Why stick with TMobile for Nexus One?

[eminembdg]

I've been with TMO for over 8 years and I've loved their customer service and their plan rates. Right now because of how long Ive been with them , I have a grandfathered plan for only $49.99 I get unlimited talk, and for then I also have their unlimited data and txt plan on top of that. My bill comes to $96 and change with all the fees and such!

Now besides the G1, and now Nexus, Their phones do lack a little. But it does seem they are starting to become VERY competitive with the phones that they will be pushing out.

I have a few very close friends who have ATT, Verizon, and Sprint.

ATT= Friends comparable plans are several dollars more than mine and their network is always lagging , like when they get txt msgs, sometimes takes forever to get a msg or the receiver to get their msg.

Verizon= WOW, HORRIBLE coverage. I'm talking when my one friend can literally have their phone in their pocket and get no service, take it out and then they get some bars. Even while in her house she can move it just a couple feet and the service goes in and out.

Sprint= Only know 2 of my friends who have it. Pretty good service, horrible sound clarity on phone calls. Also horrible data coverage around their area. Friend has a Palm Pre and barely gets any 3G coverage. It bounces from 3G to GPRS so much the battery dies very quickly. And it's not happening in just one spot, but almost anywhere he goes.

So even though sometimes i get a a lil envy of other carriers phone selection, my friends issues with their service and customer service reminds me again why I continue to stay with T-Mobile!

[simms22]

ive been with them for eight years also. only because of their awesome customer service!

[bradicus]

ive been with them for eight years also. only because of their awesome customer service!

I originally switched from Verizon to TMo for the G1, and their customer service has impressed me from the start. Frankly, it's significant enough that it should be added to one of the reasons to stick with TMo.

According to TMobile's coverage map, my office is in a place of 100% 3G coverage, but walking around my office it constantly hops between Edge and 3G. The data rates are fairly poor, combined with the G1's sluggishness has been the real cause of wanting to switch.

There have been good points made here about contracts, and I think that really is part of the problem. Somebody pointed out that, sure, I could switch to Verizon, but I'd be suck with them for 2 years and face an unholy $600 in ETF fees if I cancelled. Thats a long time to be suck with one phone/carrier... and Im not the type of person who can stomach spending $500 on a phone!

[constellanation]

Once I thought I'd never pay 500 for a phone but now that I have I actually have piece of mind not feeling tied to a network and that when I go out of the country next week I can buy a prepaid sim and have it work with no problem (minus possible 3g conflicts)
I feel as if I got what I paid for.

[hollywoodmic]

I'm a G1 owner, purchased a little over a year ago when they first started being available. While I've loved my G1, I'm sick of it's slowness, TMobile's inconsistent coverage in San Diego, and the fact that it basically doesn't multi-task with the browser (go to a website, once loaded, switch to IM (or another app) and send a few messages, switch back to the Browser and watch it leave you with a blank screen while it automatically goes out and re-loads the page you already loaded).

So I'm looking at the Nexus One. As a current T-Mobile customer mid-contract, this will cost me $529 (according to www.google.com/nexusone).

It says that the Nexus One will be available on Verizon in Spring 2010, just a few months away. At that point, I could just pay an Early Termination Fee, switch to Verizon, port my number, sign a 2 year contract, and pay presumably $200 or so. Theres no way the Early Termination Fee and the number porting fee are >$229, so this saves me money.

Pros:
Cheaper cost of phone
Hugely bigger network

Cons:
Monthly fee might go up, depending on Verizon's plans?
Can't do voice-and-data at the same time on Verizon


Am I missing anything? What other considerations might there be?

This is how to do it. Call an HTC rep.888 216 4736

HTC rep has no real T-Mobile of Google agenda. Me: G1 owner, 5 months left on contract.

If I want to buy the Nexus now:

#1 Option: buy Nexus at $279, change to the only Nexus One plan at $79,(My G1 plan is also $79 but it's "all you can eat". Enter new 2 year contract @$79 (again lower minutes than G1 Plan.

#2 Option: Buy Nexus One unlocked at full price. Use month to month plan. Drop T-Mobile or Nexus when you want. Re-sell unlocked Nexus One on ebay to recoup some cost. (This is the route the HTC Rep, a G1 owner is personally doing herself).

#3 Option: The best plan is probably to stick with my G1 for the 4 months left on contract. Then dump T-mobile and buy Nexus One in the Spring with Verizon and superior coverage.

[bradicus]

Good to know what an HTC Rep is doing!

To complicate matters, I came across this:

http://www.gadgetopolis.com/posts/7315

Original Slashdot post:
gjt writes "I initially posted a piece ragging on the Nexus One. But then a commenter pointed out a problem with my initial logic, and after doing some math I concluded that the $529 unlocked/unsubsidized Google Nexus One gPhone is much cheaper than it appears to be. In fact it's only $49 over two years — and that's unlocked! Google likes to say that the Nexus One represents 'Our new approach to buying a mobile phone.' But it actually seems as though T-Mobile deserves most of the credit by providing a $20/month discount to customers who purchase an unsubsidized phone, a fact that didn't seem to get much attention when T-Mobile created the plan last October."


Some interesting stuff in there - certainly makes me REALLY like the idea of going month-to-month and unlocked on TMobile.

[extorian]

Once you factor in all the variables of contract versus Sim-free costs over a period of time, they aren't that different.

People often forget to factor in that an unlocked phone sells for more on eBay after you've had it a while. Many networks offer a monthly discount if you don't "upgrade" your phone and keep your "existing" handset (here in the UK T-Mobile give you £5 a month discount for that). Over a two year contract, those two alone subtracts the equivalent of $230 to $250 off the price of an unlocked phone versus a contract phone.

Of course, different networks, different countries, different costs of things.