Alternative cell phones/plans suggestions

[Xtreme Barton]

I hate the fact that phone carriers push so hard on new phones and boast 4g features when they dont even have 4g coverage ..cough cough CRICKET !! for the average joe you just might get duped into buying a phone like that ..



beings I have wifi and just about every place I visit has it too I think Im gonna drop my android to the 35 plan .. unlimited talk n text .. things I wont get obviously are web access and pic messaging .. but who needs that when you have wifi ? instead of pic messaging me to my phone number people will just have to send it to my email .. big whoop .. only thing I may miss would be the simple internet browsing .. but if I plan ahead I can put tons of songs and videos to keep me entertained for the short time Im with out .. def worth saving another 120+ a year

 

[ssjwizard]

So just a small update here, I placed an order for my Motorola Defy XT Dual Band phone at around 1am this morning and got an email that it had been shipped around 11am this morning. The initial cost was $259 + 10 setup fee + local taxes and junk. All said and done It cost me just shy of $300 but the first month of service is included and the monthly bill after taxes and such should be about $23 in my area. Ill report back on the topic after I have the phone and get an opportunity to use it.

 

[Xtreme Barton]

now thats a killer deal especially if your not into 4G (which I have no interest because of WiFi)

makes for a great savings .. if I switched over and bought the phone and paid a full year Id be 20.00 over my current bill .. but the following year Id save over 230.00 !! plus a new phone with better specs than my current one

congrats and def keep us/me updated when you get it

 

[ssjwizard]

So I just got the phone charged and activated a few minutes ago. The feel of the phone is very different from my last smart phone but thats IS a good thing. It definitely isnt as sturdy as say a first gen driod with its armored casing, but it feels solid. Im about to import my contacts from my old phone and give it a few tests while Im out and about picking up the accessories I should have ordered from the cell company.....

I have made 2 outbound cell network calls sofar and It kinda tripped me up a bit not being able to dial 7 digit numbers, but thats really not a big deal. Ill only need to update a handful of contacts.

 

[ssjwizard]

So I have been using the phone in and out of the house for the last few days and overall I am pretty satisfied. The phone is responsive, and the battery life is decent. I keep forgetting to turn off WiFi when Im out of the house so that doesn't help with battery, but I get 1-2 days of moderately heavy use before I need to charge.

The cell network isn't to fast near my home which I knew in advance. I was unable to join the first beta due to the limited implementation of the higher band, and had to wait until the dual band phone was available. It is pretty reliable though, Ive had maybe 1 call drop while out of the house.

WiFi calling is very intuitive just setup each of the networks you use and it will auto connect. I haven't tested to see if it will auto transition a call but while streaming music on the WiFi I can hop in the car and drive to the store and not miss a beat.

The bluetooth is fast but not as high powered as the antenna in my last phone. I can safely set my phone on the kitchen counter with my headphones on and go anywhere in the house without issue though.

OTHER NOTES

So this is just a few things Ive noticed sofar that are less than positive. The rear of the phone is very smooth and slightly convex, I have had it slide off the counter more than once so far.

WiFi calling voice quality is not always perfect. One call I made the other party experienced an echo for several minutes while we were speaking. It did smooth out part way though the conversation though.

The camera quality is meh at best. Of course my wifes nice DSLR has set the bar pretty high. Image below taken from the phones camera in good lighting.