Database Users

$0.15 incoming SMS charge for Telus?!

Hey Telus users,
I'm sure you all know about the recent addition of the 15 cent incoming SMS charge. I'd like to know if anyone has called Customer service to cancel?
Does this change give us the option to bail on our contract early (for free) because of a change in terms?
I wish they would open up Canada to use American providers.
Any thoughts?

Tough luck, they've already publicly stated that they will not be freeing anyone.
That said, they've been doing this for months already on many accounts. Best bet is to complain to customer service... they'll probably offer a free unlimited text message add-on.
If enough people complain... I think you'll see Bell/Telus back off and forget the whole stupid idea.

guardianfox said:
Tough luck, they've already publicly stated that they will not be freeing anyone.
That said, they've been doing this for months already on many accounts. Best bet is to complain to customer service... they'll probably offer a free unlimited text message add-on.
If enough people complain... I think you'll see Bell/Telus back off and forget the whole stupid idea.
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unless you live close enough to the border, than you could get sprint

I do actually! I am in Vancouver, B.C most of my time
Wouldn't I need an American address or an American credit card?
hm.
Does anyone have any good success stories calling telus and whining about your plan? My work buddy tells me he yelled because of the misleading lack of wifi in the Touch and got free data and a decent voice package for 30 bucks a month.
Who knows if that is true or not...

guardianfox said:
If enough people complain... I think you'll see Bell/Telus back off and forget the whole stupid idea.
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Bell has clearly stated (I can't speak for Telus - but I believe it is the same deal), that if you sub to ANY plan that includes text messaging, you will not be charged for these incoming messages. This charge was put in place for those that do not have any text messaging as part of their plan.

TheIgster said:
Bell has clearly stated (I can't speak for Telus - but I believe it is the same deal), that if you sub to ANY plan that includes text messaging, you will not be charged for these incoming messages. This charge was put in place for those that do not have any text messaging as part of their plan.
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Yes, absolutely they will. However, for those who did not wish to incur the extra cost of a text messaging add-on or plan... there's nothing to do but complain.
Think about it this way. Let's say some fool friend of yours gets the bright idea to text you the first 10 books of the bible... not only is your phone going to sound like a busy highway, but it's also going to cost you some extra $$$. To prevent this, you have two choices: Turn off text messaging features, or subscribe to a package including text messages. Are you supposed to take responsibility for any unsolicited messages?
I've already experienced this situation. A short while ago, an idiot I know decided it would be funny to send my phone number to some crank-calling service online. I never did get the call, but I started getting spam text messages, at a rate of about 10 an hour. Telus started charging me $0.15ea from the very first one. After 2 weeks, I got the bill. Do the math.
Paying for incoming messages is not like paying for incoming phone calls. With a call you have a choice. You can choose not to answer, or hang up when you feel the call is too long. Caller ID is a low-cost feature on many plans that will help with this. With a text message, you do not have any option other than turning the feature off entirely. There's no way to weed out or prevent unwanted messages.
I've gotten over $100 worth of extras from them because I've complained about it... including the easiest one: free text messages added to my plan.

brynhewko said:
I do actually! I am in Vancouver, B.C most of my time
Wouldn't I need an American address or an American credit card?
hm.
Does anyone have any good success stories calling telus and whining about your plan? My work buddy tells me he yelled because of the misleading lack of wifi in the Touch and got free data and a decent voice package for 30 bucks a month.
Who knows if that is true or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been paying for data ($15) and a $30 package. I've complained about the flaws with the Touch, misinformation from Telus service/sales/tech, this SMS issue, and more... IF you are willing to spend the time on the phone (mostly on hold), and make repeat calls, they'll slowly give more and more features. It all has to do with your complaining skills and the only way to improve them is to use them.
I've gotten:
-Free voicemail (for length of contract)
-1/2 price billing for six months (yet to be put in effect )
-The Touch Diamond as soon as it is available. No charge, no extended contract.
-Free TXT addon (for length of contract)
-Extra 50 daytime minutes twice, for 100. (for length of contract)
-100 Canadian Long Distance Minutes (for length of contract)
-Well over $100 in credits for incoming txt's, incorrect charges, etc.
I've only been a client for 8 months.

guardianfox said:
Yes, absolutely they will. However, for those who did not wish to incur the extra cost of a text messaging add-on or plan... there's nothing to do but complain.
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Oh, I agree. I certainly don't condone what they are doing, but for the most part, it won't effect most consumers.
guardianfox said:
I've gotten over $100 worth of extras from them because I've complained about it... including the easiest one: free text messages added to my plan.
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Yep, I have called Bell and complained about numerous things over the few years I've been with them. Let's put it this way, I get:
Call waiting, voice mail, unlimited Internet (including ALL data transfer), 3 way calling, calls between the 2 phones completely free anytime, unlimited evenings and weekends starting at 6, 250 text messages and 250 daytime minutes.
All this on TWO phones for $64.40 a month.
Trust me, I complained a bit. I don't know of anywhere else where you would get that kind of deal for two phones.

brynhewko said:
I do actually! I am in Vancouver, B.C most of my time
Wouldn't I need an American address or an American credit card?
hm.
Does anyone have any good success stories calling telus and whining about your plan? My work buddy tells me he yelled because of the misleading lack of wifi in the Touch and got free data and a decent voice package for 30 bucks a month.
Who knows if that is true or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont think so....call sprint and find out, as long as they can send you the bill then i don't think they care lol
wait nvm, that would be why they can't have you but you could why it wouldn't hurt you since you live in Canada they can't do anything

Incoming BS at $$$$
They just nickel and dime us. Then the rate goes up.
The entire system is digital.
What the heck then charge for call display?
Voice mail I can see, it takes up data space.
Text and voice can both be compressed. These monkeys are just ripping us off.

I am with bell and they screwed me hardcore but after a week of calling i got some some compensation for it. First i bought the htc 5800 phone as i loved the whole sliding qwerty keyboard. I asked for unlimited internet, unlimited text, msn, and then a basic voice plan as i barely talk on my phone. They told me they would have to add a minium of $25 for a data plan onto my $20 voice plan for the extra features that i asked for and i was fine with that as they told i would get what i requested. Everything was all dandy until i got my first bill $698.89. Apparently the 5800 doesnt support unlimited internet so i got nailed with data charges. No one told me this.
After calling bell for a week i was able to get a free htc touch, unlimited data, msn, text messaging, voicemail, free calling after 6pm and weekends, and free incoming calls for $60 a month. which is alot better than the close to $100 it would have costed me if i didnt complain that they screwed me over. It just makes u wonder how much money they get when they screw people over and they dont complain about it.

Orange 250MB data finished in 20 days only !!!

When I got "unlimited data" bundle with fair usage policy of 250MB, i thought it should be more than enough for a month. However, just checked my online orange account and i have already used all 250 mb with 10 days before the start of new month/bundle.
Used phone for browsing and youtube + emails. However, didn't anticipate that it will take 250mb. Now it seems a very small allowance. Any idea if I can still increase my package to 500MB ? (contract already 20 days old now - it was month 15 upgrade). or may be Orange will increase all unlimited bundles in near future ?
Secondly, is there a GPRS monitor for HD? I mean is there a way to monitor how much MBs of data has been used so far or being used by an application like youtube or during browsing? So that one can monitor his use.
Thanks

SPB have a GPRS monitor
http://spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/wirelessmonitor/?en
EDIT : I don't know if it works with the HD though - I assume it does.

omg that is really much.
i just upgraded my german vodafone tariff to 200 mb for the next month.
i hope that will be enough.
i think youtube takes a lot of traffic. especially when you activate high quality.

The reason I wanted to stay with T-Mobile UK.... it's 1GB fair usage policy.
The phone cost me more to get it on T-Mobile (Thru Expansys) but the 1GB was more valuable to me.

Paul.Ferrari said:
SPB have a GPRS monitor
http://spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/wirelessmonitor/?en
EDIT : I don't know if it works with the HD though - I assume it does.
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SPB GRPS Monitor is now called SPB Wireless Monitor and works perfectly on the HD.

I used up 45mb in just a week with just basic browsing and emails, didnt even download anything yet.

I would cut down on YouTube, that's where the big usage goes. General browsing and stuff is generally next to nothing.
I just upgraded to this bundle. I was never sold it as 'unlimited' though? The lady explained it was a 250 meg package for £7.50, the next package down was 4 meg for £4!?!? bit of a difference!
After the 250 meg, what happens? You carry on with standard usage, £1.50 cap a day?

I use Opera mini on my M700/P3600 and so far in the last 3 weeks I've only used about 70Mb. I've probably browsed every day, sometimes for up to 4 or 5 hours constantly but mainly on forums and phone review sites. Does Opera Mini compress the pages more than the version that ships with the WM 6.1 phones?

1 youtube 2-3min video is about +/-10mb, that's a lot! i stopped watching youtube on my HD

I used 50MB in a couple of days after watching a couple of things on YouTube. Since then though I've only used around 10MB in email in occasional browsing.

Spb wireless monitor is brilliant. shows the breakdown of all data used through different channels. Ideal to monitor how much data ie being used. It showed em how much YOUTUBE cost. I guess that was the reason I managed to finish 250MB in 20 days.
Have to cut down on youtube now , though it is very addictive and I wish , Orange had a better data package with atleast 1gb.

luckey me i have 5gb free and after that they just cap the speed it still dosent cost anny extra
but i have used 3gb now since the 1st dec

i have questioned orange re exceeding fair usage and was informed on many occasions that i wont be charged but warned if im constantly exceeding my limit.

with o2 free unlimited web bolt on..... free unlimited land line bolt on...
happy days...

orange do an unlimited evening and weekend package for £5 a month with 1gb fair usage. also the £1.50 daily cap.
the unlimited 250 usage package they are offering at the moment is a joke. they sell the hd with this package but it expires after 3months anyway and then automatically puts you on the unlimited evening and weekends package.
i have my emails updating every two hours and am signed into msn most days, outside of the evening and weekend package with the daily cap my gprs charges have only been about £12 in a month.

From the day I got the Touch HD (Wednesday) to the Monday just gone, (so about 4 days), I have used 0.075MB.
Anyway, I asked and the guy said the 250MB is a guide. I suggested that if I used 260MB they wouldn't charge me, but a big excess in data usage would result in a flag of your account.
However, "excessive" hasn't been quantified yet.

davgom said:
orange do an unlimited evening and weekend package for £5 a month with 1gb fair usage. also the £1.50 daily cap.
the unlimited 250 usage package they are offering at the moment is a joke. they sell the hd with this package but it expires after 3months anyway and then automatically puts you on the unlimited evening and weekends package.
i have my emails updating every two hours and am signed into msn most days, outside of the evening and weekend package with the daily cap my gprs charges have only been about £12 in a month.
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WHAT ???? Y would it expire after 3 months? 250MB/unlimited data bundle is part of the contract on Panther 45. (choice b/w Unlimited Landline, Unlimited Txts or 250MB Data). It is supposed to be for the whole length of the contract i.e., 18 months.
Are they using 250MB for guide only? But I have checked my online account on Orange and I am already been charged for like £1.6 + approx. for data use outside my package. I guess they are using 250MB limit strictly. However, to compete with other networks, they should really increase it.

orange are lame and stingy when it comes to data, i mean they got/had exclusive rights to the Touch HD: a multimedia communication device, designed to keep you connected, informed and updated; all of which require a data connection.
Yet their measly fair usage policy limits the potential of the device itself and disables you from using it for its true designed purpose.
My brother uses, youtube, internet (and many things that require a data connection) without even thinking about data usage and fair crappy usage policies on his iphone, o2 provide users of the iphone with an all you can eat buffet (another reason why iphone is doing well)
Orange is like those cheap short-haul airlines, everything extra costs you extra extra

Excuse me drifting off-topic ever so slightly, but can anyone tell me:
How fussy are Orange about the use of their 1GB off-peak service?
The small print seems to prohibit instant messaging, any kind of non-orange streaming etc.
Do they really make a fuss or block users for small amounts of such usage?
Do they block any ports?
- Steve

marcopolo007uk said:
The reason I wanted to stay with T-Mobile UK.... it's 1GB fair usage policy.
The phone cost me more to get it on T-Mobile (Thru Expansys) but the 1GB was more valuable to me.
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Ditto.
Loving the HD on T-Mobile.

N1 on T-Mobile only 500 minutes

Is 500 minutes enough for you?
I only have 45 minutes remaining for the last 2.5 weeks of my billing cycle. For me, some months I use a lot some months not so much. This worked out great on my iPhone with AT&T's rollover minutes. I had nearly 2000 minutes saved up.
It doesn't appear that T-Mobile will even let us upgrade to a plan with more minutes.
I have tried using voip with sipdroid, but it is unreliable.
Trying to brace myself for a large bill....

I'm told that you have an additional 500 forwarding min, so if you forward your number to a different phone, work phone, home phone.
Not really the best solution, but its there.
I'm torn because I live on the edge of 500 min every month (currently on a myfaves plan). Going to the even more plus 500 plan would save me 20 bucks a month. If i can stay under 500 min that is.

bofslime said:
I'm told that you have an additional 500 forwarding min, so if you forward your number to a different phone, work phone, home phone.
Not really the best solution, but its there.
I'm torn because I live on the edge of 500 min every month (currently on a myfaves plan). Going to the even more plus 500 plan would save me 20 bucks a month. If i can stay under 500 min that is.
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LOL are you kidding??
NEVER change your plan!
MyFaves + Google Voice = 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 minutes!!! (Unlimited)
I can't believe you don't have that set up?? I did that on day 1 of GV being introduced on my G1!

I was given the option to upgrade my plan the first time I called T Mo to set up my visual voicemail. Call back. The option should be available.

so if i use my google voice # to make/received calls, i am not charged minutes?
that doesn't sound right.......?
(assuming i am making receiving calls during peak non-unlimited times)

dsarch21 said:
so if i use my google voice # to make/received calls, i am not charged minutes?
that doesn't sound right.......?
(assuming i am making receiving calls during peak non-unlimited times)
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If you have a MyFaves plan, you can put 5 phone numbers to call to and receive calls from, unlimited talking.
So put your GV # and you get unlimited minutes!!!

na....i just switched to tmob, so no myfaves......oh well

dsarch21 said:
na....i just switched to tmob, so no myfaves......oh well
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Right, I'm just saying to the above guy and anyone else with MyFaves, switching off of a MyFaves plan with an Android phone is absolutely INSANE

lol on my T-mobile Austria contract, I have 2000min all around Europe, 1000min to T-mobile and Box, 1000 sms, and 3gb at HSDPA 7,2 for 24€ at all fits perfect with my Nexus one!
I think it´s not to bad

Paul22000 said:
Right, I'm just saying to the above guy and anyone else with MyFaves, switching off of a MyFaves plan with an Android phone is absolutely INSANE
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Yeah, I'm aware of this. Don't currently use it that way just because I don't get anywhere near my min. And really, my plan is only $5 cheaper a month than the fully unlimited everything plan from tmo. 39.99 (myfav 300) + 34.99 (G1 data+unlimited text) = 74.98/mo + 10 ish in taxes/fee's = $84.98/mo

bofslime said:
Yeah, I'm aware of this. Don't currently use it that way just because I don't get anywhere near my min. And really, my plan is only $5 cheaper a month than the fully unlimited everything plan from tmo. 39.99 (myfav 300) + 34.99 (G1 data+unlimited text) = 74.98/mo + 10 ish in taxes/fee's = $84.98/mo
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Ah, my data plan is $24.99. Why are you paying for texts? GV does free unlimited texting too ; )

They will let you upgrade your plan, they just won't let you downgrade.
They are not gonna turn down more money if you want to give them more money.

resisting change, haven't given out my GV number really. I dunno, been debating for a while want I've been wanting to do about my plan.

TMO Unlimited Talk $49.99
Unlimited Data $19.99
Loving my N1
Loving the NEW GV Group feature fro sms.

bofslime said:
resisting change, haven't given out my GV number really. I dunno, been debating for a while want I've been wanting to do about my plan.
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Debated this for a long time as well, and finally made the switch a couple of weeks ago. It's almost as if I didn't switch at all. I forwarded my new number to anyone that actually texts me. Those that don't, don't need the new number. Those that do text, and thus, got the new number, have cell phones, so all they're doing is changing the number in their phone to the new one. It's not as if they have to memorize your new number (who does that anymore?!). My plan switches to the 500 minute plan on the 14th, and including the money I save from switching plans and dropping the text plan, I'll save $20-30 a month. I do wish I'd switched to MyFaves when I had the chance though...

My wife is under contract to ATT for iphone. I left ATT for unlocked N1 on TMobile with 500 min everything plus plan. We were used to calling each other w/o regard to minutes as it was all "free." I signed up for Skype Out subscription to US/Canada for $2.95 plus vat/euro tax/whatever of .72 per month. Also had to buy $10 worth of credit to send 2 sms to get cell # on the Skype caller id. Installed fring and call her on skype out via fring. About a 2 second delay when we are both in our living room plus its a little tinny sounding. She knows to be prepared for the delay unless its the weekend If android ever gets a full skypeout app then quality and lag should be better.

I didn't change my plan at all. The 500 minute plan would have been a step back for me with how much they wanted compared to what I currently have, so I bought mine unsubsidized.
Unlimited minutes - $49.99
Unlimited data/text - $34.99
So.....$84.98 + taxes/fees each month.

As a college student the 500 minutes seem to be enough for me, mostly i text in the day and call during the unlimited nights and weekends, i still have 400 mins left til the 20th.

I just upgraded my minutes today tmobile upgraded me to 1000 minutes for 10 bucks more a month quick and easy no issues.

Yep and I have been told by a T-mobile rep that once you are out of the 120 Handset recovery period (Google's) you can do whatever you want with your plan so long as you dont cancel service. You can upgrade or downgrade as you need!

How do you use your N1?

I'm on a data only plan and I imagine most folks use the N1 for both voice and data, but let's see.

Finite minutes - unlimited data (20% voice and 80% data)

Unlimited Everything.. Though I don't talk much on it. It's the $140/month family plan for 2 phones. At some point, we may scale back to 750 minutes if we simply don't use enough.

family plan with unlimted data and messaging.

Finite minutes, unlimited data
I still have a MyFaves plan and people I call regularly are on it. Those that aren't are T-Mo Mobile to Mobile calls and the conference bridges I am on are T-Mobile bridges anyway so they are Mobile to Mobile as well, so I use over 1500+ minutes a month, and normally about 100 or so of those are ever take out of my anytime minutes. lol!

5% voice, 95% data, mostly Wi-Fi at work and home. Keeps me entertained at the mall while the wife and daughters are shopping.

Namuna said:
I'm on a data only plan and I imagine most folks use the N1 for both voice and data, but let's see.
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is it tru u have to sign a 2 yr for data only plan?

UK plan
I'm on Vodafone UK (awesome 3G network)...I get 750 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls (so no minutes cut there) and unlimited data (fair usage of 500mb per month, 1gb for iphone users, go figure!) for £30 per month...I guess that's about $50 or so...is that a good deal in the US??

Clarification
cyborg_001 said:
I'm on Vodafone UK (awesome 3G network)...I get 750 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited landline calls (so no minutes cut there) and unlimited data (fair usage of 500mb per month, 1gb for iphone users, go figure!) for £30 per month...I guess that's about $50 or so...is that a good deal in the US??
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Click to collapse
Forgot to add that this cost covers the price of my contracted nokia N97 phone (which I sold for £320 and I'm on an 18 month plan...can upgrade from 15th month)...otherwise a monthly rolling plan like this with 900 minutes will cost me just £20 per month!!!

Well... I had a T-mo loyalty plan ... and bought the nexus unsubsidized. That way I did not have to be limited by that 500 min plan.

My wife and I are on the 1500 minute, unlimited messaging, unlimited data package labeled "Even More Plus". She now has my old G1, so we are an Android Family now.

Worked out a deal with T-mobile's retention department since I've been a good customer for 8 years. They set it up so I paid $279 for the phone, with the 2 year contract for the 500 minute plan... and after the 120 days, they'll put me back on my grandfathered plan which is $74.98 for 1000 minutes, unlim. n/w, and unlim sms and data. So Google won't charge their ETF and I'll be paying less over two years than if I bought the phone unsubd.

Unlimited everything with a private APN for €0/m
But then I work for Vodafone...

Vodafone Australia
$69 cap.. You get $370 worth of calls and 1GB data

I got a crazy T-Mobile deal a couple years back so I get unlimited Messaging for $9.99/Month for the entire family. That costs like $35/mo now. As long as I keep signing contracts I don't lose that $9.99. This also means my unlimited data plans for my N1 and my wifes MT are only $25/mo because we don't need the messaging with them.
I have Fave 5 with Google Voice so I have unlimited Minutes because I have my GV number on my 5.
Win for me.

[Q] Cheapest Decent No Contract, Voice/Text Plan

Looking for a no contract plan with decent amount of minutes (preferably at least 200/250 per month) and unlimited texting. Data doesn't really matter to me that much as I'm almost always near Wifi.
Any suggestions?
I'm currently eyeing the T-Mobile $30 no contract plan that includes 100 min., unlim. texting, and unlim. data (4G speeds up to 5 GB) but the minutes seem like they won't be enough and the next level of plans is the $50 unlimited everything.
Is there anything comparable to this from services like Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, and such that's easy on the wallet? (Broke college student)
I also need it to use swappable SIM cards (GSM) similar to the prepaid T-Mobile plan described above, unlike Metro PCS, Boost, and such because I like to fiddle with various phones (the XDA community knows a little about this addiction
I would appreciate any suggestions.
Note: I'm located in Southern California (LA area) if it matters.

Virgin Mobile for $35, you get 300 minutes and unlimited web, data messaging, and email.
EDIT: Oops NVM, you wanted swapable SIMS, in that case, there is Red Pocket Mobile. You can bring your own GSM phone and it's $30 for 250 minutes voice and unlimited text, 10 MMS, and 10 MB data (better make sure you use WiFi). I think they use AT&Ts network.

man did not even kno about red pocket mobile

adelmundo said:
Virgin Mobile for $35, you get 300 minutes and unlimited web, data messaging, and email.
EDIT: Oops NVM, you wanted swapable SIMS, in that case, there is Red Pocket Mobile. You can bring your own GSM phone and it's $30 for 250 minutes voice and unlimited text, 10 MMS, and 10 MB data (better make sure you use WiFi). I think they use AT&Ts network.
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Thanks adelmundo, Red Pocket sounds like a good option, but I think people get the most bang for the buck with the $30 T-Mobile one for smartphone users. I really don't talk on the phone that much but like I said, 3.33 minutes per day seems too little. But I think they have like a fixed rate per minute if you go over the 100 minutes (I'm not sure what exactly that rate is) but even if you go over, it still be less than $45/$50, beating a lot of the 2-year contract plans out there.
PS: Awesome avatar!

my T mobile plan is unlimited everything and it is 75 per month. For me it works pretty well I do around 100-200 texts average,,, 3500 min + phone average and around 5-7 gig of internet......... the thing to consider with some of the off brand or smaller sub companies is if you travel at all they totally suck on coverage and speed. So, for me Tmobile is a good choice. But... if you just stay in one location basically, then the smaller companies would be good enough. It all depends on what you need.

saintsmmx said:
Thanks adelmundo, Red Pocket sounds like a good option, but I think people get the most bang for the buck with the $30 T-Mobile one for smartphone users. I really don't talk on the phone that much but like I said, 3.33 minutes per day seems too little. But I think they have like a fixed rate per minute if you go over the 100 minutes (I'm not sure what exactly that rate is) but even if you go over, it still be less than $45/$50, beating a lot of the 2-year contract plans out there.
PS: Awesome avatar!
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It's $0.10 a minute if you go over.
Sent from my HTC Sensation with Beats Audio using xda premium