[lug] smartphone question

[Carl Wagner]

With Virgin you can get unlimited data and text + 300 Minutes for $25 a 
month with no contract.

I picked up a LG Optimus V on Virgin mobile (Android) for $130 at Best 
buy a while back,  I think they are about $200 now (still not bad as 
there is no contract).
Coverage is not as good as Verizon as it uses Sprint's network (pretty 
sure they are a subsidiary of Sprint), but that is less than Verizon 
charges for just the unlimited data which is on top of the fee for the 
voice plan.

On another note, has anyone seen a GPS application that you can buy to 
put on an Android phone that makes it work like a real stand alone GPS?  
(works without any 3G or WiFi signal)
I assume that all the maps would need to be stored on a micro-SD card.

Carl






On 07/05/2011 03:34 PM, Davide Del Vento wrote:
> Hi,
>
> your use case makes perfect sense, and with it, price is not an issue.
>
> However, not everybody is like you (and glad that you get enough
> "bars" on the hiking trail...)
>
> Let me just comment on this:
>
>> Service is not free.
> I just checked how much would it cost to get internet on the phone
> with my favorite carrier in Italy (called "Wind"). Either 9 euro/month
> or 1 euro/day for a 14Mbps unlimited traffic plan, all taxes and fees
> included, on any technically compatible handset of your choice, no
> string attached, no contract, no early termination fees (since there
> isn't any contract), no need to have a voice or text plan too, no
> nothing. Well, there is speed throttling after a 1GB download limit,
> but no black-out, nor additional costs, just reduced speed. I'll bet
> the other 2 Italian carriers, have similar pricing, probably with
> slightly different numbers.
>
> I still can't understand why US carriers can't make better prices,
> despite their size. I suspect it's just because customers pay anyway,
> so no reason to reduce their profits ;-)
> Meanwhile, I won't have a smarphone (and I have a pay-as-you-go
> voice-only phone, with an handset bought in Italy...)
>
> Bye,
> Davide
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