Looking for provider in Michigan w/ 1k mins+

[Amazon Jim]

Trying to find a phone plan that will work for me. I'm currently Nextel and DO NOT have a contract w/ them. It's 300 out/unlim free incoming 2way etc. I have an office phone, but my job is taking me out of the office more and more. I also use Skype when able.

My parents have a Verizon plan I could go on (I work w/ my dad) 900 mins for them, but I'd need to up their plan by 1k minutes or so. I'm NOT a big fan of V (long story), but I'm open to anyone. I'm only really looking for a bluetooth and maybe MP3 player flip phone. Smallest amount of cash possible - but I guess it doesn't really matter if I like the phone.

I'm paying $60/month and wanted to see what other suggest given my situation. I like the rollover from ATT and the phones seem fine too. I wouldn't mind a planner in a phone either, like a Blackberry, but I just don't want to get crazy on prices.....right now, I have multiple telephone lines and voice mails for my business and I spend $200+/month on all that. My cell is the most expensive part.

Please help!

Thanks in advance.

James

[Andy]

Well, Verizon may be a good option if you could just join your Dad's Account and split the cost with them- you would not have to pay for your whole account.
If ALLTEL is available where you are, I would definitely consider them. They give you a generous number of minutes, and their plans include a feature called MyCircle which allows you to call any 10 numbers (any network, even landlines) for free.
T-Mobile has generous allotments of minutes and a feature called MyFaves on some of their plans, which lets you call any 5 Numbers (any network, even landlines) for free.

A feature like MyCircle or MyFavs may work out better for you than rollover, depending on your usage.

[budone]

Where about's in MI???

[strunke]

Saginaw? Go with Alltel you won't regret it at all. In fact you may just love it....

If you wanted to still pay 59.99 for the plan...which turns into about 68 after taxes/fees you can get My Circle, any 10 free numbers completely unlimited, 900 anytime minutes, m2m, 9pm n/w. You can customize the plan more as well if you want. For phones the RAZR 2 (pricey), LG 8600, and LG Wave fit the bill for a phone.

[RadioFoneGuy]

Originally Posted by strunke

Saginaw? Go with Alltel you won't regret it at all. In fact you may just love it....

If you wanted to still pay 59.99 for the plan...which turns into about 68 after taxes/fees you can get My Circle, any 10 free numbers completely unlimited, 900 anytime minutes, m2m, 9pm n/w. You can customize the plan more as well if you want. For phones the RAZR 2 (pricey), LG 8600, and LG Wave fit the bill for a phone.

OK Chad!! LOL you gotta love their commercials.

[RadioFoneGuy]

speaking of Alltel my Avatar is an Alltel tower in Frankfort MI.

[cellular_freak]

I go to SVSU and I know for a fact that Alltel is the best cell phone carrier around here as far as coverage goes. They have the best call quality too. Anytime my phone (Verizon) doesn't have service (which isn't too often) I am ALWAYS on Alltel unless I'm in the thumb (Then I'm on Thumb Cellular). So I would definitely go with Alltel or Verizon if you're looking for good service.

I used to have Nextel, and I don't even know how you can stand to still have them, LOL. I dropped calls left and right. I don't think I ever made one call without dropping it due to the network being "busy" or I didn't have service.

[Ironwalt]

Originally Posted by strunke

Saginaw? Go with Alltel you won't regret it at all. In fact you may just love it....

If you wanted to still pay 59.99 for the plan...which turns into about 68 after taxes/fees you can get My Circle, any 10 free numbers completely unlimited, 900 anytime minutes, m2m, 9pm n/w. You can customize the plan more as well if you want. For phones the RAZR 2 (pricey), LG 8600, and LG Wave fit the bill for a phone.

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

OK Chad!! LOL you gotta love their commercials.

I will go along with what chad said (I mean strunke)

[RadioFoneGuy]

Originally Posted by Ironwalt

I will go along with what chad said (I mean strunke)

He needs to change his name to MR Alltel or Alltel Pimp. Alltel needs to pay him some commision for all his refers.

Maybe if Suncom, Dobson, Unicel or (insert your previous carrier here) had him they would have stuck around alittle longer.

[Ironwalt]

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

He needs to change his name to MR Alltel or Alltel Pimp. Alltel needs to pay him some commision for all his refers.

Maybe if Suncom, Dobson, Unicel or (insert your previous carrier here) had him they would have stuck around alittle longer.

Yeah Alltel pimp does do a great job. When I grow up I want to be just like him and Moto

[RadioFoneGuy]

Heck yah, I work for one of Alltels rival companies and now I want an Alltel phone. lol

[Ironwalt]

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

Heck yah, I work for one of Alltels rival companies and now I want an Alltel phone. lol

Well come on over to the Alltel side. We always want more friends and we have great prices.

[strunke]

Originally Posted by Ironwalt

Yeah Alltel pimp does do a great job. When I grow up I want to be just like him and Moto

Hahah......

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

He needs to change his name to MR Alltel or Alltel Pimp. Alltel needs to pay him some commision for all his refers.

Maybe if Suncom, Dobson, Unicel or (insert your previous carrier here) had him they would have stuck around alittle longer.

I've had/have every carrier in Michigan and I travel around it a lot. Almost veryone else overage stinks in my humble opinion (more like the big 4). The closest to them overall is Centennial and Dobson. I don't believe they are in Saginaw. And I will never recommend At&t However Alltel is not perfect everywhere...

[UFO]

Originally Posted by RadioFoneGuy

Maybe if Suncom, Dobson, Unicel or (insert your previous carrier here) had him they would have stuck around alittle longer.

haha.. that is funny.

At least in my experience, when alltel is an option, they usually have good coverage and better prices than the Big 4. T-Mobile with My Faves and 5 numbers is close but I still prefer the alltel plans with My Circle and 10 numbers. And those are the 2 big factors to choosing a provider imo while phone selection and customer support are also important.

Even though it sounds like a sales pitch, for most areas alltel covers it's usually true. I was looking at the Verizon plans the other day, and thinking now that I have 5 lines, if I didn't have My Circle and paying $69/mo + added lines for 900 anytime mins + about 5000 My Circle mins/month, I'd have to have at least 2100 mins and pay $109/mo or more + added lines with the big V. That adds up to over $480/yr. And coverage is always area dependent, but it also seems like alltel is able to focus on areas that aren't a priority for the others and they are almost always in the 850 MHz band, giving them good airwaves for the potential of good coverage in most areas.

[Amazon Jim]

Originally Posted by cellular_freak

I go to SVSU and I know for a fact that Alltel is the best cell phone carrier around here as far as coverage goes. They have the best call quality too. Anytime my phone (Verizon) doesn't have service (which isn't too often) I am ALWAYS on Alltel unless I'm in the thumb (Then I'm on Thumb Cellular). So I would definitely go with Alltel or Verizon if you're looking for good service.

I used to have Nextel, and I don't even know how you can stand to still have them, LOL. I dropped calls left and right. I don't think I ever made one call without dropping it due to the network being "busy" or I didn't have service.

Oh I agree on the Nextel front....drop calls all the time. I figured it was because my phone is 4 years old - i730. I've dropped the phone plenty and it keeps on ticking.

EDIT: Also, I have A LOT of incoming calls....hence the reason I'm mostly w/ Nextel. I'm mostly in Saginaw, so coverage for most of the carriers listed is very good.

[strunke]

Originally Posted by Amazon Jim

Oh I agree on the Nextel front....drop calls all the time. I figured it was because my phone is 4 years old - i730. I've dropped the phone plenty and it keeps on ticking.

EDIT: Also, I have A LOT of incoming calls....hence the reason I'm mostly w/ Nextel. I'm mostly in Saginaw, so coverage for most of the carriers listed is very good.

If free incoming is a requirement then you could look at the cdma side of Sprint with a free incoming plan. But other then that your best bet for your money would be Alltel with the 10 free numbers...

[cellular_freak]

Originally Posted by Amazon Jim

Oh I agree on the Nextel front....drop calls all the time. I figured it was because my phone is 4 years old - i730. I've dropped the phone plenty and it keeps on ticking.

EDIT: Also, I have A LOT of incoming calls....hence the reason I'm mostly w/ Nextel. I'm mostly in Saginaw, so coverage for most of the carriers listed is very good.

Yeah, mainly it's due to the fact that the iDEN network really can't hold a lot of people at one time on it's towers. That's the reason for all the dropped calls. Also, since iDEN is TDMA based, you get that buzzing in your speakers just like with a lot of GSM phones, which I find particularly annoying. I actually used to have the i730 and i830 so I know it's not the individual phones, it's the network.

Since you do for sure live in Saginaw, I can tell you now since I'm there all the time and I've had about every technology, that Alltel or Verizon would be your best bet. I wouldn't go for Sprint due to the fact that it's not really Sprint in our area, it's iPCS, and their coverage SUCKS, LOL.