New Cell Phone/Provider Help!

[Iceblink]

I am jumping for joy that my contract with the single worst provider of mobile communications (AT&T Wireless) is almost up!!!!!

Now is the time for me to pick a new provider... and I also want a nice new cell phone!

Service:

Who do you use? How's the service? How's the customer service? How's the billing (major, major problem with AT&T)? How's everything?

=============================

Cell phone:

I want to get a new cell phone. I think a flip phone would be best for me. I have never had one before. I have a little nokia phone right now, and I'm not all that happy with it... especially since the pound key fell off the thing!

I also don't like it dialing numbers when I don't want it to. I have the lock set for something like 30 seconds, but even that barely helps.

I don't need to take pictures, and I don't want to spend extra to download stuff from the internet. I never have a need for information that quickly. I don't play games on my cell phone either. I hate running low on batteries, so I don't really bother with stuff that wastes them. I do think interesting ring tones are cool. I want the ability to use lots of them.

Any recommendations for either of these things?

Thanks!

[microbrew]

AT&T Wireless is a lame duck, as they were bought out by Cingular. I'm surpised anyone cares there.

Sprint PCS, Verizon, Cingular and Nextel should have decent service, as they all are trying to poach from each other.

I recommend Sprint PCS and Verizon because of their technology (full disclosure: I work at a telecom equipment provider), but technology doesn't matter if the coverage is lacking. Talk to people in your area and find out which service has good coverage. Then compare the plans based on your usage.

I recommend flip phones; they conform to your face better due the angle. The flip also protects the screen. As for a model: the problem is that cell phone models change so quickly. They've become fashion accessories, really. Most phones are laden with features so service providers can sell more services to pad their margins.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

flip phones are AWFUL. most of them dont use sim cards and they are extremely out-dated when it comes to technology.

if anything, go with a good nokia or ericsson. theyve got good size, good features and all use sim cards (so you can switch services without having to buy a new phone, ect).

i would go with T-Mobile, since theyre a german company and everyone knows the europeans know a lot more about what theyre doing with this mobile phone crap than americans do.

theyve also got solid coverage, unless you live on a farm in the middle of wyoming.

[Iceblink]

AT&T Wireless is a lame duck, as they were bought out by Cingular. I'm surpised anyone cares there.


When did that happen? I was wondering why half of the time, my phone says it's Cingular.


Sprint PCS, Verizon, Cingular and Nextel should have decent service, as they all are trying to poach from each other.


Most have told me to go with Verizon. Will check into Nextel, but I heard that Verizon had a bigger coverage area.


I recommend Sprint PCS and Verizon because of their technology (full disclosure: I work at a telecom equipment provider), but technology doesn't matter if the coverage is lacking. Talk to people in your area and find out which service has good coverage. Then compare the plans based on your usage.


I hope the verizon plans are good. I am wary of Sprint PCS, since a friend has had serious issues with them.


Thanks for the help.

[Iceblink]

flip phones are AWFUL. most of them dont use sim cards and they are extremely out-dated when it comes to technology.


Why would they be outdated? Don't they get updated like the other phones?


i would go with T-Mobile, since theyre a german company and everyone knows the europeans know a lot more about what theyre doing with this mobile phone crap than americans do.


I actually had T-Mobile. I liked them better as Voicestream. A major problem with T-Mobile... Send to end. The second I hit my send key, they started charging. It didn't matter if I got a busy signal, or never connected to anything... they charged. Anyone that does that can't have my business.

Oh... and what's so good about a sim card? I've had one in my last couple of phones... doesn't seem special to me. What does it do that makes a phone without one worse?

Thanks!

[Chesco United]

I used to have Sprint PCS, but got horrible service (even though I live in suburbia), I switched to Verizon last year and have been very pleased with the service.

[microbrew]

flip phones are AWFUL. most of them dont use sim cards and they are extremely out-dated when it comes to technology.

if anything, go with a good nokia or ericsson. theyve got good size, good features and all use sim cards (so you can switch services without having to buy a new phone, ect).

Flip-phones are a design preference and they're hardly awful. Nokia is losing world-wide market share because they DON'T offer flip-phones.

Actually, sim cards are the sign of out-dated technology, as they're only used in GSM phones.

Aside from the GSM stuff, sim cards are good idea, making it easy to swap phones or service providers . There are even plans on using them for electronic transactions. However, the bottomline is unless you're traveling a lot to Europe or the Middle East, the sim cards usefulness is greatly diminished.

BTW, AT&T and Cingular are switching over to GSM, just like T-Mobil.

[skipshady]

Oh... and what's so good about a sim card?It's a major convenience more than anything, IMHO.

The card contains all your information, so as previously mentioned, you can switch providers easily. And when you get a new phone, you just take the sim card out of the old phone and put it in the new one - no need to go to the provider to get the phone activated.

Or you have people like my sister who works abroad. She's in the States right now, and if she wanted to, she could use the mobile she brought from Indonesia. But roaming charge is a bitch, so she thought about getting a pre-paid phone just to use in the States. But then she found out she could just get a pre-paid sim card and just put it in her Indonesian mobile, and save herself $30-$80 she would've paid extra had she gotten another phone.

As for the flip phone vs non-flip debate, pretty much every mobile sold in Japan right now is a flip. There was a move towards the ultra-compact for a few years, but with the rise of text messaging and camera phones, people wanted bigger screens and bigger keypads. And these flips accept sim cards.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

Actually, sim cards are the sign of out-dated technology, as they're only used in GSM phones.

Aside from the GSM stuff, sim cards are good idea, making it easy to swap phones or service providers . There are even plans on using them for electronic transactions. However, the bottomline is unless you're traveling a lot to Europe or the Middle East, the sim cards usefulness is greatly diminished.

out-dated?

excuse me?

its handy no matter where you are, even if you dont travel overseas...

say you buy this awesome flip phone for like, $200, and it doesnt have a sim card. if youre phone breaks, not only is youre phone broken but youve just lost all youre #s that you had stored on there, and (although this MIGHT be different now with that whole 'carry youre number with you stuff), youve lost youre own phone number.

now, say youre phone does allow sim cards. if the phone breaks, you keep youre stored #s and everything. you just transfer teh card from one phone to the other. if you want to change providers, thats easy too, just get a new sim card from them and save yourself the money of having to buy a whole new phone.

and the flip v non-flip. i didnt know it was taht way in japan. mostly what i see in europe are regular phones, mostly nokias and what not. you know the nice compact ones with the built in antennas. i just HATE the american market flips made by samsung or OLG or whatever.

[amerifolklegend]

As long as you've narrowed yourself down to the major providers - Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint - the difference in service comes down to the phone you choose.

Different phones get different reception. I have had Sprint PCS for what will be six years in October. Only once did I hate my service - that was when I had a Samsung phone. Now, every person I know that has Sprint talks about how much they hate their service and it confuses me cause my service is outstanding wherever I go and never drop calls. Then I see they have a Samsung phone.

My Hitichi phone for some reason has reception that beats the hell out of the Samsungs. I have no idea why, but it's true. In fact, in the bar, Sprint people can't use their phones at all. Actually, pretty much nobody regardless of their provider can get reception down there. Yet I can always get reception. Never have a problem. Same provider, different phone manufacturer.

The phone i had between the Samsung and the Hitachi was a Kyocera. It also got better-than-Samsung reception, but that phone itself was a complete piece of crap structurally and wouldn't ever recommend one of those for that reason.

[microbrew]

out-dated?

[snip]

and the flip v non-flip. i didnt know it was taht way in japan. mostly what i see in europe are regular phones, mostly nokias and what not. you know the nice compact ones with the built in antennas. i just HATE the american market flips made by samsung or OLG or whatever.

I'm not disagreeing on the handiness of a sim card. Rather, it's GSM that is the outdated air interface technology. Verizon, Sprint PCS and Nextel use something called CDMA. GSM's third generation replacement technology is also based on CDMA.

You're welcome to have your own opinion on flip phones, that's just personal taste. Cell phones have become as much personal fashion and status statement as a telecom tool. In the US, the flip phones are just what the market wants. Just like in Japan, the flip phones are also jam packed with features including large color screens, e-mail, instant messaging support, etc.

Then there's the jack-knife phone (http://www.clubsonyericsson.com/en/products_s700.shtml). :cool:

Again, internal antennas are personal choice as they give worse reception.

[Chicago1871]

I live pretty close to you and have had T-Mobile for the last four years and haven't had any problems. I do agree, however, that they were better as Voice Stream. My one beef with T-Mobile is a lack of phone choices at their stores...

...but I pretty much miffed at all of the phones right now, because all I want is a phone that is a PHONE! Not a personal assistant/camera/internet browser/mp3 player/vcr/video game system/whateverthe********else. I just want a phone that has good reception, voice quality, a calender, a good phone book, and is durable. Is that too much to ask?

Did I miss the memo cell phone companies sent out saying that they were gonna stop making phones?

[Chicago1871]

If you're looking for a really great phone as well as some of the best service around, I hear Vertu (http://www.vertu.com) is good. :cool:

[Iceblink]

If you're looking for a really great phone as well as some of the best service around, I hear Vertu (http://www.vertu.com) is good. :cool:


Awesome. That's exactly what I was looking for. I just ordered three of the platinum.

When they get cell phones, so many people ditch their land lines. I have taken this a step further. I have ditched my land.

I figure, who needs a house when I can communicate in luxury!

Man... I wouldn't get one of those even if I won the lottery. Those are insane!!!!!

[Chicago1871]

When they get cell phones, so many people ditch their land lines. I have taken this a step further. I have ditched my land.

Rep'd and [sort of] sig'd.

[Mad_Bishop]

As long as you've narrowed yourself down to the major providers - Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint - the difference in service comes down to the phone you choose.

Different phones get different reception. I have had Sprint PCS for what will be six years in October. Only once did I hate my service - that was when I had a Samsung phone. Now, every person I know that has Sprint talks about how much they hate their service and it confuses me cause my service is outstanding wherever I go and never drop calls. Then I see they have a Samsung phone.

My Hitichi phone for some reason has reception that beats the hell out of the Samsungs. I have no idea why, but it's true. In fact, in the bar, Sprint people can't use their phones at all. Actually, pretty much nobody regardless of their provider can get reception down there. Yet I can always get reception. Never have a problem. Same provider, different phone manufacturer.

The phone i had between the Samsung and the Hitachi was a Kyocera. It also got better-than-Samsung reception, but that phone itself was a complete piece of crap structurally and wouldn't ever recommend one of those for that reason.

I've had Sprint for nearly 5 years, and while their Customer Service leaves a little to be desired, the coverage and tech. service is unparrelled. The only thing they were lacking was PTT, and thy've now rolled that out.

I've also only owned Samsung Flips, the N200 and now the n400, and I've loved both, they get great reception and I never have a problem with dropped calls unless I'm at my parents house which is in a valley, miles away from the nearest tower. My wife has a samsung a660, and it has equally good reception/performance.

The people I see who have Sprint and complain about the service usually have the cheap LG or Sanyo phones. I think

As far as filps or whatever, most new phones allow you to back up your address book, etc. via USB, so SIMs are just pointless unless you are traveling abroad. Just not an issue for 99% of the people who use mobiles.

I have had issues with Sprint, and they all inclued the Customer Service, but they've all been corrected by them too, it just takes gong to a Sprint store and talking to a senior CSR or manager. I only recomend Sprint to people getting new providers, but I have to offer those precautions first.

[Metros Striker10]

Verizon is good...

I think the In plan is very cool. You can call anyone with a Verizon plan and you don't lose any of your minutes. Plus, I think you can get the $20 phones for free...

[TheWakeUpBomb]

If you don't care about data service, international roaming, pictures or anything but being able to talk on the phone, then Verizon is probably your best bet.

If you do care about international roaming and still want to use Verizon, I believe there is a phone coming out (not sure about the manufacturer) that Verizon will supposedly carry that has CDMA and tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900). You could always pick it up later should your needs change.

[skipshady]

and the flip v non-flip. i didnt know it was taht way in japan. mostly what i see in europe are regular phones, mostly nokias and what not. you know the nice compact ones with the built in antennas. i just HATE the american market flips made by samsung or OLG or whatever.Yeah, they don't have Nokia or Samsung in Japan, just Japanese brands.

I actually have a Samsung flip and I can't complain. It ain't fancy, but it does everything I need it to. And Sprint's reception has gotten a lot better in the past couple of years. It's not AT&T Wireless, that's for sure.

[TheWakeUpBomb]

Most of the Sanyo clamshell phones sold by Sprint are quite good. Demonstrably better than the Samsungs.