[theproman23]

I have recently moved to Downtown Vancouver and am in the middle of deciding which cell phone provider I would like to sign up with.

I've heard good things about Rogers quality but their phone selection is lacking in my opinion. I am a Android user and don't really want to give up that OS. I come from the US where I've been using the Motorola Droid, Milestone here, and love the phone. As such the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant really caught my eye and seeing the Bell is the only one selling it I am trying to findout how good their service is but haven't been able to find much (good and bad) about it.

If anyone can help me on this I would really appreciate it. Also, I plan on unlocking the phone and using a US sim card when I visit home.

 

[TorontoColin]

In Vancouver you have several Android options.

With Bell or Virgin (owned by Bell) you could get the Samsung Vibrant.
With Telus you have the choice of the HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone, or Samsung Apollo. I'd recommend the Desire of those three.
With Rogers your best bet is to wait for the Samsung Captivate, coming soon. It's another Galaxy S phone.

All three of those providers have established, very strong 3G networks (Bell and Telus actually share a network) using the same frequencies as AT&T. All three will require you to sign a 3-year contract to get the good discount.

Your other option is Wind Mobile, a new carrier in Canada. Their coverage is very limited at the moment. They have a zone based system and currently have coverage in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa, and it's weaker than the Big 3. You would have to pay roaming outside those cities. They also don't subsidize handsets so you have to pay full price. The trade-off is no contract and probably the best available plans. They share a frequency with T-Mobile, so you could use any T-Mobile 3G phone, and they will be adding the Motorola Milestone XT720 shortly.

 

[Ott8915]

TorontoColin made some very good points above.

In addition to those, please note that most phones which work on Wind will also work on Rogers. I have relatives living in Vancouver and they've told me that the Wind Data network coverage is spotty which is frustrating for them. For example, you may start roaming just driving into the valley.

I have Wind in Ottawa but don't use data (I use wifi instead) and I find their voice coverage is excellent here. I also prefer Wind's simple plans over the complicated plans of the traditional carriers (I pay $17.50 per month for unlimited province wide calling + tax versus having additional fees such as system access (government services), E911 or other extra costs).

I would not recommend any of the current Wind phones and would instead recommending a T-Mobile phone such as the G2 and then unlocking it and bringing it to Canada. Their Huawei Android phone is decent except for the resistive touchscreen. The Huawei Ideos phones should be good and under $200 versus $500 for most Android phones such as the Samsung Vibrant. If you can buy the Vibrant via *********** for 1 cent and then get it unlocked/leave the T-Mobile contract for under $200, that is also a great deal.

If you sign up with Wind, you will get probably the best plan but have to accept they are less than 2 years old and so their coverage is not as good as the others. The Rogers chatr plans are pretty competitive but they don't include data. That does lead to you feeling somewhat like a 'rebel' which can be exciting (I suppose Apple iPhone users feel the same way) as you are going against the mainstream.

 

[BGY11]

The problem with using a Wind phone (or unlocking a T-Mobile one) and using it on Rogers is that you'll be stuck to EDGE speeds (instead of 3G HSPA).

 

[recneps77]

A plus to Wind living in the Vancouver area is if you ever venture south of the border you get minutes for 25c each through T-mo.
Vs. a buck or two with robelus.