I use alltel and I think its the best carrier for price and wireless internet options, however I recently found out that I am unable to send texts to Indonesia, so I'm not very happy about that, I'm not sure if there are carriers in the U.S. that allow it but because of my location ATT and Sprint are not an option, I'd hate to switch carriers but it's frustrating because I just don't see why in this day and age, this should be an issue...

Here's my opinion.

I would choose an iPhone first and foremost, IF I could afford it. Big if. I don't have money to pay the extra 50 or whatever it is per month just to 'engage' the iPhone for use, let alone you need a data plan, etc. which with AT&T (well all of them nowdays) are expensive. If you want to connect and you don't have a computer or time at home often, I say iPhone is the way to go.

Now, on with the others. AT&T and TMobile are both decent, but I don't like the customer service of either. Verizon is in the running as well - but I seem to like their customer service better.

AT&T: I had these guys' service back when it was Cingular, and I loved everything about them; good service, good enough reception/call service, and decent price plans. When they switched to AT&T I had already moved to TMobile, but I noticed their prices went up.

TMobile - I had TMO for 3 years, two of which I was a loyal, on-time paying customer. At the end of my contract, I went into a store in California where I had been living and bought a new phone (the Samsung behold) and apparently I signed up for a service plan with it. I would have been fine with this, however the store associates did not tell me anything about a contract. In fact, they told me that I was NOT signing into a contract and that I could leave my plan at any time free of charge (no cancellation fee). Well, a few months down the road (last summer) I lost my phone and did not have insurance on it, so instead of buying a new one decided to leave TMo instead of spending hundreds trying to stay with them (cheaper to make a new agreement with another company you see). Well, I found out somewhere in there that I HAD in fact signed up for a 2 year contract and there was no way out of it. Like I said I would not have had a problem had this been explained to me, or made clear in any way. Upon talking to customer service over the phone SEVERAL times, and being misled and misdirected for 2 days of phone calls, I finally decided to pay the cancellation fee even though I wanted it taken off (which Tmo was NOT going to waive for me) and left for a new company. Up until this point, I had never had problems with customer service or the company. However, I did not have problems until this either. Tmo left a bad taste in my mouth, and although I still believe they have the best prices of all the major cell companies, they are my new least 'customer-service' favorite.

Verizon: I have only had verizon about 6 months now, but they have seemed to be very generous and quite decent. I have a discount through them for being an affiliate of the company I work for, but as far as service and customer service, everything seems to be going pretty well. I have found more service areas with Verizon than I did with either AT&T or Tmobile, and I have had more clear and less dropped calls with Verizon than with any other. I have only found 2 major dead zone spots in all the area I live in, and they are minor. This is a huge plus. I do not pay for a data plan, which as I said earlier they are pretty expensive with any carrier right now, but seem to be even more so with AT&T and Verizon. If you are the kind of person who NEEDS internet on your phone, or who plain has to have email/games/weather, etc. then it's going to be a bit more I'm telling you. I have the LG Chocolate 3 [flipphone] which is a decent phone, nothing incredible (I really like the Samsung Behold I had with TMobile, like a lot) but my LG3 gets the job done... the discount from my work through Verizon is a huge plus for me.

Sprint: I have known 2 people who have Sprint. The one person was an older guy I worked with, who did not hardly know how to use his phone, let alone figure out games/apps/internet, etc. and so when he told me that Sprints customer service was good to him, I know he only means his calls and service areas. Anything beyond that he told me he liked Sprint, but like I said he's much older and I don't think his opinion would be the best for full analysis. The other person who had them, told me they were screwed by Sprint and that the customer service was terrible. They moved on to Tmobile. So honestly, I don't know much about Sprint, but I do know that when I was going to get Cingular when I was younger I tried talking to a Sprint guy in our mall, and later found out that the phone and price plan he was trying to sell me was in fact much cheaper with other companies. And this guy was pushy too. So... I guess I don't like Sprint much.

Finally, there is a company around here called Cricket that has the VERY BEST deals on their cell phone plans and carriers (you can start in month-to-month contracts and still get their best prices on new phones, etc. unlike the major companies where you start at 2yr contracts for an anywhere affordable price on a new phone) and you basically get EVERYTHING - text, pix, data msging, calls, nights, days, whatever - all calls, all data, all unlimited - for somewhere around $40/month. And that was maybe even an old price. I do not go with these guys, however, because they're service areas are very very limited and I have family in areas beyond the city limits.

As far as cell phones: here is my quick overview.

When the RAZR was new, I wanted one badly. After a few months, I got one and I didn't mind it - it was a cool new phone. But after moving from a Motorola phone to an LG phone and a Samsung phone, I drastically changed opinions.

Motorola is by far my least favorite of all the phones. It had extremely faulty menus, and terribly slow reaction times (think texting, clicking to new menus, closing apps on the phone, etc.) and overall I really would never want one again.

LG is a really good phone and I love lots of things about it. The interface is easy to navigate (once learned) and everything seems pretty well made as far as the software goes. Its not my most favorite, but I like my LG chocolate quite a lot, and I had an old (really old) LG phone with Cingular back in the day that was more than quality.

Samsung: is by far my favorite cell phone. They are the easiest for me to use, the easiest for me to understand, and seems to react the fastest and have the most features. Well the most for the 'average' cell phones (it's not an iPhone). I really enjoy the texting interface of Samsung phones, and getting online on my Behold was damn near easier and faster to use than my computer. For quality, I choose Samsung.

I honestly don't see what everyone loves in the Google phones; I have played with one quite a bit and used it for calls, and I just plain don't like them. They're too fat, they seem slow... I don't like the Google phones.

Blackberry REALLY makes a good cell phone. I think this is well known already, and to be honest a Blackberry is quite an investment but they seem to be worth it. Every single one I have seen or used is quite efficient. My sister has had 2 of them and both have been incredible phones. Personally, I don't like the interface as much (I don't want a computer phone - I want a phone) but if I owned one I would probably just get used to it and end up loving it so I won't badmouth it. They can do quite a lot and for a 3G or computer-interfaced cell phone, Blackberry is top of the line.

HTC and Palm are the two new ones I have not used or seen at all. Can't give an honest opinion on those.

I have a distant family member who bought the Droid and loves everything about it. I haven't seen or played with it, but he usually finds problems with cell phones and he doesn't seem to have any gruff with the Droid.

And.... thats' my two cents. I am cheap and try to shoot for the least amount of money spent as possible when it comes to my cell phones and cell phone carrier. However, I do enjoy having the data plans, the nicer cell phones that they have these days. Like I said, when I had my Samsung Behold with Tmo, I had a basic internet plan and even with that I was able to access damn near any website I wanted, and I could get songs/games/apps all for free using freeware over the internet. I was able to check my email and even myspace (at the cost of a slow streaming rate) but the phone was more than amazing and if I had the money I would love to invest in a phone like that, or even better, an iPhone.

Last thing. QWERTY keyboards vs T9 texting. I really like T9 texting more. I think only because I'm used to it - I've used it for too long to be able to just stop and change my style to qwerty. I have had a qwerty keyboard or two, and while they are useful (you can type ANYthing and you don't need to hope T9 knows its there) I still am used to T9. My only problem with qwerty, really, is that some keypads have too small of buttons. Or, like my Behold had, touchscreen buttons (which by the way were RIDICULOUSLY too small - I HATED that qwerty board). But qwerty is better for speed and efficiency.

K thats it.

Hope that helps.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2010 11:44AM by ChaseNine.

ive had verizon for about three years now, ever since i swtched to my bf's plan, and i have to say, we've never had ANY kind of problem with them! And our bill stays cheap, and we get loads of features ( free text, pic messaging, roaming, that type o' thing)...

i use the Razr V3 still, because its so reliable (best phone ive ever owned), andim still on the same one i got three years ago...i just recently had to change the battery because it was dying too much. 30 bucks for the battery.

Buti dont get the apps and touch screen and all that shit...im not really into that junk anyways.

I say if you live near a Verizon, def give them a try. Their contracts and plans are nicely priced, and coverage is great. And they have great phones to choose from.

See, I have only phone and 50 text messages a month. But, I want to move up to a smart phone. But, I hear that once you go internet enabled smartphone, it's impossible to go back.

True?

If i were dolemite, i'd just wait a while longer and pick up one of the slew of new smartphones ATT will be getting over the next few months. By late March, they should have at least 5 Android phones and both new Palms. (The Pixi and Pre.) Personally id go towards Android - specifically, the Motorola Backflip. Its very much like the droid with a real keyboard and the touchscreen, and its got Motoblur so you can keep your myspace, facebook, and twitter all linked into the same contact list you use with your phone. (You can see it in action on a Tmobile Cliq)

Plus, ATT just dropped their rates, so it will be more affordable then ever - even though you'll pretty much need the $20 text and $30 data plans.

Honestly though, if you dont mind switching networks - id point you towards sprint instead of verizon. if their coverage is good in your area, you can get a Samsung Moment (Basically Samsungs version of Motorolas Droid) for $100 on a contract and just pay about $75 a month after taxes for unlimited everything.

I've yet to go into a cell phone store and have any particular cell phone, standard OR 3G, that stood out to me. It seems like we here in America have the worst gadgets as far as cell phones. The only brand I SORTA like the most is Samsung, which still has small flaws. LG is cool too, but I can't stand all the rest. Motorola is my least favorite, and all the no-name brands are just piece-o-plastic phones to me.

3G and Smartphones are cool, yeah, but cost a fortune and they aren't THAT cool. Then lower end phones (you know, the ones that are a LITTLE more affordable but still cost an arm and a leg?) are just plain ridiculous. We seriously get the cell phones that Japan is throwing into disposal bins because they have much cooler hi-tech devices.

I guess I'm sort of ranting over the unimportant things - after all, style and decor of a cell isn't the reason we have them. I honestly don't care THAT much for style, etc. when it comes to phones. We really just need them to communicate. But still, I hate the software and userfaces, the accessibility, and the size and shape of the cellular phones that we have nowadays.

Anyone agree?

Blackberry. 'Nuf said.

I'm going to check out Tmobile now.^ I hate paying 150+ a month for my single phone(blackberry) from Verizon. It's fuckin' ridiculous.
My contract is up in November.

Every American seems to gripe about their provider, one way or another. That's fine but you should appreciate the fact that you do not have to deal with Canadian cell providers like the spawn of Satan: Rogers. Boy, even the horror stories I've heard about Verizon PALE I. Comparison with Rogers.

Right now, I'm so frustrated with the carriers in Canada I don't even have a phone. Right now, I'm using Telus for my iPad's 3G service.

I have three phones on one plan, we all have unlimited texting and I have unlimited data (i'm the only one with a smart phone) and 500 shared minutes. I pay $119.00 with At&T.

I'm still stuck with my pre-paid Boost Mobile flip phone, the i580.....(-_-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2011 02:02PM by lighthand.

curiositykillz posted:

Anyone else have t-mobile? I want to upgrade my phone and wanted to get opinions.

Also, since T-Mobile was bought out by AT&T, does that mean I will soon be able to get an iphone with t-mobile? Or will it still be another few years when everything if finally merged?

Right now they have that unlimited data plan, text, calls for $79.99. I figured if I upgrade my account, mine as well upgrade my phone while I'm at it since you have to renew your contract for two years when you do both.

Thoughts?

AT&T is in the process of buying T-Mobile but it won't be official until January of 2012. There are court dates set all throughout this year. The big thing about this merge is that it MIGHT NOT happen. It's a huge speculation, and right now it's in the air. Sprint is fighting it, they want to make sure it doesn't go through, but anything could happen. Also, if it does happen, I have my money on the fact that Sprint and/or Verizon might merge or go out of business, here's why. AT&T is already a huge carrier, and if they gain control of all TMobiles' coverage towers, they'd become a superpower. If that happens, they will be too big a competitor for the rest of us.

Big stuff, I know.

And as far as the 79.99 TMobile plan... it's not a bad plan, in theory, but they WILL slow down your internet speeds because they don't have the capacity to have so many consumers using Data all at the same time: this is a truth, not an opinion, that I use to teach my customers about my data plan and usage. So like I said, go for it, but for same price ($79.99 for Smartphone, $69.99 for non-smartphone) you can have unlimited data usage, with much more spectrum (spectrum is the capability of our data, think of it as Sprint's "broadband" than TMobile can offer now or ever.

2 Year Contracts? Yeah, well every carrier's best deal is on 2 years... there's not much avoiding that.