What is a good phone without a camera

[cheryl50]

I was in the AT & T sellout. One phone went Cingular and the other US Cellular. Both services went downhill but probably because of those "free" phones that came with the original plan. My plan is up today and I did not want to fall for the free outdated phone again. What would a good phone with the good antenna be. I do not need the video or camera part. I just want one that works well and do not want to fall for the salesman talk.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by cheryl50

I was in the AT & T sellout. One phone went Cingular and the other US Cellular. Both services went downhill but probably because of those "free" phones that came with the original plan. My plan is up today and I did not want to fall for the free outdated phone again. What would a good phone with the good antenna be. I do not need the video or camera part. I just want one that works well and do not want to fall for the salesman talk.

I think the best GSM with nice features and no camera is the Motorola V540. It is the same as a V551, just no camera. Honestly though it is cheaper to get the V557 or the Razr V3 as both are $99 now. Otherwise Cingular is offering refurbished bluetooth blackberrys w/o cameras on their site for $69.

[Andy]

Wirelessly posted (MOT-8720_/00.62 UP.Browser/6.2.3.4.c.1.104 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I think the best GSM with nice features and no camera is the Motorola V540. It is the same as a V551, just no camera. Honestly though it is cheaper to get the V557 or the Razr V3 as both are $99 now. Otherwise Cingular is offering refurbished bluetooth blackberrys w/o cameras on their site for $69.

After getting an upgrade,make sure coverage and voice quality fits your needs.if not return the phone within 30 days and look for a different carrier

[cheryl50]

I am leaning towards t-mobile as it seems they have good coverage along the main highways I travel, 71 to Kansas City and 44 to Tulsa or Springfield and the plans are less expensive. Those phones mentioned above do not seem to be available with them though. There are just too many to choose from and it looks like I will once again have to just choose the free one. Any other recommendations would be very helpful. I never dreamed anything could be so complicated but this time I am researching first. Of all the companies I have dealt with I never was aware of the 14 day refund period.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Most companies offer a 14 day trial period, Cingular offers 30 days.

[Andy]

T-Mobile's plans are certainly cheaper than any other plans offered in the industry. They have the best plans if you travel within their coverage area.
Check out their coverage maps at
compass.t-mobile.com
and you can even put in street addresses to check signal strenght.
T-Mobile also offers a 14 day trial, so be sure to check if T-Mobile fits your needs during that time.

[music4praise]

Originally Posted by cheryl50

I am leaning towards t-mobile as it seems they have good coverage along the main highways I travel, 71 to Kansas City and 44 to Tulsa or Springfield and the plans are less expensive. Those phones mentioned above do not seem to be available with them though. There are just too many to choose from and it looks like I will once again have to just choose the free one. Any other recommendations would be very helpful. I never dreamed anything could be so complicated but this time I am researching first. Of all the companies I have dealt with I never was aware of the 14 day refund period.

You may want to do a trial with Alltel or Verizon if they are available. Both have several reasonably priced phones that have excellent reception. The Moto V262 comes to mind.

[cheryl50]

Guess I am a little down on Cingular since my daughter had an awful time getting rid of it. She had a one year contract and they insisted she had to pay the early termination fee even after she faxed them a copy of her contract. Customer service was just awful here and they never mention a 30 day trial period. The same people that handled AT&T handle Cingular. In my opinion AT&T broke contracts when they sold out and we should have had a choice to stay or switch without penalties but that did not happen. I am pretty stubborn and just want a different company altogether. I have seen where I can get a razrV3 for free after rebates but would have to order service and the phone online. I can tell from your posts that you really know all about the cell phone industry and even how to upgrade phones. The computer is hard enough for me to keep up with. I don't even want to think about what I could do to a phone. Thanks for your input.

[Andy]

Cheryl, let us know what you decide on and if you need any more help. Be aware, though, that a lot of online retailers that offer great phone deals, as well as authorized phone dealers, like at the mall, have extra fees/penalties/ contract clauses. Even though it might seem more expensive at the time, buying a phone at a corporate store is often better.
Carriers other than Cingular that offer the V3 RAZR are T-Mobile, and ALLTEL. Verizon will offer the RAZR online starting the 7th, and in stores starting the 12th.
Hope this helps,
Andy

[cheryl50]

I have learned so much today. A good phone can make a big difference in the service no matter which one you choose. I had become suspicious of the "free" ones anyway. I now know I have a trial period for the service I choose and will definitely go to a store. I am still leaning towards T-mobile even though someone said it was bad in SW Missouri. I have looked at the maps and it should work ok as long as I don't stray too far from the major hiways.

Thanks to all for your help and I will try to keep you posted on what I finally do.

[cheryl50]

I just got a RAZR V3 with T-Mobile to try out. I did not have gsm before so thought this phone would really work well. When complaining about poor service with Cingular they always said it was because I did not have a gsm phone and since T-Mobile is suppose to be using Cingular towers as told to me by a salesman I never dreamed this phone would not even get any antenna at my house. I never had a problem before with signal strength at my house with us cellular, at&t or cingular and my relatives tested Sprint here and it was great. My daughter has a gsm phone from Cingular and it works great here also. Could I have received a dud phone? I checked their coverage maps before even thinking of T-mobile and thought it would work for me. I guess I will have to take it back and perhaps try the Cingular plan after all. I can still get the same phone but can't understand why it won't work with T-mobile.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by cheryl50

I just got a RAZR V3 with T-Mobile to try out. I did not have gsm before so thought this phone would really work well. When complaining about poor service with Cingular they always said it was because I did not have a gsm phone and since T-Mobile is suppose to be using Cingular towers as told to me by a salesman I never dreamed this phone would not even get any antenna at my house. I never had a problem before with signal strength at my house with us cellular, at&t or cingular and my relatives tested Sprint here and it was great. My daughter has a gsm phone from Cingular and it works great here also. Could I have received a dud phone? I checked their coverage maps before even thinking of T-mobile and thought it would work for me. I guess I will have to take it back and perhaps try the Cingular plan after all. I can still get the same phone but can't understand why it won't work with T-mobile.

Just because you can roam on Cingular, doesn't mean you can roam on ALL cingular towers. TMO is notorious for not letting people make calls if you're not on their network. If you're still in your trial period get rid of it and go w/ Cingular. You know Cingular GSM works at your house. TMO generally only lets you roam in urban areas that they don't have native coverage.

-Jay

[cheryl50]

Thanks. I guess Cingular it will have to be and like you said before it was probably just my old phone that caused my problems before. I do really like the razr and cingular has it cheaper anyway. I just did not want to commit to a 2 year contract but I think I remember if I paid a little more for the phone I could still get a one year contract. Thanks again for all your help. I at least know what I have to do now.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by cheryl50

Thanks. I guess Cingular it will have to be and like you said before it was probably just my old phone that caused my problems before. I do really like the razr and cingular has it cheaper anyway. I just did not want to commit to a 2 year contract but I think I remember if I paid a little more for the phone I could still get a one year contract. Thanks again for all your help. I at least know what I have to do now.

Yes, you can pay more and get a 1 year contract.

-Jay

[cheryl50]

What does it mean when the phone has no bars but as soon as you dial and connect the bars are all there. I have been trying to read a lot in these forums and have learned so much and remember seeing something about bars do not always mean no antenna. I am heading back to the store to change services to Cingular from T-Mobile but am wondering if perhaps I am being too hasty. I hate to give up my pink razr and I don't think the colors are offered by Cingular yet anyway.

[Andy]

Does your phone make/receive calls fine even without bars?
If so, then there's no problem as bars sometimes hop around for no apparent reason. If you want, go back to T-Mobile and have them exchange it into a new RAZR to see if that helps. What does their street level coverage map say coverage should be like at your location?
If you know that other providers work well too, then you might want to look into them as well. You mentioned Sprint as working well...who else is out there?

[cheryl50]

It is at home that I have no bars or maybe one. Some calls are failed but I can redial and then get connected. According the the coverage map I should be getting fair coverage and am only 2.5 miles east of the hwy that has excellent coverage. I am also on top of a hill which should be a plus. It also shows no bars in town but coverage is shown on the map. I still have until after Christmas to return it so will mess around a little more.

[Andy]

Go exchange it for a new one at the t-Mobile store just to make sure you don't have a bad phone. If the same thing happens with the new phone then it's up to you to decide whether or not to keep T-Mobile.
What town are you in? Maybe someone would be able to help you out better that way.

[cheryl50]

I am outside a little town called Lamar. A friend has t-mobile but lives right on the hwy and has good luck with it. Joplin is where I purchased the plan.

[Andy]

You may want to give ALLTEL a try in the area. They have very attractive rate plans, nice phones, and usually pretty good coverage in their licensed area.

www.ALLTEL.com

[cheryl50]

Hmmm. I talked with several people that have had Alltel and they hated it and said it was more expensive. I have not really checked into them because of all the bad I have heard from past customers. Maybe their service has improved.

[djjim]

Originally Posted by cheryl50

Hmmm. I talked with several people that have had Alltel and they hated it and said it was more expensive. I have not really checked into them because of all the bad I have heard from past customers. Maybe their service has improved.

Love Alltel! I know that in the 90's they were fairly poor in customer service. Today is different story. I've had great service and coverage for 3 years now. In all surveys I've seen, they beat Cingular and Sprint in customer service. I do not know about coverage in your area, but I've had no problems anywhere I've gone. And you get the benefit of roaming free on most Verizon systems when you leave your local area. You can change your rate plan at any time without extending your contract, that's nice too! USCC typically has great coverage too if they are available in your area. I am not ready for GSM personally, not for a few more years...They need more towers put up!

[cheryl50]

All is so confusing to me. When I was with AT&T which later sold one of my 2 phones' contract to Cingular and the other to USCellular I was told my phones did not work well because they were not gsm phones so I was led to believe if I got a gsm phone I would have great service. I basicly like the new Razr and can get service with t-mobile in the main areas I travel but probably not well in rural areas. Cingular, AT&T or US Cellular have dead zones where I travel (maybe because of my old phones) but always worked well in my house. The new Razr shows only one bar most of the time in my house and I can get connected then it shows full antennae and shows 2 Cingular towers along with one t-mobile when I check the phone network. Most salesmen are clueless to the plans and phones they sell and I can't really rely on them for advice. This forum has been a great find and helped me to understand a lot about wireless services from people with real experiences.