T-Mobile

From Cellular to Mobile

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One of the first things I need to get in England is a phone. More specifically a UK Sim card for my iPhone. It sounds pretty simple. You can get them pretty much anywhere. Seriously the recommendation was to buy one in a Tesco (a Grocery Store) Surprisingly for an American they’re super cheap compared to US plans. I think we pay around $130 for two iPhones and one iPad with about three or four gigs of data and unlimited minutes between them.In the UK you can get close to unlimited or unlimited minutes and three or four gigs of data per line for about 15 to 20 pounds a month. What I found is not all plans are created equal.

I’m probably a stickler for technical details more than most people however there were a few things that I’m concerned about. For one what is the service look like where we want to live and near my office? When I had AT&T in time square I basically could not use my phone for three years at work. That’s not really acceptable in 2018. Since we own our phones were looking for a pay as you go or a pay monthly without contract.

I’m going to try 3. The reviews have been decent. I’m concerned about coverage but I’ll have to be there to test it. The advantage they have over everyone else is for about the same price they offer complete roaming in Europe and the US for no additional charge. That means calls to the UK and data usage is like I was still in the UK even when traveling. I would need to continue the use of voice over IP solution when calling US phone numbers however that’s not different from when I would be in the UK as well. That set up seems like the most liberal roaming policy of everyone. It’s even better than the T-Mobile options I have in the states now.

One thing I learned that I heard rumors about previously was you by prepay some cards from the grocery store. That’s a little different from the US. While on our house hunting trip I bought a 3 & EE SIM card at a Tesco.  I wasn’t able to use 3 Sim card I bought.  I was able to use the EE card for my phone and i bought another one for my iPad. I didn’t really pay attention to signal strength in the neighborhood we were looking to get a house. I also wasn’t near the office very much. I was hoping to settle on a carrier during the trip and then keep the number when we moved. What I learned when I went top up the prepay card while I was there was to do a top up remotely you need a local address. Even though I had a local debit card it’s still tied to my US address until we move. At the time of this writing we don’t have a house sorted so I will either not use the number I got or once the house is sorted I can top up a card and be ready for when we arrive.

I know I can do most of this when we get there however especially for technology challenges like this I want to be prepared. This particular challenge won’t get resolved until were actually living there. I will likely post an update once I have figured out what we will do and then see how it goes.

eBay Items

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I go through phases where I sell a bunch of stuff on eBay. I always say eBay is my enabler to buy more gadgets. It is kinda true. I sold 3 things this week and I boxed them up and they will ship out tomorrow.

I am parting with my G1 that I bought second hand in December. I was hoping to like Android and that T-Mobile would have worked by my apartment and at work. T-Mobile didn’t work well in either locations and I wasn’t such a fan of Android so far, so I am sticking with my iPhone and AT&T even if I have signal issues at work. Honestly I had this G1 sit around for a while since I only used it for about a week in December but was lazy to sell.

I am also selling my Archos 5 Internet Tablet. This was another Android experiment. I was hoping for something with a bigger screen than the iPhone to use as a tablet. Well I wasn’t a huge fan. It was a great device but, just not for me. I am going to wait for the much larger iPad instead.

I am also finally selling an extra magic mouse that I got by accident.

Next up on the to sell list is some larger stuff.

The Android Experiment

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A few weeks ago I purchased a used T-Mobile G1 on eBay. It was party to see check out the Android OS, as well as check out T-Mobile service near where I live and work.

Firstly the G1 I got was a bit more beat up than I would have liked, but for the price I paid I kinda knew what I was getting into. I found it harder than I originally expected to separate my experience with the Android OS with my feelings about the G1 hardware. I was not a fan of the G1 at all. It was big, heavy, and I could not stand the curved bottom of the phone, nor could I really use the keyboard because of that uncomfortable bulge at the bottom of the phone.

The Android OS on the other hand was OK. I looked for equivalent applications to what I typically use on my iPhone. I didn’t do a complete search but looked for the top 5-10 apps that I use every day. I was able to find apps that performed the same functions. That was the good news. The bad news was that several of them were just not as polished as the iPhone equivalent. Maybe I am biased, but the iPhone apps just seem more polished than the Andriod counterparts. There were a few exceptions, but in general I wasn’t too impressed with the Andriod apps. On the up side I was happy with some of the types of applications that I couldn’t get on my iPhone. I loved the call blocking app especially since the T-Mobile number I got seemed to have a lot of people calling it. I also loved the Google Voice integration. For me as a Google Voice user it was perfect. I didn’t even tell anyone I got a new #. I just routed calls to the G1 and then used Google Voice to make outbound calls. For me that was the best part of the Android OS. I really miss that functionality on the iPhone.

The second part of my experiment was how is the T-Mobile service. The short answer is it is just as poor as AT&T is where I use it most. I don’t get any reliable signal inside my apartment with T-Mobile. By my window I get 3-4 bars but inside I only get 1-2 if any. Without a signal booster the service is useless in my apartment. If the Android phones supported T-Mobile’s Wifi calling like some of the Blackberry’s do that wouldn’t be an issue, but right now it is a major show stopper. At work in mid town I got slightly better results. I sometimes got decent signal at my desk, but other times it was spotty. Not consistent enough for me.

The bottom line is as tempting as T-Mobile’s no contract plans are, the service where I spend 75% of my work week (home and work) I had spotty service. That means if I want to stick with a GSM carrier I am stuck with AT&T. As much as I refuse to use Verizion I might need to consider. I may end up getting a Verizon Mifi anyway so that might be the trade off that keeps me with my iPhone an AT&T but more on that later.

I will keep my T-Mobile SIM until after my vacation but I don’t see myself keeping it long term. As for the G1, I am going away at the end of the week so I wont have time to sell it before I go, but it will go up on eBay before Christmas. If a AT&T compatible 3G (85mhz & 1800mhz) Android phone comes out I may give it a try again but until then I am sticking with the iPhone. Like I tell anyone when they ask if i like it, the iPhone is the best phone I ever had, but I would love to be able to get rid of it!

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T-Mobile Again

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My frustration with AT&T has finally come to a head. I had another week of not really being able to use my iPhone at the office, so I finally broke down and went to the T-Mobile store. I signed up for an Even More Plus plan. I figured with no contract I had nothing to lose from trying it out. I am testing the service at home and work with an old Motorola Razr I have had since 2005. So far I am having signal issues in my apt, but I already knew that non-3g service would be spotty in my apt. Friends with T-Mobile have had problems there before.

To really test the system out I just bought a used G1 Android phone from Ebay. I will see if T-Mobile 3G is as good as their map says it is in my neighborhood. I also need to be happy with the G1’s Android OS. I am skeptical about that, but hopeful I will like it enough to give up my iphone. There is a lot of “if’s” but I am willing to give it a try since the iPhone may be nice and slick and a great all around device, but if it doesn’t work half the time I try to use it I don’t care how nice it is.

I really hope this works out. I really like the no contract concept even if the phones are more money (thanks ebay). I also like the fact that I can get unlimited voice for $50. I currently pay $59 for 900 minutes that I can’t use since the phone doesn’t work most of the places I need it to. I always liked T-Mobile. I only got rid of them when I gave up my own mobile to use the Partsearch issued one. After that I got AT&T because of phone selection and the iPhone.

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Why I Won’t Buy a Driod

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Motorola, I have to hand it to you. The Droid looks like a great phone. If there was a GSM version I might just pick one up to try it. Unfortunately you only offer a CDMA version on Verizon. I will say that I honestly thought about switching to Verizon for a second. Thankfully Verizon got me to reconsider. Thanks Verizon. What do I mean? Well, I am amazed that Verizon has one of the best wireless networks out there but does everything possible to aggravate customers. I was interested in the Droid. Android 2.0 was intriguing. The generally fast and well covered Verizon network got me further interested in the Droid. Then I read that Verizon is charging a $350 cancelation fee on new contracts that have “advanced devices” aka something like the Droid (sorry I wont spell it DROID). I am frustrated as it is by being locked into the iPhone and it is GSM, so I am sure not going to switch to Verizon and be stuck into a phone and contract for two years that costs $175 to get out of.

I have never been a fan of Verizon’s customer service or the way they treat their customers, but this was the final straw for me. I am fine with having my parents use them since they don’t change phones very often but for me, no way. I am considering T-Mobile since they are going the opposite direction, cheaper rate plans and no contracts!

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Can I Find The Right Phone? Part 1

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Since October I have had a minor problem left unresolved. I have been unsuccessfully searching for a wireless phone I could use every day. I have written previously about how my Treo 680 had been causing me too many problems so I was on the outs as my day to day mobile. The issue is I haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement. As much as I jump from phone to phone (I do about 1 a year and maybe toy with an alternative one during that time but never switch over to it) over the years, I have been sticking to Palm based Treo’s relatively consistently. I did go from a Treo 270 on T-Mobile to a Treo 600, then to a Treo 650. From there I went to the Treo 700 on Verizon. When I left my last company I switched my number to a Treo 680 on AT&T. It has been several years using the Palm OS on Treo phones. As I have said in the past it has been a love / hate relationship.

So even though it sounds kind of silly I am stuck on what phone to use day to day. I guess it is such a big deal because I use it for allot more than making calls. In fact I use it for other stuff more than I use it as a phone. I check my mail on it. Read the news on the way to work. I keep track of my expenses on it. I use it as a calendar, and more importantly I track all the tasks I need to accomplish on it. I use it to track notes, and I take notes with it more than I use pen and paper. If I am in a meeting playing with my phone, it is because I am actually taking notes or updating tasks related to what we are talking about on it. There is tons more things I use it for, but that is enough for you to get the point. Because of all my requirements I am a bit picky.

The Palm OS on my Treo 680 did everything I needed it to. It just would freeze up for no reason I could identify (maybe due to loss of cell signal but if it was that it is a retarded problem) and would crash or reboot at least once a day. Recently I also had huge issues syncing my Treo to my Macbook. The Missing Sync is a great product, and I have used it for years but since they updated the Palm version it has been buggy. I have had to reset the data on the phone dozens of times due to corrupt data or the software simply crashing on syncing some conduits, especially my task lists. So I can have everything I want, but deal with problems all the time. It kind of feels like WIndows, but I solved that problem by getting a Mac.

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To Love & Hate a Treo

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I have had a had a Treo phone since the Treo 270 came out for T-Mobile several years ago. Since then I have gone through several 270’s on and off for almost 2 years, then used a Treo 600 with T-Mobile for around a year. After that I upgraded to the 650, and then switched to a Verizon Treo 700P. I recently switched to the Cingular Treo 680. It is obvious by the number of devices I have had that I like the Treo. I like it because it is the best smart phone around. That doesn’t mean however that it is perfect. It is far from perfect. No one has made a better smart phone yet, but the Treo has huge issues. On some days I am ready to throw out my 680. It just freezes for no reason in any application. Then it starts up again and the UI goes somewhere I don’t want it to go since I was busy continuing to move the nav buttons around or type when it freezes. So annoying. The 680 also has a habit of just rebooting once a day or so. The 700P was allot better at not crashing or randomly rebooting, but the 650 did it almost every day.

Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with it? Then I remember the cool things I can do with it such as distinctive ringtones, wireless email, call recordings, etc. I just wish something came out that was stable, and consistently worked. As good as the 680 is, it isn’t that product yet. I got so frustrated recently that I thought that maybe the Windows Mobile 750 would be better. Then I came to my senses.

For now I will suffer live with what I have, but I am always keeping my eye on any device that will improve the situation. I am beginning to think nothing will come out since I have stuck with the Treo line for years. Maybe if I get a Blackberry at the new job I will just use that? it has allot less apps and functionality but my old Blackberry’s never crashed…

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Back to GSM

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After a false start earlier this year with Cingular I finally made the switch and went back to GSM. I picked Cingular over T-Mobile because of higher speed data network and a better selection of phones. I still don’t like some of the business practices of Cingular but high speed data is high speed data. I went with the new Treo 680 with the Palm OS. My switch also means I decoupled my account with my companies corporate account. It worked out since we needed to give someone a data plan that didn’t have it already anyway.

I love the 680 but I have two issues. First is the fact that it is very sluggish sometimes with its input. Not all the time, but enough to be a pain. jayson said that his Treo 700p did the same thing but my 700p never did. The other issue is with poor battery life. It is not as good as the 700. I ordered a spare battery that should help, but I would like to make it a day without switching batteries.

Another good thing about GSM is that for $30 I took my locked Cingular Treo and had it unlocked. Not bad since the unlocked model costs $400, and Cingular only charges $199 (after rebate).

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Wireless Broadband Woes

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This weekend I broke out the Verizon Wireless Broadband card I have for my work computer to test it to ensure that it worked for my trip. Turns out it didn’t. I spend about an hour reinstalling the software a few times and troubleshooting as best as I could. I ended up giving up and called Verizon on Monday for help. My knowledge on the subject and my volunteering all that I did got me right escalated to a level 2 guy and then a relatively quick answer for my problem when he was stumped also. It turns out when you actually know as much or more about the system you are calling about you tend to get the tech support guys to get you to someone higher up quick. Something (they didn’t say what) wasn’t provisioned on my account properly even though the card worked a week and a half ago when I used it last.

So far the card has been working for my trip. I do have to say (hopefully I won’t jinx myself) that the coverage and quality of service on Verizon is better than what I had with T-Mobile. I am just personally not a fan of the company and some of the customer service practices. Won’t go into them here, but you get the idea if you read past posts. In general the service is still great though.

I will blog about the details of the trip in other posts to come.

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The Evil Empire Is Evil, But Has Good Signal

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After an issue with really poor signal at our new office while setting up some gear we have decided to ditch our Nextell’s. I like the direct connect, but having the phones work and recieving email all the time on the Blackberry’s are more important than having a cool feature. So we took the plunge and got Verizon Wireless phones. I personally don’t like the heavy handed tacktics they use to keep customers (2 year deals, and limited time frames to upgrade phones) but their service is still probibly the best in NYC. I finally ported my number from my personal T-Mobile line over and now am very happy with my new Treo 700P on the EVDO data service.

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