So much misinformation in the thread. DaveH - AT&T has nothing to do with the inability to take any phone to any network. Each company uses their own technology that unfortunately is not compatible with each other. You can take any AT&T phone or T-Mobile phone, and if unlocked, use on either of their networks. AT&T and T-Mobile both use the GSM/GPRS standard. Verizon uses CDMA standard which is not compatible with GSM/GPRS so their technology will not work on AT&T or T-Mobiles network regardless if the device is subsidy locked or not. Nextel used to be iDen, but now since Sprint bought them is CDMA, so if a device is unlocked, it could work on Verizon's network and vice versa, but again, neither of them will work on a GSM/GPRS based system. How can you even judge AT&T if you use Wi-Fi all the time? AT&T offers many phones that have Wi-Fi, and since this is Wi-Fi and not a companies Wireless Network it is entirely unrelated. As for price, you get what you pay for. Verizon and AT&T are competitively priced, and they are the 2 leaders in the Wireless Market. Both are more expensive than T-Mobile or Sprint, but you get what you pay for. Sprint is a great service if you stay in major metropolitan areas. Leave a main thoroughfare or go into some backwoodsy type areas and the odds of having a Sprint signal are drastically less than having an AT&T or Verizon signal. You pay for the knowledge that in 90% of the country, your phone will be able to place and receive calls. Other services may not work, but in an emergency, calling is the only thing that is important, not whether you have a fast internet connection or an internet connection at all. As for coverage, it is going to be different for everybody. I have had my AT&T service for 9 years now, and I have never had a problem with it. I admit that when I drive home to PA from here, when I get up in the mountains in VA, I get no signal, but if I get no signal, neither does anyone else, because there is no signal along the route in certain areas. The only place I have ever had any problems was in Vegas. While in any of the Casinos except for Balleys, I could not get signal. A different carrier may have been different or may have been the same. There are places where an AT&T phone will work great, and everyone else will suck. There are places where a Verizon phone will work great, and everyone else will suck. Same for T-Mobile and Sprint. For every horror story you tell about company A, I can offer a similar story about company B, and also an opposite story about Company A. 2pt5rs - The fewest Dropped Calls claim was made by JD Powers and Associates based on research they did throughout the country. Their study was based on Dropped Calls that dropped because of the network, and not based on dead spots. IE, on 400, between Abernathy and Exit 5 going north, I guarantee that I will drop a call every time. This was not counted in the JD Power study since this is not a dropped call per say but a gap in coverage. If a company like JD Powers and Associates makes a claim like that, any company will immediately incorporate that into their marketing campaign. It was not AT&T saying that, but JD Powers making the claim, and AT&T reprinting their claim.
if you want to get technical, it certainly wasn't JD Power that made that claim. It was Telephia/Nielsen. The only reason att/cingular dropped the ad campaign was due to a class action law suit against them. http://www.ucan.org/blog/telecommun...st_dropped_calls_myth_debunked_in_new_lawsuit http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/andrews/bt/tel/20070131/20070131_kaltwasser.html JD Power gave the 'honor' to T-Mobile (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATampT-Yanks-Fewest-Dropped-Calls-Campaign-86814)
If you are an AT&T customer it is because the IRDB (Intelligent Roaming Database) sent to the phone is telling your phone to prefer the AT&T Network over T-Mobile or Verizon. It has nothing to do with the phone, calling plan, or SIM card.
Well that is pretty crappy since I am a T-mobile customer... When they put in the system years ago when ATT was Cingular, I had signal before then when they turned on the system it squashed my signal to 0. My companies response was suck to be you. I can get a signal if I sit in the atrium with a clear view outside... In the end I think it is the "man" trying to keep the working man down...
You should be able to roam using AT&T's network. If you can't and you don't get signal here, you may want to call T-Mobile and ask them to push the latest IRDB to your device. These files get updated regularly as roaming agreements expire and new ones are signed, so it is possible that the profile is not the most recent, forcing your phone to a network that is not accepted.
that is so not true in regards to the sim card. My mom switched to att (and hates every second of it) and she got shitty cell reception at first. They switched her to a new (64 bit) sim card and her service picked up in every area it didn't before. The sim has a lot more to do with it than you think
I don't see the point of defending a cell phone company. they are all greedy fuck sticks, and the US market gets bent OVER in terms of mobile pricing. fuck all of them in their collective greedy, congress lobbying, corporate assholes. I hope google fucking destroys every one of them and grinds their company into dust and salts the earth where their fucking buildings are. actually, I know we will with our recent acquisitions. (thanks employee stock blackout period arg) android is just our stepping stone into the market
Tell them you dont have service at home and they will let out of the contract. PS. 420 works for ATT, most of my family works for ATT
I hate google. BING ftw. Google is getting too nosy for my comfort. US is also geographically larger than most other countries so its more expensive to cover it. Everything is relative.. prices could be lower.. but hey, whatever.
That is a risk I'm willing to take... I don't plan on buying a house in the next 3 or 4 years.. and even if I move to a diff. apartment, I will still be on the bottom floor in a pit of zero reception(I have an outdoor cat). I really have no issues with Verizon, besides the outrageous pricing for texts.. But I like the Iphone and I like that it gets a full signal, so I don't have to go outside to make a call. If Verizon put another tower in the area, I'd prolly get the Droid.... But it looks like At&t is getting my business when my contract is up.
Wirelessly posted (From Your Mom's House) +1 for a new sim card. My last sim card was about 3 1/2 years old. While I was troubleshooting some MMS issues, Tier 2 would not go any futher when they heard this. According to them, it is very imortant to get the new 64 bit card. I had to stop by the store and get a new sim...took 5 minutes. I still had the MMS issues...but, "call issues" are now almost always due to user error not network/phone related; for example, I hang up on you with my cheek. Damn touch screens and proximity sensors. Peace out.
Sim card is 2 years old. I am going to move on to one of these 2 providers, it just depends on which one.
420, I am referring to the cozy relationship the FCC has with the major carries, especially AT&T. The fact that there are anti-competitive practices such as the absurd notion of carriers having locked phones is very telling about how the FCC leans (or rather, is leaned by the major carriers' lobbyists). It is not towards the consumer. Other countries do not have to suffer this bullsh1t. Interestingly, the US GSM frequency is different from the rest of the entire fcuking world's :unamused: Not judging in this regard. Just relating my situation. Although, I am happy to judge AT&T by myriad other metrics. Can't disagree with you there. AT&T offers clear coverage advantages to many consumers.
google runs the fucking earth...what's wrong with you people? any company who's name is used as a verb is fucking godlike....'hey dumbass, go google that shit'
All carriers take a loss on the sale of phones. Many phones are offered at zero cost to a customer that signs a contract with the company. The company does not get this phone for free from the manufacturer. Many times, the company is taking an automatic loss of anywhere from $50 to $150 to entice you to their company by offering the device at no cost, or severely reduced. Why should any company take a loss on the device to sell to you, just so you can then go and take that device to another carrier? If you want to be able to take your phone to any provider, are you prepared to start paying the full price for every phone you buy? Full price being the price showing on all the websites before the contract. Does GSM only work on one frequency? No. Are most phones locked to one frequency? Again No. There are many different frequencies for GSM service, as long as the device recognizes those frequencies, they will work fine outside the US. Many AT&T GSM phones will work in some 160 countries or more around the world.
I do agree on the multi-band GSM capability of phones, tri-band has been the standard for years and now more and more phoens are getting quad bands, it is not much of an issue when I use them overseas. Also if you are going to use that carrier to have service anyways, it makes much more sense to get the phone with a discounted price through them.
Do you work for AT&T? You disagree that the locked phone concept is to the benefit of the service provider?? I see that T-Mobile has started to push contract-free, full priced phones now. IMO, that's the way it should be, only unlocked. Remember, you still pay full price for your subsidized phone. The carrier DOES NOT take a loss on it.
99% of phones made nowadays are triband, WORLDPHONES. they will work everywhere except Japan, whos network is ages ahead of anywhere else. I know this because my grandad used to work for Gulfstream and their multi-millionaire clients needed phones that worked around the world. so they had 2 phones available to their clients
I don't know about your 99% triband claim, but yes, triband/quadband/multiband is increasingly popular. There was a gap of several years when you hadn't a hope in hell of a US phone working in Europe, even if it was GSM. Years of clinging to an outdated CDMA protocol, plus a GSM frequency that was different to everywhere else (850 & 1900MHz) made this so. Now GSM has a ton of different frequencies (as 420 mentioned); technology has marched on. Anyway, this thread was all about Droid vs iPhone. Both are great. One is offered by a less-evil carrier; the other by AT&T.
If you are still unsure about which phones you want, stay on T-Mobile for another few months after your contract expires. There are all sorts of fun new Android phones coming out - the Droid is just the first one that is running Android 2.0 and is made by a major manufacturer (though I hear the HTC phones are not too bad). Personally, I am waiting for Sony Ericsson's Android phone. I have had 3 Sonys in a row and I want to keep buying them. Their first Android phone is coming out Q1 of next year, but it will be running Android 1.6 for some reason. I don't know what your time frame is for switching services, just know that there are a lot more smartphone options in the works.
Yes, I work for AT&T. I agree the locked phone concept sucks, but I also see both sides of the picture. AT&T has been offering a contract-free service for years, its called GoPhone. You are free to buy any phone you want for that service. You don't get a discount on the phone unless you get the prepackaged offers in the stores.
+1 and I have the droid. I had both for a month, took the iPhone and the Verizon phone with me everywhere. I even did a trip from here to NY, NY to MN, MN to OK, OK to CO, CO to GA yeah it was a long couple weeks! But there is NO comparing the coverage! Verizon blows AT&T out of the water all over the country. I watch it and tryed to use both phones, I would say at least %50 percent of the time the iPhone would not get on the internet or it would have no signal! If the iPhone was on verizon then it would be a hard choice, but I simply REFUSE to be inconvenience by my cell phone not working when I need it. I like the Droid alot, but Apple has it going on! So...simply said see the quote above.
I played with a Droid today and really liked it! Great screen! Plus it just felt really solid, which moto phones tend to. Since it was some guys phone from the store I didn't want to mess with it too much. Did test the browser and the google maps app. Both loaded quick and worked well! The iphone has never really interested me. I don't think it looks that great for one. And unless I'm mistaken you can't really change how things look, which with other ones in the market you can change a lot! Seen some really cool things done with the droid already. I really want a droid even more after playing with one today. Plus ATT is just starting to piss me off now. Can only get 3g in select areas, which would be crucial for having a smart phone. Plus I drop calls all the time, even on edge network! Sometimes I'll be sitting in my apartment with 2-3 bars, and then suddenly drop to 0 during a call. However, I've heard interesting things about the HTC Passion/Dragon that is coming out soon, so I'll probably wait and see how that stacks up. Should have nicer specs inside with a physical keyboard. Nice droid rival. Dunno what network though.
Where the hell do you guys go to NOT get 3g? I hav to drive atleadt an hr out of town to not get it. Hell I even get it in athens posted from my iPhone in the middle of no where.
I only get it sometimes in athens. Otherwise it's rather hit and miss as to if I am going to get 3g or not.
Was just flipping thru the latest consumer reports.. they had a big article about carriers and the phones themselves.. I don't know if CR is biased, but they were all about Verizon and basically saying AT&T sucks.. in every catagory... This is really a big issue for me. As I stated earlier in this thread, I am currently with Verizon and have no data plan. I am generally happy with them, minus the fact that I get close to zero service while at home. I am seriously considering switching to AT&T after a friend came over with his Iphone and had full bars in my house. Getting full bars and getting an Iphone with AT&T (which is the phone I'm leaning towards), had me allmost sold. From the sounds of it though, I'll be ok at home, but coverage is lacking everwhere else. Add to the equation that AT&T will be more expensive than Verizons plan with the same goodies... and I'm torn. Now, I'm thinking that getting the Droid and just dealing with shitty service at home..... UGH
If you get an iPhone with AT&T, your service will work in 90% of the country, same as Verizon. If you get a 3G or 3GS iPhone, you may run to areas that don't have 3G coverage, but you will still get EDGE, and you will still be able to place and receive calls.
3G only comes into play when you are surfing the web or playing games and you are not in wifi area. I've had good luck with mine :dunno
Update... Called Verizon about my reception issue. They agreed I lived in a "marginal coverage area" and offered to let me out of my contract. She then told me about a device called a Network Extender that Verizon sells that hooks into the back of your wireless router and basically makes a mini cell tower in your house. I get it tomorrow. Reviews on the device seemed promising, with everyone saying it gave them full signal. I also purchased the Motorolla Droid which I just go today.. I will do a side by side comparo soon to give my opinion on the OP's question.
I still have one of these. Google is giving me the creeps these days with some of their data mining. Verizon doesn't let us have wifi on our phones ssh:
Well.. Im with sprint, like the Iphone and droid but I NEED to have coverage ALL over (usa) or if not some kind of unlimited roaming so far the only place I have no serv period is extreme parts of Wyoming and extreme mtn areas(PA just fine) and my crib downstairs lol but my sprint data card works go fig. anyway need a phone that can do dam near everything unlimited text/talk watch videos/email/weather etc. sprint is good with most except the tv/video. the iphone i played with my buddy just got and its freakin awesome compared to my phone but i didnt talk on it but he says its better than sprint which he had at first. with the droid played with the htc one in the store and well its kool but (Google is about to shake up the world) but I'm going to need another phone soon and att plans are high compared to what I get with sprint unless that changed Iphone so far for me and I will be able to tell u exactly what kind of coverage it has as my work takes me to ALL the states! the unlimited plan is the way to go for me since i have to call shipper/rec quite a bit during business hours- sorry for being so long winded.
You still living in the Jasmine? I had Tmobile and lived on top of a hill in that complex and still had no service. Now with AT&T I get good service everywhere I live now, and have only lost it way outside of the city (up in Tennassee Mountains). I even still get service on our mountains that I didn't get with Tmobile. I'll admit the dropped calls get annoying but my 3g is faster than anyone's I compare it to. DOH! didn't read this far into the thread before my last post