Choices on cell phones.

[The Antibody]

Hey, we haven't had much off topic stuff lately. I would like to get a cell. I've been holding out. I don't know why. I guess I thought they were evil or something. Anyway, I don't get service at my house, but I will when I go back to Bloom U. This being said, I think I should go 'Nextel'. They have the satalite phones. That will work everywhere. I just would like to know what some of you "on the road" people would recommend. Price for service is important too. If the satalite phones are too expensive, I could settle for Verizon, Altell, or AT&T.

 -Anti

[snapper]

Here in MA Nextel bites... that is from a Nextel user.  I had AT&T here and I got no service where I live- it was great on the North Shore.  Got a discount with VZ... so thats who I am  w ith now.

[rprata]

Well, I've had VoiceStream (T-Mobile), then Sprint, then AT&T, then Nextel, and back to T-Mobile.  I regret getting rid of Nextel.  Everywhere I go (and I did quite a bit of travel while I had it) I had NO problems whatsoever with my Nextel service.  Even in MA (Sorry Snapper).  You can get a plan that gives you free incoming calls and free nights/weekends, so all you pay for is outgoing calls made during the day.  And the 2-way direct connect is now nationwide (for a small fee) so if you have any friends/family/whatever in other parts of the country that have Nextel you can still use the 2-way.  No roaming, no Long distance, etc.  Plans are reasonable.  No free phones like Verizon, but you can get phones pretty cheap on eBay, and Nextel does have specials.  Check out their plans, and give it a try.  I think they have a money-back guarantee and you can cancel your service, within a give time period.  Not too bad.

Actually when my T-Mobile contract is up in Nov I'll be switching back to Nextel, and never looking back again.

Hope this helps you.  Just my 2 pennies  :nana:

[tigerstyle102]

I have sprint. The service is not very good at my house, but when I walk outside it is fine. I don't get service in elevators or inside some buildings. I've heard good things about nextel but i think they are also the most expensive.

[JasonB]

I work for nextel and dont know anything about these Sat phones your talking about.

Verizon has the best coverage in the industry so if you travel around a lot as in state to state and such its the best to have, they also have more plan options per minutes than nextel.

But Nextel has free incoming plans so if you get calls coming in to you a lot its great and it includes unlimited 2-way (direct connect) so if you know other nextel people its good there too. But they screwed the plans in July and now its a 2 year agreement and nights and weekends are an extra $10 per month but if you buy the N&W for $10 they throw in nationwide 2-way for free. Long distance is included in it.

Where you live and going to live and I can give you some info on coverage. (zip code)

[snapper]

rprata- No problem!     I don't use it and never had.  I just know a friend of mine was complaining about it less than two weeks ago.  Said it was going downhill fast.  But - like I said- I don't use it.  I do, however, here folks using the direct connect all over the place.    

There are upsides and downsides to all the companies.  You shuld check with folks who live in the area you will spend the most time I guess.

[yamahonkawazuki]

:mrgreen: i use at&t, m-life?, anyhoo, i pay about 42.00/mo 500 anytime min, free nites and weekends. in house i get fair service, but i also have house phone. if you get poor service, in house/home, try going toward windows, or outside. nother idea, when you get to where you are goin', get an external antenna, (magnet mount) that you can affix outside your window and see if that helps. worked great for me. (in phoenix)

[jake42]

Anti.. your original thought was right, they are evil..  We had ATT for about 5 years and they just kept screwing up the billing.  At one point they said I owed them like 300 bills all because they couldn't do their own dam billing correctly.  We also had the family plan that was supposed to be 2 phones for 60 bucks a month and after all the fees and other stuff it was almost 100!!!   So we got rid of em.. tell you what,, I love it. I'm no longer in constant contact and I can leave work, hit some back roads, stop into to the bike shop and then claim 'traffic'  I understand that some of us need them for work and such, but we made a conscious decision in our house that we didn't want to be in constant contact anymore.  

sorry for the rant and the post hijack..

jake

[pantablo]

I've had Verizon for years. great service. rarely had calls drop out. can't complain about them at all.

its one of those things I dont hav to think about since it works flawlessly. I have a tri-mode LG phone, and three star-tacs before that, with national long distance so for a small fee I get to call anywhere and have tons of free hours before they bill for talk time. I also have a second phone number on account that is my wife's.

Good stuff.

[TheGoodGuy]

i have att.. what a peice of crap.. teh quality of audio is horrible.. okay so im using the old TDMA network.. frnakly i saw a huge diff when i jumped from spring (CDMA) to att. Sprint's voice quality is much better.

but back then sprint coverage was lacking in areas i would visit and i got pained of roaming calls, verizon was just brand new so i didnt go with them.

Right now Verizon, Tmobile and Nextel are the best.. att and cingular are the worst in coverage, CS, and everythign else in between (features).

[shep_bannister]

Whatever you choose, make sure you've done your research first!!  And also make good use of your 14 day grace period.  Do not hesitate to bail out of a contract during the grace period of the service does not work in your area.  It is quite common for a great company to just happen to have a service hole at your house.  

Here is a good place to start your research:
http://www.wirelessadvisor.com

[Jeremichi]

I have AT&T wireless.  The signal sucks in my apartment but its good just about everywhere else.  They seem to be pretty good.  I hooked up a sprint phone the other day for a friend at work who speaks very little english.  If that would have been my phone I would have returned the damn thing.  Very rude people who made him drive all over the place.
I heard Nextel sucks.  A lot of dropped calls but I think they are getting better but to really use one it be better if a bunch of your friends had one too.

[mkenney]

Like someone else said...check with your locals that have phones.  Different companies offer better coverage in certain areas.  Personally, I currnently have three cells (long story).  Two Sprint #'s and one AT&T Blackberry w/email.  The email function of the AT&T Blackberry rocks...but the coverage of my Sprints is better.  It's all a trade-off.

[glenn9171]

Around here Verizon and Nextel both suck a big one.  I have Cingular and have no problems whatsoever.  I have 250 minutes, free nights&weekends, and roll-over minutes for $29 a month.

[sleeper]

Hey, we haven't had much off topic stuff lately. I would like to get a cell. I've been holding out. I don't know why. I guess I thought they were evil or something. Anyway, I don't get service at my house, but I will when I go back to Bloom U. This being said, I think I should go 'Nextel'. They have the satalite phones. That will work everywhere. I just would like to know what some of you "on the road" people would recommend. Price for service is important too. If the satalite phones are too expensive, I could settle for Verizon, Altell, or AT&T.

 -Anti

Hey, Anti, I am with you on the cellular phone.  I have been avoiding to get them also, and actually considering to get one, since many mentioned it is a useful gear, especially on long distance rides.

And does anyone has suggestions about the pre-paid phone plans?

[Zarathustra]

cell phones are a great invention, and a great thing to have.  cell phones are not evil or bad, it's simply the inconsiderate nature of cell phone users that gives them this bad name.  however, just don't use your cell phone in certain circumstances, and they're great.  i keep mine on me at all times, but on vibrate.  if i'm with someone or busy, i just don't answer.  just don't be rude with one, and don't drive while talking.  oh yeah, spring pcs all the way.

[Cal Price]

The questioner was right, they are evil but we all get there in the end.
It depends where you live, where you spend most time away and it makes a big difference if you are going to make long calls to another individuals's mobile as cross network calls can cost more than same net calls.
If the US is like Europe the choice of networks tarrifs are bewildering so once you decide don't look at any more. Having said that I've ended up with a phone with two chips from different nets one on a monthly bill and one on pre pay as a direct result of my first and third points.

[JK_Minneapolis]

I have used Sprint, AT&T Wireless, Cellular One, and Verizon. I am currently with Verizon and have found them to be the best by far and have no problems roaming around the country when I travel for work.

BTW, here's a good article on CNN today rating cell phone service providers:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/31/technology/cellular_survey/index.htm

(No, I don't have any affilliation with any of these companies!)

--John in Minneapolis

[Kerry]

And does anyone has suggestions about the pre-paid phone plans?

I'm a TracFone guy!

My wife doesn't drive.  When I'm not at work I'm at home.  Unless I'm riding, that is.  So I got a TracFone with prepaid minutes for my trips.

Basically, you pay for "units".  Calls within your home area use 1 unit per minute, calls anywhere else in the country use 2 units per minute.

I buy up a whole 300 units or so on a 1-year activation plan, and so far I've carried nearly half of those units over from year to year.  At around $100 a year, that works out to under $9 a month.  (And I always wait for the end-of-the-year "free extra units" deal to show up in my email before I renew.)

My particular phone is an analog Nokia job, but if you sign up these days you get a digital Nokia with some of the expected cool features.  The phone isn't free, but since I'm in it for the "long haul" (pun intended) I stopped feeling that initial cost a long time ago.

I will NOT pay $40+ per month for a cell phone.  My particular situation simply doesn't justify it.

[The Antibody]

Well, thanks. They all say that I get service at home. BULLSHIT! I happen to know that AT&T and Verizon don't. Thats why I am looking at satalite companies. I havn't decided if I want to go with prepaid minutes or a plan.

 -Anti