Mobile Carriers
No 3G/4G Plan? Stand-Alone Operation
TIP: You don't have to buy a phone line from a
carrier to use Android devices,
especially if you're always near wi-fi signals at home, in the office, or near some wi-fi hotspot.
You can buy an unlocked phone from Amazon, eBay, etc. and still get apps onto the device
via a USB cable to your laptop, such as Skype to make phone calls.
BLAH: Google Voice does not make calls like on the PC.
WARNING: Even if you purchase a phone on eBay completely off of Sprint and use it only on wi-fi, Sprint can still monitor your device with metrics because CarrierIQ aggressively reports on wi-fi as well as wireless channels.
T-Mobile, AOTW, does not block (free) SIP calls over wi-fi.
-
APP:
SIP Droid uses registration at
gtalk2voip.com/ to reach users on
Google Voice, for FREE calls (both voice and video) via Wi-Fi networks.
Voice quality can be quite poor with
APP:
Google Voice but
APP:
Skype is a little better.
One can now port (for a $20 one-time fee) an existing cell number to Google Voice.
CAUTION: Since porting immediately cancels your phone service with the carrier,
to avoid early termination fees (of $350 or more), port after when your contract ends with a carrier, and you'd like to switch carriers anyway.
TIP: Carrier web pages often offer significantly discounted reburbished phones not available at retail stores. So check the site before going to a store.
TIP: If you travel internationally, call/email the carrier in the other country to check if your phone will accept the SIM card offered with pay-as-you-go plans. In Canada, it's Telus.
Modem Frequencies
Google first introduced Android on their US T-Mobile and AT&T GSM networks (with SIM cards).
Verizon (on frequency 1.9 Ghz), and Sprint use CDMA techonology.
Verizon's LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G network uses GSM technology.
Sprint's is rolling out its LTE in 2012 initially in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
Unlike the more common GSM-based networks, Verizon's CDMA technology makes it impossible to bring in your own unlocked, non-carrier-specific device for GSM networks.
3G/4G Wireless Phone Carrier Cheers and Jeers
Since Sep 2011, Walmart sells a $150 Samsung Galaxy Precedent SCH-M828C 3.2" Andriod 2.2.2 device for Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) StraightTalk's $45/month unlimited talk/text/data plan piggybacking on Sprint's 3G network limited to urban areas. BLAH: One annoyance is that incoming calls require you to "click 1 to accept" the call. Since this phone also locks the screen automatically on calls, do not set the PWR/LOCK key to end phone calls (in Settings > Accessibility > Cancel).
TIP: While signing up, check for employer discounts of up to 27%.
BLAH: Sprint doesn't honor such discounts for its unlimited plans, which is pretty much all they sell.
Unlike other carriers, AT&T does NOT allow phones from different areas to be in the same family plan.
One way around this is to give out your number held by
WEBSITE:
Google Voice, then forward calls to whatever number is associated with a cell phone.
BLAH: Google Voice only works with cell phone numbers, not numbers from land-line phones.
BLAH: AT&T deactives the SIM card on a device when it is deactivated from a plan. New SIM chips are $25 each ($30 from Best Buy).
Pluses for AT&T's - rollover minutes are (supposedly) kept for 12 months.
Insurance
SMILES:
Only phones on AT&T can simultaneously access phone and web traffic.
Sprint phones can text and talk (but not access web) simultaneously.
Minus: AT&T's insurance (Assurion 888.562-8662, open M-F 8-10ET, 11-8 Sat-Sun) has a $125 deductible to ship via FedEx.
Sprint's insurance has only a $50 deductible.