Should I take the leap into Android?(with a new carrier?)

[dancing-bass]

OK, I've been stumbling around the forums occasionally. I'll try to be clear about why I'm posting and then hopefully 2 things will happen
1)The mods will see this and relocate it to the best place where I'll get the most input, and then
2) you people will help me out with a "Yes" or "No" and the reasons why....

OK, so I'm with Virgin Mobile Canada. Runs off Bell/Telus towers. I mostly love them... except for one thing that has become an increasing irritation. They've been promising HSPA+ as "coming soon" in my province for over 2 years now. From the info I can gather on the web, it appears that I won't have HSPA+ in my area until summer 2012 at the very earlist, so in "real world terms" that would more likely be fall/winter 2012 if not even later.

So I'm considering jumping ship early. I'd have to pay out the remainder of my contract which means I'm kinda limited as to how much I can spend to jump into a new device and carrier. (contract is up end of April 2012)

Then I came across this on Roger's site. Normally I don't like Rogers (heard lots of bad things, but then again you can hear lots of bad things about any carrier!) but I think this would give me a chance to

1) try out Rogers as a customer (network, customer care, etc)
2) try out Android (only been a BB/dumbphone user up to this point, not really interested in iOS)

so here's the link. For you Americans, yes its in candadian dollars. And most carriers lock us in to 3 year contracts, so thats why the 1 year thing seems so good... even though the phone isn't the newest.

Get the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10a for just $25.50 on select 1-year plans! - Rogers

So, if you think this is a good idea, say why. Or if not... again, say why.

 

[Moscow Desire]

I would say, stick with what you have. You're happy with your network, and I suspect, in times, you'll get the HSPA upgrade.

Don't be allured by the cheap prices carriers offer for a device and contract. In the long run, believe me, you pay a premium even for a cheap phone. I haven't had the opportunity to play around with any of Sony's devices, but in my region, they are considered cheap and sub-par.I didn't see a whole lot on their site concerning data plans. And only a 1 yr contract. I would guess they have a buttload of these phones and want to pass them off as quickly as possible, and slam you with data charges.

I would suggest waiting for a better deal, considering you are on a budget. Fulfill the contract you have, and get a better device.

 

[dancing-bass]

I forgot to mention my current carrier (Virgin Canada) is CDMA at this point until they light up the HSPA+/4G network whenever that happens. While the X10a is an older device by today's standards it would be an oppertunity to try out GSM/3G/4G technology, as well as a different OS (android as opposed to my current Blackberry) and different carrier (slightly higher priced but superior 3G/4G coverage nationwide). But I've heard their customer care isn't the greatest...which can make a contract seem a lot longer.

Thanks for the input though Moscow, you do raise some points I hadn't considered.