Phone plans

[jc100]

Holy crap I'm behind the times. I got my latest Rogers cell phone bill and paid it but thought I would look at current offers.

I pay $83 after taxes for an old corporate plan that doesn’t have any bells and whistles and have 3GB of data. I also have my own device….I’m not even financing a new phone. I have an old Samsung Galaxy S8 on Robbers network.

I just looked and saw plans at 15GB for $50ish before taxes available for new activations.

Looked up my current corporate offers and I can lease or finance a new phone and get a new plan for tens of dollars less than I’m currently paying.

What's everyone paying for their plans? What’s with this new “lease” thing where you hand the phone back after a few years? I read that it's cheaper overall to do this than finance the phone or pay for it outright.

Also….iPhone or Android? I’ve always had android phones. They have worked for me just fine but current offers seem just as good with both. Is CarPlay as good as Android Auto?

Looks like the new android phones, S21 level, don’t come with expandable memory but S20 does. I think that matters a bit to me as I don’t like paying for extra cloud services although I do have Prime Photos anyway.

Opinions?

 

[J_F]

haven't had a contract phone for ages, far better off to buy your own
I'm an android nerd - personal preference thing
Samsung makes great hardware, but their devices are fairly restricted - lots of background nonsense that you can't control
bang for the buck I really like OnePlus android phones

switched to Rogers 2 years ago when the Infinite plans came out
unlimited data, but restricted to around 500 kbs speed after your quota is burned up
it is actually still quite usable after they put the binders on - maps, email, spotify, simple browsing

I'm on a bring your own device plan
unlimited Canada wide call and text
55GB/month data for $85

OnePlus 8T is on sale for $800 CAD
5G, 256GB storage, fast processor, AMOLED display, 8GB RAM, big battery, good camera
hell of a phone for that price

Never Settle - OnePlus.com

OnePlus creates beautifully designed products with premium build quality & brings the best technology to users around the world. No tradeoffs, we #NeverSettle.

www.oneplus.com

 

[jc100]

haven't had a contract phone for ages, far better off to buy your own
I'm an android nerd - personal preference thing
Samsung makes great hardware, but their devices are fairly restricted - lots of background nonsense that you can't control
bang for the buck I really like OnePlus android phones

switched to Rogers 2 years ago when the Infinite plans came out
unlimited data, but restricted to around 500 kbs speed after your quota is burned up
it is actually still quite usable after they put the binders on - maps, email, spotify, simple browsing

I'm on a bring your own device plan
unlimited Canada wide call and text
55GB/month data for $85

OnePlus 8T is on sale for $800 CAD
5G, 256GB storage, fast processor, AMOLED display, 8GB RAM, big battery, good camera
hell of a phone for that price

Never Settle - OnePlus.com

OnePlus creates beautifully designed products with premium build quality & brings the best technology to users around the world. No tradeoffs, we #NeverSettle.

www.oneplus.com

I checked my corporate plan and it looks like I can get 15GB plan plus a Samsung Galaxy S20FE 128gb which would work out to cost me $340 at the end of the term. No cash up front and $340 paid after 24 months with the plan costing $55 a month. Seems like it’s a $700-800 phone so doesn’t appear to be a bad deal? Might be taxes paid on full phone price at the start, need to check the fine print.

 

[Evoex]

Currently on 20gb corporate plan. Financed a note 10+ initially but ended up buying it out and selling it to a friend who was desperate for one.

Currently back to iPhone 12. I tried a 7 briefly but wasn’t sold, otherwise I haven’t put serious time into one since the iPhone 4. They’ve finally done enough to keep me. No need to use iTunes, proper widgets/icons and Home Screen customization. I’m actually really enjoying how it asks for my permission constantly for apps to track my location or run in the background as noted by @PrivatePilot. My only pet peeve is the proprietary charging cable. But there’s enough iPhone users that finding a charger isn’t an issue. I went with the 64gb version since I backup all my stuff to the cloud anyways. No storage concerns.

 

[jc100]

Currently on 20gb corporate plan. Financed a note 10+ initially but ended up buying it out and selling it to a friend who was desperate for one.

Currently back to iPhone 12. I tried a 7 briefly but wasn’t sold, otherwise I haven’t put serious time into one since the iPhone 4. They’ve finally done enough to keep me. No need to use iTunes, proper widgets/icons and Home Screen customization. I’m actually really enjoying how it asks for my permission constantly for apps to track my location or run in the background as noted by @PrivatePilot. My only pet peeve is the proprietary charging cable. But there’s enough iPhone users that finding a charger isn’t an issue. I went with the 64gb version since I backup all my stuff to the cloud anyways. No storage concerns.

I forgot about the privacy thing…that is a big plus. Is it just the charging cable that’s proprietary or do you need a different wall thing?

 

[Evoex]

I forgot about the privacy thing…that is a big plus. Is it just the charging cable that’s proprietary or do you need a different wall thing?

Doesn’t come with a wall charger

the ones you can buy are USB type A if I recall, so almost any charging cable will work. I use one from my Samsung s9+. Fast charges appropriately. Oh the 12 also has wireless charging if that’s your thing.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

Oh the 12 also has wireless charging if that’s your thing.

Wireless charging was a deal breaker with me since I has a X. Magnetic wireless charger on the dash is just too convenient to do without now.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

Is it just the charging cable that’s proprietary or do you need a different wall thing?

The new charger is 18w and it uses the new USB-C Lightning cable you get with the phone. You can still charge your phone with the old 5w charger and old USB to Lightning cable. It's pretty slow with the larger batteries in the new phones. A lot of places are throwing in the 18w charger as a perk at purchase. I got one along with a Mag Safe case and screen protector with my 12 Pro Max when I bought it.

 

[jc100]

None of the Apple phones have expandable memory is that right?

How does CarPlay behave vs Android Auto? Can you still use Waze etc?

 

[Freddy F]

I'm with Virgin Mobile
73 per month ($53 plus a $20 add-on for unlimited Canada long distance)
brought my own phone
3 GD data
unlimited airtime after 5 PM
500 anytime minutes

Android.......Samsung A-series....these are perfectly good smartphones at a much much better price point than the s-series or other premium phones. I honestly dont know why anyone would need an S-series when you have an A-series.

 

[Evoex]

None of the Apple phones have expandable memory is that right?

How does CarPlay behave vs Android Auto? Can you still use Waze etc?

no expandable.

more cars have apple carplay imo, its pretty similar from what ive seen. No reason i've heard why waze shouldnt work.

 

[Mad Mike]

Corporate plan (10 phones in my group all billed to company.) Rogers, unlimited calls and long distance, 20gb/mo per phone. We got a $6000 credit for buying phones for switching from Telus.

 

[jc100]

I’m being tempted by the Note 20 Ultra as I can see how some of these features could be useful for my work. One concern would be…just how big is this thing? Can you still put it in a pocket?

I like the idea of taking notes using the included pen.

I don’t like the idea of the price but work would pay for a significant portion of it.

 

[Evoex]

I’m being tempted by the Note 20 Ultra as I can see how some of these features could be useful for my work. One concern would be…just how big is this thing? Can you still put it in a pocket?

I like the idea of taking notes using the included pen.

I don’t like the idea of the price but work would pay for a significant portion of it.

Compare Samsung Galaxy Note10+ vs. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G - GSMArena.com

www.gsmarena.com

I had the note 10+. It's pocketable but it's always going to feel 'present'.

I got it primarily for the notes, it's handy.

If you`re not going to go hard with the stylus then save your money..and pocket space. IMO

funny enough i don't miss the screen real estate (not a knock).

 

[GreyGhost]

I’m being tempted by the Note 20 Ultra as I can see how some of these features could be useful for my work. One concern would be…just how big is this thing? Can you still put it in a pocket?

I like the idea of taking notes using the included pen.

I don’t like the idea of the price but work would pay for a significant portion of it.

I like the Note phones. I have had a bunch. This time I went with S20FE. Note was going to be ~$1500 more. wtf. I want it but that's a lot of money. FE is surprisingly good.

 

[nfq]

I'm with Virgin Mobile
73 per month ($53 plus a $20 add-on for unlimited Canada long distance)
brought my own phone
3 GD data
unlimited airtime after 5 PM
500 anytime minutes

Android.......Samsung A-series....these are perfectly good smartphones at a much much better price point than the s-series or other premium phones. I honestly dont know why anyone would need an S-series when you have an A-series.

Check out zoomer wireless (Rogers network re sellers) same plan would be half off.

 

[Maniac]

Can you still use Waze etc?

You can use Waze. You can use "etc" if a particular app has CarPlay support - there are not many of them. But personally I use only Waze, Apple Music, Podcasts and NHL apps anyway.

 

[Maniac]

I forgot about the privacy thing…that is a big plus. Is it just the charging cable that’s proprietary or do you need a different wall thing?

You don't need a cable - wireless is the way. I got wireless chargers everywhere, including my bike.

 

[Evoex]

You don't need a cable - wireless is the way. I got wireless chargers everywhere, including my bike.

it's handy, but slow(er)

 

[GreyGhost]

it's handy, but slow.

I have wireless chargers everywhere I spend much time (bed, office, workbench,tv,etc). Just throw a phone in the charger if I am sitting. I have been burned before by letting phones run down during the day and then getting a power outage just before bed. Then need to charge phones from battery packs as they don't have enough juice for another day. Wireless makes it really easy to keep phones mostly charged at all times.