Vistah needs a cell phone.

Action Man · 08-27-2006, 06:44 AM

General Discussion, September 8th I’ll be able to open my bank account. I relay these questions for you: What is the best wireless service and phone in your opinion?

I’m looking for a good plan, maybe something around $50.00 and some extra features like, ring back tones and all that jazz. I don’t care about the phone cost; I’ll have the money for that around that time for sure. (EDIT: Maybe around $350 MAX.)

Any opinions?

**dieKatze88** · 08-27-2006, 06:57 AM

Ive had lots of sucess with cingular. although some users may disagree.

seiya256 · 08-27-2006, 08:41 AM

Honestly, unless you plan on travelling a lot, ask people in your area to see who has the best coverage. More importantly, ask people that hang out at the same places you do. My Sprint coverage is excellent, except when I go to visit my parents. My sister's T-mobile coverage is usually pretty bad in my area, but for some reason works well at my parents' place. (She also complains about how bad it is in Boston.)

***Paul*** · 08-27-2006, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seiya256

(She also complains about how bad it is in Boston.)

Actually, if your from Alaska, the service in Boston is the best pretty much in the whole country. Many many satellites we're built for tourism so dropped calls wouldn't happen. This happened within the past year, but T-mobile or even Sprint are the top. I have T-mobile and the variety of phones are just way better than anyother phone carrier. I hope I helped you out Vistah

Action Man · 08-27-2006, 11:04 AM

In NYC, there are a lot of T-Mobile and Verzion comercial saying the are top from teh J.D Power ratings. Thanks RSP, I at least know its true for T-Mobile.

Nomi · 08-27-2006, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieKatze88

Ive had lots of sucess with cingular. although some users may disagree.

My family was on Cingulair for a few years and it was great. They messed our bill up once, but we caught it and they gave us a $5 less a month for one whole year because of it. Then we switched to Verizon recently because my stepmom's family is on it... Verizon is free calls to other Verizon phones, you see.

I hate Verizon. Passionately. They just dicked me over on a $100+ issue and there's no way to resolve it. They also completely block out anything extra on their phones, since they don't use SIM cards like Cingulair/T-Mobile and they force shitty software onto good phones. You have to use loopholes to put anything media-y onto a Verizon phone. Cingulair was delightfully easy about that shit.

So yeah, Verizon has better coverage, but I fucking hate them. And I had a Sony Ericsson phone that I really liked, but can't use with Verizon (it was a SIM phone).

If you get a SIM-compatible carrier, you have the option to buy better phones used. Get the free one with your sign-up plan to get your SIM card, and then go crazy on eBay for UNLOCKED phones that take SIM-cards. You can get something really nice for a lot less than it would cost to buy it with a plan sometimes.

***Paul*** · 08-27-2006, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomi

I hate Verizon. Passionately. They just dicked me over on a $100+ issue and there's no way to resolve it. They also completely block out anything extra on their phones, since they don't use SIM cards like Cingulair/T-Mobile and they force shitty software onto good phones. You have to use loopholes to put anything media-y onto a Verizon phone. Cingulair was delightfully easy about that shit.

So yeah, Verizon has better coverage, but I fucking hate them. And I had a Sony Ericsson phone that I really liked, but can't use with Verizon (it was a SIM phone).

Sim phones are the way to no no matter what. T-Mobile to other T-Mobile customers are free too and they have the family plan (which Cingular and Verizon do) as well.

My mom and I pay $39.99 for about 4000 minutes, upped 1,000 since we've been customers for years. Any problems, call them up they'll have it resolved and they'll usually give you something good out of it. (Giving you the oppourtunity to not wait 2 years before you can upgrade to a better phone

) Sometimes they'll have free wallpapers or ringtones to download on the T-Mobile service, as well as trial games and stuff. Good text messaging plans (if you love to text) and other stuff.

Action Man · 08-27-2006, 11:24 AM

I like the way you think Nomi. I had no clue about purchasing a unlocked SIM phone on eBay. I never really had money to view the site and I usually window shop in stores.

I was considering the LG Chocolate, but the touch sensitive keys is a total turn off. It's good that I'm getting opinions about Verzion. Exactly ten people has told me their features service is whack.

Nomi · 08-27-2006, 11:30 AM

Dude, I bought my first SIM phone on eBay for $25. I am still selling the same phone (with charger) for $20 now since I can't use it anymore. My brother won an Ericssson in a poker game and gave it to me. Pop card in, BAM. Has all my numbers and acts just like I've had it forever.

Our family plan is just 4 lines on a small minute plan, since we all call Verizon people it doesn't use your minutes. If you have a few core people you plan on calling frequently, you might want to look into their network or find out if a different carrier has those free to other network deals like Altel does.

Oh, my friend has the Chocolate, it's pure sex. Didn't touch the keys much but it is one slick mother fuckker. I'm still a whore for the Ericssons, but they tend to be the most expensive phones on the market since they're so feature-heavy. eBay, dude.

Action Man · 08-27-2006, 12:29 PM

The first phone I had actually was a Sony Ericsson S710a. I loved the design of that phone because it had the swivel style. That shit was unique and I fell in absolute love with it. After a few months, I got robbed for it and 50 dollars cash I had in my pocket. It sucked greatly as I found out that the phone was out of stock and Sony Ericsson didn’t make it anymore.

I loved that phone and if there is a phone just like it or better and still has that awesome swivel style, and then I’d buy it on the spot.

I had T-Mobile with the phone I had and they were okay. I didn’t like the plan I was on especially since I went over the minutes everyone months (I say 50 minutes more I was over.) Most of my friends now are on Verizon, with a few on Cingular and T-Mobile.

However, I’m going to search eBay for that type of phone. If there are others like that, please tell me!

Nomi · 08-27-2006, 12:45 PM

I had the Ericsson k700i, for the record, and sold it to... Someone here. I know they came out with two new models recently so some of the older ones you could probably get for under $150 on eBay, easily.

**dieKatze88** · 08-27-2006, 09:23 PM

I love my motorola phone(s)

I enjoyed my v180 which is a hit or miss phone, as lots were lemons, and had bad reception. That v180 even got signal in parts of TGA's new building, so, its a good phone.

I have a razr now, its not the greatest, but its pretty badass. the keypad is sex.

Starmony · 08-27-2006, 09:52 PM

Im happy with my E815, its gota everything i could ask for.

but verizon, my service, sucks. not really the service itself but the restrictions just hurt

raven_tker · 08-27-2006, 10:30 PM

also isnt verizon still using an analogue network?

Action Man · 08-27-2006, 10:56 PM

This is what c|net thinks about Verizon Wireless:

Quote:

Pros: Large selection of local calling plans; 3G EV-DO high-speed data network; V Cast video service and V Cast Music for music downloading; push-to-talk service; prepaid plans.

Cons: Plans tend to be expensive and come with short nights and weekend hours; EV-DO service not nationwide; Bluetooth features are often disabled.

Where can I use this service? Nationwide but not all services available in Alaska; CDMA roaming available in 11 countries but more coverage is available with a combination CDMA/GSM phone.

What should I know about this carrier? In the United States, Verizon has widespread coverage and offers the most extensive 3G network, with its EV-DO V Cast service. Though it used to be a bit limited, the carrier's handset selection has improved over the past year.

Also Raven, I’ve heard they are still using analog networks too.

With all these things making Verizon seem lower on my list, I think I’ll just go with Cingular. I mean Verizon just seemed like the way to go but if it limits what I can do with my phone, hell no.