T-Mobile/Google Android Phone

[saden1]

Anyone got the G1 phone yet? Their plans seem reasonable and the phone looks pretty cool. Time to say "So Long AT&T, and Thanks for All the Fish?"

[DynamiteRave]

T-Mobile's service is absolutely terrible. I'd rather get Alltech or possibly even Boost mobile (even though it's pre-paid) before I touch T-Mobile. You can't get service anywhere. My friend couldn't even get service in her own damn house. My friend at work has to leave the building and basically cross the street before he receives service. All I hear about T-Mobile is complaints. Even more so than Sprint, whose service as of late has been getting better (so I hear) ever since they merged with Nextel.

Buyer Beware.

[Gmanc711]

I've had Tmobile for years and really havent had too many problems with it.

[MTK]

I've given up on trying to find the best cell carrier. It seems that every one has it's share of critics.

[mooby]

I've been happy with Verizon for the most part. I'm very happy with the service, it's just that my phone has numerous little annoyances, and I've been meaning to take it back and get one that doesn't have these little issues, but since it's not too big a deal I figure I'll just wait until next July when I can get an upgrade and then get a better phone.

As for T-Mobile, the company my dad works for gives him a work provided phone because he drives all over Maryland, DC, and Virginia, and he has so many problems with it. It's a very basic phone, but he rarely gets service, he never gets any service in a tunnel, and even when he's at home he has to use my phone because he can't even get service on the back porch. The only reason his company decided to use T-Mobile as their service provider was because it was the cheapest out there.

[BleedBurgundy]

It really depends on where you live. My wife manages about 200 AT&T accounts at her job and she's constantly receiving notices of local data outages. 3G around here isn't quite up to snuff yet. I have Sprint through my job and I have yet to be without signal after 3 years.

[BDBohnzie]

I always go service over phone selection...what good is the next greatest phone if you can't use the damn thing.

I've been with Verizon for 8 years now, and I get good customer service, great cell reception, and phones I can live with.

If you do go with an Android phone, I'd wait at least 6 months to a year...let them work out all the bugs and such.

[saden1]

I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile and got the G1 yestarday. The phone is awesome though there is few annoyance which can be remedied via future firmware update (i.e. no support for bluetooth stereo headphones). Internet browsing is fast and smooth in my neighborhood but then again I live 1 mile from T-Mobile North America headquarters.

The marketplace software is pretty thin right now but I am sure things will pickup once the product is out for a bit more. I was hoping to get skype working on it but alas there's some back dealing that went down between T-Mobile and Google to make sure people don't get the cheapest phone plan and use skype for their phone calls.

Two thumbs up...if you have been thinking about getting a new phone I definitely would recommend the G1. I would definitely recommend it over the iPhone simply because of the fact that it has a keyboard.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by saden1

I made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile and got the G1 yestarday. The phone is awesome though there is few annoyance which can be remedied via future firmware update (i.e. no support for bluetooth stereo headphones). Internet browsing is fast and smooth in my neighborhood but then again I live 1 mile from T-Mobile North America headquarters.

The marketplace software is pretty thin right now but I am sure things will pickup once the product is out for a bit more. I was hoping to get skype working on it but alas there's some back dealing that went down between T-Mobile and Google to make sure people don't get the cheapest phone plan and use skype for their phone calls.

Two thumbs up...if you have been thinking about getting a new phone I definitely would recommend the G1. I would definitely recommend it over the iPhone simply because of the fact that it has a keyboard.

Have you ever typed on the iPhone "keyboard"?

I thought it would be a joke at first but it's remarkably well done. I find I can type on it just as fast a a standard slide out, hard keyboard, and the predictive text entry is unbelievably good.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by mheisig

Have you ever typed on the iPhone "keyboard"?

I thought it would be a joke at first but it's remarkably well done. I find I can type on it just as fast a a standard slide out, hard keyboard, and the predictive text entry is unbelievably good.

I was surprised, as well. It's pretty remarkable.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by mheisig

Have you ever typed on the iPhone "keyboard"?

I thought it would be a joke at first but it's remarkably well done. I find I can type on it just as fast a a standard slide out, hard keyboard, and the predictive text entry is unbelievably good.

I have, I guess I'm use to physical keyboards and as such I'm inclined to gravitate towards phones with keyboards.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have, I guess I'm use to physical keyboards and as such I'm inclined to gravitate towards phones with keyboards.

So am I, as there's not a lot of examples of non-physical keyboards.

I never expected the iPhone typing experience to be that good - I figured it would be the downfall of the phone.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

T-Mobile's service is absolutely terrible. I'd rather get Alltech or possibly even Boost mobile (even though it's pre-paid) before I touch T-Mobile. You can't get service anywhere. My friend couldn't even get service in her own damn house. My friend at work has to leave the building and basically cross the street before he receives service. All I hear about T-Mobile is complaints. Even more so than Sprint, whose service as of late has been getting better (so I hear) ever since they merged with Nextel.

Buyer Beware.

It all depends on where you are located. When I lived in Germany, T-Mobile was a good carrier. Here, you say it sucks; I will not argue that. When I lived in Georgia, Alltell was a pretty decent service, here it is terrible.

There are many great cell phone services out there that work well in their optimal coverage areas, you just have to find the one that works best in the area you reside in. What may be better for you here, will not be better for you everywhere. So cut the carriers some slack, it is impossible at this point in time for any carrier to cover every inch of ground with a cell phone tower footprint. Champ Bailey doesn't work for any carrier, so the task is harder than we think.

Another thing to think about is what kind of building was your friend located in. If she was in a steel reinforced building and wasn't anywhere near a window, then yes she would need to walk across the street just to get signal. The angle at which you are standing in relation to the window can also affect your signal. So you cannot 100% fault a carrier for bad signal. Bad customer service, yes, but not for bad signal.

To reiterate, find a good service for you and stick with it. Let others who live further away from you determine what carrier works best for them.

[onlydarksets]

The difference is that T-Mobile is a major player in Europe, but here they are a second-tier (behind Verizon/AT&T). They are investing in their infrastructure, but they are not quite there yet. They are the most open of the 4 big carriers, though (e.g., they will unlock your phone after 3 months).