Recommendation for cell phone/plan?

[PTWOB]

I've had AT&T and Verizon. Verizon has the best nationwide coverage, IMO. You need to research the providers based on their service where you will be needing to use it . Not all companies are equal in all places. Seems to me that all the plans are comparable over a period of time, and the best at the particular moment that you "get onboard" will not be the best plan next month.

Cheers

 

[furlough-boy]

I have to agree with the warnings regarding Sprint. I had Sprint service for three years and their service is crap. You might get the most minutes for the least amount, but it's not worth the dropped calls, the missed calls, and the voicemails from scheduling that show up three days after they were left. Plus, if you think Spint call clarity it bad, just try getting a problem resolved with their customer service.

My wife has ATT and it works pretty well, but Verizon whips ATT and Sprint hands down. I've been to podunk airports all over the country and it's always worked. Connection is clear and voicemails show up when they're supposed to. I've also been impressed with their customer service. Go Verizon.

I looked at www.epinions.com when I decided to go with Verizon. People all over the country rate Cingular and Sprint very poorly. Worth checking out as you can see what people in your home city think of each service. Good Luck

 

[furloboy]

I like cingular. I get more minutes than I can ever use, nationwide coverage (no roaming), and good quality. They must be in bed with Verizon somehow as Verizon often shows up on the screen when I travel.

The only place I've not been able to get a signal is Louisiana. Literally drops coverage as I cross the border and comes back up when I leave.

Furloboy

 

[AFcitrus]

You might try the January '03 (I think) issue of Consumer Reports. They had a big article on all the services. They ranked all the carriers in several areas (dropped calls, static, price, etc). They had five or six regions all around the country as I recall. Verizon was 1st or 2nd in every region. Cingular also did pretty well as I recall. Sprint was middle of the pack or dead last in just about every region of the country.

On a related note I have Sprint and I have had many dropped calls in Raleigh and Atlanta. Static has been aweful in a lot of places. I do have a samsung phone, however. I was told that if you ever get a dropped call, immediately push *2 and when prompted say "dropped call" and you will receive a $.50 credit per dropped call on your bill. Haven't tried this yet.

I have a friend who was fed up with sprint and all the dropped calls. He called to cancel his service and before he could cancel his service he had two calls with customer service that were dropped. When the Sprint guy called him back he was laughing and saying he'd be sure to cancel my friends service right away.

I do think the area of the country a phone is predominently used in and the type of phone one has plays a big role in how good one's sprint service will be.

 

[H25BCPTN]

The problem with Sprint is the Samsung phone not the network. I can tell you this based on over 5 years with the company. My wife has had two Samsung and both dropped call, cut in and out, and have been junk. While I was talking on a sanyo or motorola, when they used to have them, and have very little to no problems. Being a corporate pilot I have been to Miami, Chicago, Dallas and all over and have only had great service with little price. I have copilots that have switch and they have not gotten any better service just paying more for what they have. I will say it one more time DON'T BUY SAMSUNG PRODUCTS! It will save you time and money.


Fly Safe

 

[AJWick]

sprint rocks! price is right and service is adequate and you cant beat the airline discount. I've had sprint over 4 years now and its just getting better and better. But I live in FL so the coverage is excellent.

i agree with the dropped calls but i know first hand that the dropped calls and intermittent service happen at att cingular and verizon as well.

good luck with whichever one you chose.

aj