Author Topic: Mobile phones... (Read 3908 times)

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **on:** January 03, 2006, 03:47:04 PM »

Poll:
If you have a mobile phone, who is your carrier, and are you happy with them?
My personal phone is with Nextel, and so far, so good.
Company phone is with Verizon, and so far, outstanding coverage.

TarpleyG · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2006, 04:21:31 PM »

Verizon on a tri-band Samsung. Works when other folk's don't so yeah, I'm happy. Those tri-bands are becoming harder and harder to find and out in places like where my parents live, the analog signal is all that'll work.

Greg

Lennyjoe · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2006, 04:52:41 PM »

Verizon. Yes I am extremely happy with them. Tried Sprint, Qwest and Alltel but like Verizon the best.

bermbuster · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2006, 05:43:54 PM »

Verizon. It works where others won't.

I just got VZ access (aircard) through Verizon. My opinion is that the capabilities are a bit exaggerated. I do occasionally get broadband throughput but not every time. Still it's mighty handy for traveling.

esheato · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2006, 06:51:26 PM »

Cingular. Things could be better. I get dropped calls in the middle of town. Internet doesn't connect all the time. They're damned expensive too. The $40 plan is just short of what you need and the next plan, $59, is more than you need. Either way, with text messaging and all the other crap, my bill is over $100/month. Way more than I want to pay. I'll be going back to Sprint next time...especially since they took over Nextel.

Ed

Lennyjoe · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2006, 07:25:55 PM »

Buddy of mine had Cingular for about 3 months. Kept loosing calls in the middle of town and all. He dropped them and went to Verizon.

BTW, we travel back to Ohio, WVA, GA and OK almost every year and Verizon works 95% of the way home. Hit a couple of dead spots in the midwest but the only thing living out there anyway is the antelope.

Sylvilagus Aquaticus · « **Reply #6 on:** January 03, 2006, 07:36:45 PM »

Verizon. The cheapest (i.e, free) Samsung available. Never missed a lick, which is a whole lot more than I can say for the kids' Motorola/Cingular SuperZoot phones that funnel all their calls to /dev/null. The youngest Incubi has an expensive camphone on my Verizon plan that hasn't held up well, but it's a possessor problem. SWMBO has an inexpensive Motoraola that isn't quite as bad.

If it was up to me, I'd still be using my old Nokia 3310. AT&T service wasn't my favorite at the time the bill came, though.

Regards,
Rabbit.

garrettwc · « **Reply #7 on:** January 03, 2006, 08:01:12 PM »

Been using Cingular for many years (started back when they were Bellsouth). Coverage has gotten way better since they took over AT&T's networks. The phone you choose will have a lot to do with the quality of your service. Some phones just work better on the network than others. My current Nokia has been fantastic, I get signal where I used to get none with my Motorola.

cfabe · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2006, 04:54:47 AM »

I'm with verizon, just switched from former-Att-now-cingular. Around me verizon has the best coverage. Cingular was fine in populated areas and freeways but once you get even a little out from the city it was poor or no coverage. Verizon seems to have coverage about everywhere I'd reasonably expect and some places I wouldn't. I remember driving down a 2-lane road in an unpopulated canyon north of Moab, UT, and being able to go online with my brother's verizon phone a couple years ago.

Unfortunately their network really sucks from a technical aspect. Seems to be pretty hacked togther. This manifests itself as wierd phone behavior, like calling a number and just hearing a dialtone, or having calls no go through even when your signal is strong. Calls occasionally drop for seemingly no reason. The upside of this is you can use any of their recent phones to get a 1xRTT dialup connection (up to ~100kbps) for your laptop using just voice minutes, and in certian areas with certian phones, you can get unlimited broadband access (ev-do) for $15 a month. The reason for this is that the network can't differentiate between using the phone for the advanced features (mobile web, get-it-now, V-cast) and using it for an internet connection. So it's a tradeoff. Good coverage but poor quality of service, versus the GSM players who have better quality of service where they have service.

280plus · « **Reply #9 on:** January 04, 2006, 05:14:15 AM »

Murphy's Law of Cellphones. "Your cell phone will work fine until you absolutely need it to."

I have Verizon abn they are better than most but all that cfabe says is true. Lost calls for no reason. Lot's of dead spots in my area. And Sometimes I don't get messages for days, which is really wierd.

Tongue

Stickjockey · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2006, 05:32:51 AM »

Virgin Wireless prepaid. Their ad stuff is a bit kitschy, but the rates are good.

charby · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2006, 06:16:26 AM »

US Cellular, been using them since Spring 2, never had a problem except they have a goofy calling area in some parts of Iowa, mostly do to ownership of towers and not the wireless company.

LG Flip phone.. mixed opinions on it, never had a problem with getting service anywhere, just a fragile phone for my pocket and crappy battery life.

Charby

Paddy · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2006, 06:27:28 AM »

An older Nokia, 6360 I think, on a local carrier, Cellularone. Coverage is outstanding, especially in the rural areas around here. Verizon is also available here but it's more expensive than Cellularone and I don't have any need for long distance calling.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2006, 06:51:33 AM »

Verizon user here with a PalmOne 600. In all my travels, Verizon has had the best coverage. I have a bit of trouble in a small section of I66 west of Marshal, Va and some small sections of I81 between Roanoke and Harrisonburg. West Virginia is a lost cause, but otherwise, I'm covered where I need to be covered.

I was concerned about the lack of analog on the 600, but I've since discovered that this all digital phone will get a digital signal when tri-mode phones are switching to analog. Considering calls via analog on tri-mode phones were next to useless due to voice quality, I've come to prefer a good digital only phone.

You know what I hate about cellphone companies? You can't get a decent phone that isn't loaded with all sorts of "toys". I don't want a camera (can't have those where I work anyway), video on demand, PTT, MP3, etc. I want a solid phone that has true contacts management capabilities (more than just name and number) and a speakerphone.

Chris

Chris · « **Reply #14 on:** January 04, 2006, 07:08:50 AM »

Had Cingular, and took lots of Advil because of the headaches. Switched to Verizon, things got much better. Better coverage. Better internet service. Better pricing.

mfree · « **Reply #15 on:** January 04, 2006, 07:19:57 AM »

I use Sprint PCS, but I'll tell you that providers are fickle by area, so what works great for others may leave you cold.

What I *can* tell you, is that Samsung and Sanyo phones are the most consistently good picks you can get. Particularly Sanyo... I've had two now, the first still works (from 2000!) and was only changed because I got a deal on a cameraphone.

Guest · « **Reply #16 on:** January 04, 2006, 07:42:32 AM »

Take comments regarding service with a grain of salt. The quality of a carriers service depends greatly on geography. For example, around here Verizon has pretty horrid coverage, while Cingular and T-mobile has excellent service coverage. I have personally had Verizon, now I have T-mobile, and I am never changing back.

I agree mfree regarding Sanyo and Samsung phones. I have always been a fan of Motorola in general, but without a doubt those two companies beat them out virtually every time.

I've never had any billing problems with the carriers i've had, but my friends with Sprint, and (formerly) AT&T had no end of billing problems.

Guest · « **Reply #17 on:** January 04, 2006, 08:07:29 AM »

I personally do not have a cell phone.

FWIW in central AR, Alltel is selling/ has sold its wireless divison. Granted I really do not keep up with the Cellphone stuff, however, further word is Alltel is going to sell off its other division as well. Details kinda sketchy, not really keeping up with it...Joe Ford the head honcho of Alltel is basicall retired, a son is running things. So one hears a "new" company is going to come in take over what Alltel is/ has/ something. I guess reading stock reports would shed more light.

Geography seems to play a huge part. Cingualar gives classmated fits, with just going dead, one part of campus to another for example.

IIRC mom has Alltel...driving her nuts, then again she won't read the instructions.

Which reminds me...TracFones. What is the deal with these? Reason I ask is if someone just wanted something when out in case of emergency, like some elderly folks - do these work out of town, out of state?

Two folks asked me ( I don't know) one is a single mom watching budget and wants to have for emergency. The other is a elderly couple that may travel from time to time. Elderly couples theory is if landline is turned off, they don't have to answer it and not be bothered when working in shop or making dinner. *grin*

crt360 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 04, 2006, 09:56:19 AM »

I have Cingular. It's been decent. It cuts out here and there, drops a call every once in a while and I haven't been able to connect to another Cingular user a few times, but it's a lot better than I thought it would be. I previously used Alltel and it was excellent - no dropped calls, great reception where my friends had none with their other companies. I switched because Cingular was a lot cheaper.

Strings · « **Reply #19 on:** January 04, 2006, 11:02:48 AM »

I use US Cellular for service: Spoon and I have Kyocera Sliders, and the BACA number rings a Kyocera Phantom. Never had any real troubles with any of 'em, nor with billing (unless I just forget to pay the silly thing, then life gets interesting).

And i have to agree: when are we gonna have a phone available that's just a phone? Something with contacts, maybe an alarm, and a speakerphone and/or headset.It would be cheaper, but I think they'd sell like hotcakes...

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #20 on:** January 04, 2006, 11:08:14 AM »

Hunter Rose,
That's why I got the Motorola i530 with my Nextel account. Basic, useful phone.
http://idenphones.motorola.com/idenProducts/phonesHome.do?phones=530

cordex · « **Reply #21 on:** January 04, 2006, 12:19:21 PM »

I use Cingular. My wife and I share a family plan with another couple and our total bill is $125 per month for four phones and more minutes than we use.

Coverage where I've needed it has been fine.

For my next phone, I'm going to want good data access which means, unfortunately, probably Sprint. We'll see what is available when I'm ready to buy.

Fjolnirsson · « **Reply #22 on:** January 04, 2006, 01:37:27 PM »

I had Cingular for a long while. The coverage was good, but I got dropped calls and such pretty often. The monthly bill left me feeling as though I'd been raped by a bull. I switched to T-mobile, and it was like living a dream. Service was superb, coverage was excellent, customer service was amazing, bills were low. T-Moblie doesn't have service where I live now, so I got Verizon. Coverage with Verizon is good, no dropped calls really, but the bills are outrageous. I told them three months ago to cancel my plan and bill me for early termination. They're still billing me.
I use Tracfone now. Coverage is good, and I don't use my phone nearly as much, because I can see the minutes slipping away on the handset.

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Author Topic: Mobile phones... (Read 3908 times)

Paddy

Chris

Guest

Guest

Strings