Straight Talk has declared a jihad on people streaming anything on 3G and people using their phone to thether. When people read what you said about thethering your. LG Android Smartphone Owners Having Problems with Straight Talk MMS Picture Messages. Comparison.jpg' alt='22890 We Are Unable To Program Your Phone' title='22890 We Are Unable To Program Your Phone' />Two Years with Straight Talk Unlimited Prepaid Life Without a Contract. After living with and paying for Straight Talk for 2 years, this review editorial will serve as the official follow up to my initial review filed in May 2. Keep in mind that my experiences will not necessarily mirror your own and  as always, do your research before purchasing wireless service with a new service provider, lest you end up with an expensive paperweight. Introduction. On May 1. I took a chance on Straight Talk after being unsatisfied with the then current options in Metro. PCS, BoostVirgin Mobile and smaller alternatives due to their rates and lack of options. At the time, Straight Talk was the best compromise for what I was looking for with a price at or below 5. Since those days, Straight. Talk itself has gone through many changes, some good and some bad. Straight Talks Recent Changes. The good about the changes centers on an official program for bring your own device support for non Black. Berry GSM and Verizon CDMA devices, after months of unofficial device swapping tricks and hacks. The program first made its debut last year after months of speculation and anticipation, and it seemed that it addressed many of the needs and desires of those that wanted to purchase their own devices or bring previously activated AT T phones to the virtual operator, but the worst change since then has been the elimination of AT T from the majority of its service area and BYOD offering at the beginning of this year, only to replace it with T Mobile network access and the recent addition of Verizon BYOD. Following the initial introduction of BYOD last year, Straight Talk scored another big point against other virtual operators later in the year by being the first virtual operator to offer a Verizon powered Android smartphone after years of the carrier refusing to support smartphones on MVNOs and pricing data access to the point where many Verizon MVNOs had the smallest data allotments out of all offerings. With the introduction of the Samsung Proclaim, Straight. Talk had simultaneously revived its Verizon agreement and ushered in a new wave of customer gains as current and former Straight. Talk customers rushed to purchase the phone to take advantage of Verizons expansive prepaid coverage compared to previous Android options powered by Sprint. The Glaring, Long Standing Negatives of Using Straight Talk. However, since those days, the bad aspects about Straight Talk have also made themselves more apparent, such as low quality telephone support, arbitrary data limits without explicitly stating limits leading to customers being throttled or even booted from the service and very little in the way of transparency when taking terms and conditions into account. To this day, representatives refuse to elaborate on data limits despite advertising unlimited service and repeated questions across the media concerning the issue, forcing users to discover the limitations on their own through trial and many errors. Staying with Straight Talk During The Explosive Growth of Prepaid. Two years on from my first review of the service and even taking the aforementioned issues into account, Im happy to say that Im still a satisfied Straight. Talk customer, even with the exponential growth of flat rate prepaid and more compelling alternatives from other brands and even carriers. I still use the Nokia E7. I purchased to start Straight Talk service with no issues and it has served me quite well, with many trips across the country for conventions and solid performance wherever I needed it, both in terms of talk time and battery life, as well as serving as a decent hotspot modem in a pinch. Ive been tempted to move to other prepaid services during my tenure with Straight Talk, such as Sprint powered Voyager Mobile, owing to its much cheaper 3. LTE service, but what keeps me from making the move centers on the current lack of nationwide LTE coverage and giving up a fair bit of overall coverage, which Ive come to rely on during travel. Other virtual providers and brands may also have lower rates or faster data access for more per month, but as in my first review, they lack the peace of mind I found with Straight Talk. Savings And Phone Upgrade Possibilities. Ive saved exactly 1. Straight Talk, doubling its oft advertised 9. I plan to stay a Straight Talk customer for the foreseeable future, though now I have another dilemma. As is common with many people after 2 years, now its time for me to upgrade my phone. While the E7. 1 is perfectly useful, only needing a new battery and in near mint condition otherwise, the operating system itself in Symbian is close to being officially sunset and apps for the device are steadily declining despite the steady stream of operating system updates before support officially ends in 2. Paying a consistent 5. Ive had service, because its been the only consistent monthly expense I have while everything else I pay for has gone up in cost, something that should be taken into account when budgeting for monthly expenses. Viable, Timely Options for New Devices. This is where the biggest positive change for Straight Talk has pushed it to the top, as it now offers halo devices such as the i. Phone and the Samsung Galaxy S III while still offering mid range smartphones and cheaper feature phones that made up the bulk of its line up 2 years ago. More smartphones are also available for every budget level, a stark difference compared to 2. Im not necessarily starved for choice the way I was in 2. Cloud System Booster Serial Prosecutor. E7. 1 due to the relative lack of compelling phones at the time, but now that I can choose between i. OS and Android as well as Windows Phone 8 with the Huawei W1, the question now becomes which platform do I tie myself down to for the next 2. Unlocked Devices Even More Choice. Even with all of the increased choice, I can still choose to forgo buying a branded Straight Talk smartphone and just pull the active SIM from my current phone and buy another device, giving me potentially more choices. My current mission now is finding the perfect device to fit the service Im using, especially since I still have access to AT T service and coverage. My ideal device would actually be the Black. Berry Q1. 0, as it features a similar shape to the E7. AT T branded version hasnt been released yet, making it very likely that I wont be able to just buy one outright when it is launched sometime next month, owing to routinely stupid store and company policies regarding new devices and outright purchases without a plan purchase from AT T. Barring that option, this is what Im currently looking at for an upgrade from my current phone i. Phone 5 6. 4GB Straight Talk versionSamsung Galaxy S IV 1. GB AT T versionSony Xperia ZL Unlocked 1. GB versionNokia 8. Pure. View Unlocked versionHuawei W1 Straight. Talk versionHTC One 6. GB AT T versionWhile I mull over my options in terms of an upgrade, Ill close this by saying that Im glad I chose Straight Talk over other more well known and better advertised offerings in 2. Conclusion. Time will tell if Ill feel the same 2 more years from now, but these past two years have been a smoother experience than I could have ever expected or wanted from a prepaid service. Will experiences vary Of course they will, such is the nature of cellular service in the US, especially prepaid service. What I can say is that anyone paying more than 5.