Is getting the Titan for a penny worth opening a contract with att?

[coasterfreak212]

Hey Guys,

I'm currently on Sprint and got the HTC Arrive when it launched. Love it to pieces.

But this HTC Titan craze has everyone buzzing! I was wondering what you guys think.

I love Sprint, and would never leave Sprint, but the penny Titan is VERY tempting in at least opening a contract with att. My parents pay for my phone plan in which we have unlimited everything for super cheap, and I work, so technically I could afford my own att contract.

I personally hate att and don't really want to do business with them, but I like the idea of taking advantage of this steal. And considering that Sprint isn't showing any signs of having a new Windows Phone any time soon adds fuel to the hysteria.

I've been thinking about using Google Voice for everything and getting the cheapest plan possible. I've already talked with sales reps and they said it would cost about $65 a month for 450 minutes, no txting, and 2gb data. My plan is to use Google Voice to handle all that so that essentially it would be as if I never had left Sprint. And using WiFi as much as possible so I can ensure that I don't go over the 2gb limit (which I hope I don't do, considering that I use about 5gb a month on the Arrive, and that's without tethering!)

Anybody have some input? My main gripe is outgoing calls, I don't want to have to use GoVoice every time I have to make an outgoing call. Also, I wouldn't know because I never have done it, but does the incoming calls have the correct caller id information when using Google Voice to forward to a different number? And being a typical poor college student, my logical side is having a hard time justifying buying a new phone with a new plan with VERY LITTLE gains. Logically thinking, the only thing I gain is a bigger screen, a front facing camera, and an additional .5 ghz.

Aside from that, I also thought, me being a techy and all, would enjoy the luxury that is SIM Cards, which is nonexsistent on Sprint. I love the idea of being able to just swap out the SIM onto different phones and have considered having other phones along with my own att plan just so I can play around and swap out different phones depending on mood (I equate it to girls and shoes. I love the idea of having a different phone for every occasion and mood!) I also feel I can justify this if I actually get off my *** and actually develop for these platforms. Having att would make logical sense for a developer who wants to be in every app market, considering that they would just have to swap a sim to be able to test out their apps on various devices.

Anybody want to weigh in on my woes and think I should spring for it or if I should just stick with what I've got?

 

[TaliZorah]

My personal opinion?

As somebody who has had AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint (Currently have the Arrive) and as somebody who has had probably over 20 different cell phones in their life including android and ios phones.... you will regret your decision.

If your parents are paying for your plan and you already have a sweet WP device in the Arrive (which I love as well) there will be something better than the Titan in probably less than a year and you will then want that phone and who knows? It might not be on AT&T?

I agree with you in hating on AT&T. They suck. I got screwed over by them twice within a year and it was a nightmare to fix. Also their cell reception isn't good at all, at least where I live.

I know it sucks because AT&T gets all the great windows phones but ask yourself this... Your arrive has a 1Ghz processor, how does the WP7 os run? Flawlessly right? Then there really is no point in getting something with a 1.5Ghz processor that has a worse battery life. Even though the battery is larger on the titan it uses more power.

The ONLY thing I like about the Titan is the screen size. However when I had my HD7 I hated that it was hard for me to type text messages with one hand and the titan is bigger than the HD7.

Long story short, I agree that sim-cards are better, the Titan is a good phone, but starting a new 2 year contract with AT&T isn't worth it. Better phones will come out that you will want within that 2 years.

I actually am going to go (hopefully) switch from Sprint to T-Mobile today and get the HTC Radar. Sprint is still great, and I still love my Arrive but I am in a situation where I need to switch carriers and phones.

 

[peestandingup]

^ Depends on what you really want in a phone. But there's no way in **** I'd have 2 lines under 2 contracts. That's nuts dude, esp if you're a poor college student like you say.

Why not just dump Sprint? I mean, I like Sprint as a company (much more respect for them than I have for AT&T), but "business is business" as they say. Its just a phone company in the end & AT&T gives me what I want (a healthy dose on WP7 phones, Android & iOS) that I can switch between at my own will with SIM cards.

And it might be personal preference, but I'd never go back to CDMA in a million years. I'm too big of a phone junky & its too big of a PITA to switch phones with them. Plus, buying used (something I do a lot of with GSM) is always a pain with CDMA because you have to always verify its a clean ESN & if the person who's selling it to you paid the bill on the service line the phone was connected to (or else the carrier will never activate it on someone else's line). It's stupid. No thank you.

Anyways, I say if you want it bad enough, sell your Arrive, cancel your Sprint line & jump in. Plus, Sprint doesn't seem like they're fully onboard the WP7 train, so you'd never get the good equipment staying over there.

 

[TaliZorah]

^ Depends on what you really want in a phone. But there's no way in **** I'd have 2 lines under 2 contracts. That's nuts dude, esp if you're a poor college student like you say.

Why not just dump Sprint? I mean, I like Sprint as a company (much more respect for them than I have for AT&T), but "business is business" as they say. Its just a phone company in the end & AT&T gives me what I want (a healthy dose on WP7 phones, Android & iOS) that I can switch between at my own will with SIM cards.

And it might be personal preference, but I'd never go back to CDMA in a million years. I'm too big of a phone junky & its too big of a PITA to switch phones with them. Plus, buying used (something I do a lot of with GSM) is always a pain with CDMA because you have to always verify its a clean ESN & if the person who's selling it to you paid the bill on the service line the phone was connected to (or else the carrier will never activate it on someone else's line). It's stupid. No thank you.

Anyways, I say if you want it bad enough, sell your Arrive, cancel your Sprint line & jump in. Plus, Sprint doesn't seem like they're fully onboard the WP7 train, so you'd never get the good equipment staying over there.

Yeah I learned my lesson with Sprint and Verizon. CDMA blows. Like you said I like too like Sprint as a company but business is buisness. Hence why I am getting the Radar today (hopefully) and dumping Sprint.

Sprint most definitely doesn't seem on-board with WP7. They haven't announced ANY new WP7 phones and that advertisement they had that said "trade in your old phone for credit" showing the Arrive wrapped in poison ivy irked me.

 

[jimski]

FYI, unless AT&T is running some new customer special it's: $39.95 for a 450min plan and $25 for the 2GB plan. So $65 + about $8 in taxes and fees, or $73 total. The 200MB plan is $15/month, which would drop you to about $63, but probably not enough data for your needs.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[coasterfreak212]

Yeah, I actually don't mind CDMA too much. I never had bad service from Sprint and never had dropped calls unless I caused it inadvertently. Customer Service is phenomenal to, at least for me. Every time I call in for random issues (activating a new phone, swapping phones with my little brother cause he broke his, venturing the Evo for a little while) I would always have speedy service and a bright and happy voice.

Also had a straight up conversation with a guy about how I needed the MLS code because I was doing so questionable hacking and flashing and he just was courteous and gave it to me, warning me about the precautions, and ensuring me that I just needed to be careful. I was trying to flash Windows Mobile 6.1 on my old Moto Q, which is pretty much impossible on that device, and I screwed up my phone because of it. The guy understood and helped me the best I could and I was able to fix it.

But what is annoying is the lack of a SIM Card. It would be fantastic for me to be able to switch between phones. My dream phone is really the HD2 and Penta booting it with Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Android, MeeGo and Ubuntu just because I could.

But I really do LOVE Sprint. Had them all my life. The fact that my family pays only $250 for 5 phones with unlimited everything is a dream. I've always had a consistent connection that's fast and reliable. I don't want to have to monitor my usage.

That's why I felt that by keeping Sprint and using the Google Voice integration and getting att for all the extra fun stuff like phone swapping might be viable. It's not every day that a phone that was JUST RELEASED is going to be a penny within a couple of days. And I figured even if I ETF the att plan, I'd have an awesome phone that's worth about that same price.

And like TaliZora said, Sprint does not seem on board with WP7 at all. At the end of the day, I put emphasis on software. That's why I was ecstatic when Sprint was the exclusive carrier for the Palm Pre, being a dedicated Palm fan before the iPhone craze happened. But as of late, Sprint been smart in only putting attention on things that are profitable. They know that Windows Phone isn't overall profitable yet and they are just going to stick with the slim pickins until it proves to be (like how they waited until things smoothed over before jumping the Android ship)

That being said, it's hard to live a bleeding edge lifestyle on a carrier that doesn't allow you to swap phones easily. But what you guys said does make sense and it is what my logical side has been telling me this entire time. It's just that damn pesky lust and greed that keep popping up

 

[foosball]

Pro's for moving to ATT:

- You get a wealth of choices for WP7 phones and the HTC Titan is sweet
- Sim card flexibility
- Data & voice simultaneously so no hanging up on someone just to get data on your phone
- You get to stick it to Sprint for being such Android whores

Cons:

- $$$$$$$ Pretty much no matter what you do it will cost you more money and ATT will abuse you with fees every way they can.
- Limited Data. Do you really want to be tied down to 2GB when you already know you use 5GB?
- No Texts. Are you kidding? Do you really want to be that guy that everybody hates and when someone sends you a text, you tell them to use messenger instead? You will get at least a few texts a month and @ .45 cents that's at least $5 added on to your plan every month. ATT will abuse you in fees as stated above.
- Overall you will feel cramped on ATT and you will have to be on constant alert. If you let your guard down even one month over 2 years your bill could easily be the entire cost of the Titan!
- Eventually new phones will be released on Sprint (CES is just around the corner)

Overall, unless you really are interested in getting royally screwed by ATT it's not a plan that will be helpful for you. Granted you picked a great phone but the bottom line is you will have to sacrifice alot.

That being said there's one thing that hasn't been mentioned. You can pick up the Titan for free obviously. The phone is probably worth about $400-$450 on ebay. You could go with ATT for 1 or 2 months to see how it goes and if it doesn't pan out then sell your Titan. By the time you are done paying ebay's ridiculous fees you should have $350 left. That would be enough to pay ETF and get out of your crappy ATT contract. But why put yourself through that?

 

[Neibl]

You also gain 4g hspa+ which is a big deal and differs in speed very noticeably.

Sent from my T8788 using Board Express

 

[palandri]

Wait until the Titan is about $200 on Amazon. Buy it and then order an ATT pay as you go sim card.

Sent from my Nokia N8 using Tapatalk

 

[PFI-Guy]

Hey Guys,

I'm currently on Sprint and got the HTC Arrive when it launched. Love it to pieces.

But this HTC Titan craze has everyone buzzing! I was wondering what you guys think.

I love Sprint, and would never leave Sprint, but the penny Titan is VERY tempting in at least opening a contract with att. My parents pay for my phone plan in which we have unlimited everything for super cheap, and I work, so technically I could afford my own att contract.

I personally hate att and don't really want to do business with them, but I like the idea of taking advantage of this steal. And considering that Sprint isn't showing any signs of having a new Windows Phone any time soon adds fuel to the hysteria.

I've been thinking about using Google Voice for everything and getting the cheapest plan possible. I've already talked with sales reps and they said it would cost about $65 a month for 450 minutes, no txting, and 2gb data. My plan is to use Google Voice to handle all that so that essentially it would be as if I never had left Sprint. And using WiFi as much as possible so I can ensure that I don't go over the 2gb limit (which I hope I don't do, considering that I use about 5gb a month on the Arrive, and that's without tethering!)

Anybody have some input? My main gripe is outgoing calls, I don't want to have to use GoVoice every time I have to make an outgoing call. Also, I wouldn't know because I never have done it, but does the incoming calls have the correct caller id information when using Google Voice to forward to a different number? And being a typical poor college student, my logical side is having a hard time justifying buying a new phone with a new plan with VERY LITTLE gains. Logically thinking, the only thing I gain is a bigger screen, a front facing camera, and an additional .5 ghz.

Aside from that, I also thought, me being a techy and all, would enjoy the luxury that is SIM Cards, which is nonexsistent on Sprint. I love the idea of being able to just swap out the SIM onto different phones and have considered having other phones along with my own att plan just so I can play around and swap out different phones depending on mood (I equate it to girls and shoes. I love the idea of having a different phone for every occasion and mood!) I also feel I can justify this if I actually get off my *** and actually develop for these platforms. Having att would make logical sense for a developer who wants to be in every app market, considering that they would just have to swap a sim to be able to test out their apps on various devices.

Anybody want to weigh in on my woes and think I should spring for it or if I should just stick with what I've got?

I have to admit (as a very long term TMO customer with multiple Blackberry upgraded models) that I am probably going to make the jump. Now I have the unlimited voice and text and Blackberry internet service. This is my primary business phone. Roughly comes to $100 per month.

I currently have an HD7 on the family plan with the rest of the family. Love the phone and with the new firmware update to allow Internet Sharing, I get to terminate my Sprint Overdrive. (Yes, as some of you are thinking, I am WAY to connected/paying the cell companies).

The biggest thing is the 4.7 screen. Blackberry doesn't have anything that large. TMO has discontinued the HD7 and ONLY carries the HTC Radar. Age is not kind on the eyes and the Titan is extremely viewable.

Total cost per month with unlimited voice, 2 Gig data, unlimited text (SMS/MSS) and the insurance for lost/damaged/theft will be about $135 (w/taxes).

If I don't get the unlimited texting, then I will save $20, but SMS with be $0.20 (in or out) and MMS will be $0.30 (in or out). Would not recommend skipping the $20 unlimited for the shutterbugs and the younger.

With that said, the phone is $550 without contract and TMO now does something called a "down payment", a mail in rebate(??? whether you by online or at the store) and somewhere between $10 to $20 for 16 months to get a new phone. That makes the 1 penny sale about equal for a top end Windows Phone versus staying with TMO on another Blackberry or moving to the Android platform (BTW I also have a Nexus S on Sprint).

Love the Windows Phone platform!

 

[power5]

Never had a single problem with ATT. Never had any real problems with charges that could not be fixed.
5gb/mo is huge. What exactly do you do? Unless you are streaming music via zunepass almost non stop during the day, I find that just unbelievable. Not saying its not possible but texting does not come into data plans.

If you want to be able to switch phones on a whim you need to switch to GSM. No arguing at all possible about that fact.

CDMA does have better phone quality in my previous experience. Works indoors better too. I will never go back to sprint (my first carrier) or Verizon (my second) because of the lack of sim cards. When I had a malfunction on my 3g my dad gave me his that he just upgraded to a 4S and I was up and running within a few minutes. Just restored from my itunes backup and everything was there. Was like I didnt even change phones.

If you are using 5gb of data there is no chance I would change now. I am grandfathered on ATT unlimited so I do not have any issues. **** I thought I used a lot of data and turns out all my surfing and stuff uses way less than 1gb/mo. I think my highest could have been around 750mb.

You will hate ATT and your new phone if its limited by your plan. End of story. It will taint your experience.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I love my Arrive and Sprint, but that Titan is tempting

 

[coasterfreak212]

Haha, 5gb is more like the top I've reached, not really the average. On average it's more realistic to say I use 2gb. I am a very very proud owner of the zune pass and use it constantly, as well as watch tons of YouTube and Sprint TV videos. Sometimes I just leave on my phone with random data like music of videos being drawn just to see how much data I abuse on the Sprint unlimited network. Oddly enough, I haven't got a call yet about my usage.

In terms of the no txting, I'd use Google Voice for the txting part. Because Google Voice integrates with Sprint to the point where it's seemless, I can txt and make calls on the Titan using only Data and it would seem as if I'm making calls and txt from my Arrive. A txt message sent through data on Google Voice averages about a 1kb of data if I'm not mistaken.

In terms of the pay-as-you-go option, is that possible to get when you do the penny sale?

 

[palandri]

...In terms of the pay-as-you-go option, is that possible to get when you do the penny sale?

For Pay As You Go, you would need to buy the phone outright. The Titan will drop in price over time.

With the penny sale, you need to sign a 2 year contract.

 

[coasterfreak212]

Damn, it's still really tempting though.

Logically speaking, I know I'm not gaining much, but the convenience of having a SIM card and potentially having multiple phones is also enticing.

Considering that I will use att to a minimum as much as possible and relying on Google Voice to connect back to the Sprint network as well as Wifi as much as possible (which wouldn't be too hard for me, I got a beastly dual-band Asus router and my college has a secure wifi throughout campus that connects automatically using our University account ID and password as the login information).

It would also make a nice field study and would also allow me to, like I said before, develop on multiple platforms in real case testing rather than using emulators and unactivated phones.

Gosh, sometimes I wish I was just working for a tech journalist and had it be my job to review phones of all types on all carriers.

 

[power5]

If you think you can handle the much lower cap, go for it. I could not live without Cell Data since my work is restricted wifi.

If you want free phones take the steps to become a tech writer. Reading some reviews it does not seem too difficult. **** talk to your school paper and see if you could start writing for them. If they dont have one I would bet they jump at the chance. Then write letters to all those phone companies and show them your credentials and some examples of work. Thats how most get started in the gig.

 

[coasterfreak212]

If you think you can handle the much lower cap, go for it. I could not live without Cell Data since my work is restricted wifi.

If you want free phones take the steps to become a tech writer. Reading some reviews it does not seem too difficult. **** talk to your school paper and see if you could start writing for them. If they dont have one I would bet they jump at the chance. Then write letters to all those phone companies and show them your credentials and some examples of work. Thats how most get started in the gig.

I actually was propositioned multiple times to do that for my University School Paper. Never thought of that, but it might be nice chump change on the side.

I was asked to review all forms of tech, especially after I made a complaint about a poorly written review of the Windows 7 Beta (The guy said that there was no way to reduce the size of the "new awkwardly large taskbar" and that there was no point in upgrading from Vista. The guy was an extremist Apple user and was falsifying information about Windows 7 for his personal gains).

I might just take up that offer if things turn out right. I don't want it to conflict with my already busy schedule.

 

[power5]

Be up front and honest. Tell the paper that your school comes first and until you start writing you will not be able to give them a firm commitment on the number or frequency of articles. Again, just being part of a school paper should give you enough credit to start getting samples. In the beginning you may have to send them to the next reviewer after probably a week of use, but it gets you in the door.

 

[kevm14]

I am switching from Sprint after 12 years. I do have an unlimited data plan now, and a very cheap 2 line bill, but that plan is NOT compatible with "smartphones." My Touch Pro is evidently not a smartphone. So I'd have to pay about as much as AT&T, with the only benefit being unlimited data. The HUGE downside is they still only have the Arrive, and I want the Titan (ordered it). So that's how I decided.

 

[Reflexx]

Overall, I've been happy with my AT&T service. I think it has a lot to do with the area you live in. My reception is just as good as any of my friends who may have different carriers.

I'm not emotionally tied to AT&T though. And I'd switch if I felt it would benefit me in the long run. But for now, I'm sticking with them. They have the best selection of devices and good service.