I've moved on and cut the chains of contracts!

[willdogs]

Hi All!

I've been a Thunderbolt owner since the day it came out! I was one of the first to have it in my hands. I've been thru many ups and downs with my TB, its really been a love hate relationship, but she has served me well.

Recently a co-worker of mine schooled me on going pre-paid and how he loves the low monthly payments. I decided to start investigating and when I decided it was for me, I chose to go with the Nexus 4 and use t-mobiles Monthly4G as my provider. After 2 days I am very happy with a zippy phone and just a zippy service for just $30 a month! I'm never looking back!

Verizon is getting bigger and bigger and getting more money hungry by the day, i'm tired of it. Yes they have great coverage, but with wifi everywhere I go, I only really need the service when I am in my car, and t-mobiles speeds are no slouch for the price I am paying!

Look at my average speeds today using t-mobile

I can't complain with those speeds to be honest. Sure I wont get very good coverage if I leave a major metro area, but thats the beauty of going pre-paid, I am jump around to different providers whenever I want! If I get tired of T-mobile, I go to AT& or Straight Talk, etc... Also when I travel I am free to use this phone in any country!

I tell ya, its like breaking up from a really bad relationship lol

If anyone is interested, here are the available plans
Monthly 4G Prepaid Plans | Compare Prepaid Data Plans | T-Mobile

I get unlimited Data and Text and only 100 Minutes talk time for $30/month. It works for me because I dont talk much. If I go over its only 10 cents a minute and I can keep $20 in my account for overage which rolls over month to month if I dont use it.

If you have any questions let me know!

BTW the Nexus 4 is so much faster than my TB, its almost unreal. Apps install in just 2-3 seconds sometimes lol. I remember when the TB was one of the faster phones out there, tech really moves fast!

Cheers!

 

[linebusy]

Good for you. I've just upgraded 4 of our 5 devices within the past 2 months, so I'm on the hook for another couple of years, but you're 100% correct in that Big Red is pushing their clients toward this. BYOD on a month-to-month is looking more and more attractive every day. Policies, product and prices are becoming less attractive even as technology is advancing.

 

[Kevin Harvell]

I'm considering taking our 5 lines and doing the same thing.

Glad it's working out for you so far. T-mobile has pretty good speeds from what I've seen.

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Android Central Forums

 

[skeet43169]

But you have to pay full price for whatever phone you get that's what's hot me

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

 

[joemd60]

Full price can be painful. That's the drawback, plus coverage for calls in fringe areas.
My Stellar was $330 full price. And that is Androids low end device.
That's why I did not buy what I wanted.
You could find yourself paying $1000 plus a year for phones.
So not much of a savings, but it all comes down to what is best for each persons needs.

Sent from my SCH-I200 using Android Central Forums

 

[dougeetx]

You could've saved you some money and just had your Thunderbolt flashed to Page Plus. Page Plus is $55/month. You only get 3G speeds but you get unlimited talk, text, and 2 gigs of web. That part isn't as good as you're getting now when it comes to the speed aspect but the coverage more than makes up for it...and not having to buy a new phone. Note: Message me if you want to know more about flashing your phone over to Page Plus and having everything work on 3G.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

But you have to pay full price for whatever phone you get that's what's hot me

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

However, you get that money back and the some with reduced contract costs.

from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, baddest phone on the planet.

 

[linebusy]

I'm sure if we did the math, we'd find that we're paying in excess of $300 per device per 2-year contract. Factor in the $30 new device fee and the sale price at point of purchase, and I bet many folks are paying close to $500 over 2 years.

-----edit---> For the sake of clarity, the number I'm throwing out above is an estimate of what you're likely paying for a "subsidized" device on a 2-year contract.

A brand new Nexus 4 is $350 (to purchase and own outright from Google Play).

 

[joemd60]

I have said this several times. We're are in an era of Smartphones. They simplify and organize your life in a lot of ways.
It's also my primary phone. So the data speeds and everything it can do means nothing, if it cannot make adequate calls.




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[joemd60]

I'm sure if we did the math, we'd find that we're paying in excess of $300 per device per 2-year contract. Factor in the $30 new device fee and the sale price at point of purchase, and I bet many folks are paying close to $500 over 2 years.

A brand new Nexus 4 is $350.

Also bear in mind. The device you buy on post paid can be a nice secondary phone.
Jumping from carrier to carrier, can leave you with several paperweights.

Sent from my SCH-I200 using Android Central Forums

 

[willdogs]

The Nexus 4 is not a low end phone, have you checked the specs?

1.5Ghz Quad Core
World Phone
2GB Ram
4.7 inch display HD IPS
4.2 Jellybean OS
Etc.

The best part are the prices
Prices:
$299 for 8GB
$349 for 16GB

These prices are to OWN the phone out right, no contract. These prices are unheard of but may be the beginning of a revolution as far as phones and contracts go.

Only drawback (for some) is lack of LTE in the US. For me, this was not a deal breaker since as you can see my speeds are more than adequate right now. Also, 80% of the time I am at a location with Wifi.

Comparing the Thunderbolt to the Nexus, here was my Breakdown

Thunderbolt:
$319 - 1 Year Contract with Verizon
$90 / Month 450 min talk with Unlimited LTE/Text - $1080+ Tax/fees for the year

Nexus 4 - $349 - No Contract and I get to choose any carrier
$30/Month - 100 min talk Unlimited Data/Text (T-Mobile 4G) - $360 +Tax (No Fees) for the year.

Now everyone has different needs and wants, I am just stating that this makes sense for me and wouldnt work for everyone. But if you are looking to save money long term, as I am, then this may be a route to consider.

P.S. Does anyone want a newly refurbished TB? (With Seidio case, HTC extended battery, etc)
I just got Asurion replacement less than a month ago. Thinking ebay may be my best bet.

 

[willdogs]

Wow so I put up my TB for sale on ebay and someone bought it with Buy it now in just 3 hours

Mint Verizon HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE 8GB 32GB Micro SD w Extended Batt Case 044476816574 | eBay

Wondering if I priced it too low? I didn't think so? Perhaps because it was a CLNR unit?

Oh well glad to make some money from it!

 

[raven312]

Don't second guess yourself. You found someone who paid what you wanted and you subsidized the purchase of your Nexus 4. I'd call that a win.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[willdogs]

Don't second guess yourself. You found someone who paid what you wanted and you subsidized the purchase of your Nexus 4. I'd call that a win.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Good point! Thanks

 

[linebusy]

Wow so I put up my TB for sale on ebay and someone bought it with Buy it now in just 3 hours

Mint Verizon HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE 8GB 32GB Micro SD w Extended Batt Case 044476816574 | eBay

Wondering if I priced it too low? I didn't think so? Perhaps because it was a CLNR unit?

Oh well glad to make some money from it!

You did a good job illustrating what you had. You sold it because it was priced right and because you answered any question a buyer might have had before he even asked it. It's funny how many people have fuzzy little thumbnails for a photo and expect to sell anything from it. I've save hundreds to thousands on good equipment purchased off Craigs list because sellers don't understand the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words".