AT&T or Verizon, and what phone?

GnomeQueenGnomeQueen The Lulz QueenMountain Dew Mouth Icrontian
in Science & Tech
Hey guys,

So, I was all set to switch to T-Mo from Sprint (Sprint sucks, and my phone with them is super broken), but unfortunately it looks like in the area I'm moving to (which I'll talk about more later) T-Mo only has 2g. Apparently there, the best options for cell carriers are AT&T or Verizon. So which one do you think would be better? I'd prefer Verizon I think, but I've heard it's the most expensive. And what phone? Was going to go with the Nexus 5 on T-Mo, is that still what I should pick with the others?

Thanks guyyyys.

Also HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Comments

  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    Verizon is generally the most expensive, with "best" coverage. If you are only going to get 2G, I would not go onto T-Mobile. I hated AT&T with a passion even on my smartphone after getting sub dialup speeds. It may have been an account problem, but multiple attempts did not resolve it, so I can't personally recommend them. You could try something like the no-contract but uses Verizon or AT&T towers for a less expensive and trial-type option (Net10 is one company that does this). The issue with going on Verizon is CDMA, but you get around that by using LTE (in the case of a Nexus 5).
  • BHHammyBHHammy Somewhere in Hell Icrontian
    edited November 2013
    I'll just say this- there's a pretty damn good reason AT&T has been voted "Worst Service" running on a couple years in a row.

    I have Verizon myself and....eh. I'll just say it's less that Verizon is "good" and more like "get pretty much anything that -isn't- AT&T".
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2013
    You're not winning either way, so you might as well go with AT&T so you could at least re-sell your phone (or move it to T-Mobile) when you move on.

    Before you make the leap, though, look into StraightTalk or Simple Mobile.
    WagsFTW
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    I agree with Rob. Take the one that's less carrier-locked and go with AT&T. If you can avoid dealing with their shit-crap customer service, you'll be alright. Verizon is nice, but $$$ and CDMA phones that are stuck to Verizon only and slower upgrades, etc.
  • RyderRyder Kalamazoo, Mi Icrontian
    I have Verizon and the Galaxy S4.. it is NOT locked to CDMA, has GSM radio too. Verizon's new program does allow you no contract, but you pay for the phone in installments on the bill (no interest though).
  • RyanFodderRyanFodder Detroit, MI Icrontian
    Verizon has great coverage and expensive plans. Galaxy S4 has been amazing for me. You can check it out on Monday when I get back if you'd like.
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    My $0.02 being on AT&T since forever is that it's fast, especially where there's LTE. Coverage isn't consistent in this flat part of Indiana I'm in. Nice selection of phones were you to upgrade later on. The whole time my family has been on AT&T we've only had a single problem and it was with billing, which resolved relatively quickly. Carla has Verizon and her reception is immensely better than mine but it's also ridiculously expensive.
  • TheRicanTheRican Member
    It really depends. AT&T gets great reception in cities from my experience and the 4G LTE speeds are a LOT better imho than Verizon. I recently switched from Verizon to AT&T and haven't had an issue honestly. AT&T seems a lot better to me and I haven't had any issues where Verizon I constantly had issues.

    Then again, AT&T is paid for by my employer so it doesn't really matter much to me.
  • GnomeQueenGnomeQueen The Lulz Queen Mountain Dew Mouth Icrontian
    Alright, so if I go with AT&T, which phone should I get? I don't know which ones are less carrier locked. I could go with another Galaxy S of some kind, but I kind of hate the Samsung version of android, and I don't really feel like rooting it.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    Buy the Nexus 5. Pay full price for it.

    You'll save a TON of money over the lifetime of your contract versus doing it ANY other way.
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    I may be wrong but I don't believe the price of your contract on AT&T changes if you get the phone subsidized or not.
    ErrorNullTurnip
  • mertesnmertesn I am Bobby Miller Yukon, OK Icrontian
    BlackHawk said:

    I may be wrong but I don't believe the price of your contract on AT&T changes if you get the phone subsidized or not.

    Same with Verizon.

    #bunchofdicks
    ErrorNullTurnip
  • WagsFTWWagsFTW Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    Joe got the Nexus 4 (for only $200 or so) a few months ago, and he's very happy with it. He tried out T-Mobile, but the service was terrible over here. He now has Straight Talk and is happy with it and he has great signal (as good as my Verizon signal). But like others have said, not the greatest customer service, but $45 is a good price for unlimited talk/text/data and no contract.
  • KwitkoKwitko Sheriff of Banning (Retired) By the thing near the stuff Icrontian
    My wife lost her first HTC One, so I bought her a used one. It sucks. I was thinking of giving her my Galaxy S4 and buying myself the GNex 5. Yea or nay?
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    Yea, I say.
  • BandrikBandrik Elkhart, IN Icrontian
    edited December 2013
    Verizon: wider coverage, more expensive. Evil corporation. Dicks.
    AT&T: more phone choices, can take your phone elsewhere thanks to GSM. Evil corporation. Dicks.

    Try your damnedest to avoid going on a contract. You can buy a phone used or even new on Swappa and keep the peace of mind that you can bail at any time. If you go Verizon now and decide to go GSM later, you can always sell your Verizon phone on Swappa for free -- they take no share, though PayPal does take some.

    Phone choice is very subjective to your tastes and needs. Here's some ideas for AT&T phones:

    Google Nexus 4: Good phone, great value price, smaller. But a little older specs.
    Google Nexus 5: Great phone, best value (cost vs performance), bigger than N4. Get on Google Play store.
    LG G2: Very similar to Nexus 5 (both by LG)... so just get the N5 and save money.
    Samsung Galaxy S4: Very good phone, get on Swappa.com for $400. But has Samsung TouchWiz interface and S5 coming soon.
    Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Excellent phone. Good for drawing and note taking. Big. Expensive. Uses TouchWiz.
    HTC One: Very good phone, comparable to S4. Uses HTC Sense interface. Metal rounded case. Good low-light camera.
    Sony Xperia Z1: Excellent phone, great camera. Waterproof design for underwater photos. Comes in Purple. :)
    iPhone 5S: LOL iPhone.
    Nokia Whatever: Nice camera, decent phones. If you're into Windows. I guess.

    If you go Verizon, list is the same, just drop the Nexus 4, N5, and Xperia Z1.
    GnomeQueenpigflipperKwitkoJBoogaloo
  • BandrikBandrik Elkhart, IN Icrontian
    Addendum to the above list: the Moto X. An interesting device by Motorola/Google, it's a little underpowered compared to the others, but it's overall a very nice, snappy device that runs near-stock Android with very little bloatware. It also has an "always listening" chip that lets you say voice commands at any time without having to tap any buttons -- users seem to really like this feature.

    Its price is a little high for the specs, but there's a special going on. On Monday 12/9 at noon EST you can go to their online store and snag one contract-free for $400 (be sure to use that link for the deal). Definitely worth considering.
  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    edited December 2013
    Thrax said:

    You're not winning either way, so you might as well go with AT&T so you could at least re-sell your phone (or move it to T-Mobile) when you move on.

    Before you make the leap, though, look into StraightTalk or Simple Mobile.

    +1 here, with an addendum. Take a look at Ting. Depending on exactly how much you use your phone, you may be able to save a boatload of money that way. Yes, they use the Sprint network (so you should make sure the Sprint coverage where you're moving is good) but everything I've heard about their support, website and plan has been positive.

    Plus, worst case scenario, you just dump Ting sell the phone and go elsewhere since they don't do contracts. At all. Ever.

    Oh yeah, and if you get a Nexus 5 from the Google Play store, you can use it on Ting. Should you not like Ting, you can cancel it, do a carrier reset on the N5 and take it to AT&T, one of the AT&T MVNOs, or T-Mo.
  • erichblas2005erichblas2005 Your Native Texan Houston,Texas Member
    Ya basically you have to choose between the lesser of two evils
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    erichblas2005 said:

    Ya basically you have to choose between the lesser of two evils

    Except that's kinda the opposite of what @ardichoke shows ...
    ardichoke
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