Samsung Galaxy S II and Sprint

When iPhone 3G came out, I was one of those people who waited in line to upgrade. Same story with 3Gs and iPhone 4. I was in love with the iPhone and anything with an “i” in it – iPod, iTunes – you name it. It became a part of my life. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d give the iPhone up. I never even considered any other phones. Well at least not until October of 2011.

In a very quiet move, AT&T announced in Late July that starting on October 1st, users “grandfathered” into their unlimited data plans, “may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period.”

In other words – your unlimited data plan is only unlimited until we decide that you have used a lot, in which case we will make it impossible for you to accomplish anything on your phone which requires data usage. Your maps and directions will take forever to load, your weather updates will not load on time, and Netflix? Well you can forget that. Your 45 minute episode which you missed out on while traveling will take 3 and a half hours to stream. Basically, it will render your “unlimited” data plan very useless.

I travel a lot for a living. I’m away from home probably about 300 days a year. One of the reasons I upgraded to iPhone 4 – and renewed the contract – was because I was able to retain my unlimited data plan. When AT&T decided to throttle the speeds, I decided I was going to call and complain. Well complain I did. In fact I turned blue complaining. But that helped me not. So I asked to speak to a supervisor and told them I should be allowed to get out of my contract since speed reductions was never a part of any agreement I signed up for. This is new thing that AT&T introduced in the middle (well 18 months in) of my contract, And I never agreed to such speed reductions. Thus I should be allowed to break my contract without early termination fees. After a few minutes of ramblings I was told that “because you are so far into the contract, you will be able to terminate it without any penalties.” YES! Freedom at last!!!

Well, that wasn’t so easy. Now that I knew I could get out of the contract with AT&T, who should I go with? Which company offers me what I need with the same reliability of AT&T? Which company has truly unlimited data? Sprint, here I come!

So just before Christmas, my girlfriend and I went to a local Best Buy store to see what they had. I know sprint has iPhone 4S. So I figured I’ll just get that. I like iPhones. Heck I’ve had one for a while now. I know the ins and outs of the phone, and SIRI – that is a great new addition – at least all the TV commercials say so. But then I saw a pamphlet for 4G and how fast IT can be. So, iPhone 4S is not 4G compatible, but it is cool. But no 4G speeds. Since the speed is the main reason I wanted to get out of AT&T to begin with, I decided to see what other devices are available with 4G which would suit me and my needs.

I picked up the Samsung Galaxy S II. It truly was “TLAFS” (Technology Love At First Sight). I know it is kind of a cheesy acronym, but it is true. I loved its big screen (It will be great for watching Netflix movies). Speed and responsiveness were great. It was thin, light and beautiful. Priced at $199 with a new 2 year agreement was within my price range. Everything about it was great. It screamed “Class”! One thing though. It wasn’t an Apple Product and it didn’t have an “i” anywhere in its name. It was an Android based phone. I never used one before. I’ve never even thought to read up on it. In fact, while I was happy with AT&T, I could have cared less if Android could make you levitate while watching movies. I wasn’t going to switch from my iPhone. Since most smartphones now have the touchscreen display, it couldn’t be that hard to figure out and with some messing around, I am sure I can find my way around it. So I decided to get it.

Today, it’s been about 2 weeks since we got our new phones and the new Sprint service. Here are my pro’s and con’s of the Samsung Galaxy S II – aka Epic 4G Touch (I learned this later as I was reading up on how to use my new Android phone).

PRO’s:
-TRULY UNLIMITED DATA without ANY THROTTLING
-Good Coverage
-Lightweight and Thin
-FAST – much faster than my iPhone 4
-Smooth interaction
-Great Sound Quality
-Very Customizable – Maybe this is more a feature of Android than Galaxy S II but its a big pro for me.
-Voice Assistant (kind of like SIRI but not as good)
-4G enabled

CON’s:
-Battery Life isn’t as great as on iPhone
-No SIRI
-Not as many apps on the Android Market
-Lost probably over $400 worth of Apps purchased on the app Store over the years.
-Sprint Customer Service is outsourced somewhere else. Not a big deal, but I hate being called Mr. Mentor rather than Mr. Mala. Just call me Mentor if you want to use my first name.

Overall, I love my new phone and service. I wish I would have been a lot more receptive to change before. Android is a much better fit for me than the iPhone. Don’t take me wrong, I still think the iOS is better overall, but as far as my individual needs, I have found the new Samsung Galaxy S II to be a perfect match!


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