Sprint PCS advice needed

Larry and Others,

I am considering Sprint PCS and I am shopping for a phone. I will be using my phone in the city (for 5 months in Lexington, KY and then on in Washington DC/ Maryland). Since I wont be roaming would you recommend getting a single band/digital phone instead of dual band? Which model would you recommend? Touchpoint 1100?

From what I've heard, if during a call I go from digital to analog mode I will experience a dropped call. I have been using my husbands dual band phone (also Sprint PCS) and it goes from digital to analog, just sitting in one place (my desk in my office). Is this a common problem with the service or could it be phone related? Seems to me like it would make better sense to get a single band phone and experience a dropped call, rather than be billed roaming charges.

I talked to the local service rep and she said that I could switch between plans anytime, either upgrade or downgrade (I dont think she knew what she was talking about). The situation is that I will be out of the country for 2 months, so if I sign up on the 350 mins/$39 plan can I downgrade to the 20 min/$19 plan. Or should I initially sign up on the 20 mins/$19 plan, upgrade to $39, and then later down grade back to the $19 plan when I am out of the country? Is that allowed? Or can I only upgrade from my exisiting plan?

Look forward to hearing from you
Elaine

[larry]

Elaine,

I always recommend getting a dual band phone. You can keep it set to "Sprint PCS only" to avoid any roaming charges but have the analog as a backup in case you ever need it. The TP 1100 is a good single band phone for the money but it is outdated. I would also consider the Sanyo 4700, Kyocera 2255, Samsung N200 and N300, and the new TP 5250 which might be the best of them all. All of these are dual band. Consumer reports just rated the Sprint Samsung N200 as the top CDMA phone. Make sure that whatever phone you get has a PRL of 10013 or higher. The problem with the phone going from digital to analog in your office is with the service not the phone. Digital PCS service can be either hit or miss inside buildings. You are allowed to switch plans.

Larry

[Uwdsr]

You are allowed to switch plans, however, your contract restarts. For example, if you switch plans on March 1st, a new contract begins on March 1st. I had the Touchpoint 1100 and I loved it, but I got rid of it because it was single band. Dual band is always better even if you think you aren't roaming--if you trapped inside an elevator and there is no digital service, you can always call 911 on analog. I'd go for the new Touchpoint, the 5250 from LG.

[larry]

You're wrong about the new contract beginning when you switch plans. Doesn't happen, unless it's something new that I don't know about yet.

Elaine,

Sprint PCS may work very well for you, but here are some other details. While the 1100 is a "Cute" phone, it has not enjoyed overwhelmingly positive reviews. Some love it, some don't. There are better choices.

Yes, the call will drop if you switch to digital, but you are changing networks if you change. Sprint PCS does not have analog service. You will be switching to another carrier, and you will be charged. To prevent this, every Sprint phone has a "Sprint PCS Only" selection. But the fact that the phone is switching between Digital and Analog is not a good sign. That means the Sprint PCS signal isn't strong enough, and the phone is looking for another service.

Most of Lexington has good Sprint PCS coverage, but you lose it quickly on the edge of town. Or you just may be in a "dead" spot...every carrier has them. You may want to consider another carrier, but Lexington does not have many choices.

As far as changing plans, you can switch up and down as much as you want without penalty, once per month. However, if you sign up for a promotional plan, like the "3000 Minutes" plan, and you switch, you may lose the extra Night & Weekend minutes associated with this plan, unless you sign up for another year. For some people, this isn't a problem since they only use the Daytime (Anytime) minutes, anyway. For them, they can switch among the regular plans that don't include the thousands of Night & Weekend minutes.

The good news is that Sprint offers a Vacation plan for as little as $5-$10/month. That keeps your number active, and you can switch to any current plan when you return. Get info on that procedure when you sign up.

I reiterate, the "Digital/Analog Switching" problem is an indicator that you are located in a bad spot for Sprint PCS service.

-Bill Radio
-www.mountainwireless.com

Thank you all for the great input. Since most of the calls that I will be making will be from my office, the poor signal in my building seems to be a potential problem. My husband and I had Sprint PCS a couple years ago and we kept experiencing dropped calls and bad reception, which is why I am a bit skeptical. It was so bad that we had to opt out. We were told that reception was poor since we lived on a hill! How can I be sure that this time around things will be better?

I have also been looking at other plans in the Lexington Area and I was wondering whether anyone has experience with SunCom. Even though they require a one year contract they have a reasonable cancellation policy and since they are affiliates of ATT, I am told I can switch to ATT when I move to DC (in 6 months) without a penalty. Any input on SunCom reception in Lexington would be welcome. And what about ATT in the DC/ Maryland area? The plans seem comparable. I am worried more about reception and getting cut off mid call. So if anyone has SunCom in the Lexington area please let me know how the reception is.

thanks
Elaine

sorry bud, Sprint makes you resign a contract when switching plans now...

[larry]

Really, when did this come about? My brother switched plans last September and didn't have to resign a contract.