General

@Yumtoast same day as you. Halloween Oct 31. Yeah my screen is basically the same as yours except for the locations. It hasn't updated in 2 days

[quote=SunsetChaos]still waiting for my Nexus 5 too... end of next tuesday... [/quote]
When did you purchase yours?

[url=http://i.imgur.com/gJpDogh.png]IT'S HAPPENING[/url]

Can't wait to unbox it and try out 4.4. I'm also excited for the 4.4 update to hit Nexus 4/7 and HTC One devices.

@Nashi http://www.basilmarket.com/forum/2747579

@SunsetChaos: 350$ is really horribly cheap then... for an unlocked phone with those specs that's quite amazing (as far as I could tell)
We're in no hurry really. So if we do get it then it's not gonna be a big deal to wait for it.

Problem being about verizon wireless not working with them is that in this area they apparently have the best connectivity.. the cheapest choice would be t-mobile but their coverage here isn't so great and our roomate (who has a t-mobile plan) sad his service is unavailable at times. Would suck a lot so I'm not sure if my Fiance would be willing to deal with it (doubt it honestly x.x...)
Maybe they'll fix that somehow in the close future... Sure as hell hope so

It tells you $30 for 3 GB of internet per month or 10 dollars for 500 mb what else do you need to know,

@Nashi Actually, all Nexus 5 comes fully unlocked. So no contracts if bought from the Play Store. Google Play Store is sort of the Android's version of Apple's iTunes.
As you can see from the name, it's the official website by Google which has apps, games, etc. And you can buy these Nexus devices straight from Google and just bring it to whatever carrier. Idk about Verizon though. The ones sold by the carriers are bought from Google, so obviously it's more expensive, since they need to make profit.
If you want an unlocked phone, it should be cheaper to buy straight from the Play Store depending on where you're shipping to (shipping+tax).
But if you don't want to wait for it to ship, just buy from the carriers. It's worth the wait unless you're in a hurry...

Btw, some people are leaving Verizon because they don't sell/support Nexus 5 lol. So you could consider switching to some other carrier if you're getting the Nexus 5.
Oh and it doesn't just work with US carriers. People from many other countries bought Nexus 5 too. I'm personally not from the US. You should check to see if you carrier supports it or not though.

@SunsetChaos: Did you get your Nexus 5 with a contract?
I'm so confused. It says 350$ on the google page but when I check e.g. sprint it says 450$ for 16GB.
What is Google Play? Is that just their store or is that some sort of carrier? Oo I can't tell if the phone is unlocked if I buy it from them...
sadly it apparently doesn't support verizon wireless T.T...

still waiting for my Nexus 5 too... end of next tuesday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZjurCN521U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAqJty3eGhE
I'd say for half the price, it's amazing.

[quote=Deletive]lol; did you get the white or black? I got mine already... it shipped and got here yesterday.[/quote]
32GB black model

I ordered mine 8 hours after the N5 was released on the Play Store, and I live 2,300 miles away from Kentucky. I'm in no hurry to get the Nexus 5 though, since I still very-much love my current smartphone.

[quote=Deletive]Nexus 5... Love it[/quote]
You got yours already?

3-day UPS ground is suffering.

What's the best cheap phone plan for Canada? BC boy here

@Yumtoast: Nice > x< thank youuu!

@Nashi: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

You choose the $30 plan when after you activate the SIM and set up a payment method.

@Yumtoast: That sounds pretty good o.o and how do I find that "hidden" plan when I have a SIM card?
and I almost think he'll stick to verizon regardless due to the good area coverage..... sigh.

[quote=Yumtoast]Upgrading phones for free through contract normally means you're paying for it for the duration of that contract.

If you and your fiance really need to keep the bills low, you can consider one of T-Mobile's more hidden plans; you buy a SIM card from their website online, and they have a $30/month plan that offers 100 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data (throttled after 5GB).[/quote]
I had no idea tmobile had that plan, 5gb for $30 plus the minutes is so good considering other providers charge $5 for 512mb or $10 for 1gb extra on top of their basic entry data plan. Also about the sim card, tmobile just giving them away. Only catch is you need to buy it online, not in the store,this can save another $10 dollars if you get it this way. I got 2 just in case I ever want to go back to tmobile.

[quote=Nashi]@2005chuy: Blergh yeah told him about T-Mobile. Told him I think it's the better solution money-wise but not as good regarding connectivity (though I don't think he could have overly big issues in this area.....). Not so sure what he thinks about it yet since he's not really willing to pay a big monthly fee (had to go to work before we could discuss more)
He's on a family plan with his dad right now (verizon) and we may talk to him about that later to see if his dad could do something about it and possibly get him an upgrade. Don't upgrades typically get you a new phone for free? (and binding you to a contract for 2 months)
I think I heard of something like that before.... not so sure if that works for him or if his dad would have to do it though... will have to see x.x I hope this turns out well. Didn't think it would be this expensive honestly..[/quote]
Upgrading phones for free through contract normally means you're paying for it for the duration of that contract.

If you and your fiance really need to keep the bills low, you can consider one of T-Mobile's more hidden plans; you buy a SIM card from their website online, and they have a $30/month plan that offers 100 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data (throttled after 5GB).

If you're looking for a cost-effective plan, take a look at Republic Wireless. $99 for the phone (DEFY XT - A bit old, but decent) and unlimited minutes, 3G data, and texts for $19/m+tax. If you want a new phone, they also have the MOTO X, but it's $300, and the plan is $25/m for the same unlimited minutes 3G data, and texts. The phones can make calls off of wifi too, so you can still make and receive phone calls if you're in an area with bad cell reception, international calls are free, and there are no roaming charges (It runs off of the Sprint network).

The phone prices seem high, but you save in the long run because the monthly bill is low. $340 ($100+12*$20) a year sounds better than what most carriers offer for the same plans to me.

PM me if you want to know more.

@2005chuy: Blergh yeah told him about T-Mobile. Told him I think it's the better solution money-wise but not as good regarding connectivity (though I don't think he could have overly big issues in this area.....). Not so sure what he thinks about it yet since he's not really willing to pay a big monthly fee (had to go to work before we could discuss more)
He's on a family plan with his dad right now (verizon) and we may talk to him about that later to see if his dad could do something about it and possibly get him an upgrade. Don't upgrades typically get you a new phone for free? (and binding you to a contract for 2 months)
I think I heard of something like that before.... not so sure if that works for him or if his dad would have to do it though... will have to see x.x I hope this turns out well. Didn't think it would be this expensive honestly..

[quote=Nashi]I don't think that we'd even use 1 or 2gb of data. 500mb may even be enough at first.. it'll pretty much only be used for online-messaging (with a messenger software).
The problem I have with verizon (after looking around for a while today) is that they ask for 10$/GB if you use more data than your plan includes (not sure if they calculate by databit or if they just charge you 10$ if you're even only 1MB over it..)
whereas T-Mobile simply slows your speed down until the next month... but then again t-mobile apparently isn't really as good coverage-wise so I'm at a loss here. [/quote]

After double-checking the carrier prices I'd recommend definitely going with T-Mobile. 2.5GB is only 10 more dollars compared to their 500MB data plan, which comes to $60/mo if you don't purchase your phone on 'contract'. If you do, it'll probably be $80/mo. Also, Verizon would charge you $15/GB, not $10 for going over.
T-Mo: 2.5GB = $60/mo
Verizon: 2GB = $100/mo
ATT: 2GB = $95/mo

@xtripled: you wizard!

@Nashi: well i'm glad everything worked out

@xtripled: aww that's sweet xD
@Reflexes: Well it's basically my Fiance "needing" a phone. He doesn't really want one but my friend recommended me a free messenger that offers free txting/video chatting/etc and until I move to America to him I'd prefer a way to contact each other outside of home, too (being bound to a computer to be able to talk sucks. I think a phone would be a relief plus we could keep in contact even when we don't have access to a computer with internet)
I personally prefer prepaid myself too but America seems so goddamn complicated about it that or I'm just a noob at looking things up...
Verizon and T-Mobile are quite big but I looked at some rates and it's all really expensive T.T
@nopaycheck: Verizon seems as of now to be the best choice when it's about coverage but it's more expensive than T-Mobile x.x
This'll be for my Fiance so I'm not sure what phone he'd wanna get but he did clearly state he's not willing to pay 500$ for a phone so that Google Nexus may actually be a good choice... thank you for that one!
He maaaaaaaaay want to have a long battery life though but I don't think that any smartphone will be able to keep up with the old phone he has right now which as far as I could tell lasts several days...
thank you for your input! > w<
@2005chuy: I don't think that we'd even use 1 or 2gb of data. 500mb may even be enough at first.. it'll pretty much only be used for online-messaging (with a messenger software).
The problem I have with verizon (after looking around for a while today) is that they ask for 10$/GB if you use more data than your plan includes (not sure if they calculate by databit or if they just charge you 10$ if you're even only 1MB over it..)
whereas T-Mobile simply slows your speed down until the next month... but then again t-mobile apparently isn't really as good coverage-wise so I'm at a loss here.
@IDKsoMuch: No it's fine you helped me with one part of my problem thanks
@Yumtoast: I guess verizon and t-mobile are better options so far... after looking around on AT&T I wasn't too excited... looked up sprint later. Prices are major turn-off.
@Aeronomx: > x< I've seen that some phones with a CDMA carrier aren't even GSM compatible or something.. so confusing.. does that mean it doesn't have a SIM Card slot?
I really wish the states wouldn't be so weird about this lol
@Dorks: There's limitations to texting to other carriers too? x.x when I looked up plans on diff carriers they said "unlimited texting" but didn't have anything added to it.. I'd hope they mean to all carriers and changed that by now.. that really would suck.
So you have Sprint? Can't you switch?
@UbuntuV10: I did see SIM Cards in their online-store so I'd assume they have prepaid available (-> no contract) but since I doubt that we don't have the money to dish out a few hundred $s for a phone we may just get a 2 year contract (not happy with that though.. but on one provider's page I read that if you cancel the contract the rest amount due for the phone needs to be paid on the spot so I guess you can cancel it anyway.... not sure if that works with all carriers D:....)
Sprint also seems more expensive... AT&T too but I haven't gone far with my browsing.

[quote=UbuntuV10]Didn't T-Mobile recently remove the contract restriction?[/quote]
That was a while back. The only "contract" T-Mobile has now is a 2-year payment plan if you choose to let them subsidize your phone's cost. Though even if you do cancel services, you're only charged the remainder of what you owe. This is the only thing close to what T-M has to a contract nowadays.

And if it matters, T-M introduced free data for life on tablets. I mean, it's only 200MB a month, but it's a nice gesture/marketing strategy.

[quote=Yumtoast]Fastest speeds: AT&T
Best coverage: Verizon
Cheapest plans: T-Mobile

Note that Verizon is a CDMA network.[/quote]

[quote=2005chuy]As far as I know, they haven't had a la carte plans like the one you mentioned for years. If you use a lot of data, go with T-Mobile unlimited data. If you'll only use about 1-2GB of data a month then go with Verizon because they have better coverage and faster 4G compared to T-Mobile. AT&T is insanely expensive, almost twice as much as the other two. T-Mobile also use GSM, which is probably what you had in Germany.[/quote]

Best quotes on here. I hope these two help you

Verizon has excellent service but is pretty expensive. Last I checked (and it was a long time ago) they didn't offer unlimited texting to other carriers.
Sprint sucks. I have unlimited data (and text) but it doesn't mean jack crap when you can't use it half the time.

I was/am on a family plan.

Well, one thing that bugged me was you said the states have both CDMA and GSM carriers, which they do (respectively), but since your from Germany they have GSM carriers. In fact all of Europe is a GSM, that's why you can stick your sim card (not a carrier) into any phone for any carrier thereafter.

You can check by carrier who offers the best data coverage in your area here http://www.sensorly.com/map (just change the carrier to compare)

As for the phone, you can buy the Nexus 5 unlocked when they become available again. They are currently sold out, so if your in desperate need of one second best in my opinion would be the LG G2.

Fastest speeds: AT&T
Best coverage: Verizon
Cheapest plans: T-Mobile

Note that Verizon is a CDMA network.

I only skimmed your thread, and sorry if this doesn't really match your needs, but you can get the Nexus 5 which sells on Google Play Store for $350 for the 16GB model unlocked. If you can get a Nexus 5, you can go prepaid since the phone itself is so cheap for such nice specs. Again, sorry if I didn't really answer your question.

As far as I know, they haven't had a la carte plans like the one you mentioned for years. If you use a lot of data, go with T-Mobile unlimited data. If you'll only use about 1-2GB of data a month then go with Verizon because they have better coverage and faster 4G compared to T-Mobile. AT&T is insanely expensive, almost twice as much as the other two. T-Mobile also use GSM, which is probably what you had in Germany.

Verizon and AT&T are the two biggest carriers in the US. Verizon tends to have more area coverage while AT&T tends to have faster 4G LTE speeds (not by much).

As for an Android phone, [url=http://reviews.cnet.com/google-nexus-5/]I highly recommend the new Google Nexus 5 over everything else.[/url]It stands toe-to-toe with other flagship Android phones (Galaxy S4, LG G2, etc), but it's extremely cheap as it comes $350 off-contract (others go upto $600~650). The Nexus 5 also has the newest Android OS: 4.4 KitKat. However since it's so cheap the demand is so high right now you'll have to wait a few weeks to get one.

Then there are people who prioritize battery life above all else. [url=http://reviews.cnet.com/motorola-droid-maxx/]If you're that person get the Motorola Droid Maxx[/url]. However these are very expensive.

Ooh so you're a couple (or just you) that needs a smartphone? Idk what I heard that T-Mobile and Verizon are the nice ones...tho I'm a canadian guy and I don't have none of these on my list. I prefer going No Contract, you don't have to hassle with some carrier probs when you do that 2-year monthly pay as you go shenaniaagans.

felt bad that no one commented so hopefully after this people will see it
OT: sorry don't live in the states