Help Me Pick a Cell Phone Provider

[cnfuzzd]

So, i live in the midwest, but plan on traveling somewhat extensively in the next year. I have a crappy, pay as you go plan now, but with my newfound poker, and prostitution, success, i think i am finally going to get a "real" phone. I was curious if anyone had any particularly bad experiences to relate about one provider or another. Thanks.


peace

john nickle

[Bulbarainey]

I'd just reccomend not getting T-Mobile. I could tell you some bad reception stories about ATT, but thats now fixed with the merge. T-Mobile is still OK, but it doesnt compare to Cing+Att's coverage right now, my bro has it and gets recep in a lot of places I don't. Sprint/Nextel is allright too, but always seems to be more expensive. Another benefit of ATT/Cing (and even T-Mo) is they use GSM phones, so you have a lot more phones to choose from, and I'd say you have a lot BETTER phones to choose from too.

edit: also if you go with a GSM provider, Nokia's generally get the best reception. Try to avoid Sony phones, they are known for getting the worst reception of all the GSM phones, for example I use to have a P800 (what was a ~$750 sony phone) and a Nokia 8290 (a $25 phone I got off of ebay), and the 8290 got much better reception.

[WEASEL45]

Verizon probably has the best service. T-mobiles basic plan will give you the most minutes and the service is pretty good.

[IndieMatty]

The minutes are all in the same ballpark these days. Verizon has the best service. You don't seem like the talk on the phone/gabby type so I'd go with verizon. 400 minutes a month plus free nights and weekend, some internet acces---50 bucks or so.

[MissOt]

dont get nextel. i hate it. plans are too expensive and i get horrible service everywhere. i got it for the walkie talkie feature, but most phones have that now.

[DBowling]

Ive got the 39.99 verizon plan, with taxes comes out to about $50.
Free mobile to mobile is great. Most of my friends/family/gf have verizon too, so i never use more than 100-200 peak minutes per month, so my bill never goes over. I get great reception in my area, where people with sprint get awful reception. Customer service is good too; they speak english. I highly recommend them.

[Leo99]

If you travel a lot look at the coverage maps. Verizon's map has much more coverage than any other. Verizon phones aren't as good. The selection is limited and all ring downloads and picture messaging cost extra. I've had Verizon for 4 years and I've never had a roaming charge.

[daryn]

all i hear is everyone saying don't get t-mobile. i hear that everywhere. i have it, and i've never not had a strong signal. is it just me? maybe if you live in buttlick iowa it's different? also though i have free roaming so if i have to connect to another network it's free. i dunno.. works for me.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I had AT&T but just switched to the Cingular network(there is a difference) and my service is much improved, plus roll over minutes!!!!!

[Popinjay]

If you go Cingular you can get the coolest phones since they run on GSM.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

My wife and I are currently on Verizon and I've been waiting for her contract to be up in January so I can switch to something else. Cingular is currently the front-runner for me. T-mobile was number 1a until this morning when I looked at their coverage map - it blows. My uncle-in-law does have T-mobile and says it's good in our area, but I think my wife is going to need it in areas where their map is sorely lacking (anywhere outside the city limits and more than 10 feet away from the most main of highways, apparently). I think it's going to take some convincing to get me away from Cingular come January.

[wonderwes]

In the past week I have switched over from Sprint PCS to Cingular. Picked up the v551 (really impressed so far). On my roadtrip to Las Vegas day after Xmas, I drove from Houston, TX to Austin, Tx, to Dallas, Tx, to across the panhandle of TX, across all of New Mexico and Arizona (boring drive). It gets into the mountains in AZ then over Hoover Dam (took 2 freaking hours to cross. Are you kidding)? then into Las Vegas. My reception was great almost the entire way. I am very impressed with my cingular coverage.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I have the same phone and the same service. I am pretty happy as well.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I just wish the new Razr was less than $293476947346976 though. That thing is badass. I think they should give it to me when I switch to their service. Yes - that would be good.

[ThaSaltCracka]

LMAO, the Razr is pretty cool, but the V551 is a nice phone too.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Truth be told, I don't want all the crap on my phone. No internet, text, and for sure no stupid camera. Actually, the camera could be prohibitive to me bringing my phone to certain places I have to go for work - they're a bit secretive sometimes and don't like people walking around with cameras.

I just want good service, a good battery, a decent phonebook, and an easy, one-button way to change it to and from manner-mode. A nice display is a plus and I want non-annoying ringers. Finally, it has to fit in the little holster-pocket on the side of my cargo jeans (and therefore, also nicely in a normal pocket on all my other pants) like my LG4400 does now. Is it possible to get a simple, yet non-craptastic phone anymore, or do I have to get all the extra [censored] too?

[ThaSaltCracka]

I broke down and got the camera phone. I don't use the internet on it, nor do I download ring tones or anything. In fact, my phone is usually on vibrate, because I really don't like the sound of a phone ringing anyways. Its a cool phone though, and its smaller than I thought it was going to be.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

For sure though, I'm going to get that feature where the people who call me hear a song instead of the ring-ring-ring sound. I'm going to make it In The Shadows by The Rasmus. BLING!

I've been watching! I've been waiting! In the shadows all my life! oh oh! oh oh! In the shadows!

[ThaSaltCracka]

you can do that?

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

You bet your ass you can.

I don't know if you can with Cingular, but you can with some carriers - I know T-Mobile has it (they call it Caller Tunes) and what's that ghetto one with the rap video commercials? I think it's Virgin Mobile or something like that.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
what's that ghetto one with the rap video commercials?

[/ QUOTE ] T-Mobile.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
what's that ghetto one with the rap video commercials?

[/ QUOTE ] T-Mobile.

[/ QUOTE ]
No - that's the one with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Now that I think of it, there's that commercial with Ludaris and whoever else, but I'm thinking of a different one. There's an even more ghetto one and I think it's Virgin Mobile.

[IndieMatty]

It's Boost Mobile.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
It's Boost Mobile.

[/ QUOTE ]yeah, isn't Boost T-Mobile?

[IndieMatty]

Nextel owns them, I believe they are pay as you go. A west coast company.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
Nextel owns them, I believe they are pay as you go. A west coast company.

[/ QUOTE ]oh, okay. thanks for the correction.

[OrangeHeat]

If you plan on traveling abroad get Cingular and a quad band GSM phone. Then when your abroad you can pick up the sim cards at the airports and have phone all over.

ALso the CIng+Att merger gives you very good coverage unless ur in bumble tooley.

Verizon is CDMA = not compatiable with crap outside the us.

Orange

[IndieMatty]

Funny comercials, no?

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
Funny comercials, no?

[/ QUOTE ]I don't like em very much.

[IndieMatty]

I've never seen, I read about them in AdAge.