Cell phone - Sprint - is this too good to be true?

[Rogodin2]

I still have my old dealer plan erg.

Rogo

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
I've been on it since December with a Treo 700WX and it's been fantastic.

Can tether with a laptop, so basically anywhere I get cell coverage I have some form of Internet access.

Plus if you use a referrer (hint hint ) you get a $25 debit card.

A. I assume you can only tether if you use it sparingly (i.e. no huge downloads, surfing a decent amount is ok).

B. Can you tether with bluetooth on that phone or do you have to use the cable?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
I've been on it since December with a Treo 700WX and it's been fantastic.

Can tether with a laptop, so basically anywhere I get cell coverage I have some form of Internet access.

Plus if you use a referrer (hint hint ) you get a $25 debit card.

A. I assume you can only tether if you use it sparingly (i.e. no huge downloads, surfing a decent amount is ok).

B. Can you tether with bluetooth on that phone or do you have to use the cable?

Good questions. I would prefer to tether via BT.

 

[PhaZe]

I also jumped on the SERO plan and haven't looked back.

My first provider was Tmobile, and I had horrible signal. I had to talk in specific rooms in my house like the OP. A lot of my friends have tmobile and they are happy, but they are the type who aren't concerned with dropped calls or weak signal.

I then had verizon which was great, I had signal everywhere, where most of my friends didn't. I was happy with them but I was locked in a state-wide plan.

So in an attempt to save money and get a nation wide plan, I switched to this SERO plan. The great thing is that they're CDMA like Verizon, and SERO includes free roaming. Fortunately, sprint roams on verizon's network so it's a win win.

Anyways, I got the Sanyo Katana, and pay 30 + 8 for unlimited txt. The phone gets great signal, and decent internet. I mostly use the internet for facebook,google maps, and movie times.

The Evdo phones are supposed to have great internet speeds.

My 2 cents.

 

[Raduque]

I don't care for Sprint - various reasons - but they have one of the best data networks. They have no cap - of course, their usage load is so low they can afford to have no cap SERO is an awesome plan for the price, though.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: Jawo

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: austin316

Originally posted by: kalster

Originally posted by: Looney
Hm can you tether it to a laptop and get unlimited internet usage? and what's the speed?

As for cingular, if you get the medianet or whatever plan which is $20, you can tether that and get 'unlimited' internet as well.

you can with sprint, its atleast 3-4 times faster than cingular's lame edge thing

Cingular has 3G now (HSPA ?) and it is almost as fast as EVDO.

They are just now getting something that is "almost" as fast?

Wow. Time to move to Cingular. Late and slow!

Yes, its almost as fast as EVDO at about 70-80 kbps, IIRC. It's no where close to EVDO Rev A at 1 Mbps! Everyone know that Verizon and Sprint/Nextel are the top tier; thats why Cingular and ATT merged, they couldn't compete otherwise!

You're HIGHLY misinformed.

Vanilla GPRS: ~80 kbps
EDGE: ~200-some kbps
UMTS: ~500+ kbps
HSDPA: 1.2-3.6 mbps

Plus, with Cingular, at least I actually get to use the signal instead of spending hours searching for it; GSM baby. Cingular and AT&T did not merge, Cingular bought AT&T Wireless, which was only connected to AT&T by name, and Cingular's 60% parent company bought AT&T and Cingular's 40% parent company, BellSouth, giving us the new AT&T, which is really SBC using it's newly acquired last name.

 

[xeemzor]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
I've been on it since December with a Treo 700WX and it's been fantastic.

Can tether with a laptop, so basically anywhere I get cell coverage I have some form of Internet access.

Plus if you use a referrer (hint hint ) you get a $25 debit card.

A. I assume you can only tether if you use it sparingly (i.e. no huge downloads, surfing a decent amount is ok).

B. Can you tether with bluetooth on that phone or do you have to use the cable?

Good questions. I would prefer to tether via BT.

I tether with bluetooth using my ppc 6700 so I'd imagine you can with the 700wx. The 6700 doesn't have a built in NAI, so sprint can't check to see if you are using the phone to access the internet or if you are tethering. Because of this, they don't charge you per kilobyte on the ppc 6700 like they normally would if you use the phone as a modem without the phone as a modem plan. I'm pretty sure this doesn't apply with the 700wx so if you don't have a phone as a modem you will get charged per kilobyte.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
ok, i know someone at sprint, and I went into the referral site, picked out a palm treo 700wx for 250 then they charge:

500 minutes a month
free nights and weekends
FREE! Unlimited Web, Data and Picture Mail
FREE! Power Vision Unlimited Web, Data and Picture Mail
Unlimited nights strating at 6PM --- $10

comes out to $40 a month for unlimited internet?

how is their internet ? im in NYC, and the map looks good....


this means I can surf the web on that treo?

THanks, Don R

I've had it for a year, amazing deal. I have free 500sms with it too and it comes out to $30 with everything after my corporate discount

 

[dethman]

they have unlimited text messages as well.

 

[Duddy]

Originally posted by: kalster

Originally posted by: Looney
Hm can you tether it to a laptop and get unlimited internet usage? and what's the speed?

As for cingular, if you get the medianet or whatever plan which is $20, you can tether that and get 'unlimited' internet as well.

you can with sprint, its atleast 3-4 times faster than cingular's lame edge thing

Uhh, your comparing a service that's only available in metro areas (Sprint) to a service that is available nationwide?

It would be better to compare Sprints EVDO to Cingular's 3G

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Jawo

Originally posted by: Adaman
I've been trying to find out about the Sero plan for my parents, but it's friggin complicated, and no one wants to explain anything. People would rather I read a 1000 page thread about it. That would take a while

You type in a Sprint Email Address, and it will give you the discounted rate. Thats the gist. You might have to sign a new 2 year contract....

That's IT?! ....


*

*jaw drops*

http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=9228694&postcount=18

****!

 

[krunchykrome]

I have to jump on this soon as get the treo 755.

 

[iroast]

Originally posted by: ghostman
Having said all that, I should point out that Sprint sucks. She frequently gets dropped calls and reception is horrible at our house (she's forced to talk in specific rooms because of the weak signal).

It really depends on your area and your cell phone. Some phones have better radios. For example, my Sidekick I sucked when I was on T-mobile. Switched to a different phone and it was OK. Not great, but better
.

 

[Winchester]

Originally posted by: Duddy

Originally posted by: kalster

Originally posted by: Looney
Hm can you tether it to a laptop and get unlimited internet usage? and what's the speed?

As for cingular, if you get the medianet or whatever plan which is $20, you can tether that and get 'unlimited' internet as well.

you can with sprint, its atleast 3-4 times faster than cingular's lame edge thing

Uhh, your comparing a service that's only available in metro areas (Sprint) to a service that is available nationwide?

It would be better to compare Sprints EVDO to Cingular's 3G

Cingular 3G is not in all areas, just a few metro areas, just like Sprint's equivalent.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: austin316

Originally posted by: kalster

Originally posted by: Looney
Hm can you tether it to a laptop and get unlimited internet usage? and what's the speed?

As for cingular, if you get the medianet or whatever plan which is $20, you can tether that and get 'unlimited' internet as well.

you can with sprint, its atleast 3-4 times faster than cingular's lame edge thing

Cingular has 3G now (HSPA ?) and it is almost as fast as EVDO.

Are you kidding? I've seen 3Gs in FL go as fast as 300+kbps.

Maybe not the fastest service around, but for the price, it's fantastic. And certainly fast enough for a cellphone or tethered laptop.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

I've had SERO since Jan of last year and it has served me well. I'm not a huge user (used maybe 100 minutes TOTAL last billing cycle, 100 txt, maybe 1-2 mb download). I pay $26/month due to corporate discounts stacked with SERO which I feel is a very fair price for what I use. I used to pay $40 for just minutes, not including txt or web which equates to about 40c per minutes (based on my average of 100 minutes per month). With SERO I pay about 10c (maybe even less) per minute.

I think that cell phone pricing plans should be this low as opposed to paying $60+ for the same services on another network. While Sprint is trying to gain customers, they wouldn't keep this plan if it wasn't feasible.

 

[lokiju]

I deal with Sprints EVDO wireless aircards and the reception can be spotty but if you get good signal strength and are in a Rev. A area, then you'll be getting broadband like speeds.

 

[mitaiwan82]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
go read the thread in hot deals and also on chubby billfold.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
go read the thread in hot deals and also on chubby billfold.

lawl! that one took me a moment to get!

 

[geckojohn]

How does Sprint compare to Tmobile in San Diego area? Can anyone give a comparison?

I'm thinking about switching to the SERO plan also....


Thanks

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Jawo

Originally posted by: Adaman
I've been trying to find out about the Sero plan for my parents, but it's friggin complicated, and no one wants to explain anything. People would rather I read a 1000 page thread about it. That would take a while

You type in a Sprint Email Address, and it will give you the discounted rate. Thats the gist. You might have to sign a new 2 year contract....

That's IT?! ....


*

*jaw drops*

http://www.howardforums.com/sh...p=9228694&postcount=18

What I'm really trying to figure out is how to get the whole fam on this plan, and eliminte our home phones, and our 2 crappy verizon phones we have. I talk on the phone about 4 times a month, if that. It's usually talking to other family members also. I just thought it might be a good way to save money, by eliminating home and cell phone plans and just using sprint chell phones for pretty much everything. I basically just want a phone in case of emergency and to keep in touch. My mother is the only one in the family who uses the phone on a daily...(more like hourly) basis.

Since I never use phones I don't know how these plans work and was hoping someone could give some advice. Maybe it'd be cheaper to keep our phone situation how it is now, I don't have a clue. It would be nice if we didn't have home phones though, so when all my Mom's annoying friends call we wouldn't be bothered by ringing/messages as much, since my Mom would have a personal phone number people could call her at, while not bothering us as much.

So...I like the idea of just having 4 separate cell phones. I don't know if it would cost more or less. Sprint Sero is obviously the big favorite among cell phone plans/companies.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Adaman

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Jawo

Originally posted by: Adaman
I've been trying to find out about the Sero plan for my parents, but it's friggin complicated, and no one wants to explain anything. People would rather I read a 1000 page thread about it. That would take a while

You type in a Sprint Email Address, and it will give you the discounted rate. Thats the gist. You might have to sign a new 2 year contract....

That's IT?! ....


*

*jaw drops*

http://www.howardforums.com/sh...p=9228694&postcount=18

What I'm really trying to figure out is how to get the whole fam on this plan, and eliminte our home phones, and our 2 crappy verizon phones we have. I talk on the phone about 4 times a month, if that. It's usually talking to other family members also. I just thought it might be a good way to save money, by eliminating home and cell phone plans and just using sprint chell phones for pretty much everything. I basically just want a phone in case of emergency and to keep in touch. My mother is the only one in the family who uses the phone on a daily...(more like hourly) basis.

Since I never use phones I don't know how these plans work and was hoping someone could give some advice. Maybe it'd be cheaper to keep our phone situation how it is now, I don't have a clue. It would be nice if we didn't have home phones though, so when all my Mom's annoying friends call we wouldn't be bothered by ringing/messages as much, since my Mom would have a personal phone number people could call her at, while not bothering us as much.

So...I like the idea of just having 4 separate cell phones. I don't know if it would cost more or less. Sprint Sero is obviously the big favorite among cell phone plans/companies.

Do you know if Sprint coverage in your area is good or crappy? A low priced plan with 2 year committment would suck if coverage was spotty.

 

[geckojohn]

Rossman, do you use Sprint?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: geckojohn
Rossman, do you use Sprint?

Not yet.

Still researching how coverage is in my area and what the best phone is.

 

[RossMAN]

You may be able to add a corporate discount onto your Sero plan, YMMV:

14: WHAT ABOUT A CORPORATE DISCOUNT?
Sprint does offer discounts for certain corporations. Technically it is not valid with SERO, but many of us have been able to get it added. Call Sprint to see if your work place has a discount offer, and then get working on having it applied. You can do this by emailing eCare (best way), or calling CS. Again, if at first you get denied, keep trying. Discounts vary depending on your place of employment and can be as low as 5% or as high as 28%. Remember that Sprint may check to see if you work where you say you do, so be careful. For a partial list of available corporate discounts, see post #2 of this thread. To check if your work participates, you can check HERE (though not all qualified employers show up through this link). If a CSR over the phone or a store said they got you the discount, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM until you get an email that states you won't be able to view your account for a while because they had to adjust your billing cycle to match the one of your employer. ONLY an email that states that means you truly did get it. eCare usually sends an email like that out immediately, and will apply the discount immediately. CSRs and stores never do. Even an email stating that you should see the discount in 30-60 days in all likelihood will mean you did not get it.

Example of script to ask eCare for corporate discount (TY leadbyxampl):

Send an email and in the BCC field type these 3 addresses. Dont put any addresses in To or CC
ecare2@cc.sprintpcs.com; ecare3@cc.sprintpcs.com;ecare1@cc.sprintpcs.com

Then put this in the body.
_____________________________________
Customer Name:
Sprint PCS Phone Number:
Account Number:

Ecare,

Please add my corporate discount to my Sprint PCS plan. I work for {Put company name here}.
My email address is {put email address here}. Please let me know if there is additional information that you need.

3M 18%
AAA 5%
ABC Supply Co. Inc. (?%)
Aetna 12%
Accenture 25%
Acuity Brands 12%
Allianz 12%
American Airlines? 25%
American Honda Motor Corp. 20%
American Medical Response discount of 23%
Army/USAA/Military/Air Force/... 12% (Or 5%?)
Arthur Andersen 20%
Bank of America 23%
BASF Corporation 8%
BearingPoint 17%
Best Buy 20%
BNSF 18%
Boeing 25%
Capital One 12%
Centegra Health System 21%
Cerner Corporation 15%
Cendant Corporation 20%
Chase 25%
Chevrolet 12% (Or 25%?)
ChevronTexaco - 20%
Chevron Credit Card? 25%
CircuitCity 12 or 18%
Cisco Systems 11%
CitiGroup 27%
Citrus Valley Health Partners 25%
Cleveland Clinic 23%
Coca Cola 20%
Columbia/HCA 20%
Columbia University 18%
Commercial Metals Company 6%
Conoco 12%
Costco 10%
Cox Communications - 23% (or 25%?)
Daimler Chrysler 23%
Dell 20%
Deloitte 24%
Discover Card 12%
Disney 18%
Dow Chemical 10%
Duke Univeristy and Medical Center 23%
Eastman Kodak 20%
Eckerd Drug 7%
Electronic Data Systems (EDS) 25%
Ernst and Young 23%
FCI USA, Inc. 17%
FedEx 23%
Ferguson Enterprises 15%
Fiserv 13%
Florida School District Employee
Ford Auth Dealer 23%
Ford Motor Company 23%
Freight Liner Corporation 12%
General Electric (GE) 20%
General Mills 15%
General Motors 18%
GMAC 18%
Grant Thornton LLP 10%
Hewlett Packard 20%
Hilton Hotels 15%
Hitachi America 16%
Hollywood Video 12%
Hospitals (also see VA below)? 25%
H&R Block 15%
HSBC Bank 18% (includes HFC and Beneficial)
IBM 25%
Illinois State University - 15%
Intel - 15%
ING Direct customers 16% *DEAD* http://ingdirect.com/sprint/
Iron Mountain 5%
JC Penney 20%
Johns Hopkins University 15%
JP Morgan 27%
Kaiser Permanente 10%
K-Mart 15%
Kelly IT 18%
KPMG 12%
Lane Bryant 8%
Law Enforcement 25%
Lear Corporation 15%
Lockheed Martin 8% or 10% ?
Loma Linda University Medical Center 23%
Lowe's 9%
Lucent Technologies 23%
MassMutual Financial Group 5%
Maxim Healthcare Services 20%
Mayo Clinic 25%
MCI 20%
Merrill Lynch 20%
Metro 1 15%
Met Life 18%
Microsoft 20%
Morgan Stanley 12%
Motorola 25%
National Assoc. of Realtors 5% + $150 Service Credit
Newell Rubbermaid 8% <- sucks just like our company
Northrop Grumman 18%
Northwest Airlines 25%
Northwestern Mutual 13%
OfficeMax 13%
Oracle 10%
Orange County (Florida) Public Schools 15%
Papa Johns 13%
PepsiCo 23%
Providence Health Systems - 18%
Prudential Insurance - 9%
Raymond James Financial 11%
Raytheon 23%
Reed Business Information 18%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 10-15%
Safeway 12%
San Francisco Fire Dept 21%
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) 20%
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories 12%
Sears 25%
Sherwin Williams 18%
South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center 21%
Southwest Airlines 15%
St. Joseph's Hospital - Pkg. WV 25%
State Farm Insurance 25%
State of Illinois Employees 21%
State of California Employees 15%
State of Texas Employees 15%
Sun Microsystems 20%
SunTrust 18%
Sysco (and subsidiaries, including Sygma) - 20%
Target 15%
Texas Instruments 10%
The Hartford Insurance Group %15
Time Warner 25%
Tricon Global(Yum Foods) 11%
United Airlines 25%
University health associates-WV-21%
United Parcel Service (UPS) 25%
University of Akron 10%
University of California Berkeley 15%
University of Chicago 21%
University of Missouri 13%
University of Nebraska (?)
University of Texas at Austin 15%
University of Wisconsin Madison 14%
USAA customers 5%
U.S. Congress 15%
US Foodservice employees get 24%
US Postal Service 25%
VA Medical Center 25%
Vanderbilt University 20%
Veracity Group 5%
Verizon 0% As of 01/13/2006
Wachovia/First Union 23%
Wake County (NC) Public Schools 15%
Wal-Mart 7%
Walgreens 8%
Wells Fargo 24%
Wyndham International 15%
Xerox 15%