[el mechanico]

These people are killing me. First off my phone doesn't work for shit in my house. If I move one inch in my kitchen it drops the call. I have some chicas that call me for a few minutes every couple days from the DR and Colombia and my bill this month is $400.

They told me that they charge me for the chat apps I use because they are Intl and so on that I thought were free.

I want to use my phone. No! I want to use the fuck out of my phone without jumping through hoops with apps and google voice wherever I go.

Att's Intl plan sucks and my phone worked for shit in Santo Domingo anyway.

What's the best play here? I also use it to tether at my house when the wireless is weak.

[dk902]

Best free chat app on an iphone is What's App - a few bucks to download and messaging to any foreign number in the world is free.

[el mechanico]

(02-10-2012 07:08 PM)dk902 Wrote:  

Best free chat app on an iphone is What's App - a few bucks to download and messaging to any foreign number in the world is free.

That's what I use. They say that they bill me for it Intl but I haven't seen the bill yet. I asked today.

[PimpishMentality]

Yea I agree with you about AT&T. I have an unlimited plan and now they are slowing down the bandwidth for unlimited users who go over a certain amount.

I hope the iPhone 5 is compatible with Tmobile when it comes out because I am switching over to them when it does.

[IVth_Element]

AT&T is too fucking expensive and so is Verizon, with their holier than thou bullshit attitude. Fuck em both.

I had the Sprint unlimited plan for $110 a month, but they are possibly heading into bankruptcy (in my opinion) and after months of my service not working properly, I threw them to the curb. They also upped their early termination fee to $350, likely out of fears of losing clients due to not being able to compete. Their CFO said that they need $10Billion just to get their infrastructure in place to compete against Verizon.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/the-c...on-over-t/

After that, the stock got chopped in half and is now sitting around $2.29 a share.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=S

The best plan in the industry now is the T-mobile value plan. They completely switched their business model, so they basically have you put a down payment on a good phone and pay the rest off at $15 to $20 a month until paid or you can grab a GSM phone online and not pay retail. I like that they pulled the cost of the phone out of their plans, so we aren't basically paying for the device for life. You can get an unlimited talk and text plan with 2GB of 4G data for $59.99. After the 2GB, you aren't charged for extra data, but your speed will be slow. Not enough, just upgrade the plan.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/Va...kages.aspx

I also added the wifi hotspot for $15 and it saves me cash every time I travel in the US. Instead of paying $14 a day at my hotel in NYC last week for internet, I just put on the hot spot and got to work. I will admit that it is unstable and needs to be refreshed every few hours.

Make sure the service is worth a shit in your area before you commit.

[Caligula]

I feel your pain Emech. Cell phone plans and providers in the US are a joke compared to Europe.

The best plan I've found was AT&T Go Phone (Pay as you go) at $25 / month.

It's prepaid month to month so if you're leaving the country you can just not pay and then start paying again when you get back. Never again do you have to pay just because you're on a bullshit contract. For $25 I get 250 minutes, unlimited texts. For another $25 I get 500 MB of 3G data usage that works on my iphone.

You have to do some manual configuration to get data to work on the iPhone or some Android phones (AT&T will tell you that it data doesn't work on smartphones with their PAYG plan and try to sell you expensive smartphone contracts - but that's bullshit.)

If you go for the $50 / month Pay as you go plan you get unlimited int'l texting and unlimited minutes too. They say the $50 / month plan is unlimited data but I still had to top up my data separately at $25 for 500 MB so I ended up downgrading to the $25 / month base plan and topping up my data separately.

500 MB lasts through the month for me since I'm near wifi when using a lot of data.

For international calls I use the Google Voice app (uses your minutes, but is cheap) or even better Skype over wifi.

After looking at the alternatives I don't understand why anyone would go on a long-term contract; the providers don't reward loyalty and try to bleed you any way they can.

[txbeachbum]

(02-10-2012 07:15 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 07:08 PM)dk902 Wrote:  

Best free chat app on an iphone is What's App - a few bucks to download and messaging to any foreign number in the world is free.

That's what I use. They say that they bill me for it Intl but I haven't seen the bill yet. I asked today.

whatsapp uses data not text, so they shouldnt bill you. thats why blackberry is so popular is these other countries ie DR bbm is always free unlimited and global no chance of doing it wrong.

[txbeachbum]

(02-10-2012 07:06 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

These people are killing me. First off my phone doesn't work for shit in my house. If I move one inch in my kitchen it drops the call. I have some chicas that call me for a few minutes every couple days from the DR and Colombia and my bill this month is $400.

They told me that they charge me for the chat apps I use because they are Intl and so on that I thought were free.

I want to use my phone. No! I want to use the fuck out of my phone without jumping through hoops with apps and google voice wherever I go.

Att's Intl plan sucks and my phone worked for shit in Santo Domingo anyway.

What's the best play here? I also use it to tether at my house when the wireless is weak.

You used ya cell in SD, on intl roam!!

Get that damn phone unlocked and get you a orange, claro sim card.

NEVER ever use usa intl roaming no matter the carrier, and if you spending alot of time on the phone in the states calling international get vonage intl plan it covers 60 countries DR, colombia for unlimited for $60 a month

[el mechanico]

(02-10-2012 08:23 PM)txbeachbum Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 07:06 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

These people are killing me. First off my phone doesn't work for shit in my house. If I move one inch in my kitchen it drops the call. I have some chicas that call me for a few minutes every couple days from the DR and Colombia and my bill this month is $400.

They told me that they charge me for the chat apps I use because they are Intl and so on that I thought were free.

I want to use my phone. No! I want to use the fuck out of my phone without jumping through hoops with apps and google voice wherever I go.

Att's Intl plan sucks and my phone worked for shit in Santo Domingo anyway.

What's the best play here? I also use it to tether at my house when the wireless is weak.

You used ya cell in SD, on intl roam!!

Get that damn phone unlocked and get you a orange, claro sim card.

NEVER ever use usa intl roaming no matter the carrier, and if you spending alot of time on the phone in the states calling international get vonage intl plan it covers 60 countries DR, colombia for unlimited for $60 a month

The people that work with me are not phone friendly and fuck my biz all up if they answer. I have my biz line forwarded to my cell all the time so I need it to work anywhere I go. I get about 75 to 150 calls a day.

I've only had one cell number ever as well so I can't change that either. I have no problem getting a DR number and another phone but my main shit needs to be solid

[Chad Daring]

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

[el mechanico]

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

[Caligula]

(02-10-2012 09:01 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

Emech do you pay more when receiving overseas calls than when receiving domestic calls?

[el mechanico]

(02-10-2012 09:05 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:01 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

Emech do you pay more when receiving overseas calls than when receiving domestic calls?

Yes. I pay for incoming calls from other countries up the ass. The same as if I were calling out. I need to view the bill to see exactly but It was high last month from travel but this month is out of line.

[Caligula]

(02-10-2012 09:10 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:05 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:01 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

Emech do you pay more when receiving overseas calls than when receiving domestic calls?

Yes. I pay for incoming calls from other countries up the ass. The same as if I were calling out

That's strange, I pay the same for an incoming domestic call as for an incoming international call when I'm in the US.

[el mechanico]

(02-10-2012 09:12 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:10 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:05 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 09:01 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

Emech do you pay more when receiving overseas calls than when receiving domestic calls?

Yes. I pay for incoming calls from other countries up the ass. The same as if I were calling out

That's strange, I pay the same for an incoming domestic call as for an incoming international call when I'm in the US.

I need to see the bill myself I could be wrong on that but when I called they ran that down verbally to me. How could it be 4 beans otherwise?

[Menace]

Maybe you need a combination of Google Voice and an international SIM when you're in DR. Also, look at this: http://www.iphonetrip.com/

[IVth_Element]

What about Vonage mobile? I just downloaded it. It says talk and text for free anywhere in the world for anyone that has the app. Also supposedly lower intl rates than Skype and better call quality. Works over wifi and 3G/4G. Anyone used it before?

[el mechanico]

(02-11-2012 03:45 PM)IVth_Element Wrote:  

What about Vonage mobile? I just downloaded it. Anyone used it before?

Downloaded?

[IVth_Element]

Yes, it's an Android app for your cell phone. It's free on the Android market and iphone too, I think. Basically, anyone that downloads the app can call and text you for free, and vice versa. As I mentioned, the call quality is supposed to be better than Skype and less expensive for intl rates for landlines. I haven't had time to try it out much but I will soon.

[el mechanico]

Ok I went and switched to T mobile today and the guy there started porting my number and told me that I have to get my I phone unlocked today and to put the sim card in he gave me. Another person said you dont have to unlock it for T mobile. I don't know what to do but this thing has to work if I'm going to get laid tonight.

Anyone?

[Chad Daring]

(02-10-2012 09:01 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(02-10-2012 08:58 PM)Chad Daring Wrote:  

I like Verizon, they're more expensive then most but I've never had an issue with their service

Do you get overseas calls coming in?

I dont get overseas calls lol. I cant speak to the quality of their service internationally but within the US I've never had a problem, even in bumfuck nowhere Ohio where my uncle lives I get service.

[Screwston]

T mobile sucks, but I think its the cheapest one out there. Can I use an android phone with boost, pre paid, etc? Those cheap carriers

[Tuthmosis]

I don't like their politics, but Verizon all the way. You get what you pay for, man. AT&T has an unreliable signal--thanks to all the fatties clacking away on their iPhones all day, while sippin' on Starbucks Milkshakes. I swear, over half the people I know on AT&T complain about constant dropped calls or getting no signal in their own homes. T-Mobile and Sprint are budget, with nasty-sounding phone calls. If you only text, you might be cool, but otherwise you're going to have people sounding like the adults on a Peanuts cartoon. One of my homies is on T-Mobile and I often get his texts with a 30-60 minute delay. Shit's excruciating.

[Aliblahba]

Yes, AT&T went to shit in a hand basket quick. We were stuck with them though due to the GSM service. Verizon became an option with the Droid2Global. I will pick up Verizon when finally returning to the states. In the end, however, there are no great options.

[defguy]

Im shocked that nobody has mentioned MVNO (short for mobile virtual network operator). Its essentially a small company that rents space on a big company’s network (like Verizon or AT&T) and then offers discounted service to customers. Some of the plans seem almost ridiculously cheap and many don’t require any sort of contract. You can save even more if you cut out data plans and simply use your phone for talking and txting.