[Q] Speed? Coverage? Straight Talk or T-Mobile? Wait for better phone?

TPMJB · May 16, 2014

So I've got a bunch of questions. I am a Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G guy coming from Verizon's network. I'm wondering about the Galaxy S Relay 4G as my next phone.

-I've heard coverage is bad on T-Mobile. Is it hard to switch to straight talk? Would I use an AT&T sim card, or T-Mobile sim card for straight talk? Does coverage vary?

-How fast is this phone on 4.4.2? The Epic is kind of sluggish on 4.4.2 - which is understandable given the single core, 1ghz proc. This is why I want to upgrade.

-Any opinions coming from CDMA? I've never used a GSM phone before. I know plenty about CDMA phones, but nothing about GSM.

-Are there any slider phones on the horizon? I was thinking about waiting for the Droid 5, but it doesn't seem like it's ever going to be more than a pipe dream.

Thanks in advance!

REV3NT3CH · May 16, 2014

TPMJB said:
So I've got a bunch of questions. I am a Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G guy coming from Verizon's network. I'm wondering about the Galaxy S Relay 4G as my next phone.

-I've heard coverage is bad on T-Mobile. Is it hard to switch to straight talk? Would I use an AT&T sim card, or T-Mobile sim card for straight talk? Does coverage vary?

-How fast is this phone on 4.4.2? The Epic is kind of sluggish on 4.4.2 - which is understandable given the single core, 1ghz proc. This is why I want to upgrade.

-Any opinions coming from CDMA? I've never used a GSM phone before. I know plenty about CDMA phones, but nothing about GSM.

-Are there any slider phones on the horizon? I was thinking about waiting for the Droid 5, but it doesn't seem like it's ever going to be more than a pipe dream.

Thanks in advance!

if you unlock the relay you can use the att based sim card but i cant confirm youll get 4g...i used straight talks tmobile based sim (normal sized) and it works perfectly...exact same as tmobile as it runs on tmobile towers....for me (in California) data was not slow for me on their tmobiles 4g (h+) networks...a new slider phone has come out this year but was pretty crappy compared to relay 4g...was an lg slider..the relay is the best choice you have if you want a slider phone if you ask me... the prior phone i had before the relay was the htc rezound (verizon network) and to me relay even out performs it by a long shot in terms of both speed and stability....to be honest 4.4.2 roms on the relay are quite fast....of course not quad core fast like a nexus 5 or s5 lol but many miles faster than the epic 4g (speaking from experience)....having a custom rom on it like lets say my liquid build is also much faster than stock plus much better battery life...

TPMJB · May 16, 2014

REV3NT3CH said:
if you unlock the relay you can use the att based sim card but i cant confirm youll get 4g...i used straight talks tmobile based sim (normal sized) and it works perfectly...exact same as tmobile as it runs on tmobile towers....for me (in California) data was not slow for me on their tmobiles 4g (h+) networks...a new slider phone has come out this year but was pretty crappy compared to relay 4g...was an lg slider..the relay is the best choice you have if you want a slider phone if you ask me... the prior phone i had before the relay was the htc rezound (verizon network) and to me relay even out performs it by a long shot in terms of both speed and stability....to be honest 4.4.2 roms on the relay are quite fast....of course not quad core fast like a nexus 5 or s5 lol but many miles faster than the epic 4g (speaking from experience)....having a custom rom on it like lets say my liquid build is also much faster than stock plus much better battery life...

Welp, that pretty much settles it! So to sum it up:

-If TMob doesn't work, I should get an AT&T sim card, but I have to find out if 4G works on straight talk this way.

-No advantage to straight talk over t mobile except unlimited everything?

-The relay is a good purchase

-I should sell this POS galaxy S4 quickly so I can buy a relay, haha.

Even if a droid 5 comes out...I dunno. I HATE the keyboard of the droid 4. I don't know why the keys have to be right next to each other!

If anyone else has comments, let me know! I live in Central New York and they seem to have coverage.

REV3NT3CH · May 16, 2014

TPMJB said:
Welp, that pretty much settles it! So to sum it up:

-If TMob doesn't work, I should get an AT&T sim card, but I have to find out if 4G works on straight talk this way.

-No advantage to straight talk over t mobile except unlimited everything?

-The relay is a good purchase

-I should sell this POS galaxy S4 quickly so I can buy a relay, haha.

Even if a droid 5 comes out...I dunno. I HATE the keyboard of the droid 4. I don't know why the keys have to be right next to each other!

If anyone else has comments, let me know! I live in Central New York and they seem to have coverage.

Wait...do you have an epic 4g or galaxy s4? Also straight talk has a cap of 3gb usage a day. which isn't bad as its daily and not monthly on that data cap and the fact that its 5 bucks cheaper than T-Mobile prepaid monthly with similar bandwidth cap. The relay is a tmobile phone so straight talks T-Mobile based sim is what is guaranteed for 4g which beats 3g by a long shot as well which is what you may get on their att based card if you decide to do the free unlock that's guided in the threads here. I again use the T-Mobile based aim in the relay and get 4g no problem... Also a good purchase in my opinion but depends on how much you are paying for the relay...you can get one for near mint for under 100 bucks if you look on eBay.

Sent from my SGH-T699 using XDA Free mobile app

TPMJB · May 16, 2014

REV3NT3CH said:
Wait...do you have an epic 4g or galaxy s4? Also straight talk has a cap of 3gb usage a day. which isn't bad as its daily and not monthly on that data cap and the fact that its 5 bucks cheaper than T-Mobile prepaid monthly with similar bandwidth cap. The relay is a tmobile phone so straight talks T-Mobile based sim is what is guaranteed for 4g which beats 3g by a long shot as well which is what you may get on their att based card if you decide to do the free unlock that's guided in the threads here. I again use the T-Mobile based aim in the relay and get 4g no problem... Also a good purchase in my opinion but depends on how much you are paying for the relay...you can get one for near mint for under 100 bucks if you look on eBay.

Sent from my SGH-T699 using XDA Free mobile app

I currently use an Epic 4G. I picked up a galaxy S4 off of eBay for cheap thinking that those bluetooth keyboards would be my saving grace.

No dice. They suck. Every single one of them is a variation of one on the market with a different brand name. They are all identical. Price ranges from $20 to $100.

T-mobile currently has a deal where you supply your own phone and it's $30/month for 100 minutes talk, unlimited text, and 5gb of 4G data.

And yes, I was looking on eBay

REV3NT3CH · May 16, 2014

TPMJB said:
I currently use an Epic 4G. I picked up a galaxy S4 off of eBay for cheap thinking that those bluetooth keyboards would be my saving grace.

No dice. They suck. Every single one of them is a variation of one on the market with a different brand name. They are all identical. Price ranges from $20 to $100.

T-mobile currently has a deal where you supply your own phone and it's $30/month for 100 minutes talk, unlimited text, and 5gb of 4G data.

And yes, I was looking on eBay

Ouch...100 mins of talk sucks...on straight talk though it is required to have the 45 dollar plan while using a smartphone....trust me they'll know if your running a smartphone just by data usage alone...but then again data is also unlimited as well as talk and text for 15 bucks more. I will say relay isn't as fast as s4 obviously because its a quad core phone and more ram. But comfortably fast in how it runs...its a great phone if you ask me...pretty comparable to an s3 on stock rom just slightly less snappy

Sent from my SGH-T699 using XDA Free mobile app

TPMJB · May 16, 2014

REV3NT3CH said:
Ouch...100 mins of talk sucks...on straight talk though it is required to have the 45 dollar plan while using a smartphone....trust me they'll know if your running a smartphone just by data usage alone...but then again data is also unlimited as well as talk and text for 15 bucks more. I will say relay isn't as fast as s4 obviously because its a quad core phone and more ram. But comfortably fast in how it runs...its a great phone if you ask me...pretty comparable to an s3 on stock rom just slightly less snappy

Sent from my SGH-T699 using XDA Free mobile app

I use less than 30 minutes a month on my current plan, so it's a non-issue. I text like a fiend, though. T-mobile's plan doesn't say there's a limit to data, just that you only get the first 5gb at 4G speeds a month. Perfect for my cheap ass :laugh:

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[Q] Speed? Coverage? Straight Talk or T-Mobile? Wait for better phone?

TPMJB

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REV3NT3CH

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TPMJB

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REV3NT3CH

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