Cell phones (cost, areas, corporate)

WOHR · 06-30-2008, 05:10 PM

Thanks guys. Verizon or ATT will probably be the way to go. Has anyone used the rollover minutes from ATT? How does it work and is it worth it?

guinnessjim · 06-30-2008, 05:51 PM

you don't need to do anything to use them...they just amass and get used if you go over you limit.

since i have 1000 netime mins, i always have a surplus of these...too bad i can use them for other things

5kingsinvegas · 07-01-2008, 09:00 AM

What about Cricket? Our Verizon contract is up in Sept. and with 4 phone lines I was thinking about checking them out. Anyone know anything about them?

massagemamma · 07-01-2008, 04:37 PM

I used to be the person people complained to when calling "Cingular" just before and during the AT&T buy out. The biggest piece of advice I can give anyone doing a cell company comparison is to check each company's websites for coverage area maps. If you travel at all you absolutley must check out the map for the places you travel as well. Roaming charges for most contracts are mostly a thing of the past but if you are prepaid or your contract plan does not inclued "nation wide coverage" you can get hit pretty hard when not in your "home area". There is also a great website that has a customer forum as well as reviews of phones and companies that I suggest checking out before making a final decision. Phone Scoop Being an ex Cingular employee I can tell you that AT&T's plans are similar to Verizon (which is my current carrier) I visited Vegas twice in the last couple of years and had zero problems with my phone. I have never dropped a call with Verizon not here in FL or LV or on a driving trip from FL to NJ. I even used my phone while at Red Rock canyon with not a bit of static. Also, sometimes the equipment makes a difference as each company's towers use a different radio frequency and if you are on a nationwide plan using another carriers tower you can have an issue if your phone does not use that frequency. Look for at the minimum a dual band phone but tri and quad are best. And the biggest piece of advice I can give about cell phone companies is about your bill, if you think it's not right or it just seems "off" or you just didn't know about this rule or that, the customer service rep you call ALWAYS has the power to give you some kind of relief on your bill as long as you don't abuse this. The nicer you are to that rep the more they want to help you. I've given credits as high as 50% off of something a customer knew was their fault just because they were nicer than they guy cursing at me.

jrainer · 07-11-2008, 03:16 PM

first of all...which phone do you have? i am a sprint customer and have had varying degrees of service based on which phone i was using at the time. some are better than others. this isn't an absolute, some areas are just better covered by certain carriers. try switching phones and see if it improves. Example: I had a Sanyo 8100 that dropped calls continuously at my house. I switched to the Samsung Blade and calls came through great. Lost that phone (roller coaster) and switched to the HTC Mogul which is, again, terrible.

but... when you go to cancel your account, which you should at least attempt, let them transfer you to the customer retention department. be prepared for a long phone call, but you may get a service plan that is worth while. sprint took it on the chin this past year and are giving a lot of concessions to keep customers.

aqualung8705 · 07-11-2008, 04:25 PM

What part of town are you in? I live in Centennial Hills, 3.5 mile north of Jones & 215, and my reception is pretty good. I do get a few dropped calls, but since I live on the edge of the world, that's to be expected. I have the HTC Mogul, and I love it. The camera isn't that great, but I just got a new 10.1 megapixel camera, so no worries.

Sprint just started the new Simply Everything plan. For $99.99 per month, you get unlimited talk, data, roaming, etc.

AA702 · 07-11-2008, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aqualung8705

What part of town are you in? I live in Centennial Hills, 3.5 mile north of Jones & 215, and my reception is pretty good. I do get a few dropped calls, but since I live on the edge of the world, that's to be expected. I have the HTC Mogul, and I love it. The camera isn't that great, but I just got a new 10.1 megapixel camera, so no worries.

Sprint just started the new Simply Everything plan. For $99.99 per month, you get unlimited talk, data, roaming, etc.

What do you think about the new HTC Diamond? I think thats the new one? Looks like an Iphone Killer.

swagger · 07-12-2008, 10:40 PM

I have Verizon and have no problems with their service at all - coverage is very good and almost no dropped calls or other technical issues. Their prices are quite high, though, particularly for their data plans.

aqualung8705 · 07-13-2008, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAPoolServiceLV

What do you think about the new HTC Diamond? I think thats the new one? Looks like an Iphone Killer.

I haven't checked out that one yet. I got my Mogul last September, so it'll be awhile before I upgrade. Besides, I like the slide out QWERTY keyboard. I read online that Windows Mobile 7 is coming out soon. My one real complaint with all cell phones is the huge battery drain that blue tooth headsets and going online are.

ToasterStrudels · 07-14-2008, 10:56 PM

We've always had great coverage from Verizon--I especially notice that while hiking and camping in remote areas, many of the people with us won't have service and we do. Also, we've driven back and forth from Illinois to California entirely too many times, and Verizon definitely has service places others (I think my friends namely have Sprint and Cingular) don't--like remote areas of Utah, Colorado, etc.

BUT, their customer service sucks horribly. My phone was hacked once and there were a bunch of calls on my bill that my phone had no record of making... many while I was in class, insane hours of the morning, etc... and despite my offers of going into the store and showing them the phone and showing attendance records at school, any amount of proof they wanted... they still made me pay for all of it--and it was just over $200. This kind of thing was actually a problem at my dorm, (someone there must have been doing it) and my roommate with AT&T was able to get her charges off. We've had several other little discrepancies, and they never solve anything to my satisfaction. Most companies will bend a rule, especially if it's a weird situation--but not Verizon. Always scan the detailed call list to make sure weird stuff isn't on there.

So, if a strong, reliable network is what you're looking for, I totally recommend Verizon. Just beware of their customer service. I think they know their network is good enough to keep customers and that they don't need to make you like them. It's the only reason we're still with them.