Switched to Project Fi and Save Some Money!

For the longest time until October 2017, I was a faithful T-Mobile subscriber for my mobile phone. They offered the perfect combination of package that I need: 5 GB of high-speed data (it was 3G, 4G, and then LTE over-time), unlimited SMS, and some non-unlimited voice (100 minutes) - all for $30 per month. I was on that plan for years (along with my wife's phone). So we are paying around $64 per month for our cellphone bills combined. We both rarely talk over the phone, most of our communication is happening via data (SMS, WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, etc), and we also have a home phone (VOIP) that we use for long-calling (like calling family members, customer supports, etc etc that are minutes intensive).

I have heard about Project Fi when it came out - somehow it was not that attractive for me at the time. Until I have to buy a new phone ...

So what is Project Fi? It is basically Google's phone carrier - but instead of using their own towers etc, Google uses three existing providers (T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular) to provide the subscribers their mobile data services. Project Fi approved devices will be able to switch among all the providers seamlessly. Regular GSM devices will be able to use T-Mobile service only. Project Fi is also a PREPAID service - so there is no contract, no cancellation fee, etc. Which is awesome!

How does it save me money? I thought paying ~$30 per month is cheap already!? Project Fi simplifies your billing - so basically the main account holder must pay $20 per month for the main line - which includes unlimited talk and text. Now on top of it, you only pay for the data that you use with rate $10 per GB. So if I am only using .5GB this month, I will only billed for ~$25 before tax. I don't know about you - but in my day-to-day, 80-90% of the time I am always connected to WiFi (home, office, my friend's house, free WiFi at a coffee shop/restaurant, etc) - and I have my stats too from the last year of my T-Mobile which shows that on average that I only use around 0.7GB of LTE data per month. With that, I am potentially saving $5-$7 per month - not much, I know - but I gain so much more (better coverage, unlimited call, better support, and simplified billing).

Then ... Google released this app call Datally. You can read more about it here. Which basically allows you to control data usage on an app-by-app. The default setting is to not allow data if the app is not on the foreground. So by installing this app, my LTE data usage actually goes down from ~0.7GB to ~0.5GB per month.

Better with more people! It gets better! I switched my wife's provider from T-Mobile to Project Fi - now because she is not the main account holder (her account is working under my account), she is only billed $15 per month (for unlimited calls and text) instead of $20 (like me because I am the main/primary account). Then our data usage is combined and billed together. So what this means is that if we are assuming that her data usage is similar like me (between 0.5-0.7GB of LTE data per month), at the end of the month our combined cell phone bill is ~$49 ($20 + $15 + $7 + $7) before tax - which is ~$12-$14 saving per month. Not much, but we'll take it.

Bill Protection Benefit! Project Fi has other advantages - such as: "Bill Protection" - which is a cap of your bill (not your data usage), but a cap of actually how much Google can actually bill you. The cap is $60 for your LTE data. So if you are on a single account plan, that would $80 total ($20 phone & text + $60 data). Or a different way to look at it is this is the "Unlimited Plan" for Project Fi subscriber.

Free International SMS & Data! With Project Fi, you can use SMS and data freely (already included) in around 170 countries. You can also make or receive phone calls, but it is not free.

You can read more about Project Fi here.

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Installing Jelly Bean ROM to Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung is taking its time in making ICS available for Galaxy Tab 10.1. Since JellyBean has come out since June 2012, it will probably taking another year to get a JellyBean update from Samsung. Looking in the internet, there are JB (JellyBean) custom ROMs available for the Tab. Since running Honeycomb is really aggravating, lagging, and quite a pain - I decided to take the plunge, root, and install custom ROM. Another option is to just get a Nexus 7 device - which will cost $200 more than installing custom ROM.

So in this post, I will describe the step by step process in installing JB ROM into my Tab (from stock Honeycomb). Please note that there are risks involved when one is doing this - that one may "brick" the device, or the installation may fail and require further troubleshooting etc. So do it on your own risk - no guarantees from me. My experience was that the installation was smooth and without any glitch whatsoever. Please do not skip any steps - also make sure your battery is full or almost full. Part of the steps is wiping the data. So if you do not want to lose any data, make sure you back it up first. 

1. ROOT (if yours is already rooted, you can skip this step)
Follow the steps from xda-developers here for rooting your device. The link above even has a video step-by-step guide.

2. OPTIONAL
At this point, I purchased ROM Manager App from the Google Play and update Clockwork Recovery to the latest version. 

3. INSTALL JB

1. Download 2 sets of files from xda-developers, look for the section like the image on the right:
1. The custom ROM (select the one that applies to you)
2. Google Apps
2. Copy the JB package (both the ROM and the Google Apps zip files) to your tablet’s internal Tab memory
3. Turn off Tab.
4. Go to ClockworkMod Recovery by turn on the Tab while holding the Volume Up button. 
5. When the screen turns on, release the Power button but hold the Volume Up button until a menu shows up on the screen. 
6. Press Volume Down to select the recovery mode icon and then, press the Volume Up button to enter recovery.
7. Create a backup of your current ROM. Select "backup and restore". Select "backup" again. This will initiate the backup process. Once it's done, select "go back" to go back to main menu.
8. Select "wipe data/factory reset" (and confirm)
9. Select "wipe cache partition" (and confirm)
10. Select "advanced" -- "wipe dalvik cache" (and confirm)
11. Select "mounts and storage" -- "format / system" (and confirm). Once done, go back to main menu
12. Select "install zip from sd card" -- "choose zip from sd card" and select the JB zip file and then confirm selection. The ROM installation will start. 
13. Select "install zip from sd card" -- "choose zip from sd card" and select the Google Apps zip file and then confirm selection. The Apps installation will start
14. Once done, select "go back" to the main menu and then select "reboot system now". DONE!

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I am going PREPAID cellular plan ...

Currently, with T-Mobile, I am paying $49.99 family plan, which gives me 2 lines, 500 minutes, free T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls, free nights and weekends. I pay extra for my 5GB data plan ($25) and my wife is using the 200MB ($12). Plus another $4.99 for each messaging plan. So overall, I am paying around $100 per month. My family plan is an old plan (grandfathered), so I also get the full discount for new devices in I choose to extend the 2 year contract.

Now, my plan is not bad at all, $100 for 2 persons - it is actually considered to be quite awesome - since most my friends who have newer plans on T-Mobile (or other carriers) usually pay between $80 or more per person. So basically almost half of what most of my friends with smartphones are paying.

Now, let's consider the overall ownership cost over 2 years - since that is the length of the standard cellphone contract. If I pay $279 for each device (assuming Samsung Galaxy S3), add the monthly payment, over 2 years, I am paying about $2,950+. Of course, that is cheaper than my friends who is paying $110 per month for their family plan. But, I plan to reduce the overall cost some more. How? By going PREPAID!

To each their own, but after assessing my needs (getting some stats from my bills for the last 6+ months), I think getting the Monthly 4G plan for $30 will be sufficient for me (and my wife). This plan will get me 5GB data, unlimited text and 100 minutes voice. So for both of us, that will be $60 per month - without contract. There is a drawback to this - that if I buy a new device, I have to pay full price without any discount. So that means $600 for Samsung Galaxy S3. So in short, no contract, I am paying cheaper per month, but paying 3+ times IF buying a new device. But what is the overall 2 years cost of ownership? Let's assume we both buy GS3 and paying $30 Monthly 4G plan - which totaling $2,640 - a saving of $300 over 2 years. It looks a small saving on paper, but in reality, it is actually a pretty good deal. Let's list down the benefit:

• No contract. Only pay as needed. So the potential saving here is actually larger. If I think for the next month that I will be in a WiFi bubble, I may switch to $10 pay as you go ans save some more. If I am traveling, I can switch back to the Monthly 4G etc. 
• In a contract deal, if I am not getting a new device once my contract is up - this means that I am giving free money to the carrier, since the cost of the phone is factored in the monthly bill. With no contract prepaid, I don't have that burden. This also means that if I elect to switch carrier or get a new cellphone/device, I don't have to wait until the contract is done.
• My wife data plan will get an upgrade, from 200MB per month to 5GB. Now, I am assuming that she needs that 5GB - if she does not (because of WiFi), she can switch to a cheaper pay-by-the-day based on usage.
• From 300 texts per month to unlimited texts. This is also assuming we need that. I mostly do not need it, but there is no plan with voice and data only. 
• If spending $100 or more in 1 year, get a Gold status, which means 15% more minutes and your minutes can be used for a full year (instead of the regular 90 days).
• No overages!

So overall, I am fairly convinced (for now) that the prepaid/Monthly 4G will save me some money but still fulfill my need for mobile communication.

T-Mobile also has Pay-As-You-Go plan (for voice prepaid) and Pay-By-The-Day plan (for use only when needed). Depending on your needs, these plans can potentially be cheaper than the Monthly 4G plan that I am planning to use.

 

 

Microsoft Windows engineer John Lam also has a similar story in his blog. 

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Windows Phone vs. Android

Android is the market share leader in the mobile space in US as of January 2012 with around 50% market share (according to NPD via Engadget). They are doing this by flooding the market with tons of phones, ranging from free, cheap phones, prepaids, and mid-range, and top of the line phones. People have plenty of options when getting an Android phone.

The Nexus line/series is the bar that Google put out to showcase the new OS releases. Nexus One was release to showcase Froyo (version 2.2), Nexus S for Gingerbread (2.3.x), and Galaxy Nexus for Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.x).

I was an Android user, starting with the G1 (the original Android phone - back in 2008). When my wife's old Windows Mobile 6.1 phone died, I got her a G2 (also an Android phone). I recommended Android phones to many of my friends - and many of them did switched to Android (from Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, etc). But late 2010, my love for Android grew weary and when Windows Phone came out, I jumped ship and I am happily recommend Windows Phone to anyone instead of Android. Why?

This post is a part of a series titled "Should I Get a Windows Phone?":

1. Windows Phone vs. BlackBerry
2. Windows Phone vs. Android
3. Windows Phone vs. iPhone
4. Windows Phone vs. "the rest" (WinMo, Bada, Symbian, etc)

Why go with Windows Phone (vs. Android)?

1. Windows Phone major releases are on time and you will get it within reasonable manner (usually within 1 month) after its release - for all devices. This means 1 year old Windows Phone will get update approximately the same time as a new Windows Phone that your friend just got last week. This also means that you are very likely to be running the latest, greatest features available in the Windows Phone OS at all times (instead of always a generation or two behind). With Android, your device may never get updated to the newest Android features. Unless you are always getting the Nexus series (which is around $299 with 2 year contract), the updates are really slow to get to your phone. This is caused by the fragmentation of the Android operating system itself by carriers and manufacturers in making it work with their devices and services. Although a this article by Michael Degusta is about iOS and Android, it illustrates well about the fragmentation and lateness of Android updates, so if you get your Android phone now, most likely it will be a version behind in OS and will remain that way or worse (unless you are getting the Nexus series).
   
   
2. Streamlined & consistent user interface. Windows Phones is consistent regardless of carriers or manufacturers. From using a Nokia, an HTC, a Samsung, etc they are all look similar and everything is where it's suppose to be. With Android, not only devices are in different OS versions (which introduce new things, changes, and adjustments), manufacturers also put a lot of stuff (HTC with "Sense", Motorola with "MotoBlur" etc). So your experience in using can be different (and sometimes radically). This is a big turn off for me. Although I consider myself as an informed Android user, but sometimes using my friend's HTC MyTouch 3G is quite a difficult adjustment.
   
   
3. Much more user-friendly interface. Android is much more well-known as a "power-user" phone. It provides a lot of opportunities for customizations, mods, etc. Compared to this, Windows Phone tiles & hub is just so much friendlier. It is also a fresh new look away from the "list of icons". I remember once teaching a friend to use her first Android device - where she basically told me to set it up for her. Months later, her setup was still the same, including the wallpaper, widgets, and shortcuts. I asked her about it and she said she was afraid to change anything and not sure how to get things back if something go wrong. In Windows Phone, to put a tile in the start screen is so easy: find the app you want, long-press it and select "pin to start". In Android (2.3.x or older): long-press empty space in home, select "shortcuts", select "applications", and select your app.
   
   
4. Windows Phone interface is fast & fluid (even without the dual-core). Although none of the current Windows Phone are running dual-core processor, but all of them are still running buttery smooth and fast. My HTC HD7 is a first generation Windows Phone device - and it's still running like a champ. Yes, it is slower compared to the second generation devices, but there is still no lag, or jerky movement, freezing, etc. Compared to my friends Android devices (most of them are newer than my Windows Phone), not only they are running 1 or 2 versions behind on OS, but they need to be rebooted regularly (once every 2 weeks, once a month, once a week, etc), or getting a lot of "force close" on basic apps (GMail, YouTube, etc), interface is getting jerky/lag, and other miscellaneous problems (speaker phone not working consistently, cannot answer phone sometimes, late notifications, etc).
   
   
5. In Windows Phone, you can uninstall "bloatwares". When you buy a phone from a carrier, usually they will include their apps in the phone. With Windows Phone, you can uninstall them easily: find it, long press & hit "Uninstall". With Android, 99% of the time you are stuck with it and cannot be uninstalled. One option is that you can "root" your phone (that is getting an administrative access to your phone) and then flash the ROM (that is installing the Android flavor of your choice). Although I am a pretty savvy user, but it seems unnecessary if I go with Windows Phone.
   
   
6. Live Tiles that just work vs Android clunky widgets. Widgets in Android are cool and I love them for like weather, calendar, email, etc. But they are clunky - sometimes they won't update, do a "force close" or just simply disappear. Some widgets are small, some are big, and some are bigger still. So my home screen ends up looking cluttered and messy. When the widget is running, it means the app is running (and draining battery). With Live Tiles, things are organized, neat, and they just work, plus the app itself is NOT running. I can get the information that I want in a flash and often without launching the app at all.
   
   
7. Windows Phone is cheaper. The top of the line Windows Phone is $199. The top of the line Android is $299 (both with 2 year contract). I would rather use my $100 saving toward something else. Plus, combined with the fragmentation, it is very likely that if I go with Android, my new $299 phone will be outdated (as far as OS goes) within several months and not getting updated for a year plus.
   
   
8. Much better battery life. I use my phone a lot: reading news, checking weather, replying to emails, playing games, as well as syncing 4 email address, Twitter, 2 calendars, and Foursquare.The only constant thing that I see my friends who carry Android device is chargers - even though they have more capacity in their battery (G2 - 1300 mAH, GS1 - 1500 mAH, GS2 - 1650 mAH, EVO 4G - 1750 mAH, etc) than mine. When they are at my house, they borrow my charger, charging in the car, charging while at a computer, at the coffee shop, etc. This especially true for phones running dual-core and with "4G". On the other hand, my HD7 (1230 mAH) only needs charging at over night. I unplugged my phone from the charger around 7am and plug it back before going to bed, around 11pm. I don't have any charger at the office nor in my car.
   
   
9. Better media/music player. Zune is an awesome music player. It's a native client, has millions of songs in the Marketplace, movies, etc. It is also gorgeous and non-intrusive. Zune's subscription based (like Spotify) gives you a lot of freedom instead of pay-per-download based fee. Google Music is a bit of pain-in-the-butt, while Zune just works. To get subscription based music, you will need to download Spotify (or others) in Android.
   
   
10. XBOX Live integration. Windows Phone has Windows Live account integration just as Android has Google account integration. But, XBOX Live integration is a part of the Live service that is unique to Windows Phone. Gamer's score, points, avatar, etc are synced and customization in the console and the phone. Some games even allow game integration between the phone and the console.
    
    
11. Nokia hardware option. Although Nokia used to make outdated OS (Symbian), but their hardware is still sets the bar. Having the option of getting Nokia hardware running Windows Phone is just awesome. Nokia with its volume is also able to drive the price down in the market. The Nokia Lumia 710, which is a entry level Windows Phone device is being sold in US at $49 with 2 year contract, and the Lumia 800 is selling in Europe often for free. The rumor is that Nokia Lumia 900 (coming out March 2012) will be sold for $99 with 2 year contract. Wow!
    
    
12. Better cloud integration with SkyDrive. With Windows Phone, you can have free 25 GB of storage. All your OneNotes will sync (no more need for EverNote), auto-upload options for photos, sharing folders and documents, etc. With MS Office, you can view, edit, and create documents on your phone and put them in SkyDrive. I don't know how many times I have used this feature to review documents or Power Point presentations and taking notes - certainly a very beneficial feature for me. 
    
    
13. Better voice control. MS TellMe is much better and easier to use than Google Voice Action. TellMe understands the non-western names in my contact list. It also works better in understanding me and some of my friends. Plus, it is a lot easier to access TellMe (long press on Start) vs Voice Action (launch an app). Granted that Siri (iOS 5) is still better than both.
    
    
14. Email reading, which I do lot of, is a lot better in Windows Phone - with the big clean text and previews. Combined with the panorama display in hubs, this makes categorizing, reading, and managing emails to be a lot easier in Windows Phone. 
    
    
15. Twitter & Facebook integration. If you are into the social networking scene, this is a must. Instead of opening and closing apps, Windows Phone integrates Facebook & Twitter - so you can do all your social networking stuff without the hassle of opening and closing apps. I am an avid Twitter user (not so much on Facebook), so this is a big deal for me.
    
    
16. Much better Exchange integration. If you are an MS Exchange user, Windows Phone do this much much better than Android. Touchdown in Android helps, but it is costly ($19.99). I manage all my contacts and calendar in Exchange, so being able to sync (push) them into my phone is just a must.
    
    
17. Better touch-screen keyboard - across any device. With Android, you get hit and miss.
    
    
18. Windows Phone has the best Foursquare app, called "4th and Mayor". Much better than the official one, in any platform. 
    
    

Why go with Android?

1. Excellent turn-by-turn navigation. I still envy the GPS feature that Android has - until now. This is simply awesome. With Windows Phone, we need 3rd party apps - or continue hoping that Nokia & Bing will one day provide this for all devices. Currently only Nokia devices get the Nokia Drive.
   
   
2. More variety in the market. The cell-phone market is saturated with Android phones. There are probably around 30+ Android phones released every year. In comparison, Apple release 1 version of hardware every year or so and about 10 Windows Phone per year. So more choices for you if you go with Android.
   
   
3. More apps. Android Market has more than 300,000 apps. Windows Phone Marketplace only has around 60,000 apps. Windows Phone still has a lot of catching up to do - but I find all the major apps that I need are already in Marketplace. Yes, there are the missing "tricorder" app that I "need", or the "battery saver" app etc. But with Windows Phone, there is already a native battery-saver feature under "settings" and for the "tricorder", I use the G2 for that, so I can use the tricorder while on the phone.
   
   
4. Most Android phones has dual-core processor. Although this translate very little improvement in daily use (in fact MS did a contest called "Smoked by Windows Phone" during CES, go here for results & detail), but this still becomes a prevalent marketing strategy. 
   
   
5. If you use "WhatsApp" app, the Android version is still better than the Windows Phone one.
   
   
6. No Skype, yet. Nothing much to say here ...

If there is no Windows Phone, I would probably stick with Android - and I used to be an Android lover. But time has changed and Windows Phone (especially Mango) just won me over.

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Should I get a Windows Phone?

People asked me often - "My contract renewal is coming up and thinking about getting a new phone, so which one should I get?" I am going to do a blog series about smartphones comparing them to Windows Phone and hopefully this series can be a useful information to help us in making our decision. If you are reading this in the future, the content of this series may not apply, as smartphone technology changes pretty quickly, so there will be updates or sequel series in the future.Who knows, I might hate Windows Phone in the future!

Secondly, I am not going to claim that I am a professional reviewer and I certainly have my bias. So keep that in mind when reading the series - but I will try to keep an objective or balanced aim and perspective. Please do not hesitate to chime in via the comments.

In the series, I will do some comparisons between Windows Phone against other phones. Along with that, I will also include "what if you are coming from ____" section (i.e. "what if you are coming from RIM") in every post. So here we go:

1. Windows Phone vs. BlackBerry
2. Windows Phone vs. Android
3. Windows Phone vs. iPhone
4. Windows Phone vs. "the rest" (WinMo, Bada, Symbian, etc)

In general, my recommendation is to try it out. Some people often has dismissed Windows Phone without trying it - but most of the people who have tried it were pretty blown away by it, and ended up getting it. I am not particularly sure why people so quickly dismissed Windows Phone - but from some of the reasons are these:

• Windows Phone resembles  Windows Mobile - so it sucks. This can not be further than the truth. Yes, WinMo sucks - big time. But Windows Phone is nothing like Windows Mobile at all. If this is something that you are unsure, please do try a Windows Phone. Go to a carrier store and try it out. 
• Windows Phone does not support dual-core processor (yet) - so it must be slow. Well, while it is true that Windows Phone Mango (the newest OS release up to this Jan 2012) does not support dual-core processor, but it is not slow at all. In fact, during CES 2012, there was a contest doing day-to-day tasks (posting to twitter, taking pictures, checking weather, etc) between Windows Phone vs 30+ phones (BBs, iPhones, Androids, etc), and Windows Phone won 85% of the time. 
• It's expensive. Not sure where this is coming from, but just because it looks awesome and expensive does not mean that it is expensive. My friend bought a Nokia 710 for $50 on the first day it came out (with 2 yr contract). Nokia 710 is the latest Windows Phone coming via TMobile. The most expensive Windows Phone costs $199 - just like most smartphones out there - and most Windows Phone are actually cheaper than $199. 

Well, there you go - in the next post I will describe how Windows Phone stacks up against BlackBerry. -- read more and comment ...

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Review: Update Process

Windows Phone update, codename Mango (version 7.5) just got released on Tuesday, September 27th 2011 - it was highly anticipated and showcased repeatedly by Microsoft via numerous medias. With 500 or so new features, the Mango update is the push to get WP platform to be on the same competitive level as iPhone and Android. So finally it's here and I have installed my update and this is my review for the update and I will make this a series of reviews (instead of combining into a single bog post), starting with the update process itself.

UPDATE PROCESS: AWESOME
I was expecting it will be trickling slowly in US via carriers (like NoDo update) - mine would have been updated within 4-5 weeks after that date. But, it turns out that Microsoft really went above and beyond in making sure that the release process is unlike the NoDo update - I got my update right on that day and it seemed that everyone else was too. Overall the update process was smooth, although it was still via Zune instead of OTA.

Not only this is awesome compared to NoDo, but it is also awesome compared to Android updates. My HTC G2 just got updated to Gingerbread within the last 2 months and the Ice cream Sandwich update is going to be released within 2-3 months - so the lag is quite substantial.

All my apps and settings and data are all intact, and in fact the update process actually make a backup of my phone before executing the update, so in the case the update process fails or interrupted, it can restore the phone to the previous version. Once the update ran, all my apps that have not been updated to Mango were all working and everything is preserved. I need to no new device to experience the upgrade, my HTC HD7 runs just as smooth and awesome as before. The only thing that I will not be able to do with my HD7 is video-chat, since my phone does not have a front-facing camera.

This data and setting preservation is actually much better compared to the update process for iPhone. Going from iOS 3 to iOS 4 was a painful process, losing data and settings here and there. Most of the time, Apple requires you to get a new device to experience fully the new iOS functionality and performance.

For some of you who are still waiting, here is a trick you can use to force an update via Zune - check it out here.

My other WP Mango Reviews:
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Review: People & Me
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Review: Email & Calendar
Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Review: Search
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Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1 Honeycomb) Experience

I got my Galaxy Tab as a gift from attending Google I/O conference back in May 2011. I have been using it pretty much daily, brought it along on a family vacation with my family for a week - and my wife and son also have been using it to check emails, play games, browse around, etc.

When the Tab was given to us by Google, it had Honeycomb 3.0 on it - since then it has been upgraded to Honeycomb 3.1. I won't bother you with detailed specs - you can see it here, but I will write about my personal experience with it from the last 2 months.

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