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T-Mobile's iPhone 5 Reviews: LTE Speeds Are Impressive, HD Voice Difference Notable

Taz Mangus said:
Not everyone can afford to spend $649 up front which is what you would have to do with Stright Talk.
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Well, now there's another option, buy the phone with the payment plan from T-Mobile, after the first month, cancel the service, switch to Straight Talk and continue making the $20 payments to T-Mobile or pay for the phone outright (it's still cheaper than the full priced phone from Apple).

Last that I checked, Straight Talk even works on locked phones.
 
cmwade77 said:
Well, now there's another option, buy the phone with the payment plan from T-Mobile, after the first month, cancel the service, switch to Straight Talk and continue making the $20 payments to T-Mobile or pay for the phone outright (it's still cheaper than the full priced phone from Apple).

Last that I checked, Straight Talk even works on locked phones.
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Could you explain how is it actually cheaper paying the $20/month over buying the iPhone upfront?
 
cmwade77 said:
Well, now there's another option, buy the phone with the payment plan from T-Mobile, after the first month, cancel the service, switch to Straight Talk and continue making the $20 payments to T-Mobile or pay for the phone outright (it's still cheaper than the full priced phone from Apple).

Last that I checked, Straight Talk even works on locked phones.
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The T-Mobile plan is actually cheaper if you have 2 or more phones. So for my wife and me it would be $80/month vs $90/month for Straight Talk. If I were to add another line it would only be $10/month more.
 
T-Mobile making it tempting to switch!

I currently pay ATT $87 to have two iPhones with 550 minutes, no text plan, and two data plans 2GB each. My FAN discount on the Data plans and the main line is 23% (($50 Main line + $25 for 2GB + $25 for 2GB) X 77%) + $10 for second line)

T-mobile practically offers the unlimited everything for the same price! I just need to find out if there is a FAN discount from my employer.

We don't use the minutes much and we do iMessage within iPhones (which is free). We pay $5 to $10 a month for for texting (0.20 per text). We do come close to the 2GB per month.

I just need to find out about the T-mobile network availability in my area and the area we usually vacation. To think about tethering my other iDevices is just icing on the cake.

The T-mobile plan is very tempting!
 
i think this is good for both tmobile and apple. i will stick with verizon for now, since it's better in my area, but that could always change. choice is good
 
would I be able to sign up for a phone payment plan with Tmobile, cancel service, continue to pay the $20 a month and take my phone back to AT&T? considering I'd have to pay someone to unlock it?
 
jamezr said:
But then when your "phone loan" is paid off you bill goes down. The other carriers continue to charge for the "phone loan" even after the phone is paid off. Plus when the "phone loan" gets down to under say $100 how many people will pay it off.....then their bill will go down. The other carriers don't off that kind of flexability.
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There is also the ability to purchase a phone at a cheaper price through a retailer and then hook it up to the network - in the case of NZ we can sometimes get phones cheaper at a retailer than the carrier meaning one could put it on a 12 months interest free then buy a SIM card from a carrier and the whole thing is cheaper.
 
T-Mobile has the HD voice feature now, too? Step it up Verizon and At&t. I remember reading where Verizon (?) just flat out said they acknowledge that the iPhone 5 supports HD voice, but that they aren't going to support it. At least no time soon.
 
jamezr said:
But then when your "phone loan" is paid off you bill goes down. The other carriers continue to charge for the "phone loan" even after the phone is paid off. Plus when the "phone loan" gets down to under say $100 how many people will pay it off.....then their bill will go down. The other carriers don't off that kind of flexability.
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true - I am running with the assumption that people will upgrade after every couple years thus negating the bill droppage. For those who will buy and use for years to come, sure it's great....for someone like myself always with the the latest and greatest - not a benefit.

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Taz Mangus said:
I am factoring in the monthy cost of the phone. $50 is for the first iPhone (unlimited voice, text and data) + $30 for the second iPhone (unlimited voice, text and data) + $20/month to pay for the first iPhone + $20/month to pay for the second iPhone. 15% off the $80/month = $68/month. $68 + $40 = $108/month. Or $54/month for each iPhone.
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true - I guess I was already adding the costs for LTE which once you have, can't live without....
 
Does this mean that T-Mobile's special "Web" plan, that was $30/month with 100 minutes of talk-time and unlimited texts and data is completely gone?

That was a good deal for people that don't talk a lot on the phone.
 
HenryDJP said:
So true, and to add to that T-Mobile is artificially making it appear there's no contract when in essence there really is. If they are having customers pay for the phone via installment billing then if they were to cancel before the phone is paid for the customer will still owe the balance. From the way I see it (unless I don't have the whole story straight) it's still a contract, just fancy marketing to cover it up.
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You have the option of returning the phone to T-Mobile, who will credit you a "fair" value for the handset.
 
tekboi said:
too bad their coverage is horrible...
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Depends on where you live. Most places I've been T-Mobile's coverage has been excellent. In my home town they actually have better coverage than even Verizon. The only exception I would have to give is travelling to remote areas of the southeast, where T-Mobile often doesn't have any coverage at all outside of the biggest cities.

As I was driving across the west/southwest a few months ago I was monitoring coverage and speeds on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon as I drove. AT&T's coverage was by far the worst of the three... quite spotty with ton of dropped calls. Verizon had coverage for nearly my entire drive -- only lost signal a couple of times, but LTE was only available in limited areas, and their 3G isn't very fast.

In most cities of any size, actual throughput on T-Mobile's "4G" was at least as good as, and in the majority of cases faster, than AT&T's LTE -- T-Mobile consistently got 8-13Mbps everywhere I tested, but AT&T, even in LTE areas, was all over the map. I never saw a speed on AT&T LTE over 13 Mbps, and most of the time it was more in the 6-10 Mbps range for LTE and 2-3 Mbps for 3G. Verizon was by far the most consistent in terms of coverage. And their speed was consistent for a given cellular technology -- 10-18 Mbps on LTE, 1.5-2 Mbps on 3G.

I know that AT&T LTE can be fast. There is an AT&T tower across the parking lot from my office, and I consistently get 13-15 Mbps when I'm at work. But they tend to space their towers farther apart than other carriers, so coverage quality varies a lot more with their network than the others.

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AutoUnion39 said:
VZW will have LTE everywhere by end of the year. AT&T pledged mid next year. They both already have much more LTE than TMo has 3G
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That isn't true. T-Mobile finished upgrading their entire network to "4G" more than a year ago. AT&T's LTE coverage is still sparse. Verizon has a lot of LTE, but it doesn't cover anywhere near as much area as T-Mobile's 3G.

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HenryDJP said:
Okay, but then explain to me how is this really any different? I pay $99 upfront for the iPhone and then pay $20 a month in installments, plus my phone plan. Then after say 6 months I decide to cancel with them and move on. If I choose to keep my phone I have to pay the balance (which is essentially like the early termination fee) of the phone in order for it to be unlocked. I'm obligated to buy the phone whether or not I choose to stay with them. That's essentially a contract. How is it any different?
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Because you can sell the phone back to the carrier for fair market value... or pay it off, unlock it, keep it, and be done. Or if you pay for the phone up front, you just walk away without any ETF. None of the other carriers give you that option.
 
djdj said:
That isn't true. T-Mobile finished upgrading their entire network to "4G" more than a year ago. AT&T's LTE coverage is still sparse. Verizon has a lot of LTE, but it doesn't cover anywhere near as much area as T-Mobile's 3G.
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I'd like to see a source for that. Verizon claims LTE in over 485 cities and 89% of the population.
 
For those saying that T-Mobile's 4G network isn't competitive, here's just one example of how they are...

I tested the speed on Verizon, AT&T (both LTE) and T-Mobile's 4G in my front yard. The towers for all three carriers are on the nearby mountain, line of sight, about 3/4 mile away, situated very close to one another. The Verizon device showed 4 bars of signal strength, as did the T-Mobile device, where the AT&T showed 2. (Odd considering the towers are so close to one another.)

Verizon LTE:

Verizon LTE by doubledeej, on Flickr

AT&T LTE:

AT&T LTE by doubledeej, on Flickr

T-Mobile 4G:

T-Mobile 4G by doubledeej, on Flickr

A couple of those tests show that the devices were on WiFi, but that actually wasn't the case. WiFi was turned on, but wasn't connected. I made sure to run the last few tests with WiFi turned off so the icon is correct.

I know speed varies by area, but for anyone to make a blanket statement that AT&T's LTE or Verizon's LTE is always faster than T-Mobile's 4G is just not correct. Where I live (whole city, not just my home) T-Mo has the best coverage, and the near the fastest real-world speeds.
 
If T-Mobile USA can put in HD Voice into the iPhone 5 like what was shown in this YouTube video:


They have a winner right there! :D HD Voice could mean people with HD Voice-compatible phones on the T-Mobile USA network can talk to each other and people can actually understand each other.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
I'd like to see a source for that. Verizon claims LTE in over 485 cities and 89% of the population.
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Just take a look at their coverage maps. And I can tell you from experience while travelling that T-Mobile 3G (4G) is much more prevalent than LTE on either Verizon or AT&T.

Verizon (scroll down to see the map):
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...sttype=NEWREQUEST&coveragetype=datacoverage4g

AT&T:
(They don't seem to have an LTE coverage map on their site... at least I couldn't find one... but their LTE coverage is far smaller than Verizon's)

T-Mobile:
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx/
 
djdj said:
Just take a look at their coverage maps. And I can tell you from experience while travelling that T-Mobile 3G (4G) is much more prevalent than LTE on either Verizon or AT&T.

Verizon (scroll down to see the map):
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...sttype=NEWREQUEST&coveragetype=datacoverage4g

AT&T:
(They don't seem to have an LTE coverage map on their site... at least I couldn't find one... but their LTE coverage is far smaller than Verizon's)

T-Mobile:
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/pcc.aspx/
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When I look at the T-Mobile map you linked to, I see more holes it in than I do in the Verizon map. Verizon claims 89% of the US population is covered by LTE. You claim that T-Mobile has much more 3G coverage than Verizon does LTE. When one is at 89%, that doesn't leave a lot of room for much more. Unless T-Mobile is in the high 90's, it isn't much more, and IMO, looking at the maps you provided, it isn't even equal to Verizon. I haven't seen them make any claims about the percentage of population covered. I'm not bashing them, I just don't believe that they match Verizon's coverage.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
When I look at the T-Mobile map you linked to, I see more holes it in than I do in the Verizon map. Verizon claims 89% of the US population is covered by LTE. You claim that T-Mobile has much more 3G coverage than Verizon does LTE. When one is at 89%, that doesn't leave a lot of room for much more. Unless T-Mobile is in the high 90's, it isn't much more, and IMO, looking at the maps you provided, it isn't even equal to Verizon. I haven't seen them make any claims about the percentage of population covered. I'm not bashing them, I just don't believe that they match Verizon's coverage.
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If you compare Verizon's LTE (the darker red) to T-Mobile's 3G/4G, Verizon's has far more holes. Verizon has relatively little dark red in the western half of the country, and about half coverage in the east. T-Mobile's covers the entire eastern half, and much more of the western half.

If you look at Verizon's 3G (the lighter red), yeah, they have more coverage. But we're comparing Verizon's LTE to T-Mobile's 4G, of which T-Mobile covers quite a bit more area.
 
djdj said:
If you compare Verizon's LTE (the darker red) to T-Mobile's 3G/4G, Verizon's has far more holes. Verizon has relatively little dark red in the western half of the country, and about half coverage in the east. T-Mobile's covers the entire eastern half, and much more of the western half.

If you look at Verizon's 3G (the lighter red), yeah, they have more coverage. But we're comparing Verizon's LTE to T-Mobile's 4G, of which T-Mobile covers quite a bit more area.
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I haven't found one claim by T-Mobile or anywhere else stating the percentage of population they cover. Verizon and AT&T are always claiming the have the most coverage, I don't see T-Mobile making that claim. Verizon is claiming a huge chunk of the population is covered by LTE. What percentage does T-Mobile cover with 3G?
 
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