MetroPCS Suggestions

[Kri77777]

Hey all,

We are looking at moving from Verizon to MetroPCS when our contract expires. The price is unbeatable, and the coverage is good enough for what we do (we barely travel, and we stay in the major florida cities).

I don't really know how well phones work with the MetroPCS service. I know they are CDMA as is Verizon. My mother is barely able to use a basic phone and is happy with the cheap Motorola she has, so I want to keep her on that if possible. My father has an older LG smartphone that is also good enough for him.

I am a different story. I have had the Apache in the past and have had the Titan for over a year. I loved these phones (especially with custom firmware). However, my Titan has been through the rounds, runs a bit poor, is beat up, and the keyboard fails. We didn't have internet service on the phones under Verizon (I did use WiFi), but I expect that to at least be a major thing for me, as a tech geek.

I don't know what I should do. Should I keep trying to get by on the phone I have, get a new Titan, get a new(er) Windows Mobile 6/6.1/6.5, get an Android, or wait for a Windows Phone 7 unit.

I MUST have a tactile keyboard, as I just can't use onscreen keyboards very well. It also must have a touch screen (multitouch preferred but not required). Bluetooth is also a must, though I suppose wifi is no longer required since I will finally have web.

I haven't used the Android system but it has shown solid. Windows Phone 7 sounds very tempting from the early reviews, but the price of a new phone may be too high. I don't really have the money to spend and will likely be buying a used phone off of ebay then hacking it. No price is too low.

I just don't know which models to be looking at, from price, performance, hacking capabilities, usability, and MetroPCS capability perspectives. Any recommendations that narrow my search would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Kri77777]

Please, there must be someone who can recommend strong value.

[Kri77777]

Ok, so here is what I found:

WP7:
No phones scheduled for it and who knows how long it will take for someone to make it work

Android:
HTC Incredible (~$325)
HTC Eris (~$150)
Neither have a keyboard though. Sadness. But if Android is that much better than Windows Mobile, it may be worth it...
Motorola Droid (~$225)
Motorola Droid X (~$550, way too expensive)

Windows Mobile 6.5:
HTC Touch Pro 2 (~$200)
HTC Touch Pro (~$110)
HTC Titan (one I have now or a new one)

I am leaning towards the Eris, but having never used any of these phones outside the Titan, I really need help with suggestions.

[siptang1227]

windows 7 isn't out yet.

Basically, any cdma phone, you can metro flash to use with metro.
use craig's list if you can't do it yourself.

phone would need to be individually rooted or unlocked because they are all different.
I suggest picking a phone to your likings and then doing a search on that sub section of that forum.

[Kri77777]

Well, that's my problem, I don't know which phone to get.

Also, anyone know much about the LG Ally. Of all the phones I've seen, this one looks best, but the mod community seems to be skipping it.

[gTen]

Actually MetroPCs isn't really CDMA..they are AWS...they only allow CDMA flash in none-AWS areas...this should probably be the first thing you should check on their website if your are in an AWS area or not..

IF your in an AWS area then I'd suggest getting their LTE phone coming soon >.>..if not and its CDMA I would highly suggest getting a 1ghz phone..also if its CDMA you can also get Sprint phones which are also CDMA like Evo and Epic.

[PriYankee]

Metro PCS service is horrible, id make sure of how it is in your area before committing. My buddy in sacramento has it and its always dropping calls.
Phone wise, im a blackberry user and they have the blackberry curve, which is not a bad phone.

[pl0323]

I had the Sprint Vogue and the Touch Pro 2 on Metro service in Texas and Florida. As long as you update the PRL (*22 you won't have any problems with dropped calls.

[Kri77777]

Thanks everyone who gave input. This is what ended up happening:

I found an actual Droid to try and the keyboard was good enough. I needed up going with it because of how much the community has. I found one brand new for $250 and bought it, flashed it, then paid $40 to get the ESN added to MetroPCS's ineventory. So far, I am very happy with it, except that data on Metro is slow as hell, and really only good for text on the web. Still, at $40 a month, I got it for the price, not the features, and most places I can use wifi to do whatever I want. In all, I am pretty happy so far!

[GirlGoneGeek]

Which droid did ya get? Sorry I never gave input. Been away a while but I'm back full force :P