so, 9+ users...why upgrade?

[dannyar11]

I'm what I would call a Tmobile Jump On Demand savant. Ive had it since inception, know everything about it, its policies, what I'm entitled to , the rules, etc. On more than one occasion ive had to correct employees on what was right and what was wrong about the program. Ive been denied jumps because they say i was only allowed 3 per year, when its actually 1 per month. They have told me i needed to pay a down payment when it was not required. My local store manager now actually gives me the benefit of the doubt when it comes to interactions i have with employees when i ask for the manager and he proceeds to tell them " he knows it all, if he says it then its true". I know the loopholes in the system to get out of JOD by jumping to a cheap device by ordering over the phone and then return it within 14 day buyer remorse with no restock fee and that essentially cancels the JOD. Now that they are trying to rip people off by charging a down payment it just makes me feel even better about using the hell out of my jumps and abusing the system within my rights and the policies they have in place.

 

[tonyron227]

I'm what I would call a Tmobile Jump On Demand savant. Ive had it since inception, know everything about it, its policies, what I'm entitled to , the rules, etc. On more than one occasion ive had to correct employees on what was right and what was wrong about the program. Ive been denied jumps because they say i was only allowed 3 per year, when its actually 1 per month. They have told me i needed to pay a down payment when it was not required. My local store manager now actually gives me the benefit of the doubt when it comes to interactions i have with employees when i ask for the manager and he proceeds to tell them " he knows it all, if he says it then its true". I know the loopholes in the system to get out of JOD by jumping to a cheap device by ordering over the phone and then return it within 14 day buyer remorse with no restock fee and that essentially cancels the JOD. Now that they are trying to rip people off by charging a down payment it just makes me feel even better about using the hell out of my jumps and abusing the system within my rights and the policies they have in place.

Wow, thanks for the heads up about jumping to a cheaper phone...if I ever decide to leave the program...

 

[bhatech]

What is this blasphemy, people are leasing cellular phones?

I thought most simply buy outright, no credit, no leasing. What happened?

In the US, concept of buying outright is not common. It'll be in some form of monthly payments over 24 months. Most normal people probably don't have clue about any of the phones and how much it costs etc. They just know they get a phone and the cost of that is included in the monthly phone bill.

That's one reason why there aren't many phone brands popular in the US like in other parts of the world. If you want to be in US, you got to bend over back to the carriers and fully at the mercy of the crappy carriers who dictate if you will be successful or not. Unless you have a game changer of a product like iPhone or something like that which will again change the smart phone landscape and everyone wants to own one.

 

[chanchan05]

In the US, concept of buying outright is not common. It'll be in some form of monthly payments over 24 months. Most normal people probably don't have clue about any of the phones and how much it costs etc. They just know they get a phone and the cost of that is included in the monthly phone bill.

That's one reason why there aren't many phone brands popular in the US like in other parts of the world. If you want to be in US, you got to bend over back to the carriers and fully at the mercy of the crappy carriers who dictate if you will be successful or not. Unless you have a game changer of a product like iPhone or something like that which will again change the smart phone landscape and everyone wants to own one.

Yeah. They use frequencies that makes using phones from other parts of the world crippled to use in the US and so forth. In other countries, it's as simple as popping a prepaid SIM into a phone. You may never even go into a carrier store for the rest of your life if you want to, yet still change phones every year and even switch carriers on whim without having to interact with anyone from the carriers.

 

[bhatech]

Yeah. They use frequencies that makes using phones from other parts of the world crippled to use in the US and so forth. In other countries, it's as simple as popping a prepaid SIM into a phone. You may never even go into a carrier store for the rest of your life if you want to, yet still change phones every year and even switch carriers on whim without having to interact with anyone from the carriers.

It's as simple as that in US as well. I'm with T-Mobile and only buy non carrier unlocked phones. It's as simple as popping out my current sim and putting it in a new phone and good to go. Frequency are fine, there are couple of bands which are nice to have kind of thing but now a days most unlocked phones kind of have all band support.

So yeah in short, it's as simple here as well compared to other parts of the world but just not a common practice. People are just used to and prefer buying from their carriers and it's tough to change habits

 

[chanchan05]

It's as simple as that in US as well. I'm with T-Mobile and only buy non carrier unlocked phones. It's as simple as popping out my current sim and putting it in a new phone and good to go. Frequency are fine, there are couple of bands which are nice to have kind of thing but now a days most unlocked phones kind of have all band support.

So yeah in short, it's as simple here as well compared to other parts of the world but just not a common practice. People are just used to and prefer buying from their carriers and it's tough to change habits

I meant when switching carriers. I can switch through all 4 carriers that exists in my country as simple as popping a sim in and out of a phone. AFAIK that's not possible in the US.

 

[bhatech]

I meant when switching carriers. I can switch through all 4 carriers that exists in my country as simple as popping a sim in and out of a phone. AFAIK that's not possible in the US.

Yeah you can, for example Note 9 unlocked is compatible with all four major carriers and you can switch between carriers whenever you want. You are not in any contract with them so one month you can be with T-Mobile and then you can switch to Verizon etc. Most of the popular plans here are postpaid plans but still that doesn't prevent you from switching. There are good cheaper prepaid options for all carriers and MVNOs if you want as well.

If you are not locked into contract, you can switch between carriers as often as you want. But generally there isn't much incentive to do that, you settle into one based on where you stay, coverage, price etc. So it's not common you switch between them constantly.

 

[chanchan05]

Yeah you can, for example Note 9 unlocked is compatible with all four major carriers and you can switch between carriers whenever you want. You are not in any contract with them so one month you can be with T-Mobile and then you can switch to Verizon etc. Most of the popular plans here are postpaid plans but still that doesn't prevent you from switching. There are good cheaper prepaid options for all carriers and MVNOs if you want as well.

If you are not locked into contract, you can switch between carriers as often as you want. But generally there isn't much incentive to do that, you settle into one based on where you stay, coverage, price etc. So it's not common you switch between them constantly.

I see. I seem to remember carriers being incompatible with one another over there due to some CDMA shiz.

 

[bhatech]

Yeah that's because phones used to not support all the bands. Now a days unlocked phones like Samsung ones, Pixel, iPhones etc have both CDMA, GSM, and all required LTE bands in them. They use Qualcomm radio which has all the CDMA, LTE bands if companies want to license and use them. And also very soon everyone will move to LTE and CDMA will eventually go away.

There are exceptions like OnePlus who don't have CDMA because they don't want to pay extra for Qualcomm to license and get certified on other carriers, but if they want to they can and have a phone that works on all carriers.

I see. I seem to remember carriers being incompatible with one another over there due to some CDMA shiz.

 

[anon(20964)]

Yeah you can, for example Note 9 unlocked is compatible with all four major carriers and you can switch between carriers whenever you want. You are not in any contract with them so one month you can be with T-Mobile and then you can switch to Verizon etc. Most of the popular plans here are postpaid plans but still that doesn't prevent you from switching. There are good cheaper prepaid options for all carriers and MVNOs if you want as well.

If you are not locked into contract, you can switch between carriers as often as you want. But generally there isn't much incentive to do that, you settle into one based on where you stay, coverage, price etc. So it's not common you switch between them constantly.

The carriers in the US does exert a "punishment" for not using their "branded" phones. Being able to freely change carriers by simply changing SIM card was one of the features I that I enjoyed about GSM. But now that CDMA and GSM networks have blurred the line between the two technologies it's more difficult to grasp for the uninformed.

At one point, CDMA networks were only found in the USA. While the majority of other networks around the world were predominately GSM.

Appears the US cellular customer has relinquished its power and fate to the carriers. That is unfortunate since the network should deliver and serve the customer instead of the customer becoming enslaved or indebted to the carrier. Guess Americans have really been conditioned to not practice critical thinking in most facets of life.

FWIW - I too only use unlocked cellular phones since the Visor phone module. The same goes for my immediate family. I never could understand the power of the US carriers in dictating to the consumer.

The US consumer could change this if it wanted to. But maybe it's too late, IDK.

 

[bhatech]

The carriers in the US does exert a "punishment" for not using their "branded" phones. Being able to freely change carriers by simply changing SIM card was one of the features I that I enjoyed about GSM. But now that CDMA and GSM networks have blurred the line between the two technologies it's more difficult to grasp for the uninformed.

At one point, CDMA networks were only found in the USA. While the majority of other networks around the world were predominately GSM.

Appears the US cellular customer has relinquished its power and fate to the carriers. That is unfortunate since the network should deliver and serve the customer instead of the customer becoming enslaved or indebted to the carrier. Guess Americans have really been conditioned to not practice critical thinking in most facets of life.

FWIW - I too only use unlocked cellular phones since the Visor phone module. The same goes for my immediate family. I never could understand the power of the US carriers in dictating to the consumer.

The US consumer could change this if it wanted to. But maybe it's too late, IDK.

Yeah for sure it's too late ... We are a small minority and don't see anything changing in the near future. At this point people buy only iPhones and Galaxy phones which are available on all carriers so they continue to buy one or the other every 2 years or few years from their respective carriers. Hard to see anything changing in terms of buying habits of a normal consumer.

 

[anon(20964)]

So the question presented in this thread is really a never ending question that literally has no resolution but to upgrade if you want or not upgrade if you want.

I must admit, having my Note 8, I am not tempted to upgrade at all. Though I am leaning to staying with the Note lines for the foreseeable future because I like that Samsung is committed to it. I think most manufacturers would have used the incident with the Note 7 as reason to abandon the line.

With that being said, happy upgrading or not - keep talking, texting, consuming and generating.

 

[monsieurms]

But if you already have an S9+, the "worth of upgrading" drops drastically, and makes it very case to case.

I already have 9 plus. If I were starting fresh and had neither, the price difference is not a concern and I would take the note. But it doesn't seem worth going through the hassle to upgrade, and it is a hassle to set up a phone again, never mind the expenses.

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

 

[Nakrohtap]

My down payment was $81.99 plus tax...

I don't know why I put myself through this...but, can I ask how you got that $81.99 down payment? Reps today thought I was trying to pull one over on them just suggesting this. Others have had it offered straight up to them.

 

[myfavthing]

I was enticed by the bigger battery size. Also, there’s a free upgrade from 128gb to 512gb as a preorder promotion where I am at so I jump at the chance.

After using the phone since launch, I have been able to get 5-6 hours of SOT as compared to S9+ ( getting over 3-4hrs SOT). I do find the device slightly bigger for one handed use but willing to deal with it for the battery life. Apart from that, I do not find any other real advantage of the s9+ over the note. I have only used the s pen 1-2 times since I had it so it’s not a huge factor for me.

 

[J Dubbs]

if you've had time to play with the new note and you have a 9 plus, I'm curious as to what you think the advantages would be to swapping (I won't say upgrading )?

The only reason I could see is if you have 1200+ extra bucks lying on your nightstand...... and your thinking, should I wipe my butt with this, or spend it on a phone just like I have now but with an s-pen? Samsung's phone sales are slumping big time right now...... so I guess more folks are opting to wipe the butt vs spending a ridiculously large amount of money on an overpriced phone :-D

I bet those Samsung exec's are bummed they can't buy those extra vacation mansions they we're planning on this year lol.

And the sad thing is they don't see the price as the issue for the slumping sales, they think they're not innovating enough. They're just assuming us sheeple will pay whatever they ask because it says Samsung on it

 

[bxrider117]

I really like my S9+. I get decent battery life and it is fast. I also have it set up with Good Lock 2018 and Nova Launcher. So I don't have any navigation bar and I use swipe gestures, which I think would work well with a bigger Note 9. I know I don't need to upgrade but Swappa has some great prices for the Note 9. Right now you can pick up one for $799 and the seller is giving a 30 money back guarantee.

 

[monsieurms]

I really like my S9+. I get decent battery life and it is fast. I also have it set up with Good Lock 2018 and Nova Launcher. So I don't have any navigation bar and I use swipe gestures, which I think would work well with a bigger Note 9. I know I don't need to upgrade but Swappa has some great prices for the Note 9. Right now you can pick up one for $799 and the seller is giving a 30 money back guarantee.

I've gotten my last couple of phones from Swappa. The discounts have been impressive. I like paying cash.

 

[LordAndroid]

I upgraded this past Thursday to a ocean blue 128gb. I was contemplating for a few days before I pulled the trigger. I haven't used the Note series since the Note 5. I've been using the S series all these years. My, S9+ was great to me. But bigger battery more storage newer software 8.1 versus 8.0 might seem miniscule to some but not me then there's the S pen. In the end I paid the exact amount for the N9 that I paid for the s9+ 64gb when it launched. So I got all these changes for the same cost I consider that a win.

 

[Nakrohtap]

I upgraded this past Thursday to a ocean blue 128gb. I was contemplating for a few days before I pulled the trigger. I haven't used the Note series since the Note 5. I've been using the S series all these years. My, S9+ was great to me. But bigger battery more storage newer software 8.1 versus 8.0 might seem miniscule to some but not me then there's the S pen. In the end I paid the exact amount for the N9 that I paid for the s9+ 64gb when it launched. So I got all these changes for the same cost I consider that a win.

Android 8.1 versus 8.0 is probably miniscule to almost all. From Nougat to Oreo, most people didn't notice a huge difference. Is there anything 8.1 has that 8.0 doesn't. Samsung experience 9.5 versus 9.0 has more changes.