Having been with T-Mobile for 5 years now I had been on the customer loyalty plan from the summer until last weekend, however moved over to the “Even More Plus” to save a couple bucks. While I was aware of the new plans before they announced them, through various blogs, I was deliberating on which was the “best” plan for me.  As with everyone else, I wanted the best price on what I would actually use. As it stands, I’m using my phone less and less since we picked up a house line, so I had no need for the unlimited plan anymore. The new plans are in place, obviously, to attract new customers and appear as attractive as possible, but which really gives the best deal.

The two plans are “Even More” and “Even More Plus.”

The first plan “Even More,” is based on a 24 month contract like your last cell phone plan, with generous phone discounts.  This plan comes in 500, 1000 and unlimited minutes ranging from $59.99 to $79.99 with the option to add additional “unlimited” services like texting and web access.  The phone discounts, like your previous plan, are on par with the Early Termination Fee which binds you to the contract for 2 years (typically $200). Graciously, T-Mobile has extended the ability to finance the new phone over 4 consecutive payments..

The “Even More Plus” plan on the other hand is where T-Mobile breaks from the US standard and offers a cell phone plan sans contract.  Here, you’re paying the full price of the phone (which might sound intimidating at first) to have a cell plan without contract.  The plan its self is $10/mo less than the “Even More” plan and the packages look identical.  Now, here comes the fun part, T-Mobile offers the ability to finance the phone over the course of 20 months for the users on the “Even More Plus” plan.

While I could go on more about the plans, information is all over the web and I got the basics out.  So for one reason or another, you’re probably eying one or the other because it fits your needs, but I’ll tell you right now you’re first instincts are the right ones.

With some accounting and marketing flare, T-Mobile has been able to package two plans which offer long term costs so close we’d probably write the difference off.  If you’re looking to live without a contract the “Plus” plan is for you, however if you’re looking for a “cheaper” phone and don’t mind being bound to a carrier for 24 Months the “Even More” plan is for you.

How does this work? Remember that $10/mo extra for the non-“Plus” plans? Well, 24x$10 is $240 making up for the difference in the phones “retail” and “discounted” price.

I chose the Even More Plus plan, not because I ever plan on leaving T-Mobile, but because I’d rather pay off a phone over 20 months then fork up the money over 4 months.

I’ve been a loyal customer of T-Mobile for 5 years and endorse them entirely.  They don’t endorse my blog, or any of my sites, as they clearly illustrated in rejecting my application on CJ.com.  This article was an attempt to explain the similarities between the two plans, not to sell their service.

Now for the long article I didn’t want to write here. In the previous article I listed several of the applications I use the most on the road, notice that only one is a social network application.  The other applications are ones I use to manage my sites, including my blog and the sites I host for my clients.  Realistically, I don’t need to stay connected 24/7.  However, having the ability to manipulate my sites and servers on the fly is a huge comfort because it’s only me, myself and I.

I was recently asked if I ever had an emergency (server crash or similar) that I had to take care of while away from the computer; fortunately the answer is no, and I hope that I never do.  Still, I have put these applications (all of which are free) to great use.  As I mentioned, I even have preferred some of them to using applications from my desktop.  I’ve also learned that there are appropriate times to work, as well as inappropriate times (again, sorry to those affected. You should have received an email by now).

While I’m a smartphone veteran, this has been a whole new adventure for me.  I came to my G1 about 9 months ago, coming from a Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones before the Blackberry.  So far, I haven’t used a smartphone which has been as versatile for my needs as Android is.  I still miss certain aspects of the previous phones, however none of them were able to cover such a range of utility.  For example, I miss the simplicity of the Blackberry the most; from composing emails to managing contacts it was/is the phone to have.

So what makes the difference from other smartphones?

First, I would have to say that it’s OpenSource. Essentially everyone who wants to create an app can, which means that if there’s a developer out there who has similar needs as you, you’re going to win. I know there’s more and more development for other mobile operating systems now, however there doesn’t seem to be a comparable development community.  When I say this to my friends, I get the iPhone iPwns all argument.. but that’s another article entirely, except for one point.  Multitasking. Multitasking is what makes the better operating system, for me. Note, I said for me and not for everyone.

Multitasking allows me a lot of flexibility I haven’t had on other phones, especially with the applications I use for communication and work.  However, it extends beyond just work to things like loading web pages while I compose an email.  So far, no smartphone operating system has supported multitasking like Android.

When has it come in handy?

Over the summer I was across the country in Walnut Creek, CA (BEAUTIFUL CITY) for a wedding and was interrupted with a lot of database issues.. aka my phone wouldn’t stop going off.  I was able to post a temporary page from the lobby of the hotel while waiting on my ride so the visitors knew what was going on.  The issue turned out to be an error I made with some code, which was easily remedied when I got back that afternoon.

Let’s say my server was throwing memory issues and I wanted to move my site to a different server, it would be as simple as using ConnectBot following these simple directions.  The only thing I’d have to do is move the database and point the domain over.

How come I’m only talking about functionality?

Well, I’m not huge on Android’s communication. I should rephrase that, I’m addicted to the simplicity of the Blackberry.  Receiving email, outside of Gmail, is nearly a hassle on the G1. It seems plagued with issues using anything but IMAP settings.  Even multimedia messaging feels more glitchy than the simple interface of Blackberry’s.