T-Mobile Galaxy S II No Contract for $299 @ Walmart & Walmart.com

Quote from ifoundu : It sounds you paid $200 ETF total for 2 phones rather than $200 for each phone. How did you do that?

Nope I paid $200 per each phone (total $400) instead of paying $600 through Walmart

For the folks asking about the Gnex, that phone is fully unlocked and just about the only "Pentaband" phone out there. It will support both ATT and TMO "4G" (HSPA+) service. Like a lot of folks, I am looking for a low risk way to try out TMO service around me. If I order a GNex and the service blows, I'm going to be eating the return shipping and a 15% restocking fee.

So here is my dilemma. Local Walmart has the T Mobile GS2 in stock, but it is the family mobile branded version. Price is $299. I want to buy a GS2 to run on the T Mobile 100 minute $30 a month plan. the Walmart clerk is telling me the family mobile version cannot be used with the monthly 4 G plans. That seems like a bunch of crap to me, since both phones appear to be identical in terms of specs.

I would think I could buy the family mobile version (That of course runs on TMOs network), buy or order a Monthly 4G SIM card, and end up with the same result. The clerk says the family mobile version can only be used with family mobile, and that I have to purchase their $25 SIM card with the phone and use their $45 a month service.

So which of us is right? Are the Family Mobile and TMO Monthly 4G versions the same, and can they be set up for use on either plan? Or are they somehow locked to one service?

Thanks for any input.

Quote from marksatterfield : I think you guys are right... but someone (a few people?) posted that the T989 radio/network capabilities does not allow internet access (or maybe high speed internet?) on ATT, but I cannot find anything to say that the Galaxy Nexus is different. I've found a link that says ATT is using LTE, and it is not clear to me if the T989 is capable of the same LTE as ATT is working on. Do you guys know if the T989 has the same radio/network capabilities as the Galaxy Nexus (which is the only other contender right now, I'm not interested in the ATT branded skyrocket).

Neither the T989 nor GNex support LTE. There is a CDMA version of GNex that supports LTE but not the bands AT&T uses. T989 supports HSPA+42 vs the GNex HSPA+21. There are other pros and cons of each (display, screen size, OS support, etc). GNex (from the Play store) will work fine under AT&T 4G (HSPA+). It looks like the 989 from the specs will also (WCDMA 850/1900) but I haven't tried nor confirmed it.

Will this phone drop in price now that S 3 mini is coming?

Quote from jivv : Nope I paid $200 per each phone (total $400) instead of paying $600 through Walmart

Beside the ETF fee , How much do you need to pay for the 14 days Classic plan?

I've never used internet via a phone before ... can I use that 30 dollar plan via walmart as a main source of internet, ie netflix, ps3/xbox, downloading ...etc?

Quote from runciter : Neither the T989 nor GNex support LTE. There is a CDMA version of GNex that supports LTE but not the bands AT&T uses. T989 supports HSPA+42 vs the GNex HSPA+21. There are other pros and cons of each (display, screen size, OS support, etc). GNex (from the Play store) will work fine under AT&T 4G (HSPA+). It looks like the 989 from the specs will also (WCDMA 850/1900) but I haven't tried nor confirmed it.

Repped, and thanks.

I'm not sure why someone posted in the wiki that the T989 will not work on ATT data.

Quote from marksatterfield : Repped, and thanks. I'm not sure why someone posted in the wiki that the T989 will not work on ATT data.

I have a T989 on AT&T right now and the data works just fine. I put CM9 on it and it does just fine.

Quote from kyfelix : Beside the ETF fee , How much do you need to pay for the 14 days Classic plan?

I chose the cheapest (80 per 2 phones 1000 min with 200MB data each). It came out at almost $50

Quote from jivv : I chose the cheapest (80 per 2 phones 1000 min with 200MB data each). It came out at almost $50

So what is the total cost on getting s2 with your Method ?

ETF $200 X2= $400
Monthly Classic Plan (14 days)= $50
Tax= ?

Quote from kyfelix : So what is the total cost on getting s2 with your Method ? ETF $200 X2= $400 Monthly Classic Plan (14 days)= $50 Tax= ?

No TAX (in my local Walmart, the only one around that actually had the phones, it was 6.5%) for buying online (and no activation fee due to the promotion)

Would this deal be a little better during black friday sales? Anyone know about cell phone pricing?

Is this $299 deal still valid? I do not see it on the website. Thx!

Quote from thecritic : Is this $299 deal still valid? I do not see it on the website. Thx!

Never mind, found it.