Thinking of Jumping from / to TMobile? Read this thread first for any feedback!
(hint - anyone want to share their experiences?
)
(DRAT! No double post..i'd hate to have been the admin who had to put up with whatever it was that caused this to happen!)
Jumping FROM TMO to SPRINT:I know, the EVO4G is a big deal right now and the Galaxy S Pro is pretty huge as well but there are some caveats to keep in mind. These are fresh from my brain atm as I just spent almost two weeks studying the decision because I am one of those that actually really needs a keyboard.
1. Customer ServiceSprint's customer service has gotten better. I do honestly mean that, as roughly 6 years ago I did have SPrint and ETF'd my way out due to the horrible, crappy, abusive, and price gouging customer service. Now, however, it seems to have gotten pretty good. I've got friends with Sprint and they keep coming back with how much better the service has gotten. But has it gotten good enough to beat Tmobile? The answer is still a resounding NO. For example, MS's Hall of Shame has them listed - and it seems as if they've been listed there since it's inception. The 2010 results show them with an improvement but hey, let's face it - they're on there and TMO isn't. (
http://saf.li/88Vhe if you want to see the results).
2. Phone QualitySprint's learned its lesson and has started to pick up newer and better phones but this is still something new for them. True, they have high-end Android devices but who had them first? While the TMO phone quality is a work in progress (Especially true with the new CEO), Sprint's been constantly behind the 8ball in early adoption. The EVO4G is not an early adoptee phone; it took them a year or so to see what happened with TMO's Android sales to determine if they wanted to join in. EVO4G is their first "real" Android phone...so what will happen when something else comes along? You'll be waiting one year or more, again, while Sprint makes up its mind.
3. Network QualitySprint is using a EV-DO spec that can't quite grow as strong as TMO's HSPA, which is used almost worldwide. TMO's HSPA is a globally recognized spec that has gotten acceptance, and now with their HSPA+ upgrades they are able to offer speeds closer or faster than the "4G" that Sprint is advertising WITHOUT charging an extra "$10" fee (which is a total joke, see #4 below).
On that note, their "4G" is not true 4G, nor does it come close to true 4G. TMO's HSPA+ is more towards 3.5G. A recent speed test / comparison showed that TMO's current HSPA+ network will give you the same, if not better, speeds. Here's TmoNews' excellent synopsis plus details:
http://saf.li/d8VhCTmoNews User FCB02062 chimes in with the following - and yes, it's pretty much up to par with the information shown above.
But TMO destroyed Sprint in my next test - network speed. Sprint's EVDO was clocking in around 600-800 kbps, while my TMO 3G was blowing that away with results in the 1100 kbps to 1500 kbps. No contest here. Then I did some research on it and Sprint says on their web site that their mobile broadband will operate at 450-800 Kbps with peak rates up to 3.1 Mbps. I haven't been anywhere near that top speed.
4. Truth factorSprint gets a special bullet point. You might not see this bullet with other carriers, and it's because Sprint did something that is so stupendously ridiculous that it deserved its own spot. Many of you have heard that the $10 fee from Sprint with EVO4G purchases was for "Premium Data" via the 4G service. Well, you might have anyways as Sprint was churning out so many different answers that no one know what the heck the $10 was for. This generated so much confusion that Sprint users started comments & websites (
http://www.explainthefee.com,
http://saf.li/c8Vhc) to try and figure out what the $10 was for.
As you might imagine, if it's in this list, it's because they did something.
The $10 fee is not for 4G as you might have imagined; it's to help Sprint recoup the costs for the EVO4G (
http://saf.li/28Vhj). That's right - you're not getting a discount AT ALL. Simple math time! The phone goes for $450 without discount. You pick up the phone, 2 year contract, $199. The extra $10 fee covers the phone for 24 months, right? $199 + $240 gives you $439, just $11 shy off the $450. Guess what, you just paid full price.
If you feel ripped off right about now, that's perfectly normal, and probably safe to assume the same thing will happen with Galaxy S Pro.
**NOTE*** WIP, WILL UPDATE / ADD MORE INFO AS IT IS AVAILABLE / PROVIDED.
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