No Contract, so I can get ANY Droid - which one?

[Irishdoom]

Yeah, that's already factoring in the discounts I get. Verizon gives me 15% and AT&T 17%. Verizon does NOT discount the $20 for tethering, where AT&T does, as it's part of the data plan, not an add-on. I get a discount at Sprint as well, but it's only 10%. I haven't been able to determine if T-Mobile offers anything, but just their regular price is almost the lowest.

 

[stump1000]

Yeah, that's already factoring in the discounts I get. Verizon gives me 15% and AT&T 17%. Verizon does NOT discount the $20 for tethering, where AT&T does, as it's part of the data plan, not an add-on. I get a discount at Sprint as well, but it's only 10%. I haven't been able to determine if T-Mobile offers anything, but just their regular price is almost the lowest.

Tethering is free at VZW. Tbolt+Root+Barnacle. Free!

 

[Irishdoom]

Yeah, that's already factoring in the discounts I get. Verizon gives me 15% and AT&T 17%. Verizon does NOT discount the $20 for tethering, where AT&T does, as it's part of the data plan, not an add-on. I get a discount at Sprint as well, but it's only 10%. I haven't been able to determine if T-Mobile offers anything, but just their regular price is almost the lowest.

Tethering is free at VZW. Tbolt+Root+Barnacle. Free!

TBH I'm a bit of a boy scout when it comes to this kind of stuff, and if my carrier expects me to pay for tethering, I will. I also have no intention of modding my handset. This is my first smartphone, and while I'm tech savvy, I don't see the need for heavy customization right out of the gate.

 

[xan]

ATT is supposedly cracking down on unpaid tethering, so you can count on VRZ fallowing in babybells footsteps...

my brother needs to tether as well, and got the TB with plans of paying the VRZ tether tax. but instead he found a cheaper (more data for less money) mobile ip company, for his laptop and ended up saving $10 permonth for 3 x the data as VRZ would let him use.

question that might help decide for OP....with the atix on att and the docking netbook do you need to pay the tether tax?

 

[Irishdoom]

Ok, I may have swung all the way to T-Mobile with a Nexus S. It has both the lowest cost of entry (the Nexus S is only $100 at BB right now) and the lowest monthly cost. Maybe the network isn't the best, but at this point I'm still used to a regular old phone that only calls people anyway. I also like the idea of the stock Android experience a lot.

 

[cloudstrife05]

I would ask people in your area about T-Mobile first. I'm in the Wash DC area and most of the carriers have excellent coverage.

I thought about the Nexus S as well not sure if I want to jump ship yet because of the new phones coming out in the next few months.


If your not interested in all the new gen phones although older the X is still nice. If it comes down to monthly price, (it does for me
im at $120/per for 2 lines and i hate paying that bill) the Nexus maybe a good choice for you.

Most smartphones are good these days so it comes down to Coverage and cost per month. Remember no one here pays your phonebill.

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

 

[Irishdoom]

I'm in the Chicago area, so honestly I'm not that worried about any carrier's coverage. The only negatives I have heard surrounded Sprint, but I heard just as many good things about Sprint to offset.

I'm also considering TMo now since I called and found out I would get a 15% monthly discount, which would bring my monthly to about $95 for 2 phones, a Smart Phone for me and a simpler messaging phone for the wife. AT&T would run me $108 a month (which is my second choice as of right now), and Verizon $127 a month once the tethering charge for the Thunderbolt kicks in come May. Those prices include a 15% discount on VZW and 17% on AT&T.

I still have time to think things over, though. Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

[Inverse]

Yeah, that's already factoring in the discounts I get. Verizon gives me 15% and AT&T 17%. Verizon does NOT discount the $20 for tethering, where AT&T does, as it's part of the data plan, not an add-on. I get a discount at Sprint as well, but it's only 10%. I haven't been able to determine if T-Mobile offers anything, but just their regular price is almost the lowest.

Tethering is free at VZW. Tbolt+Root+Barnacle. Free!

TBH I'm a bit of a boy scout when it comes to this kind of stuff, and if my carrier expects me to pay for tethering, I will. I also have no intention of modding my handset. This is my first smartphone, and while I'm tech savvy, I don't see the need for heavy customization right out of the gate.

Ignorance is bliss~ I felt the same way you did until I rooted my phone. It literally is one of those things. It's like having a power you keep locked inside just because you're too afraid to open the door.

When you're only getting 6 hours of battery life while every other Tbolt owner is doing about three times as much, it'll be the tip of the iceberg of what you'll be missing out by being a boy scout in this era of free technology.

As for the tethering, you'll be paying extra for data you're already getting on your phone simply because you're using it on a bigger monitor. You're paying a monitor and keyboard tax. Good luck with that.

 

[Irishdoom]

Tethering is free at VZW. Tbolt+Root+Barnacle. Free!

TBH I'm a bit of a boy scout when it comes to this kind of stuff, and if my carrier expects me to pay for tethering, I will. I also have no intention of modding my handset. This is my first smartphone, and while I'm tech savvy, I don't see the need for heavy customization right out of the gate.

Ignorance is bliss~ I felt the same way you did until I rooted my phone. It literally is one of those things. It's like having a power you keep locked inside just because you're too afraid to open the door.

When you're only getting 6 hours of battery life while every other Tbolt owner is doing about three times as much, it'll be the tip of the iceberg of what you'll be missing out by being a boy scout in this era of free technology.

As for the tethering, you'll be paying extra for data you're already getting on your phone simply because you're using it on a bigger monitor. You're paying a monitor and keyboard tax. Good luck with that.

Hey, no need to root a Nexus S, right?

 

[NuLL.n.VoiD]

First, being rooted has NOTHING to do with being a boy scout or not since the courts have already decided that rooting a phone is perfectly legal. It may void your warranty but it is legal.

Second, tethering crackdowns have only been on the most egregious accounts where it's painfully obvious by the amount of data that tethering is being used. For the occasional tether, there will be virtually no difference in the amount of overall data being used per month and you should have no fear of a crackdown.

Third, and most important, a HUGE +1 to Cloudstrife05 for pointing out that no one on this forum pays your bills. It's all you. Thunderbolt gives the fastest speed, CPU and data, coverage and will be upgraded by VZW for a while. Sprint EVO 4g is nice if you want Sprint. I used them for a few years but got too many surprises in my bill. AT&T has the Atrix and the dock but they have as many surprises as VZW but with less coverage or speed on the 4g. T-Mo has great plans but the coverage is hit or miss and if you have to travel outside of your home city even occasionally, you should take that into account.

It's your money. We all have a lot of opinions here but you have to read them and decide. I wish you luck cuz it's not an easy choice. I'll be doing the same thing in August.

 

[Inverse]

Hey, no need to root a Nexus S, right?

No, but I would need someone to root my brain to make me capable of buying a smartphone without an SD card slot~ XD

Tbolt is a solid phone, battery sucks~ but with the Jrummy's over/underclock tool, it's exponentially better.

Anyway, I came off as kind of rude in my post, but honestly~ its your phone. I just don't like people forgetting this. Can you imagine an automobile company charging you just for the right to paint your car, or modify it in any way? After purchasing a meal, someone telling you how to eat it? Really irks me~ a realistic analogy is, you're purchasing a computer system akin to a laptop or netbook, with 3g capability.

This network capability doesn't just automatically waive your right to installing what you want, or using the device how you want. Maybe to them it does to some degree, but not to anyone who has ever owned property can attest. It's really wild stuff, I mean~ maybe it dictates how you use their network when you sign for it... but not your device. There's no right or wrong here, it's yours.

Null.n.Void really said it best here, but when you make decisions based on tech~ you really need to look at what's right for you within the scope of not breaking the law, and there is no law preventing you from having control over your device.

(Just to keep this in mind, forget adding music, movies or pictures to a phone with no removable memory except for what's on the phone~ it's just... I just don't really know why they chose to occlude such a basic option...16gb is nice though, it's really going to depend on how much you like being tethered to a computer to do your file management.)

 

[Irishdoom]

Honestly, having a separate charge for tethering makes no sense to me. Verizon doesn't have to do anything differently, as the phones themselves provide the feature, it just uses the existing data bandwidth you have. Verizon and the TB are not out of the question.

 

[Inverse]

I doubt tethering fees will exist forever the way wireless is growing. Not saying they will end tomorrow, but come back to me in two to three years~ it doesn't make sense because it doesn't, you know, make sense.... and eventually people will get tired of paying for permission to use data they're already paying for.

Sent from GingerBlurred DROID2

 

[Irishdoom]

I think if Verizon didn't have that separate $20 fee, I'd already be decided on the Thunderbolt. Without that $20, the monthly price difference isn't that great. As it is now, i can get either AT&T or T-Mobile w/ tethering cheaper.

 

[xan]

I doubt tethering fees will exist forever the way wireless is growing. Not saying they will end tomorrow, but come back to me in two to three years~ it doesn't make sense because it doesn't, you know, make sense.... and eventually people will get tired of paying for permission to use data they're already paying for.

Sent from GingerBlurred DROID2

id say that will depend heavily on whether ATT gets the go ahead to swallow up T-MO or not...