New user, thinking about switching to Verizon + Droid

[Keiser]

Hey there everyone! I'm a long time prepaid user from AT&T using an LG Xenon right now. I typically spend $15-$20 a month on prepaid as I don't really call that much, average < 10 texts a day but love my data usage and mobile web surfing. I am definitely an NFL fan.

I've been wanting a smartphone/iPhone but AT&T does not offer any smartphones for prepaid. Recently I read that Verizon will be offering smartphones and Droids on prepaid, so now I'm salivating. I would actually prefer a Droid vs iPhone as I'm a power PC user for sure and love to fiddle.

Likes about my Xenon:
Full screen touch screen Full qwerty keyboard (it's a slide out)
Decent web viewing. It's serviceable for fantasy football and random googling/google maps.
Great battery life. I'm not constantly using it so it can last a couple days between charges.

Dislike:
Web viewing is only serviceable. Opera Mini landscape view bugs out, so I MUST use portrait.
Whole phone/touchscreen seems sluggish, not surprising as it's Java based. Occasionally hangs for several seconds before becoming responsive again.
Google maps does not support the touchscreen on my phone, and it is pretty slow transferring data.
Actually all data transfer seems sluggish and can occasionally hang while loading pages (without the phone itself becoming unresponsive), though it is on 3G.

So I'm thinking about heading down to a Verizon location soon and seeing what the hubbub is about on prepaid. I would pay $30/mo for unlimited data on a quality phone as long as I don't HAVE to pay for unlimited voice/texts, which I would not use very much. $45/mo total would be doable, even though I currently pay 1/3 that. I want the full web experience I get on my PC on my phone, but at a reasonable price.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Comrade General]

From my experience Verizon is much better that AT&T, although a little more expensive. Verizon was much more reliable for me.

And why dont you just take your prepaid sim card and stick it in an iphone? If its jailbroken/unlocked I wouldnt think there would be a problem

 

[Keiser]

From my experience Verizon is much better that AT&T, although a little more expensive. Verizon was much more reliable for me.

And why dont you just take your prepaid sim card and stick it in an iphone? If its jailbroken/unlocked I wouldnt think there would be a problem

iPhones on AT&T require an iPhone data plan to be able to function. You can use a prepaid sim, but only for voice and text.

Even if the data worked, the unlimited data package was removed from prepaid options, and it's no good having an awesome smartphone if you are getting reamed on data usage.

Reference:
Re: Using a prepaid Sim card in the iPhone 3GS - AT&T Wireless Community

Basically AT&T has made it as difficult as possible to have prepaid and still enjoy the gadget you own. If any company can get me what I want at a reasonable price I will happily jump ship for them. It's not even a matter of cost for AT&T, they simply won't do it. iDEN networks need not apply, however

 

[Comrade General]

Actually you can get around having the manditory data plan. I had an iphone for a short while before I got my milestone and I jailbroke and unlocked it so I could bypass activating it and all that. I used it as a phone and on wifi. Never did have the data plan

 

[Keiser]

Were you on contract but no data plan, prepaid with like a 100MB package, or are you saying you didn't pay for data at all and only connected to a router via wifi?

 

[mwhartman]

OP, I was a customer of VZW for over eight years. I had fantastic service. When the iPhone 3G was released, I switched to AT&T. What a mistake. I dropped more calls in seven months with AT&T than the eight years with VZW.

Smart phones open a window to the World. However, for me, first and foremost, they are phones. If I can't make or receive calls then the value of the device drastically diminishes.

For me, VZW is a better carrier! Their 3G network is superior as well, in my opinion.

 

[Comrade General]

Were you on contract but no data plan, prepaid with like a 100MB package, or are you saying you didn't pay for data at all and only connected to a router via wifi?

Yes I was on a contract with no data plan. The only way I could get internet was via wifi. But that didnt bother me because I didnt want to pay the extra 30 a month plus I had an original iphone and EDGE is kinda slow