Re: OT - cellular phone choices

M

My Own Little Universe 23 years ago

Verizon. I have been with ALL of the other major players and so far, for the money, the V is the best. Besides, in a couple months, they will have THEIR two ways coming out also.....more V users than CrapTel users

Snowman wrote:
> > I am thinking about getting one of these cellular phones. Does
> > anyone have any recommendations on what to get or not to get as far > > as providers?
> >
> > I'm mainly interested in incoming calls and possibly the 2 way
> > communication. I know Nextel has had their patent run out and several
> > companies are putting info tegether to compete, now. Any help on
> > this would be very useful to me, as I am NOT up on these things. > >
> > Thanks,
> > Snowman
>
> The Nextel is only useful if the other person you want to communicate with
> also has Nextel. This greatly reduces the number of people who that
> actually is useful for then, though if Nextel is popular where you live you
> are in luck. I just joined on with T-Mobile 2 weeks ago, and so far so
> good. Look for the company that has the best coverage where you live and
> will be most of the time. Then look for the plan that meets your calling
> needs. Look online at reviews of various phones, as all phones are not
> created equal. Buy your car charger from Wal-Mart and you'll save 50% over
> what the phone dealers usually sell them at. The best resource I found when
> looking into getting a phone was:
formatting link
I purchased> my phone and service through them and got my phone for free, plus $50 back> on top of that for rebate. It is a good site that allows you to easilyand
> quickly compare the different companies where you live. I have no
> connections with that web site other than being a satisfied customer. >
> Big Chris
>
>

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C

Charles H. 23 years ago

i go with a nextel. nextel you have ph. 2 way radio, and if you want internet access. with nextel depending on where you are located if may be the best thing. PLUS nextel has just started, (or atleast here in n.c) to offer nation wide coverage. just my 2 cents worth. check out nextel.com to find prices in your area. if you are lookin just for a cell ph. i recommend a nokia ph. i have had 3 of them, i would stay away from ericson/sony brand phs, as i heard there junk.

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M

Me 23 years ago

I have had Nextel, 50% dropped call rate, would drop in the middle of a call etc. Sprint had some call dropping problems but not as bad as nextel, but the spring PCS signal is limited to big cities so once you go outside a city you loose signal. I have had the best reception with Verizon. Their customer service isnt the best like not allowing my to upgrade the plan on my wifes phone even though we are both on the bill and I pay the bill, but the other companies are just as bad.

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B

Bush 23 years ago

Thanks to Nextel airplanes need to navigate around a "High Altitude

400,000 ft. Tower" in the middle of the country. Sorry, you have got to see their add on Nascar. Jeez I was using ATTW seems okay, albeit the hiddens. My truck has a hardwire system, mic, and voice command; the speaker is on the console, completely hand and eyes free which is good since most people cannot speak on the phone, brush on makeup, and drive at the same time. For local use (120 mile) radius, we've been using two-meter ham wireless units these are great, and of course the talk time is free. You'll need to study and acquire an amateur license first.

Have a great one!

Bush

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"

"Doc" 23 years ago

Snow,

We're neighbors so here's a suggestion! I've been with Alltel for 4 years now and wouldn't switch if someone payed me.

$100.00 a month gets me 1300 anytime minutes (entire State of Ohio is considered your home calling area, no roaming fee so long as yer' in Ohio), free nationwide long distance, 3000 evening and weekend bonus minutes, voicemail, caller-id, call waiting, 3-way calling, and a second line for my wife who shares my minutes. Very few dropped calls, zero service outages since I signed up.

Doc

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M

Me 23 years ago

Dang, I thought Verizon was expensive. We get pretty much the same package on two phones for about $75 month total for both.

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T

Tom Zweifel 23 years ago

Stay away from Nextel and AT&T.

The biggest problem with Nextel is their equipment. The only place you can buy a phone from is Nextel, and the only company that makes iden phones is Motorola. So... if your phone craps out or you drop it in a puddle or something, you can't replace the phone inexpensively. If your contract doesn't happen to be up for renewal they won't subsidize a new phone so the cheapest you can get is about $135.- for the most basic phone they offer. The replacement price for an i60 or something is over $200. Their network stinks too.

AT&T is in the middle of switching their TDMA network to GSM. For me, I travel a lot in the northeast, so I had a great deal with AT&T for their regional one rate plan. No roaming or long distance anywhere. Their network was pretty good, too. The problem now is that they are trying to shove everyone off of their TDMA plans, so they are cutting off features like internet access for their TDMA phones (which I used every day to track packages with FedEx, etc). I had a problem getting calls through outside of Philadelphia last week and their customer service idiots told me I should start to expect service gaps like that more and more on their "old" network. Their GSM network isn't in place yet, so the service is pretty much useless unless you are in midtown Manhattan, and since they have no roaming agreements with anyone their off-network rates are crazy expensive. For a GSM one-rate plan they want like $60 a month for 350 minutes, which is almost twice what I pay now for about half the air time.

I don't think you can do much better than Verizon, as much as I hate to say it.

Just remember that cellular number portability is law as of November 2003, which means that if you want to switch cellular providers you can take the number with you. I think that will completely change how aggressively providers will try to keep your business.

Oh, and Ericssen (spelling?) phones are the pits. Don't even think about it.

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