Nexus unlocked or S III+contract?

December 4, 2012 1:04 PM

Nexus unlocked or S III+contract?

Details: My iphone has gone awol. I'm going to move to Android. I am probably a medium user: under 1 gb/mo, 30-50 texts, 50-100 calls. I currently use StraightTalk prepaid (and am happy with the billing but not crazy about the service), but may go to an AT&T or some other pre-paid.

In your opinion, is it better to:

(a) wait (how long??) for the Nexus at $299, even though its on 3G, which would mean putting a new straightalk or other pre-paid sim into an old blackberry and using that as my main phone until the Nexus arrives; or...

(b) get a Samsung S III at $149 for the phone at Staples with a 2-year contract.

In other words: I like the pre-paid plans and I'm not ready to pay $500 for an unlocked S III, but I think I want 4G and it'd be nice to have a phone now.

posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy to Technology (10 answers total)

It's not necessary to have 4G, if by 4G you mean LTE. HDSPA+ is nearly as fast, really, for most practical uses, and you save battery by not running two radios. My current plan is to get a Nexus 4 and Solavei SIM (T-Mobile HDSPA+ network with roaming onto AT&T, unlimited voice, text, and data, $50 a month). Compared to prices for 4G service on a contract, you'd pay that extra $150 off in 5-7 months.
posted by kindall at 1:18 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Whether or not AT&T's 4G is worth it may depend on where you live. There is 4G and there is "4G." 4G LTE is the blazing fast one, although it is not available in very many AT&T markets yet and also takes a bit out of your battery. "4G" is HSPA+, which is much slower than LTE and not quite as fast as your WiFi, but still passable. Note that the Nexus 4 will NOT support LTE. I'd consider that you may already be experiencing HSPA+ with Straight Talk.

The Nexus vs. GS3 debate seems to be an issue of price (prepaid Nexus) vs quality (GS3 w/ AT&T), and so that decision is on you. If you decide you would like 4G LTE, then your decision should be to go with the GS3 w/ AT&T (provided you live in an LTE area).
posted by WCF at 1:28 PM on December 4, 2012

I got the Nexus 4 because I didn't want to put up with the OEM/carrier when waiting for system updates. My previous phone was a T-Mobile/Samsung Vibrant (basically, the TMO Galaxy S), which received one system update, 6 months late, and never got another one ever again.

I think the S3 got its Jelly Bean update not too long ago, but, still....
posted by chengjih at 1:29 PM on December 4, 2012

The Nexus 16GB is 5-6 weeks out. If you can wait that long, I think the Nexus 4 is a no brainer.

The amount you will save just on a prepaid plan is at least $1000 over 2 years.

You could even pay more now for one off CL or ebay and still be better off than the S3 on contract.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:34 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Consider that the price difference between the major carriers and MVNOs (or TMo low cost plans) is going to be $34 or so per month (minimum $80 per month contract, vs the $46 you're paying now) plus the cost of the phone. So that Samsung S III is really going to cost you nearly $1,000, vs $300 for the Galaxy Nexus. Is LTE worth $700 for the next two years?
posted by cnc at 1:36 PM on December 4, 2012

Best answer: I suggest reading this in-depth comparison of the two phones. Definitely some advantages to both and it just depends what's important to you. I ordered a Nexus 4 and will be using it with a very low cost T-Mobile pre-paid plan (the cheapest one is $30 per month with unlimited Web and text and 100 minutes talk - the first 5GB are 4G, whereas for the $50 plan actually only the first 100MB are 4G - so if you browse more than talk, the $30 plan is great). And by the way, this is why I'm not getting an iPhone - you pay out the nose for service plans with an iPhone.
posted by Dansaman at 1:44 PM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

re: cnc's point, if the OP wanted, he/she could purchase the unlocked S III at ~500 and use it with the Straight Talk service. So with the plans being equal the difference is paying ~$200-$250 extra for the S III phone. (gotta say OP, have you gone to the store to play with the two phones? The S III is pretty awesome...)
posted by treehorn+bunny at 2:36 PM on December 4, 2012

I don't think that 4G LTE is worth what the post-paid carriers charge, personally. Sure it is fast, but I found 3G more than sufficient for my needs. With StraightTalk 3G on my iPhone 4 I can stream videos w/o any problem. Speed check I get an average of about 2mbps. Now, that is with HSPA.

I've heard that the Nexus 4 supports HSPA+ and with StraightTalk with an AT&T SIM you can get "up to 12mbps". I just ordered a Nexus 4 and I'd be happy if it were only 3-6mbps on HSPA+. Apparently, T-Mobile has a faster implementation of HSPA+ so it is possible to get 20mbps on StraightTalk w/ a T-Mobile SIM. I'd switch to that, but T-Mobile's coverage is pretty poor in my area compared to AT&T.

So, if you really need LTE speeds (and you are inside a will covered area), then be prepared to pay a huge sack of change for that speed over 2 years. If I were you, I'd get the Nexus 4 and stick with StraightTalk. It sucks having to use your Blackberry in the meantime but I think it is worth it.
posted by nickerbocker at 3:31 PM on December 4, 2012

I used my ipad on verizon's LTE for a couple months, and it's really not that big a deal compared to HSPA, not even a huge difference from old 3G unless I was looking at video sites or sites with high resolution pics. The difference in battery drain is pretty significant.

Really take a look at tmobile's prepaid plans, or an mvno, they're much better, as long as you get decent reception in your area. If you don't use much voice, the $30 plan from tmobile is an incredible value.
posted by skewed at 8:13 PM on December 4, 2012

I just made the android jump (from WebOS!) and went with the HTC One X+ retail (alas) - if contract upping is in the picture for you, I'd take a serious look at it - LTE, 64GB, 1.7Ghz Quad Core Tegra 3....it's pretty nice.
posted by namewithoutwords at 8:21 AM on December 5, 2012