Phone Advice - T-Mobile

Z

Zip.Doo

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Feb 4, 2009
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Hi all, I need some help here in making a decision. I'm looking to buy an unlocked smart phone for t-mobile. I've read some issues of most phones not working over 3g on t-mobile due to frequency issues and i'm curious as to which would be a good purchase. I'm planning on keeping with my current no contract plan and just adding data service. Is there an android phone which is capable of using the 3g on t-mobile? Or what have been your experiences using t-mobile and unlocked phones with data service? Any advice or suggestions on this is much appreciated. My budget for any phone is around $600. Thanks
 
nexus one. 3g, unlocked, and fits in your budget. with froyo. it's the awesome.
 
The only ones I can think of are the Nokia N900, which can be had for ~$400 these days (It's pretty bitchin'), and Google's Nexus One, which is a li'l more (Also pretty bitchin').
 
July 21 the Vibrant will be out. $450 no contract, and beats the N1 on specs.
 
Why is it that I feel like t-mobile is so far behind on everything.
 
MrSneis said:
Why is it that I feel like t-mobile is so far behind on everything.
Click to expand...

Um, they aren't.

There's no better phone than the Vibrant once it gets released... The Vibrant's speed will top the iPhone and Evo's.

TMobile also has a dual core phone planned. Nobody else has even hinted at that.

You tell me how that's "far behind"????

Edit- And I'm sure the Nexus Two will be a fantastic device that comes to TMobile, as well. We just don't know squat about it.
 
TexUs said:
Um, they aren't.

There's no better phone than the Vibrant once it gets released... The Vibrant's speed will top the iPhone and Evo's.

TMobile also has a dual core phone planned. Nobody else has even hinted at that.

You tell me how that's "far behind"????

Edit- And I'm sure the Nexus Two will be a fantastic device that comes to TMobile, as well. We just don't know squat about it.
Click to expand...

You can't say a phone is amazing until its actually on the market, thats counting your eggs before that hatch
 
threeDguru said:
You can't say a phone is amazing until its actually on the market, thats counting your eggs before that hatch
Click to expand...

The Galaxy S is already released outside the US- we know what it's capable of.
We also can see by specs how it compares.
We're talking 3D capabilities here... It does it well. It's simply the best that we know of right now, since we don't know anything about the upcoming N2 or dual-core phones.

Now, that said, some people will value screen size, 4G, etc. So best depends who you ask.

The only thing the iPhone has got is their display. Which given the choice, I'd take the AMOLED over the higher resolution IPS any day.
 
As someone mentioned above, the answer to your question is simple.

Get the Nexus One TMo version from Google. I just bought mine a week ago and its about $560-570 with tax and next day FedEx included. At this time, there is no other phone TMo offers that will beat it. Quite recently I have used a Blackberry 9700 (my fave BB so far), HTC HD2 (it really is pretty bad...), and this Nexus One. Unless you absolutely require a physical keyboard, get the N1. I also spent some time setting up my moms MyTouch and it is definitely a bit laggy compared to the 1GHz's of the world, I would not recommend it except to the "average user".

In regards to your question about unlocked phones working on 3G, I believe you will have to find a non-us carrier version of a phone that would use the same 3g band as TMo US. I honestly don't know (you can google it...) if such a carrier even exists. I have seen people with Storms and iPhones on TMo but being limited to EDGE (2G) network.

If you need this now, get the N1. If you can wait, you can check out the Samsung. I am taking the wait and see approach with the Samsung Galaxy S phones because up to this point there has never been a Samsung phone that impressed me, so I am being a bit skeptical about them (or cautious). Then again, if you wait for the Samsung, TMo will probably announce a newer/better phone that will come out soon, and then you can play the waiting game again....just get the N1, you will love it.
 
soul555top said:
As someone mentioned above, the answer to your question is simple.

Get the Nexus One TMo version from Google. I just bought mine a week ago and its about $560-570 with tax and next day FedEx included. At this time, there is no other phone TMo offers that will beat it.
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Except the Vibrant, which is coming out in 20 days for cheaper.
 
TexUs said:
Except the Vibrant, which is coming out in 20 days for cheaper.
Click to expand...

When I said "at this time...." I meant like not the future.

$450 vs $529 w/ included next day FedEx. Others may disagree here, but I will gladly pay $79 to have a device now, with Froyo, and with an LED Flash.

I really like Samsung products, and while I think this new line of Galaxy S phones is pretty cool, I don't see anything that is so amazing that puts them clearly ahead of the other high end offerings (Evo/Incred, i4, N1 etc).

To the OP, if the Galaxy S line of phones really impresses you, then go ahead and wait and be one of the first to own it! If you want something nice, now, go ahead and get that N1.
 
soul555top said:
When I said "at this time...." I meant like not the future.

$450 vs $529 w/ included next day FedEx. Others may disagree here, but I will gladly pay $79 to have a device now, with Froyo, and with an LED Flash.

I really like Samsung products, and while I think this new line of Galaxy S phones is pretty cool, I don't see anything that is so amazing that puts them clearly ahead of the other high end offerings (Evo/Incred, i4, N1 etc).
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There's plenty of people in other threads that've stated they never use LED flash. Personal preference IMO and hardly a deal breaker. Should everyone include one? Yes. Deal breaker if they don't? No.

You're going to pay more money for an inferior device just because it runs later software? Dude, the first week of release the Galaxy is rooted and there's custom ROMs. I'm sure Froyo won't be far behind.


N1 has a 65nm fab, the Galaxy has a 45nm (50% less power consumption)
N1 is 22M triangles/sec the Galaxy can do 90m/sec (Just to compare, the Galaxy tops the PS2/Wii/PSP/DS/etc)
N1 has DDR1, Galaxy has DDR2 (50% less power consumption)
N1 has AMOLED, Galaxy has the Super AMOLED
N1 has BT 2.1, Galaxy has 3.0
N1 doesn't have video out, Galaxy does
Galaxy has a bit bigger battery, that'll also run a bit more efficiently
Galaxy is thinner and lighter


Nothing that puts them ahead of the game, eh?

Edit- it all comes down to "a great devices" versus "an exceptional device".
 
Last edited:
TexUs said:
There's plenty of people in other threads that've stated they never use LED flash. Personal preference IMO and hardly a deal breaker. Should everyone include one? Yes. Deal breaker if they don't? No.

You're going to pay more money for an inferior device just because it runs later software? Dude, the first week of release the Galaxy is rooted and there's custom ROMs. I'm sure Froyo won't be far behind.


N1 has a 65nm fab, the Galaxy has a 45nm (50% less power consumption)
N1 is 22M triangles/sec the Galaxy can do 90m/sec (Just to compare, the Galaxy tops the PS2/Wii/PSP/DS/etc)
N1 has DDR1, Galaxy has DDR2 (50% less power consumption)
N1 has AMOLED, Galaxy has the Super AMOLED
N1 has BT 2.1, Galaxy has 3.0
N1 doesn't have video out, Galaxy does
Galaxy has a bit bigger battery, that'll also run a bit more efficiently
Galaxy is thinner and lighter


Nothing that puts them ahead of the game, eh?

Edit- it all comes down to "a great devices" versus "an exceptional device".
Click to expand...
Don't forget the onboard storage.
 
TexUs said:
There's plenty of people in other threads that've stated they never use LED flash. Personal preference IMO and hardly a deal breaker. Should everyone include one? Yes. Deal breaker if they don't? No.

You're going to pay more money for an inferior device just because it runs later software? Dude, the first week of release the Galaxy is rooted and there's custom ROMs. I'm sure Froyo won't be far behind.


N1 has a 65nm fab, the Galaxy has a 45nm (50% less power consumption)
N1 is 22M triangles/sec the Galaxy can do 90m/sec (Just to compare, the Galaxy tops the PS2/Wii/PSP/DS/etc)
N1 has DDR1, Galaxy has DDR2 (50% less power consumption)
N1 has AMOLED, Galaxy has the Super AMOLED
N1 has BT 2.1, Galaxy has 3.0
N1 doesn't have video out, Galaxy does
Galaxy has a bit bigger battery, that'll also run a bit more efficiently
Galaxy is thinner and lighter


Nothing that puts them ahead of the game, eh?

Edit- it all comes down to "a great devices" versus "an exceptional device".
Click to expand...

i feel like i just watched a iDon't commercial....:D
 
Geez you are making it seem like I am saying that the Galaxy is bad. Let me be very clear, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that none of the things you mentioned are so groundbreaking (in my opinion) that I can hands down say this is the phone to get. You can get something right now, or in the future. I HATE the "waiting game" mentality, something with better specs is always coming out.

The other thing is that I am not sold on Samsung as a high end smartphone maker, not doubting, just unsure. I love their LCD/LED's but they make a crappy Refrigerator. I don't know if I will like the TouchWiz UI...and why does it look so iPhone'ish? I am not really a fan of phone manufacturers UI's covering Android, will this be different? Will Samsung release timely updates to make their UI work with the newest Android updates? Not bashing, again, just unsure. So, back to my original point to the OP, if you need it now you can get the N1, if you can wait, you can check out the Samsung, but don't get stuck playing the waiting game, because I can guarantee within a month there will be another great phone coming out soon with "better specs".

I will be looking forward to seeing you post about the Vibrant when you get yours!
 
Nokia N900 is quite nice. You might be able to get away without paying for the smartphone data plan too (and just using the regular dumbphone one).
 
Awesome info here folks, thanks a lot. Yeah seems like a waiting game or making a decision now. Tough choice to make! the N1 is quite intriguing with Froyo, and the same with the Galaxy.
 
Geez you are making it seem like I am saying that the Galaxy is bad. Let me be very clear, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that none of the things you mentioned are so groundbreaking (in my opinion) that I can hands down say this is the phone to get. You can get something right now, or in the future. I HATE the "waiting game" mentality, something with better specs is always coming out.
Click to expand...

Completely agree, I hate the waiting game, but I can't stand buying something outdated in 3 months. Personally I am waiting for n900's successor(November?).

The op might want to look at anandtech's website for a comprehensive look at the n900.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3764/two-omap-3430-phones-nokia-n900-and-motorola-droid
 
I wouldn't get the Galaxy S until I knew that it could be rooted and have custom roms installed. I hate how Samsung skinned Android and is the sole reason I'm not even considering the phone.
 
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