Anyone with any experience or opinions? I am fed up with T-Mobile's crappy coverage especially the non existent coverage at work. I like the look of both the iPhone and Droid. I really like the Droid better. My problem is that I have been with T-Mobile since they were Powertel (a long time) and get like 1500 minutes plus 250 texts for $45 a month plus taxes and fees. My contract is up the middle of December so I will be a free agent to shop around. If I make the move to one of the other providers with their standard plans I will get the shaft on minutes and texts. The way I look at it I want to pay the same I am paying now for voice and texts but just want to add internet on a new handset on a new provider. I am willing to pay like an additional $20-$30 a month for unlimited internet on a 2 year contract. Anyone know any tips or tricks to wheel and deal with the phone providers or deals coming up near Christmas? I would consider having fewer minutes but not sub 1000 for the same price I am paying now. Thanks Andy
Am I correct in assuming that your current phone is not a smartphone and that you have no needs for a blackberry? If so, I vote iPhone. Droid? well, Android as a platform isn't quite ready yet; give it another 6 months to a year...and Shiring can elaborate further on all of the flaws with the physical device. You will have fun with the iPhone. here's a great comparison... http://phonedog.com/cell-phone-videos/iphone-3gs-vs-motorola-droid-dogfight-pt-1.aspx you also mention coverage...just remember, "there's a map for that". Verizon has better coverage.
iphone It will take a while till the droid catches up with the iphone development community. just my 2 cents
I have a g1 but recently got my wife a 2g iPhone. The iPhone is just a better device hardware/screen wise and the software has a better "feel" to it. The apps on the g1 do the same job just not as flashy. If you get the droid based phone checkout www.xda-developers.com for ways to make it better. The only downside with the iPhone is that it is ATT and there prices suck compared to TMobile or Verizon
Another vote for iPhone from someone who's used one on both AT&T and T-Mobile. I definitely get signal where T-Mo used to give me none. Of course it's kinda fake signal, but the phone itself still kicks ass.
This is absolute 100% bullshit, and that is why we are suing Verizon for their false advertisement. When it comes to coverage, both Verizon and AT&T are about the same. Your AT&T phone will work in 90% of the country, just like Verizon. Just like Verizon, if AT&T doesn't have a cellular tower in the area, they have agreements to use Verizon's or whoever else has a tower in that area.
I love my iPhone. If you have to have verizon, wait till this summer before you get a phone. The agreement between apple and AT&T runs out then, no official word on renewal, or spreading to other services. Personally, I've never had a problem with AT&T. The anytime minutes may be less that what you are use to, but there are plenty of night and weekend minutes, plus if you talk to other AT&Ters minutes are free. Make all your friends switch LOL
just like att had ads that said fewest dropped calls....PLEASE! I spoke with someone else at att and they said the only reason that was true was because they had the lowest completion rate. WHAT!!?! :rofl:
att is NOTORIOUS for doing this as well. I'm almost positive there was a class action law suit on att (cingular at the time) regarding them knowingly 'fluffing' the signal strength.
Iirc tmobile uses AT&Ts towers so your coverage won't change much. My AT&T reliability is 100times better than my tmobile coverage ever was.
I'm currently a Verizon customer and can vouch for their coverage in off-the-wall places. I work for a company that runs Nuclear plants, and of course, those plants are in the boonies most of the time. At all 3 of our plants I have a decent signal, where my colleagues with Blackberries on T-Mobile and iPhones on AT&T can't make calls or get e-mail until we're about 10 or 15 miles from the plant sites. They borrow my phone often to make calls on site. Also, at my parent's place in GA, AT&T and T-Mobile also have trouble, where Verizon gives me a full signal. 2 friends with iPhones were on the way to visit and got lost and couldn't call because they had no service. They finally found a hill that gave them a bar or so and were able to call. So, because of these places that I travel often, I will be getting a Droid soon. If I were in a large city all the time, I'd likely have an iPhone. It is honestly a better device. And,I think that AT&T lost the law suit against Verizon about the "Map for that" ads. Their appeal or whatever was also denied. I can't find the article with a quick search though.
okay, here's my "input". I have friends with the iphone, and I have friends with blackberries, and I currently have a droid. As Cohen said, droid is awesome, but it's still in it's infancy. There are still some bugs to work out, but hey, every phone has bugs, INCLUDING the iphone (see service[AT&T]) Unfortunately, this is and will always be a never ending war. Yes, more people have the iphone than android powered phones, but that's because they've been out 3 times longer and have a loyal (read: sheeple) fanbase/following. That's not to say it's a great device, but I myself, prefer to get something not everyone else has. One of my friends told me this the other day regarding his iphone: "It's awesome BECAUSE everyone else has one, and we can all compare and add different apps that others have." He also wishes he never switched to att due to their lack of service. Sadly, he will not give up his iphone and continues to pay for the lack of service. (his words, not mine) I have service most everywhere. I have service when att does not have as much, or the phone can't be used. I can't tell you how many times I've had a friend who has att or an iphone as to use my phone b/c theirs either kept dropping calls, or would not connect. There are a few instances here and there that an att phone, or iphone shows more service, but I can always make the call and have it sound the same. Verizon isn't doing ANY false advertising on their commercials. They CLEARLY state 3G vs. 3G in the ad. Bottom line is at&t falls short every time in 3G. They say they have the fastest 3G network, but there's 2 things to consider there. 1. how stable is it? 2. the reason it's faster is due to the smaller coverage areas. Go to New York City and try to consistently use the 3G service on at&t. you can't. There's also a reason that at&t doesn't have a SINGLE android based device. They are afraid of pissing off their bread and butter, Apple b/c the phone has the ability to do so much more. A lot of people say Verizon is the most expensive carrier out there. SADLY, that's not true as Sprint, att, and Verizon all have the same calling plan structure. T-mobile is cheaper, but they also have less things to consider in regards to service, maintenance, customers, etc. Another thing to consider is your present employer. A LOT of employers have corporate discounts with cell carriers and you might not realize it. Research that and see if that helps. Also, based off your original post, only t-mobile has a $19.99 unlimited data plan. Verizon and att both have a $29.99/month data plan that is required for iphone (3G, 3Gs) or blackberry or android based devices. Bottom line is this. You will have iphone lovers, who, LOVE their device. You will have people who praise and love the android based devices. And of course, you will have the blackberry lovers. It really comes down to what YOU like and what suits your needs better.
+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 They cover 296 MILLION people. Often i will the ONLY one with service when i am traveling.
strange. I have the worst fucking service ever. when shring and I drove to maryland my phone was worthless en route nothing like paying $30/month, standing on north avenue in downtown atlanta and on the edge network.
I think Shiring is using sea of words and a not-so-clever picture to hide his envy towards our iPhone. Yep, a hater.
Just a FYI - My company only get's either Sprint or Verizon phones. Why? because of the retarded pricing of ATT and lack of service. The ONLY thing they have going for them is the iPhone. We try to steer people towards Sprint, just because of the stupid discount we get through them, but we also have plenty of Verizon users. We get unlimited data on Sprint for like $12 a month on top of the voice plan.
i'd switch. even tho im super happy with the customer service i've received at at&t i'd be happier with a little more coverage. although that would have to be after i move from my current place, as verizon has no towers there.
AT&T still sells more smart phones than all other carriers combined. They also carry 80% of mobile bandwidth. I want to see ANY other carrier survive 80% of all bandwidth usage.
Yup. Gotta love statistics. The iPhone has had a few years head start on the Android devices and has obviously sold more units. Now that some of the big boys like Moto are joining in, the Android devices are going to get big.
excluding the Iphone, it still sells more smart-phones than all the other carriers. The point being.. show me a network that has 80% of ALL the network usage and has not collapsed? Wait, you cant. Verizon can claim all they want but until they have something like 50% of all the usage, its all talk. PS. I still get 2 mbps on my 3g. and yes AT&T still has the FASTEST 3g network, the stats are all there.
Wirelessly posted (From Your Mom's House) AT&T is no longer the fastest. Tmobile rolled out 7.2mbps. I have the proof and you've seen it.
Again, tmobile uses (maybe just some if not all of) AT&Ts towers soooo the tmobie vs AT&T argument is defunct
I just wish I could go and pick any phone I wanted and then pick a plan from any carrier. So how much leverage is there in changing companies? Will they say upgrade your minutes to the next call plan but you still pay the lower rate. Are they all still hungry for any business and willing to deal? I am not the most aggressive but I do have walk away power and patience. Also better to go to a dedicated store or say a multi seller like in Sam's?
Not sure about that. When I step foot in my building I drop my T-mobile signal and ATT works great. They actually have wired the building for the ATT signal since that is the corporate standard for those that get company phones. Verizon has a great signal inside also.
How about this graph ... Verizon v T-Mobile v AT&T. Take a look at the reliability of AT&T in comparison ... http://www.pcworld.com/zoom?id=167391&page=1&zoomIdx=1
nope....calling plans are set in stone. In regards to where to buy, I've always been a fan of corporate locations. if you go to an authorized agent, the pricing will more than likely be different and they sometimes sell used phones. Places like Sam's club rocks due to their warranty, but again, the pricing will more than likely be off/different due to their own pricing structure. Sure, they still have to adhere to Verizon or att or t-mob's pricing, but they can still set their own. that's due to you being on the older calling plan and more than likely an old Sim card. newer sim cards/phones/calling plans will help in that service.
All carriers tower-share. If you build a new tower, it has to be made available to at least 2 other carriers. Also, speed is not defined by cell towers alone. AT&T have lobbied for years to prevent this. In other countries, yes even socialist ones, you can use your phone with any carrier you want. In our pseudo-free market, this is not possible. It looks like congress are finally looking into this. I'm not getting my hopes up though. My opinion of AT&T is that they are the evil empire. Add to that, they are over-priced and have terrible customer service. In my company, we have our choice of phones/carriers. Everyone has an iPhone. I will not sign up for AT&T. I have a lesser device, the Blackberry 8900 with T-Mobile. Since it operates on wi-fi, the reception and bandwidth kicks the pants of any AT&T product. But, I have to be near a wi-fi access point. Which I am the majority of the time; work & home. I look forward to when T-Mobile picks up an Android 2.0 device. Even if it's made by Motorola! Can't believe Moto have a decent product....it's been what? 5 years?
and Don't forget the Sprint/Clear 4G network. It is crap right now but I have seen 7-10mbps DL speeds when you are in the sweet spot. The problem is, just because the sweet spot was there yesterday, doesnt mean it will be there today. I WOULD NOT recommend anyone getting the new 4G devices being offered....talk about premature release.
All I know is I have zero bars (maybe 1 outside) in my apartment.. and my buddies Iphone has full bars(3g and edge). I will be switching from Verizon to At&t for this fact alone. So, I'm not sure how that cell tower sharing works.. but it def. doesn't help me.
what's the guarantee that when you move, you will have service with att. And how much longer are you planning on being in that apartment complex, which, IIRC, is at the bottom of a hill. As blaster stated, showing 3 bars isn't always having 3 bars.