile.

[lesamourai]

Is Walmart $30/month the cheapest no contract plan out there with unlimited web?

What will happen to my remaining balance of my current prepaid plan when I move my number to the new plan?

Can I use iPhone with T-Mo prepaid 4G?

[adam1991]

Yes, it's the cheapest. It also gives you the most 4G data, by far.

I don't know what happens with your remaining balance, because *technically* you can't move your number over. You'll have to ask customer service. I would hope that they'd simply move that balance over.

You can use iPhone, but it's not 4G speeds. Right now, iPhone is not the best choice for t-mo.

[sjv]

T-mo's web site has all the options listed. How much web surfing do you want to do? Do you want to do any texting? Do you want to stay with the prepaid model, or do you want to do a contract/postpaid model?

Prepaid/no contract plan info:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

No contract phone info:

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phones

I just read an article that talks about how people are going to prepaid overall for all carriers, for a number of reasons. To me, it makes sense; I have zero reason to be held to a contract. But, if you want a contract/postpaid setup, t-mo offers those as well:

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/i...ual-plans.aspx


A very popular plan is the new-activations-only, web- or walmart-only $30/month plan that gives unlimited web (first 5GB at 4G speeds), unlimited text, and 100 minutes voice. Yes, it's new activations only, but if you poke around here you can find out how people have moved their numbers over to that plan once activated.

You buy your own phone or bring your own phone to the prepaid plans. I think t-mo's web prices are high; find a phone you like anywhere, new or used, and bring it to the party. For example, t-mo sells the Samsung Exhibit II for $250, while walmart and amazon have it for $190. Used, it's about $100. That's just one example (and for $100, it's a fine phone).


If 100 minutes of voice isn't enough, you can simply pay t-mo's ten cents/minute overage as you use them, or you can use some VoIP mechanism to make calls using your huge data allowance. I use Vonage Mobile.

I saw a discussion about the Vonage Mobile option elsewhere and am interested. My phone and SIM should arrive early this week so I will be giving this a go. Is Vonage Mobile available via Google Play? How's the voice quality?

[adam1991]

yes, Vonage Mobile is in Google Play. Voice quality is excellent, if you have good data signal.

Even when they start charging for it down the road, it probably beats the t-mo ten cents/minute by a good margin. My strategy is, use VM for outdialing and reserve your minutes for incoming calls and bad data signal areas. If you're going to be more than a minute on an inbound call, excuse yourself and call the person back using VM if you have good coverage.

[sjv]

yes, Vonage Mobile is in Google Play. Voice quality is excellent, if you have good data signal.

Even when they start charging for it down the road, it probably beats the t-mo ten cents/minute by a good margin. My strategy is, use VM for outdialing and reserve your minutes for incoming calls and bad data signal areas. If you're going to be more than a minute on an inbound call, excuse yourself and call the person back using VM if you have good coverage.

makes sense. I am keeping a PagePlus phone as a backup since I have cheap minutes on it and may use it periodically if I think I need to make a longer phone call. I like the idea of doing it cheaply with Vonage though since there'd be no swapping phones. We'll see. Its rare that I go over 100 anyway which is why this plan seems like a great fit for me. It seems like a hidden gem actually because people seem to think they need unlimited talk minutes which most don't really.

[adam1991]

yes, my wife also has her PP phone with plenty of funding in the account for exactly the same reason.

Actually, she still has it mostly because we just made the leap to t-mo a couple of weeks ago, and there's still plenty of money on it. Also, it's handy for having some alternate VZW coverage if needed. Plus, this whole smartphone thing is an experiment; she may decide we don't need to spend even the $30/month on it.

[lesamourai]

You can use iPhone, but it's not 4G speeds. Right now, iPhone is not the best choice for t-mo.

What's the best T-Mo compatible 4G phone at the moment?

[adam1991]

Look at their selection, and pick one.

I'm not up on Google's unlocked offering, but that may also work.

[sjv]

What's the best T-Mo compatible 4G phone at the moment?

If you don't mind locking into tmo then I'd say the HTC One S. If you want to keep your options open with possible switch to att with the same phone then the unlocked galaxy nexus Gsm is a good choice.