L620 or bust??

[ejb222]

Ok...so my girlfriends Sprint contract expires in one month. She has a 2 yo Motorola Photon 4g with Android 2.3...never received an update...surprised? Anyway. She is thinking about going the prepaid carrier route and wants to hop on Virgin Mobile(USA) Has anyone successfully brought a 620 to Virgin Mobile in the US? How bad is the battery on this phone. Is there a larger battery that fits?
I think she really prefers a Nokia as she has seen the last 2 that I owned and is impressed with their commitment to customers and the OS.
Suggestions?

 

[Jnbs]

Ok...so my girlfriends Sprint contract expires in one month. She has a 2 yo Motorola Photon 4g with Android 2.3...never received an update...surprised? Anyway. She is thinking about going the prepaid carrier route and wants to hop on Virgin Mobile(USA) Has anyone successfully brought a 620 to Virgin Mobile in the US? How bad is the battery on this phone. Is there a larger battery that fits?
I think she really prefers a Nokia as she has seen the last 2 that I owned and is impressed with their commitment to customers and the OS.
Suggestions?

Virgin Mobile USA is a CDMA carrier, thus the L620, a GSM phone, will not work on Virgin Mobile USA... I will recommend buying a L521 on T-mobile USA or even getting the new SIMPLE plans on T-mobile.. Also, AT&T now offers the L520 for $100 and GO-Phone plans from 35-65 dollars

 

[speedtouch]

Jnbs is correct. In addition to the new SIMPLE plans on T-Mobile, T-Mobile continues to offer pre-paid plans, which I use: Prepaid Cell Phone Plans, No Annual Contract | Monthly 4G | T-Mobile

HSN still offers the $119 Lumia 521 bundle, which is a great deal. It inlcudes the phone, wall charger, car charger, and rubberized case: Nokia Lumia 521 No-Contract 4" Windows Smartphone - T-Mobile at HSN.com

 

[ejb222]

I was certain the 620 was CDMA too?
Per Nokia: WCDMA network: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 1900 MHz, 850 MHz
WCDMA max data speed DL: HSDPA - 21.1 Mbps
WCDMA max data speed UL: HSUPA - 5.76 Mbps
I think the concern is that Tmobile doesn't really provide great coverage in New England and AT&T is more expensive than Virgin Mobile by about 15$ for comparable services. Though I would agree that the 520 is attractive at the $100 or less price point. I was trying to cover all the bases since she specifically asked about the 620. The $100 price on the 520 is only if bought through ATT and used as a Gophone...don't think she would like that...Any more suggestions?

 

[speedtouch]

I was certain the 620 was CDMA too?
Per Nokia: WCDMA network: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 1900 MHz, 850 MHz
WCDMA max data speed DL: HSDPA - 21.1 Mbps
WCDMA max data speed UL: HSUPA - 5.76 Mbps
I think the concern is that Tmobile doesn't really provide great coverage in New England and AT&T is more expensive than Virgin Mobile by about 15$ for comparable services. Though I would agree that the 520 is attractive at the $100 or less price point. I was trying to cover all the bases since she specifically asked about the 620. The $100 price on the 520 is only if bought through ATT and used as a Gophone...don't think she would like that...Any more suggestions?

Gosh, you're right. I just looked here: Nokia Lumia 620 Specifications - Nokia

However, unless Virgin specifically tells you they'll activate the phone I would not buy it for use on Virgin. CDMA is different than GSM. Just because it's a CDMA phone doesn't mean it's automatically compatible or supported by the CDMA carrier.

 

[metalchick719]

Don't do it, at least not for use on Virgin. MetroPCS has the 521 now as well, but no Nokia WPs will be compatible with Virgin's network.

 

[mogelijk]

Virgin Mobile USA will not allow you to bring your own device, even if it is compatible. There are ways around that, it basically requires buying a cheap Virgin Mobile phone and changing the IMEI of the phone you want on the network to the IMEI of the cheap phone.

I know AIO has the L620 for $99, but they are still in limited areas (despite being owned by AT&T and using the AT&T network), otherwise they would likely be a solid option for your friend. AT&T would look to be the only real option for a Windows Phone if T-Mobile isn't good in your friend's area. As for GoPhone, their unlimited talk/text with 2 GB data plan is currently about the same as Virgin's "unlimited" (with 2.5 GB high speed data). While the GoPhone's unlimited price is technically $60/month compared to VM's $55, the $60 price includes sales tax, whereas the Virgin price is $55 + sales tax, so depending on sales tax Virgin might be $1 or 2 cheaper. Additionally, the GoPhone plan is going to have far better speeds and coverage than Virgin Mobile.