Help deciding on phone and carrier, have a conundrum! (Iphone 4, Galaxy S, Evo 4G)

[macdady]

Hey folks, I've been a customer with T-Mobile for the past 7 years or so, and my 2 year plan is about to expire in a week or two. I've been mulling over my options and have narrowed it down to these 4 (though I'm open to other suggestions).

I have a few options I am considering:

1) IPHONE 4 (T-Mobile) PLAN: Staying with T-Mobile month to month, and hoping to get an Iphone 4 (when they become jailbreakable) for a reasonable price. I'd continue my (about) $60 grandfathered plan, and have the option to transfer to another service at any time with no ETF. Total costs would be $70 per month for plan (but with the ability to cancel at any time) and probably around $500-$600 for the phone.

2) SAMSUNG GALAXY S PLAN: Upgrading next month to the Samsung Galaxy S, getting a discounted price by renewing my T-Mobile plan for another 2 years and hoping they let me keep my current plan or change me to some android plan that is comparable. Costs would be $70 per month for plan and probably around $200 for the phone.

3) IPHONE 4 (ATT) PLAN: Id switch to AT&T and start a new contract with them. Downsides would be a $100+ plan per month, and having to put down a $300 deposit, plus the $200 for the phone.

4) EVO 4G PLAN: I can switch to my families family plan on Sprint, pay $35 a month for service comparable to what I have now with T-Mobile (around 500 minutes w/ unlimited data and messages) and get the EVO 4G. Costs would be $35 per month for the plan and $300 ($200 after mail in rebate) for the phone.

(EDIT) I suppose another option would be to purchase a Nexus One without a contract and go month to month with T-Mobile.

I was originally leaning switching to AT&T for the Iphone 4 (plan 3) but then realized that over the course of the 2 year plan I'd end up nearly spending $2000 more then if I switched to Sprint.

I've only owned Blackberries and the Iphone when it comes to smartphones, and definately enjoy Apples UI, but have only heard good things about Android even though I haven't tried it myself. The major use will be texting, browsing the web, and gaming every now and then.

Sorry for rambling! Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me pull the trigger on one of these.

 

[2confused]

First decide which carrier has the coverage where you need it - where you live, work, travel and play. Then pick a phone.

IMHO, if you are happy with TMO and they have the coverage everywhere you need it, then why switch to another carrier?

 

[mondex]

T-Mobile's coverage is good in my area, but not as good as Sprint or AT&T. The main things tempting me to switch are the Iphone 4 and the super low monthly cost if I switched to my parents family plan on Sprint.

After thinking about it more I'm taking out the Iphone 4 on AT&T as an option, as I really dont want to spend $100+ a month.

Right now on T-Mobile I have the My-Faves 300 plan ($40) and Unlimited Messaging and Data ($20). If i can find a cheaper month to month plan, I'll probably just pick up an Iphone 4 (jailbroken) or Nexus One at full price and stick with T-Mobile. If the Samsung Galaxy S gets amazing reviews and people say its far removed from the spotty quality that Samsungs lately been known for, then maybe I would consider signing a 2 year plan again.

The $35 a month that it would cast to add another line (the evo 4) to my parents plan is just so much cheaper overall, and I'd def save quite a chunk of change over the next 2 years compared to if I stayed with T-mobile or switched to AT&T.

If I could find a decent deal on a Nexus One without a plan I think my decision would almost be made for me, but those seem to be few and far between. Maybe if they start carrying the N1 in retail stores soon some new deals might start coming out.

 

[cody ttc# 1]

Yeah, definitely check coverage first; if you're in the San Francisco Bay area or New York City, AT&T is still likely a bad idea. In most other areas, you'll be fine with them. Check coverage maps for Sprint and Verizon, too, and ask friends or neighbors what their service is like.

If you have access to all four, I'd skip on jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone 4 on T-Mobile. Buying a phone you don't know will work properly on the network, and which won't have 3G if it does, isn't such a hot idea.

The Galaxy S could be a very slick phone, but there's a caveat: so far, Samsung is notorious for abandoning Android phones after they reach the market. Just ask anyone who bought a Behold II on T-Mobile several months ago and who will never get an update past Android 1.6 (which came out around when the Behold shipped). Don't be surprised if the Galaxy S is stuck on Android 2.1 or 2.2 for most of its useful life.

To me, the Evo 4G is too big and too power hungry to really be effective. What about the Droid Incredible (or in a few weeks, the Droid X) on Verizon? Similar experience, but longer runtime and just newer technology all around.

The iPhone 4 should be a great device, but you'd definitely need to keep your plan in check. How much do you use text messaging and voice? You could probably get away with the 450 minutes on AT&T, and if you're not a heavy text messager, $5 extra for 200 messages a month would be fine. That's $70 total before the usual taxes.

 

[profepix]

Not true. The Samsung Galaxy Spica got its Android 2.1 update, though you have to connect on a PC and use Samsung's desktop software to update it. Pretty normal for everyone else, but un-Android like. Still it counts as an upgrade.

Samsung Omnia HD had quite a few corrective Symbian OS update fixes in its lifetime.

The Behold II had a problem on its updates because of its limited hardware. That's not going to happen on the Galaxy S, which among other things, has a 1.85gb of internal memory to store more than the updates.

Having used, sorry, own a Galaxy S now, I recommend it despite the tacky iPhone like casing, battery charging, buttons and TouchWiz. And also there is something about Samsung and its neon colors.

Why I recommend the Samsung Galaxy S?

You honestly won't believe the screen unless you see it for yourself. The brights are brighter, the darks are darker, the colors are more color than even the Nexus One and yet, has no pixellations, meaning its as sharp as the Droid.

The touch screen is smooth and precise, and I dare say so, more than the Nexus One. I may give it the edge over other HTC phones that are closely related to the Nexus One using the same screen (Desire and Droid Incredible).

~~Mobile Wifi Spot~~ (Same one put on the Samsung Wave [Bada OS] and it works).

1.85gb of internal memory for your apps, plus 16gb SD built in, and an extra SD slot empty. I got 20gb of mine after putting a spare 4gb SD. Dunno what the EVO or Droid Incredible has, but some of these HTC Android-Sense phones are rather pitiful (less than 200mb) of internal memory to store apps. Hopefully the Droid Incredible and EVO will be much higher than that.

The animations are very smooth. I suspect the Galaxy S is set on a higher frame rate per second ceiling than some of these HTC phones.

While the UI is tacky, it does have its advantages, including what I feel is the best themed implementation and modification of the Android notification bar---it includes Wifi, Bluetooth and Brightness settings.

It comes with a whole load of widgets. One widget is the very equivalent of the HTC FriendStream / Peep. Except it does native retweets (Twitter). Another, if you download this from Samsung's own App store, which is included on the phone, is Samsung's own Android Facebook app. Its different from the official Facebook for Android app, and it has its own special perk: it can upload videos or take, record and upload live video recording from the app directly.


Disadvantage:

Its big, longer than an iPhone but the same width. First time I saw it, I thought it was an iPhone. After a while it feels like a big flat plate. Yes, its thin.

Battery life is not that good either, even with a 1500mah battery.

There is a tacky aesthetic quality in the UI which contrasts in great spirit, to lets say, the UI of the Xperia X10, which feels cool and elegant.

Samsung has no qualms putting advertising on the phone for the carrier. Mine has an ad when the phone boots up, and another ad shows when the phone is powered down. However, this differs from carrier to carrier, so your experience on T-Mobile would not be the same.