Virgin Mobile

[KTMRIDER]

Anybody in Northern Ohio use Virgin Mobile? Wanting to get my first smart phone and was wondering what the service and coverage is like?

[jblosser]

they use the Sprint mobile network.

if a Sprint phone works where you are, a VM phone should work.

$35/month, 400 talk minutes, unlimited text/data.

*edit: have one for my boy - works fine in central Ohio.

[baptizo]

We have good coverage with Sprint up here in NEO....you should be fine trying it out.

[redrocket04]

I had it for a month when I was between contracts. The service itself is fine, but it seemed less reliable. Maybe that's a sprint thing, idk.

Either way, we went back to Verizon and are semi happily paying double what the virgin plan was

[TSB67]

Their coverage map is accurate. I have one that works flawless up and down the I71 corridor. Only time I have ever lacked signal is when I was trying to find a place in Spencer, OH. Had to drive back towards the freeway to get a signal.

I also got in at the ground floor at $25/mo. A co-op at work turned me on to it.

P.S. As was said if you don't already know, it's second priority on the Sprint network. If Sprint has coverage you're golden, if not you have nothing - there is no roaming.

Edited May 12, 2013 by brn6604

[jblosser]

Anybody in Northern Ohio use Virgin Mobile? Wanting to get my first smart phone and was wondering what the service and coverage is like?

first "smart" phone?

DO NOT play with the Internet on a 4G phone and then buy a 3G phone...you'll be very unhappy. Stick with 3G - ignorance is bliss. 3G v 4g = 1970 cb250 v. 2012 BMW S1000rr, or at least it seems that way.

i have a Samsung Galaxy s3, 4.8" screen, and I cannot use teh intarwebz for more than about 1 minute - although others seemingly live on their phone. For me, 3G would be enough, but if you want to surf a lot, you almost have to have 4G.

Maybe (well, I am) I'm old, but i simply cannot use the phone for Internet very long, so 4G v 3G makes little difference to me. Text and e-mail retrieval - network seems to make no difference.

[serpentracer]

first "smart" phone?

DO NOT play with the Internet on a 4G phone and then buy a 3G phone...you'll be very unhappy. Stick with 3G - ignorance is bliss. 3G v 4g = 1970 cb250 v. 2012 BMW S1000rr, or at least it seems that way.

i have a Samsung Galaxy s3, 4.8" screen, and I cannot use teh intarwebz for more than about 1 minute - although others seemingly live on their phone. For me, 3G would be enough, but if you want to surf a lot, you almost have to have 4G.

Maybe (well, I am) I'm old, but i simply cannot use the phone for Internet very long, so 4G v 3G makes little difference to me. Text and e-mail retrieval - network seems to make no difference.

sprint still uses wimax 4g which isn't much faster than 3g. they still don't have 4g LTE like everyone else does. so no modern smartphone even works with their 4g anymore. that's the catch with sprint and virgin mobile. and virgin is even worse with the phone choices. you either get a phone with decent specs but you can't use it on 4g networks or you get a low end phone (poor specs) and it has 4g wimax capabilities.

sprint is promising they're upgrading their wimax to LTE but they still haven't done it yet. so that could mean in a year it might be done or in 5 years. so basically you risk buying a phone at full price from virgin and having sprint make it obsolete in the near future. that's the #1 reason I never switched to virgin mobile. once sprint switches to LTE and virgin starts offering 1/2 way decent phones then I'll look into them. hell even cricket sells high end phones. (galaxy III and slavery made Iphones).

Edited May 12, 2013 by serpentracer

[ohdaho]

If you're not sold on virgin, consider straight talk. Only slightly more expensive, but much better coverage

[serpentracer]

If your on welfare you can get an Obama phone.

you know who started giving out phones? Regan. look it up.

[jporter12]

sprint still uses wimax 4g which isn't much faster than 3g. they still don't have 4g LTE like everyone else does. so no modern smartphone even works with their 4g anymore. that's the catch with sprint and virgin mobile. and virgin is even worse with the phone choices. you either get a phone with decent specs but you can't use it on 4g networks or you get a low end phone (poor specs) and it has 4g wimax capabilities.

sprint is promising they're upgrading their wimax to LTE but they still haven't done it yet. so that could mean in a year it might be done or in 5 years. so basically you risk buying a phone at full price from virgin and having sprint make it obsolete in the near future. that's the #1 reason I never switched to virgin mobile. once sprint switches to LTE and virgin starts offering 1/2 way decent phones then I'll look into them. hell even cricket sells high end phones. (galaxy III and slavery made Iphones).

Sprint is working on going to LTE. Just not in Ohio so far.

[mattm]

What I found is that the Lifeline free cell phone program started the Year Obama took office. Clinton started subsidized land line service for the poor and continued thru the Bush administration. This according to the article I read. Of course Democrats will have you believe one thing and Republicans another.

Evidently you haven't looked that hard if that is the information you found. The lifeline program is much older than you think...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/cellphone.asp

[serpentracer]

Evidently you haven't looked that hard if that is the information you found. The lifeline program is much older than you think...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/cellphone.asp

ha! good ol fox and house republicans can eat crow. their lord and savior ronald regan started the free phone shit. and the free cell phones started in 2008 under bush.

Edited May 18, 2013 by serpentracer

[SWing'R]

$49/mo (+tax) unlimited everything thru Solavei (uses tmobile).

No contracts. No credit checks. 4GB of data @ 4G before any throttle,

then throttled back to 2G but still unlimited. I'm a fairly heavy data user and

have never even come close to hitting the 4GB mark. If you live in a

good tmobile coverage area the service is excellent. Company provides

service only, you need to buy your own gsm phone.

PM me for more details.

Edited May 19, 2013 by SWing'R

[blue-yamaR6s]

I have VM and have had spotty issues in certain areas. It works in the areas I frequent so no problems. Have full signal at home. I live by the turnpike so all the towers are in my backyard. They have good coverage near all the major roads as stated before. $35/month and no contract. Hard to beat if it works where you are.

[swingset]

ha! good ol fox and house republicans can eat crow. their lord and savior ronald regan started the free phone shit. and the free cell phones started in 2008 under bush.

Reagan signed it, but he's no more responsible for its origins than Clinton is for welfare reforms. Wasn't his idea.

That said, if you agree with the Lifeline program, does that make Reagan a great guy for it's origins? So then Bush is even better for having continued it?

Or, is it a shitty idea? Then that would make Obama a bad president for ramping up a conservative turd.

Please, contort your opinions to fit your bias.

The original idea of the Lifeline program was to give LANDLINE service to people whom private phone companies could not or would not extend service to, either because of the inability to bring profitable phone lines to them, or they lacked the funds to pay for it. It was more feel-good social engineering (and thus a bad idea), and here's why...

Every successive president built on it until it became a money-sucking boondoggle handing out free shit to people at the cost of others who pay for what they have. Then, and rightly so, Obama gets the blame for making it rain cell phones to any swinging dick who wants one.

Perfect example of bad government, and why polyanna programs should not be the function of the Federal government...because good intentions are not good policy, and bad policy gets turned into wasteful bullshit.

Because, frankly, people like you empower turds like Obama to do it.

[serpentracer]

Reagan signed it, but he's no more responsible for its origins than Clinton is for welfare reforms. Wasn't his idea.

That said, if you agree with the Lifeline program, does that make Reagan a great guy for it's origins? So then Bush is even better for having continued it?

Or, is it a shitty idea? Then that would make Obama a bad president for ramping up a conservative turd.

Please, contort your opinions to fit your bias.

The original idea of the Lifeline program was to give LANDLINE service to people whom private phone companies could not or would not extend service to, either because of the inability to bring profitable phone lines to them, or they lacked the funds to pay for it. It was more feel-good social engineering (and thus a bad idea), and here's why...

Every successive president built on it until it became a money-sucking boondoggle handing out free shit to people at the cost of others who pay for what they have. Then, and rightly so, Obama gets the blame for making it rain cell phones to any swinging dick who wants one.

Perfect example of bad government, and why polyanna programs should not be the function of the Federal government...because good intentions are not good policy, and bad policy gets turned into wasteful bullshit.

Because, frankly, people like you empower turds like Obama to do it.

I get sick of hearing blowhard fox news and republican tea party idiots blaming someone else when their own party started the shit/signed into law.

just goes to show you how many people would rather listen to someone tell them something and believe it than research it and find out for themselves. when all it takes these days is the time to google something.

[SWing'R]

... just goes to show you how many people would rather listen to someone tell them something and believe it than research it and find out for themselves. when all it takes these days is the time to google something.

You've never used Facebook then have you , that's all you find on there!

[bigd]

i just switched in cbus to vm from vz. no issues so far. their customer service isn't quite as polished as vz - but by no means incompetent. (only had to deal with them to port over my number). so far so good. no coverage issues to date.

[Strictly Street]

i just switched in cbus to vm from vz. no issues so far. their customer service isn't quite as polished as vz - but by no means incompetent. (only had to deal with them to port over my number). so far so good. no coverage issues to date.

You'll be loving the savings. With VZ I was paying 3x for less services. I did have to purchase my phone outright but in a couple of months the savings paid for it. 3G but so what. Beats 10 cents a text or the economy data plan.

[swingset]

I get sick of hearing blowhard fox news and republican tea party idiots blaming someone else when their own party started the shit/signed into law.

just goes to show you how many people would rather listen to someone tell them something and believe it than research it and find out for themselves. when all it takes these days is the time to google something.

Well, you didn't seem to grasp a single thing I said, so I guess congrats. You're as fucking stupid as the last time I talked to you.