SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - What cell phone provider do you recommend?

Posted: Jul 21 2011 11:42 am

I think I'm about ready to tell AT&T to go fuck themselves, so what providers do you all recommend? (I intend to get a smartphone, since that probably matters)
As far as I can tell it seems to be between Verizon and T-Mobile. T-Mobile is cheaper and has actual unlimited data plans (If you exceed your bandwidth you just lose 4G speed for the rest of the billing cycle instead of paying overages, as best as I can tell) but I guess coverage is a concern in many places (I am in the greater Boston area though).

Anyway, thoughts? Also, what would you recommend as the best phone using the Android OS on that carrier?

Posted: Jul 21 2011 12:29 pm

I use Verizon, and Honestly, my bill is pretty damn high I think. I pay about $150 a month for me and my wife's two Smart Phones, thats data, text and 700 minutes.

Verizon's coverage is great for me everywhere I go, and I do like their Android phones. I have an older LG Ally but love it. My brother-in -law has the Thunderbolt and has no complaints.

Overall, I think Verizon is more expsensive, but a better overall company. Better phones, and coverage IMO and in my experience.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 12:48 pm

I have used Verizon for years and currently use it on my Android and I'm very happy with their service. I've never had any major issues, and anything minor was resolved quickly. I don't like AT & T, so no matter who you choose will be an improvement.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 12:57 pm

T-Mobile is fine, but there is a deal in the works for AT&T to purchase T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom, so you'd eventually end up right back at AT&T anyway.

Having said that, I've been with T-Mobile since it was Voicestream, and have had only minor issues at most.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 01:05 pm

Yeah, anything but AT&T.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 01:14 pm

My main gripe with Verizon is the fact that they don't have a set customer service. They have a 1-800 number that connects to a random store through out the states. I've talked to people from Florida, Nevada and Michigan just to figure out what a charge was, and it turned out it was just as easy to go to the Verizon store, which was an hour and a half away for me at the time :\

Posted: Jul 21 2011 01:58 pm

I've never had any major problems with AT&T. You really need a 3G phone at this point if you want optimal reception though.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 02:55 pm

I've had no issues with AT&T/Cingular myself, and I've had them for years. The only thing I could complain about is price, but Verizon is just as bad.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Syd Lexia wrote:

I've never had any major problems with AT&T. You really need a 3G phone at this point if you want optimal reception though.

Phone coverage and data speed are not the same thing. 4G is awesome if you have access to it and a phone that can use it. Websites load at the same speed as they do on a computer. If you need proof, go use a 4G phone and toggle 4G off to 3G. The apps run at the same speed, but web surfing is significantly reduced in speed.

Also, if you plan on using Picasa/Google+ with auto uploading, you will want 4G if you have it.

As for coverage. I loved AT&T coverage in the Boston Metro area. It was better than Verizons. In CT they are about equal. Once you venture out of New England, Verizon has a huge lead though... until T-Mobile is purchased by AT&T and the deal is finalized.

I would say that Verizon is the most expensive carrier, Sprint is the "nicest" carrier, and AT&T is the biggest bunch of cash grabbing monsters that could be imaged and gives the least bang for the buck.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 03:49 pm

i been w/sprint for years & dont have issues w/them. my htc evo gets me great reception & the 3g/4g is great.

all my co workers who have t-mobile complain about their bill & their service.

my brother uses verizon & he doesnt have many issues w/the service or bill.

Posted: Jul 21 2011 03:58 pm

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters?

Posted: Jul 22 2011 01:03 am

From what I've seen, it REALLY depends on where you live.

Given the three state test (Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas), Verizon seems to have the best reception. My sister, brother in law and father all use Verizon, and they all got signals even in the middle of the woods. Meanwhile, my wife and I have T-Mobile (which means I guess we'll have AT&T soon) and we lose reception if we so much as go to a different room (hugely ironic, considering that there is a cul-de-sac at the end of my neighborhood with a fucking CELL PHONE TOWER behind it). A friend of mine works for AT&T and I've seen him and his wife (both AT&T customers) bitch quite a lot about their reception as well.

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

If t-mobile has 3g in your area I would suggest them except they will eventually be under the ma bell umbrella.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 01:13 am

Never had a problem with Verizon, but I don't have a smart phone so I have no idea how they stack up in that department.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 09:41 am

My last Verizon bill WITH a 15% Military Discount.

Quote:

Usage Charges - (Extra) $0.00

Phone Number Minutes Used
My Phone (P) 102
Wife's Phone 18

Total Minutes 120
SharePlan Allowance 700
Overage Minutes 0

Messaging - (Extra) $0.00

Phone Number Text/Picture/Video
My Phone 389
Wife's Phone 521

Data - Megabyte charges are incurred as a result of using data services like web browsing, receiving daily alerts, downloading games or Ringtones
(extra) - $2.99

Phone Number GB Used MB Used KB Used
My Phone -- -- 592582
Wife's Phone -- -- 318854

Phone Number Downloads
My Phone 1
Wife's Phone --

Verizon Wireless' Surcharges and Other Charges & Credits: $4.02

Taxes, Governmental Surcharges & Fees: $13.65

Total Current Charges Due by August 08, 2011: $177.51

This is for two phones sharing 700 minutes (which you can see we don't even come close to using, might even back that down some now that I see that lol) Unlimited Text, and Unlimited Data. (I really do have Unlimited Data, since I had it before Verizon kicked off the whole go over 2GB and you pay overage fees, so I'm "Grandfathered" into that until I ever change my Data plan.)

Joined: Mar 13 2009 Location: Arlington Posts: 467

Atma, I get the same discount and me and the wife have seperate lines. I used 350 minutes and she has 450(I think). the total is around $130-$140 per month. The family plan is retarded because it forces you into those 700 minute plans that unless you're a teenage girl, is a complete waste

Posted: Jul 22 2011 12:54 pm

I have T-Mobile, but their reception is trash. I can't even get good signal in most parking lots. The bill is preposterous, too. The only thing they have going for them is the unlimited data plan, and even then you have to be grandfathered in now.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 01:00 pm

Thorton02 wrote:

Atma, I get the same discount and me and the wife have seperate lines. I used 350 minutes and she has 450(I think). the total is around $130-$140 per month. The family plan is retarded because it forces you into those 700 minute plans that unless you're a teenage girl, is a complete waste

I will certainly check this out, I would love to cut my bill down by 40 bucks a month.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Work started to pay for my plan, so we decided it was time to merge my old cell phone budget in with my wife's.

She has a Thunderbolt on Verizon with 400 minutes, unlimited data, and 250 text messages/month.

All said and done, $73/month

Working for a university drops the price by about 15-20%.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 01:32 pm

i receive a twenty something percent discount because of my old job at Convergys. i havent worked there in 8 years. luckily they never bother to check once the discount is in place

Posted: Jul 22 2011 02:15 pm

I also have Sprint, and the only real complaint I have about it is that the coverage is shit in smaller areas. It's okay at my house, but when I made the trip to a suburb outside of Indianapolis visiting my dad, I teetered between roaming, no signal, and one bar. Phone calls were pretty impossible since they dropped as soon as I lost the signal or went in to roaming again.

As long as you're in a largish city though, Sprint seems to be really good. Their customer service is also pretty sweet: they replaced my last phone four times in two years without charging us a cent because it kept fucking breaking or bricking. FYI, never get a LG Lotus.

The bill is a little steep but still reasonable for three phones on a premium unlimited data plan.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 03:25 pm

I've had Sprint for 10 years now and have always really liked them. Particularly now that they don't require contracts (month to month only). Also, All cell to cell calls are not counted against my minutes (regardless of carrier). Since pretty much all the people I talk with are also on a cell phone, I never come close to the 450 minutes I pay for but I usually have over 700 minutes used for cell to cell calls.
My bill is only $70.00 per month for unlimited data/text and the 450 anytime minutes.

Posted: Jul 22 2011 03:28 pm

AT&T decided to play ball, so looks like I'm not switching providers after all. Now I just need to wait for FedEx so I can play with my new phone!

Posted: Jul 22 2011 03:41 pm

aika wrote:

I also have Sprint, and the only real complaint I have about it is that the coverage is shit in smaller areas. It's okay at my house, but when I made the trip to a suburb outside of Indianapolis visiting my dad, I teetered between roaming, no signal, and one bar. Phone calls were pretty impossible since they dropped as soon as I lost the signal or went in to roaming again...

That was my Dad's experience with Sprint when he had it. He worked as a coach in a small town and had no signal in the gym. So say a kid gets hurt, he had no way to call an ambulance now because he had to walk halfway across the parking lot to be able to maybe make a call. Needless to say he dumped them really fast.