Cellular Phones Thread (with poll)

[LakerGod]

bumpy

 

[erub]

if you roam within their extended roaming area, you won't get charged for it. For instance I can go to Houston, make and receive calls, and it doesn't cost me anything except my normal minutes (nights and weekends also apply). However if I go to New York and take my phone (which I wouldn't most likely), it'd cost me 70cents/minute, cause I'm a home plan. But if i ever travel nationwide, I can just switch to a national plan for that month and not pay roaming charges. Some providers include free roaming on all plans, others charge you for it. If your going to be traveling with your phone, you need to check where you can roam for free. "Home" calling areas (where no long distance is charged) have been getting much larger, for example, it used to be only Dallas and Ft. Worth were included on my plan, now I can go pretty much all over TX. Also find out if you get free LD included, because I think if you roam w/o it, you will be charged LD when you call home (although you should be able to call local numbers for free). But this is not an issue very much anymore, since most plans include it..

 

[ratkil]

LakerGod, Roaming is when you make calls after leaving your coverage local area. There is actually a per minute charge usually associated with this and it's usually pretty high ($.50 a minute). Many providers are trying to extend the local area now to make it more appealing, as in entire US....

 

[LakerGod]

Thanks for the help. I've learned a lot from this thread. Now all I gotta do is find a phat deal that will accomodate my needs.

 

[AGodspeed]

<< Agodspeed you type like a child and your opinion didn't make any sense.



<< can't speak for AT&T, but Verizon is fairly bad in L.A. Sprint is great of course. However, I think all cell phones are going to "roam" or are going to be "looking for service" all the time. It depends on the material used in the building you're in. If you're outside, no problem though. >>



Sprint uses 1900mhz band which doesn't penetrate through buildings well, while verizon uses 800mhz which can travel through infrastructure much better.

Anyways Cingular/Att are soon going to work together to use eachothers cell sites, not a merge though. ATT is switching to GSM gradually. >>



Lol, have you actually even used a Verizon service before keystroker? Do you even live in L.A.? Don't talk, you have no idea what you're saying.

I had a Verizon service plan about 4-5 months ago and the reception I got was awful in certain areas (I had a Qualcom. Sprint's a lot better for sure). Verizon also gave me way less anytime minutes (and weekend minutes too, but all Cell Phone companies give you way more weekend minutes than you need).

When I mentioned "material used in buildings" I was alluding to cetain old buildings (built before 1980) that used a special type of material that is known to kill your cell phone's signal, make your cell phone roam, and/or not get service at all.

For L.A., I'd go Sprint for sure. I've used Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint. Sprint is better. I have no idea about ATT though.

 

[OrlandoTiger]

Cell newbie here,but im sure others have wondered the same thing (I like my phone,can I keep it and move companies)...I have a nokia 5165 with ATT prepaid service(no contract),its new but after I get my rebate to pay for the phone I want to know if its possible to move this phone to another companies prepaid plan?Ive heard good things about a few of them,plus ATT has cut the period before you must buy refills to 45 days.Its longer with other services ie Cingular and possibly others.Yes I know may of you hate Cingular but here in my area of FL ive heard only good things about the coverage.Thanks for the info in advance.

 

[Derango]

I use Tracfone...its nice for someone who only uses their phone for emergencies. you basicly pick the phone up at wal-mart, you get 10 minutes to start of with, then every 30 or 60 days depending on the card you buy, you have to buy another card. Your minutes transfer over (I've got 74 minutes right now, I normaly buy the $20 card (not sure if its 20 or 30 minutes right now ) every 60 days.

 

[safoo]

orlandotiger, the nokie 5165 is an att phone, im sure u can activate any at&t plan on it. u will not be able to activate cingular service. cingular phone models for nokia are the ones that end in --90 like 5190, 8290 etc....and att ends in --60, like 8260, 3360, 5160 (which now is 5165 bcz its the newer version.) also, free phone come with so many plans, that you really dont need to worry so much about it. i think there was a deal for free 3360 for att recently in hot deals if you do a search. hope that helped.

 

[LakerGod]

You're the man, safoo!

 

[OrlandoTiger]

Thanks for the info.I also did some checking in the last day or so and found this nokia is made for companies other than ATT,several in fact.That info is from Nokia's site.I also found there is a way to flash the phone for use with Cingular and Tracfone,etc,and even a company that will do it for you.I havent inquired as to the cost,so that would have to be weighed verses the cost of a new phone or package with service.Ive got some time to decide.Derango,thanks ill check more into tracfone also,ive heard mixed reviews on them but it seems like you are satisfied.

 

[Kerouactivist]

I have a cingular nationwide plan I love it because their is absolutely no roaming but I have had problems with billing for instance

one occurance happened when I paid a bill and they tried to say I did not pay it even though I faxed a copy of the check to them. They messed with me for awhile but, I finally worked it out.

The second problem I had occured when I switched my plan from local to nationwide and signed a new contract. There was like a 2wk period where they charged me 130 bucks because they weren't giving me my free nights and weekends(which are also nationwide).
I fixed that problem with a trip to a local cingular store. Tip: In my dealings I have found that if you have a problem your best option for a solution is to go directly to a cingualr store don't bother dialing their 1-800 no#

 

[RossMAN]

I have found one fault in my VoiceStream Wireless plan ... they stopped their "first incoming minute free" feature with this plan. Some calls are really short like "I'm running late I'll meet you in 30 minutes" or something like that ... I don't want to be billed for a 50 second call. Oh well I love the UNLIMITED weekends and free long distance/free roaming. It will come in esp handy when visiting NV and AZ this summer.

 

[GooberPHX420]

<< SprintPCS for me. Ive had it for almost a year now and have never had a problem (*knocks on wood*). I really like the fact that my night & weekend minutes start at 8pm. >>




I hate that, I wish they started at like 6, cuz thats when my night starts. I have the $39.99 for 3500mins plan. Only 600 anytime = ghey.

 

[misterj]

this pole is utterly pointless unless you specify which region.

im in la too and its gonna be att or verizon. cingular is the worst, sprint next, then verizon and att are good. itll mostly depend on which phone i can actually get the best deal on in the next 3 days (my cingusuck expires this friday). so far i either want the motorola v60 (not free for us down here yet) or kyonocera (?) 3035- heard praise and its got a nice speakerphone.

 

[LakerGod]

<< this pole is utterly pointless unless you specify which region.

im in la too and its gonna be att or verizon. cingular is the worst, sprint next, then verizon and att are good. itll mostly depend on which phone i can actually get the best deal on in the next 3 days (my cingusuck expires this friday). so far i either want the motorola v60 (not free for us down here yet) or kyonocera (?) 3035- heard praise and its got a nice speakerphone. >>




I'm probably gonna go with the ATT plan with the Motorola V60. That phone looks tight! I've been procrastinating from getting it because i'm a cheap bastard.

 

[misterj]

v60- ive been hearing ppl complain about

1. complicated navigation
2. needs two hands to open flipface

 

[LakerGod]

It's not that hard to open up a flip phone with one hand.

 

[Phatty106]

<< It's not that hard to open up a flip phone with one hand. >>



Actually, the V60 is not easy to open with one hand. Not half as easy as say an LG 510. Although I believe the worst part about the V60 is the antenna. Motorola's antenna design team should be stabbed repeatedly. I swear they get paid on commission based on how many replacement antennas they ship...

ph

 

[LakerGod]

Do you have this phone? Is it worth the price?

 

[misterj]

i went to go check some out today, and the v60 IS NOT difficult to open with one hand. there's even an indentation for your thumb. just put it in and flip. maybe if youre left handed youll have to grip the flip a little, otherwise i really wouldnt list it as a gripe anymore

im still set on the samsung t300, and i found a shop that is almost certain it can give it to me for free with the 35+ plan. =D

 

[Garion]

I got a v60 and was NOT impressed - It was very hard to use, the interface was terrible, when you opened the flip, the leather cover woudl block the speaker, the flip kept opening up, etc. I've used Nokias for too many years to put up with the problems. On the plus side, it had good reception, voice quality and the voice activated dialing was great.

- G

 

[Thegonagle]

Some people love flip phones, some people hate them.

Having had both basic phone styles, I definitely prefer the flip style.

I have a LG-TM510, and aside from a terrible interface, it's a great phone, with good sound quality at both ends, and substantial feeling, high quality construction. It was the saver's alternative to the Motorola V60c, which was still nearly $400 when I purchased my phone for $150.

People have complained about this phone's battery life, but their complaints are without merit. I've found that it has excellent battery life, but the state of charge indicator is just calibrated differently from some other phones. When the battery warning goes off and the indicator starts flashing, you've still got a good 20-30 minutes of digital talk time, and I can't even guess how much standby time. The results of my 3 tests with a 4 month old standard LG battery are 117 minutes analog talk time, 233 minutes 800 MHz digital talk time, and 237 minutes 1900 MHz digital talk time. Actual talk time "in the field" will obviously be less, due to standby time and backlight usage. My test just shows the theoretical maximum connect time, from the time it is taken off the charger to the time that the phone shuts down due to a low battery.

 

[bambam]

Voicestream just jacked their rates up on some of their regional rate plans ( called Get More ) by $ 10 to
$ 59 /mo for 3000 anytime minutes. I was almost ready to sign-up then the price went up , not worth the trade-off for limited coverage and no chance of anolog or other 800 mhz roaming . I guesss I'll be signing up for Verizon America' s choice .

 

[MazerRackham]

I've been all over the state of California, and let me tell you that Cingular (used to be PacBell in SoCal) sucks ass. Terrible terrible terrible. I was with Cingular for 2 years (off and on), and I will never go back.

Some friends of mine have Verizon, and they seem to like it just fine.

I have been with Sprint for 2 years now, and at first their coverage was pretty spotty around LA. But they have recently added more towers, and I really notice the difference. Right now I live in Irvine (Orange County), and I have total coverage everywhere I go.

What I am interested in is how VoiceStream will do out here in SoCal. Their billing plans are pretty tight, and I would switch if the service area coverage is comparable.

I have nothing against AT&T, but a friend of mine recently switched to Sprint because he was tired of AT&T's signal area in Irvine.

 

[misterj]

i thot nothing worked in parts of irvine? welp good for sprint then. but im switching my sister to verizon