I wonder how bad AT&T will rape them when they finish absorbing the TMobile network.

All I want is an inexpensive prepaid GSM provider in the US that has a reasonably-priced data plan included with a reasonable number of minutes and texts. I have an unlocked iphone that's just dying to get used for something other than a music player.

Something that would cost around $30/mo, like Virgin Mobile has for its crappy Sprint phones. Is that too much to ask??

I tried getting one of their phones recently.

Try #1 - Went to their store, there was about an hour wait. Pass

Try #2 - Went to a retail store, they couldn't give me the plan I wanted.

Try #3 - Went to their store, found out that the plan I wanted you can only get at wal-mart.

Try #4 - Went to wal-mart, they didn't have the cards to sell.

So I went with Virgin Mobile.

Another Government Employee: I wonder how bad AT&T will rape them when they finish absorbing the TMobile network.

Well, considering MPCS is siphoning off prepaid customers from TMO like there's no tomorrow i'd say not much of a raping will occur. MPCS is still growing at a healthy rate.

I still predict the merger won't go through but I still want to put my foot through my expensive TV every time I hear the pleading from the AT&T voice about how great the takeover will be. So much BS.

Well, they have have been Metro PieCeofShiat for a while

runaway06: Well, they have have been Metro PieCeofShiat for a while

AKA Ghettro PCS

Tax Boy: Something that would cost around $30/mo, like Virgin Mobile has for its crappy Sprint phones. Is that too much to ask??

Virgin Mobile & Optimus V and I am the happiest geek I know. Cyanogenmod. It's not fast but I want a phone not a laptop. Battery life sucked so I got an extended life battery. It's twice as thick (but still small).

Used it as my only internet for almost 2 months. It wasn't Cable but I could watch youtube.

Is there some sort of division of the country between Cricket and MetroPCS? Cricket is all over Houston but when I went to Dallas recently the place was covered in MetroPCS and I didn't see any Cricket stores.

darkscout: Tax Boy: Something that would cost around $30/mo, like Virgin Mobile has for its crappy Sprint phones. Is that too much to ask??

Virgin Mobile & Optimus V and I am the happiest geek I know. Cyanogenmod. It's not fast but I want a phone not a laptop.

I have an Optimus V & have been reasonably happy with it (the price sure is right), although I'm starting to get fed up with android's "quirks": extremely limited in-phone storage, incompatibility between the in-phone memory and the sd card storage (ie, stupid apps that refuse to move to the SD card), crappy typo-prone virtual keyboards, etc. Despite using the Optimus since it first came out in February, I still miss my iphone, warts and all.

Would be interested in rooting/CM7, but I haven't found a good guide and last time I checked, there were several unofficial CM7 ports, each with its own problems (100% of phone's features not working).

But if you've had success with CM7 on it -- please post up a link to a port w/instructions!

THANK YOU METRO PCS!

If anyone gets that it will make my day.

Spent many, many hours supporting that company...missed out on sleep, sex, parties, weddings etc only to be left with a severance package.

Enormous-Schwanstucker: Another Government Employee: I wonder how bad AT&T will rape them when they finish absorbing the TMobile network.

Well, considering MPCS is siphoning off prepaid customers from TMO like there's no tomorrow i'd say not much of a raping will occur. MPCS is still growing at a healthy rate.

I still predict the merger won't go through but I still want to put my foot through my expensive TV every time I hear the pleading from the AT&T voice about how great the takeover will be. So much BS.

The reason I asked that is Metro (along with most of the second tier providers) use the TMobile network for transmission. I highly doubt AT&T will continue these contracts happily.

Another Government Employee: The reason I asked that is Metro (along with most of the second tier providers) use the TMobile network for transmission. I highly doubt AT&T will continue these contracts happily.

That's completely incorrect. Metro PCS (as well as Cricket) use their own CDMA networks, along with a couple other CDMA networks for roaming (for example, Cricket has Sprint as a roaming partner). Virgin and Boost are both Sprint-owned. The only major MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator - those who white label another company's cell service) really affected by this is American Movil (TracFone/Net10/StraightTalk), but they partner with all of the big 4 carriers, so they can shift business around as needed. SIMple Mobile is as well (the only large T-Mo MVNO), but they are a much smaller operation.

If Virgin Mobile got a better smartphone with a front camera, I'd upgrade from my Optimus V... but it ain't happening with the Moto Triumph.

/wife is on TMo's no contract with an unlocked Android phone (with various GSM bands for international travel)... $30 for 1500 minutes/text, 300MB data. There's also a 100 minutes/unlimited data (throttled after 100MB) for $30.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

Also, cAndy Apple working nicely on my Optimus V! Running Bard's Tale: Tales of the Unknown a little better than it used to.

/Haha my Optimus V runs Apple software... sorta

Tax Boy: Would be interested in rooting/CM7, but I haven't found a good guide and last time I checked, there were several unofficial CM7 ports, each with its own problems (100% of phone's features not working).

But if you've had success with CM7 on it -- please post up a link to a port w/instructions!

Rooting it was a biatch in June. I just remember it was near impossible to do and took me breaking out all of my Linux, OS X and Windows machine to actually get it done. Each OS had quirks. Once it WAS done, everything was a piece of cake.


I have Flash ClockwordMod installed and Titanium Backup. There is an app called Link2SD which will make symbolic links and force stubborn apps to be put on the SD card.

https://github.com/inferiorhumanorgans/android_device_lge_thunderc/wi k i/Binary
(new window)

I run BobZ because it was the most recently updated "pure" when I flashed mine. I'm pretty sure I'm running the October 13 build. I haven't noticed any bugs. I run the Go Keyboard. It's hands down the best 'touch' keyboard I've used. I can Slide inbetween T9 and normal keyboard. I'm a T9 pro from my numerous years with my dumb phone. I'd give anything to have a real tactile T9 device, but this works.

I'm actually interested in investing in MetroPCS because it really does aim at the low end of the market. If you can get the guy that will spend $2000 on rims but can't afford more than $10 worth of gas, you'll make it.

Tax Boy: Something that would cost around $30/mo, like Virgin Mobile has for its crappy Sprint phones. Is that too much to ask??

Yeah, looks like it is. Why would AT&T and Verizon let smaller companies that piggy back on their networks offer lower priced plans with anything but second tier phones?

Your best hope right now is Sprint and their recent(perhaps foolish) iPhone contract with Apple. But then you won't be able to use the GSM iPhone you have now.

Wow, some of you people are sure racist. I guess I'm glad that you feel spending extra money for less service makes you white.

My MetroPCS works fine, but surprisingly gets poor reception - in the same locations that every other cell phone I've owned got poor reception.

darkscout: Tax Boy: Would be interested in rooting/CM7, but I haven't found a good guide and last time I checked, there were several unofficial CM7 ports, each with its own problems (100% of phone's features not working).

But if you've had success with CM7 on it -- please post up a link to a port w/instructions!

Rooting it was a biatch in June. I just remember it was near impossible to do and took me breaking out all of my Linux, OS X and Windows machine to actually get it done. Each OS had quirks. Once it WAS done, everything was a piece of cake.


I have Flash ClockwordMod installed and Titanium Backup. There is an app called Link2SD which will make symbolic links and force stubborn apps to be put on the SD card.

https://github.com/inferiorhumanorgans/android_device_lge_thunderc/wi k i/Binary
(new window)

I run BobZ because it was the most recently updated "pure" when I flashed mine. I'm pretty sure I'm running the October 13 build. I haven't noticed any bugs. I run the Go Keyboard. It's hands down the best 'touch' keyboard I've used. I can Slide inbetween T9 and normal keyboard. I'm a T9 pro from my numerous years with my dumb phone. I'd give anything to have a real tactile T9 device, but this works.

Thanks! So far I've got it rooted and link2sd, clockwork mod & titanium working. .

Another Government Employee: Enormous-Schwanstucker: Another Government Employee: I wonder how bad AT&T will rape them when they finish absorbing the TMobile network.

Well, considering MPCS is siphoning off prepaid customers from TMO like there's no tomorrow i'd say not much of a raping will occur. MPCS is still growing at a healthy rate.

I still predict the merger won't go through but I still want to put my foot through my expensive TV every time I hear the pleading from the AT&T voice about how great the takeover will be. So much BS.

The reason I asked that is Metro (along with most of the second tier providers) use the TMobile network for transmission. I highly doubt AT&T will continue these contracts happily.

Really? A GSM carrier uses a CDMA carrier for excess network capacity? Or are you referring to their backhaul? I believe MPCS has their own network as well. Plus MPCS stands to gain big if the merger goes through, with divestiture of key markets they can buy spectrum from the deal.

c152atn67: Another Government Employee: The reason I asked that is Metro (along with most of the second tier providers) use the TMobile network for transmission. I highly doubt AT&T will continue these contracts happily.

That's completely incorrect. Metro PCS (as well as Cricket) use their own CDMA networks, along with a couple other CDMA networks for roaming (for example, Cricket has Sprint as a roaming partner). Virgin and Boost are both Sprint-owned. The only major MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator - those who white label another company's cell service) really affected by this is American Movil (TracFone/Net10/StraightTalk), but they partner with all of the big 4 carriers, so they can shift business around as needed. SIMple Mobile is as well (the only large T-Mo MVNO), but they are a much smaller operation.

Sprint is now the largest MVNO in the country since Ericisson bought their network. Seems to be working out for them at least. I still miss Alltel's preferred roaming with Sprint because you had excellent coverage in the more rural markets. I can force roam onto VZW if i want but I generally have no need to do so.

legion_of_doo: /wife is on TMo's no contract with an unlocked Android phone (with various GSM bands for international travel)... $30 for 1500 minutes/text, 300MB data. There's also a 100 minutes/unlimited data (throttled after 100MB) for $30.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

I'm on the $30 100 minute/5GB plan. Along with Google Voice/GrooveIP, I'm pretty happy with it.

Tax Boy: Thanks! So far I've got it rooted and link2sd, clockwork mod & titanium working. .

In that case, read the bug fixes and flip a coin. It's kind of like asking which Distro to run. Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat, etc.

BobZ seems to make a bunch of ROMs and has been doing it for a long time. Some of the other ROMS seem to be based on it.

Backup everything with Titanium.
Boot into recovery console.
Install the zip
Install the gapps zip.

Tada.

darkscout: Tax Boy: Thanks! So far I've got it rooted and link2sd, clockwork mod & titanium working. .

In that case, read the bug fixes and flip a coin. It's kind of like asking which Distro to run. Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat, etc.

BobZ seems to make a bunch of ROMs and has been doing it for a long time. Some of the other ROMS seem to be based on it.

Backup everything with Titanium.
Boot into recovery console.
Install the zip
Install the gapps zip.

Tada.

Well -- I know at least my nandroid backup/restore worked!

limited success -- bobz & gapps installed & things seemed to work. of course, there were none of my apps, settings etc.
restored apps & data from backup, and then everything went to hell as it crashed constantly and nothing worked.

so back on the original rom for now -- i'll have to see what I did wrong.

All of the apps and settings shouldn't be there since everything should be blown away. Titanium should take care of that.

Did you try to fix permissions? Other than that, no clue why stuff didn't work. I love my phone now.

darkscout: All of the apps and settings shouldn't be there since everything should be blown away. Titanium should take care of that.

Did you try to fix permissions? Other than that, no clue why stuff didn't work. I love my phone now.

I probably restored some things I shouldn't have. I'll try again later.

Tax Boy: darkscout: All of the apps and settings shouldn't be there since everything should be blown away. Titanium should take care of that.

Did you try to fix permissions? Other than that, no clue why stuff didn't work. I love my phone now.

I probably restored some things I shouldn't have. I'll try again later.

Tried being a little more careful in which apps to restore.

Sill crashy.

Screw this, I'll just stick with stock. Gawd, Android makes me stabby.

*CSB*