I have a idea, perhaps a goal of eventually migrating away from Verizon.
I want to be able to buy a smart phone which works with all carriers except Verizon (because Verizon makes it so), and get all Google upgrades immediately.
I am tired of Verizon's tricks. To use Verizon's network one must buy a Verizon phone which is purposely programmed to not work, or at least issue SIM warnings when used on any competitor's network. Verizon's LTE and Sprint's LTE use different frequencies and are technically incompatible in other ways. Verizon has purchased new frequencies to further make their future network and phones unique and incompatible with any other system.
The worst is waiting so many months to get Verizon to bless and release updates. And when a Verizon phone becomes two years old it will likely never get more updates. Apple products keep getting updates far longer than Verizon phones, though I admit Apple doesn't do this for their oldest products.
I can see in my future: the latest Google nexus phone purchased directly from Google which gets timely updates downloadable from Google. Uses the global GSM standard, works on every network in the world except Verizon.
The nexus phone doesn't need to be the best phone in the world. The network I use doesn't have to be the fastest or most pervasive one. It just needs to have good coverage where I live and work.
I have a four phase approach:
1. Buy a T-Mobile SIM card and get my rezound working with it. preferrably with a slightly modified stock ics, but if necessary then with a GSM ROM.
2. Evaluate if T-Mobile has good enough coverage. I suspect voice and text coverage will be good, and good data will depend on what city one lives in. I might kick my daughter off the Verizon family plan, replace her flip-phone with an unlocked GSM one from Walmart and hear from her how good or bad the coverage is.
3. When my Verizon contract expires move my rezound to T-Mobile.
4. Sell my rezound on swappa and buy the soon to be announced Samsung galaxy nexus II directly from Google.
I want to be able to buy a smart phone which works with all carriers except Verizon (because Verizon makes it so), and get all Google upgrades immediately.
I am tired of Verizon's tricks. To use Verizon's network one must buy a Verizon phone which is purposely programmed to not work, or at least issue SIM warnings when used on any competitor's network. Verizon's LTE and Sprint's LTE use different frequencies and are technically incompatible in other ways. Verizon has purchased new frequencies to further make their future network and phones unique and incompatible with any other system.
The worst is waiting so many months to get Verizon to bless and release updates. And when a Verizon phone becomes two years old it will likely never get more updates. Apple products keep getting updates far longer than Verizon phones, though I admit Apple doesn't do this for their oldest products.
I can see in my future: the latest Google nexus phone purchased directly from Google which gets timely updates downloadable from Google. Uses the global GSM standard, works on every network in the world except Verizon.
The nexus phone doesn't need to be the best phone in the world. The network I use doesn't have to be the fastest or most pervasive one. It just needs to have good coverage where I live and work.
I have a four phase approach:
1. Buy a T-Mobile SIM card and get my rezound working with it. preferrably with a slightly modified stock ics, but if necessary then with a GSM ROM.
2. Evaluate if T-Mobile has good enough coverage. I suspect voice and text coverage will be good, and good data will depend on what city one lives in. I might kick my daughter off the Verizon family plan, replace her flip-phone with an unlocked GSM one from Walmart and hear from her how good or bad the coverage is.
3. When my Verizon contract expires move my rezound to T-Mobile.
4. Sell my rezound on swappa and buy the soon to be announced Samsung galaxy nexus II directly from Google.
