Taking The Cell Phone Plunge
<div class="IPBDescription">Educate me!</div> Here's the deal. So far I have been able to deny having a cell phone attached to my hip but the GF has laid down the law and stated that we will be getting cell phones. I'm hoping all you phone phreaks can help me out with some tips on what services are good and what phones might suit my needs.
Criteria:<ul><li>Must have good/excellent coverage throughout the US. International is not an issue.</li><li>Text messaging not important.</li><li>I don't need to play games on my phone. I spend enough time and money beefing up my rig.</li><li>Flip open phone is important. The GF is extra clumsy and I'm usually climbing around getting myself dirty.</li><li>I've heard that cell phones are service specific. Is this true?</li><li>I've also heard that there's something called a SIM card that can be replaced to stop this. How feasible/expensive is that?</li><li>Customer service - phone replacement/upgrades - other issues. Input here is welcome.</li></ul>
I spend almost no time on my home phone and I cringe every time I pay that bill (yeah, yeah, I'm cheap <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ). I'll be looking for the best bang for my buck but I want good coverage. No sense in having a phone on-the-go and not being able to use it in an emergency.
<u>Location:</u> Western Michigan. I'll need good coverage throughout MI because I like to drive around my State and look at stuff.
<u>Considered services:</u>
Alltel - Looks like pretty good coverage. Currently top on my list.
T-mobile - The GF's sister in CA uses this and she doesn't complain too much.
Verizon - Don't know much about them but I have family members who just started using them.
Any advice/suggestions are welcome.
Criteria:<ul><li>Must have good/excellent coverage throughout the US. International is not an issue.</li><li>Text messaging not important.</li><li>I don't need to play games on my phone. I spend enough time and money beefing up my rig.</li><li>Flip open phone is important. The GF is extra clumsy and I'm usually climbing around getting myself dirty.</li><li>I've heard that cell phones are service specific. Is this true?</li><li>I've also heard that there's something called a SIM card that can be replaced to stop this. How feasible/expensive is that?</li><li>Customer service - phone replacement/upgrades - other issues. Input here is welcome.</li></ul>
I spend almost no time on my home phone and I cringe every time I pay that bill (yeah, yeah, I'm cheap <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ). I'll be looking for the best bang for my buck but I want good coverage. No sense in having a phone on-the-go and not being able to use it in an emergency.
<u>Location:</u> Western Michigan. I'll need good coverage throughout MI because I like to drive around my State and look at stuff.
<u>Considered services:</u>
Alltel - Looks like pretty good coverage. Currently top on my list.
T-mobile - The GF's sister in CA uses this and she doesn't complain too much.
Verizon - Don't know much about them but I have family members who just started using them.
Any advice/suggestions are welcome.
Comments
All in all your best bet. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Although if you do want a fancy phone, LG VX6000 (Camera phone) is awesome for 149.99 :-)
Alltell - Small company yet fairly reliable. I do not know their phones very well. To check out the different models of phones go to<a href='http://www.phonescoop.com' target='_blank'>Phone Scoop</a>
T-Mobile - Umm... they do not have coverage in my area so I know little to nothing about them. :-)
Oops, I just repeated what Lanfear said. I guess that's your queue Spooge, I think you just got Verizon.
The only down side to Nextel is that they ONLY use the digital cell towers. No analog mode on the phones, even for standard calls. So some people have areas that they get weak or no signal, usually in rustic areas that haven't had the money or mind to replace the towers with the new gear.
The cool part is (as I understand it) they use each other as repeaters. So if you're out of range from a digital cell tower, but someone IN your range is within the range of the tower, it'll 'bounce' your signal to the tower. And this will keep going through a chain of phones, too. So the more people on Nextel in your area, the better your reception and coverage will be.
And the 'unlimited incoming calls' feature is cool, too. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Doesn't matter who's calling you, incoming stuff is free. And some plans offer the 'family' setting, where calls between specific phones are not counted toward the minutes on your plan.
My parents are on Sprint and they have me added to their plan, free calls in between phones. Works well enough I guess. I dunno what model the phone even is though, heh.
Extra thanks to Lanfear for the website <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<img src='http://products.consumerguide.com/images/cpreview/66611110029609LRG.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Then, hop over to www.cnet.com and use their coverage review and read up on some of the reviews there. Because it filters the reviews by zip code, you'll only be reading reviews for your area.
After that, use their handy cell phone reviews for a basis on choosing which phone is right for you.
After that, it's up to you whether you wish to purchase from a dealer nearby or online. Amazon.com offers some great deals that you probably wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.
I wonder what attracts people to these, 'flip open' phones. I mean it just looks so damn clumsy and something that will break the instant it touches any surface when it's open. If you want a phone that can handle dirt, water and being thrown to a brick wall by a 150kg gorilla, there's plenty of those.
*pimping mode*
I have one of these(not sure if they sell it in the states) nokia 5100:
<img src='http://www.polyphonic-ringtones.org/mobileimages/nokia-5100.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
I'm still figuring out how to break it before the warranty ends(i've tried everything).
And the radio is nice addition too. Though it's a bit pricy. You can get something VERY basic somewhat cheaper.
You can get it from almost all dealers....IT's a durable phone since its metal. It's flip. NO colour, no polyphonic, so it's got quite long battery life.
PS. I myself got a sony ericsson z600 <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->