Category: Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile Did what to my Data Speeds?

Paul

Got this text Message!

VMFreeMsg: Starting 5/6/14, if you use over 2.5GB of data during your mo. plan cycle, data speeds will now be reduced to 2G speeds. Info at http://msg4u.us/vwae

I don’t know about anyone else but when I first got this text message, I was like so How fast is 2g speeds verses 3g speeds on Google Now!  So Here’s is the breakdown of this:

Speeds

 

  • 2g is on average about 115 kilobytes per second  (A little faster than voice calling people)
  • 3g is on average about 614 Kilobytes per second (Good for some streaming media)
  • 4g is on average about 20 Megabytes per Secong (On average it varies from phone to phone)

 

As you can see this doesn’t really explain it very well but let’s try to make it easier to understand this:

1 byte is 8 bits, so 1000 kilobytes(1,024 bytes which is 8192 bits) and you need 65536 kilobytes to make 1 Megabyte of data.   So you can see that the larger the file or anything you do on the phone will be drastically slowed down on the phone.   If yo do the math or at least think about it, you can go to a free wifi hotspot to get better speeds than this.   

Virgin Mobile and Boost is screwing you!

Virgin mobile seems to want you to go to another prepaid service.   Even with Straight Talk, they do something like this on their networks.   They do limit there speeds but I am unsure as to what the speeds are lately but they aren’t unlimited either.

It looks like I have a few options, Straight Talk although they do the same thing but not as bad, T-mobile Which looks to be comparable to Virgin Mobile or Boost.   You could try MetroPCS but I can’t seem to verify that it is truly unlimited and that is what I am looking for.   I am asking for help to find something that isn’t as restrictive as what Virgin Mobile is doing.   I might buy a data plan for my home now.   So I am going to look into this some more but if you know of a prepaid plan that is truly unlimited, please leave a comment and let everyone know!

First Impressions of the LG Optimus F3 4g LTE by Virgin Mobile!

Paul

Specifications:

Display: 4.0-inches (Gorilla Glass)
Camera: 5-MP Processor 3-MP Front
Speed: 1.2 GHz OS:
Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Wifi
Blue tooth
NFC (Near Field Communications)
CDMA, 4G (EVDO+HSPA), 3G

Since getting my ZTE phone wet the last few weeks ago, I decided I would jump up and try a new phone out.  So this weekend I went to Walmart to see what they had and I was surprised that they were out of the ZTE’s, I liked that phone because the screen size.   Even though they both say 4.0 screen size, I could swear the ZTE is slightly bigger probably more closer to 4.1 but that is just me.   You can read my full review of the ZTE AWE and decide for yourself.

First Impression:

I have done this in past with the ZTE Awe and I’ll talk about my first impressions of this phone and go into more detail later.   First off, it has no way to do the Wifi Hotspot like the ZTE but you do have the option of Blue tooth Tethering your phone and I can also do a hard tethering from the phone to Windows/Mac laptop.   So you can still use the 4G speed for surfing the net.  I will look into finding out how to get complete wifi tethering later on.   I know I will have to circumvent Virgin Mobile but that seems to be the only way to have true wifi tethering enable with them.   They seem to try to frustrate the customers who do want true unlimited service.   I haven’t really had the chance to see if they consider 4g as true unlimited, or if it is still bound by the reduce in speed of 3g after 2.5 GB of bandwidth.

Comparing it to the ZTE AWE!

After using the ZTE Awe, I thought I should oa quick comparison of the two phones.   Each has unique properties and have reasons why you will want to use that particular phone.   So I’m going to tell you my experience in hopes this will help you make a choice of the two.   It won’t be an in depth comparison but it will be a quick overview.

ZTE awe is a little lighter and lest thicker than the LG Optimus.   It depends on on what your looking for with weight and thickness but I honestly think the LG Optimus is slightly thicker and heavier to either to make you believe it is stronger or it is stronger.  The LG Optimus has better camera properties, even though they both have 5 Mega pixel cameras, it looks like the Awe uses software to make it get to 5mp.  You can tell when I used the camera on the LG Optimus, it actually looks better and much more responsive.  The Awe only comes with a 1mp front camera and the LG Optimus comes with a 3mp front camera.  If your going to be doing video chats on a phone, I think you will want to be much more details.  

The Touch screen on the AWE doesn’t feel anywhere like the Gorilla glass that comes with the LG Optimus F3.   I do not know how to describe this but I do enjoy the touch screen on the LG Optimus better than I do with the ZTE Awe.   If feels much more sturdier and less breakable.   Although I have dropped the AWE several times, and the phone has yet to shatter.   So I know the AWE will not break as much as it looks.  

Finally, The LG Optimus F3 is a good buy for those who want to have a better experience with photos, and even the speed.   I have been able to pick up data signal’s in places I usually had a hard time getting signals.  So that is also another plus.   The Zte AWE is good for those who need a cheap phone for games and watching movies on it.  So I’ll let you decide which on you want to buy.  

My Problems with Virgin Mobile and the ZTE AWE!

Paul1 Reply

Virgin Mobile likes to mislead people!

When I was researching this phone, I saw this on their website and thought well it looks to be promising and that I could pay the extra 15$ and be able to teether my phone to my laptop whenever I needed to.  Even though, I am simply am enjoying this new phone of mine.   The idea that they made me believe that I could easily without effort pay them to allow me to teether my phone is simply absurd.   I shouldn’t have to circumvent the new security feature in Android 4.1.2 which  Google decided to break tethering and prevent people from using those so called teether apps.   I have yet to find one that will work.

Calling all Geeks!

I’m going to have to probably root the phone and install a Cyanogen mod on it to be able to use the tethering option on the phone.   I would however like to keep it the way it is.   Rooting the AWE be to much trouble for me right now.   Since I am mainly using a Chrome Book and have yet to install a Linux Distro to the machine.   I’d have to do that first before I could even root the device and you know how that is!

Does Anyone know of an app that will do that without having to break the warranty of the phone as Virgin Mobile told me over the phone?   I would break the warranty if I rooted the phone.   LOL That was a laugh.   If you know of an app in the Google App store please leave a comment and help everyone out who might have the same problem!   

Reviewing the ZTE Awe from Virgin Mobile!

Paul

The Virgin Mobile ZTE AWE comes with a 1.2 ghz processor and the screen is really nice.   I did switch from the Kyocera Rise to this because of a flaw that would just make the screws come off and break apart.   I have had over a week to play around with the ZTE phone and I am quite impressed with the service.  I thought it would be good to at least talk about some of the obstacles you will need to overcome to switching and that way you could be ready when the time comes!

Pro and Con Time!

It got way more features then the Kyocera Rise and that is a definite plus in my book.   The Android system 4.1 and it is really snappy.   The system is easy to use and clean cut.   I really didn’t have any major problems with the phone.   Comes with a Front Facing Camera, another plus because now I can use Skype to talk to my friends and family and have video chats with them.  There seems to be several different Facetime apps for the Phone to make it easy for you and who ever you wanted to face to face. I personally like to use Skype for all my video chats.   The front Facing camera isn’t high resolutionbut is a 1.2 mega pixel camera.   So you won’t get the best quality but at least you get to see them.  Battery life is no issue with the phone even though I can still use my Ravpower Dynamo On the Go if I need that extra boost of battery life.

With it only be under 100$ phone from Virgin Mobile, you will want to take care of it as much and Walmart doesn’t seem to have the right cell phone covers that you will need to encase the phone in to prevent any damage.   I will say Amazon US has some great ZTE AWE Phone Cases that aren’t that expensive.  I happen to buy a universal Phone Belt Holster for the phone to keep it save and to keep from having any major damage.   The Screen is something else you would want to protect with some kind of universal screen protector.   I have heard people say that since this is really knew those types of accessories will not be coming out for a few more months so you will have to make due with what you can get.

Wifi Hotspot

With the ZTE AWE you can have a Wifi teether to your devices.   It seems to be locked, and I will find a way around this because I am already paying for the unlimited data and should not be required to pay an additional 15$ from Virgin Mobile.  If I figure out how to do it, you will be the first to know.   For right now the Bluetooth teethering seems to work just fine and gives you some tethering options.  Which works on both Kyocera Rise and This phone and probably every Virgin Mobile Android Phone.   Can’t be sure but it is a good bet!

Space

The Phone only comes with a 4 GB capacity and some of that is used for the Android System. The good news is you can add up to 32 GB Micro SD to the phone and increase the phone storage to 36 GB.  I had no problem using the old Micro SD card from the old phone and plopping it in the new phone.  Worked like a charm and give me no problems.

Screen

The Screen is a LED IPS touch screen and it is vivid when you need it to be.   I found the phone didn’t do well with the Auto Dimming feature when you were outside or inside but that is to be expected with price of the phone.   I found turning off that feature from time to time to increase my battery life and keeping it on Dim worked just fine for me.   Although this is a personal preference, some might not be able to see the screen as clearly so it is up to you!  Watching Netflix and other shows on the device isn’t a pain and can be quite nice for the change.   Even with the Soft Data Cap to worry about, you can still enjoy some great shows on the phone.

Battery Life

They Claim to have a 11.2 hours on the website but I found that to be doubtful to say the least.   I gotten 8 hours out of the phone on standby and about 5  to 6 hours using it regularly.  Since this is a new phone, the batteries will not be on the market for a few more months but at least there are battery extenders to help keep your phone running when you need to.  I am hoping they will start selling the high end batteries for this type of phone to extend it past 12 hours of use.   

Disclaimer — Some links on the post help support my blog and lets me review other products.   Most of the Links are either Virgin Mobile/Amazon affiliate links and they both help support my blog.

First Look: The ZTE Awe from Virgin Mobile!

Paul1 Reply

I recently Switched!

With the Kyocera Rise that kept on fall apart, I decided I needed to invest in a better phone.   This seemed perfect for me.  5 MP camera and tethering capabilities if you add 15$ more.  I got this from Walmart but wanted to talk about the ZTE AWE just a few minutes and let people know I’ll be talking about this in more details.   I am quite impressed with screen size and other things.   The weight of the phone is less bulky and doesn’t weigh as much.   

I just got tired of having to tighten those darn screws into the phone on the Kyocera Rise even though this was a cheap phone to begin with, I didn’t want to have to have to worry about it.   So I opted for a little bit more money to get the Virgin Mobile US ZTE Awe (Virgin Mobile is one of the sponsors to my website, because I like their service and want others to know about them).   In the coming weeks I will be talking about it even more but wanted to show you what I gotten the last few days and give you something to look at and possibly get yourself.   

Display : Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 

Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels,  4”   diagonal 

Processor: 1.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8630

Micro SD Card Size : 32 Gb capacity

Camera: 5 Mega Pixel with LED Flash 

Modes:    panorama, burst mode, interval mode, face detection, blink detection, smile detection, red-eye reduction

Front Facing: 1 Mega Pixel resolution

Video Capture : 720 HD