Which Nexus?

[jdm4u]

Ok well I am currently with T-Mobile. My contract ends in November, which i will be eligible for an upgrade around that time, IF i want to renew with them. I was actually going to get an LG G2x but after 2.3.4 came out and integrated video chat on the Nexus S I am going back to considering the Nexus S. Plus the fact that updates are rather instant with Nexus phones. And yes, the G2x has dualcore, blah blah blah. I dont really use my phone for gaming other than angry birds or fruit ninja, which run fine on singlecore and if you look at my phone now, which is a Vibrant, its basically a Nexus Clone. So i'll be content with a NS. Now the thing that im torn between is WHICH Nexus to go for? Considering my contract expires with t-mobile soon, I can either get the T-Mo NS on a new contract and get it for 100 bucks, if it doesnt even go down more in price, OR I could leave T-Mobile and get the NS 4G from Sprint. I can't come to a decision.

First T-Mobile: I love t-mobile, haven't had any bad experience with T-Mobile and currently have a Vibrant. I am content with their download speeds and everything. Now, what I dont like is the fact that At&t might acquire T-Mobile next year, which I really dont want to be a part of At&t. Been with them before and after checking out their plans and all the restrictions they have, no thanks. But no one knows if it will even go through. Another thing im iffy about is the fact that the NS on T-Mobile cannot do the Video Chat over 3G. It is restricted to Wifi only. I really dont like that. How are they going to allow Qik and all the other apps do video calling over 3G/4G but not Google Talk?

Sprint: I have a couple of friends on Sprint. One of them has an Epic 4G. From what i've seen online on the prices and such, It's actually not that bad and truly unlimited (no data cap). I was about to completely switch after my contract ended, except for a couple reasons. One, CDMA. I prefer having the option to switch phones by just removing the SIM card and putting it on another phone and viola, presto! With Sprint I would have to go to the store and have them change it, which is annoying. Another thing holding me back, the 4G. Like i said, my friend has an Epic 4G and doing data speed tests, My Vibrant got faster 3G download speeds than my friends Epic connected to 4G. I average now around 3-3.5mbps while my friends Epic on 4G gets 2-2.5mbps download speeds averagely. We are located in Miami btw, if that makes a difference in speed. Is Sprint planning on making their 4G speeds faster? Will there be a difference with the NS 4G? I dont think anyone knows but probably not. Oh and NS 4G is 100 bucks more than T-Mo NS.

So Im between a rock and a wall on deciding here. Anyone got any advice?

 

[font1975]

Let me offer this, perhaps it will help:
If you plan on signing a contract with T-Mo to get the NS, that will give you two years on that plan regardless of the AT&T/T-Mo situation. So while you may be an AT&T customer again, they will be honoring existing T-Mo contracts. Besides even after approval, it will take up to a year to complete the merger, so it's up to two years away.

Personally, I like the GSM phones for exactly the reason you state. I bought a cheapie $30 flip phone [it's so cute and tiny! lol] on Amazon to use when I go on vacation. I usually end up on some little island in the carribbean, where a smartphone is of limited use. Not only that, but I prefer being unplugged on vacation....

But if AT&T doesn't have decent plans or honor the "Plus" type deal; i just might go to sprint. By which time they would probably be Verizon anyway [pure speculation]!

 

[BlackHawkA4]

I don't judge my sprint service on my epic. My 3g since 2.2 is slow! My friends evo is faster. No network problems. the last epic update messed me up. Even sd card transfers are slower.

I believe you can call sprint over the phone to switch phones. You don't need to go to the store. I know you could on verizon. Haven't tried it.

I would never switch back to att. Their plans are terrible. I want unlimited. Plus. Google voice + sprint. Mmmm.

I prefer cdma over gsm. Call quality is clearer. The only issue I ever find with cdma over gsm is material penetration. some buildings I don't have service in if signal outside is weak. But its usually not a problem. It will roam when bad.

I switched in my blackberry days. The only company I would consider switching to is verizon. And for the same price plan as the other guys if not still cheaper (for more land line minutes) you could qualify for yearly phone upgrades.

 

[natrixgli]

I have Sprint for work and I've swapped phones a bunch of times. You can do it right from their website, you just need the ESN of the new phone.

I would say if Sprint is good in your area and offers 4G it would be tempting to go that route. On the other hand in my experience, Sprint phones always seem to suffer from poor battery life. It seems like they're always trying to find a better signal or something. You could always wait a few weeks and see what the reports are like from Sprint Nexus S 4G customers once they've been in the wild for a bit.

I have the T-Mobile NS (within 14 days return period) and love it. I am trying to decide if I want to go down with the ship, or chicken out and scamper back to my AT&T iPhone 4. This is the first Android device that I've not had any reservations about keeping, but the bit about it potentially being a worthless brick in a year makes me a bit nervous.

 

[trayes77]

Just want to add my quick two cents, i can call using google talk with 3g on tmobile

 

[Shabbypenguin]

the battery life on sprints high end devices is a bit disconcerning but its usually due to the 4g radio.. same thing for verizons new thunderbolt. i love sprint in my area, they have great coverage. the limits on sprints 3g is the same on verizons its the basis of the cdma network. with sprint and google working together now i suspect there will be a lot more android phones finding their way to the shelves. i had tmobile for a while and if i ever had to leave sprint that is who id go with no questions asked.

sprint does still offer yearly upgrades but you have to be a super member to get em.. on the single line you need to have the simply everything plan, and as the family line you need to have a plan thats at least 160 bucks a month (without addons or taxes) a bit steep but compared to every other carrier they are the last ones offering it.

EDIT: tell your friend with the epic he should try a custom rom, might fix a few issues, my personal choice is ACS Syndicate Frozen . theres always the gingerbread leak as well

 

[jdm4u]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies. Yea I have heard about the super member thing with the 1 year upgrade. Sounds good as well. As for the Google Talk, I can make calls over 3G as well, i was mainly referring to the Video Chat. Alot of people over at XDA haven't been able to video chat using Google Talk over 3G. My friend does have a custom ROM on his Epic, i forget which one it is though. I'm definitely going to wait on the NS 4G and reviews/tests to see how it goes.

As mentioned before, yea the fact that Google is now working with Sprint has me thinking of something being cooked up in the back burner. At first it seemed like Google was going to team up with T-Mobile since all Nexus phones were first released with T-Mo frequencies, but guess that wasn't the case. The thing with the merger is, if At&t does take over I want to make sure I am able to cancel my contract with no fees and jump ship. Then i'll definitely switch to Sprint.

The way that T-Mo has been acting recently, seems like they have a feeling the FCC wont approve the merger. They are releasing new commercials attacking At&t's iPhone 4 and earlier there was a tweet towards Verizon's downed 4G network. What I'm thinking is T-Mo knows the FCC wont approve the merger, and knew it all along, thats why they agreed to it because if it doesn't go through, At&t still gives them 3 million or billion dollars. To be honest, if I was T-Mobiles CEO i would've done the same thing lol. That's just my 2 cents though. I still have till November to decide anyways. :-\