Help wanted.

[bartelsse]

I’m looking for a new phone & service that’s reliable. In the phone I’m into preferably name brand but if there is a comparable phone that’s good, really what I’m looking for is a phone other then Nokia. Service provider either AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, or Verizon Wireless. Personal option is welcomed & encouraged because I want the most for the money. Though I do not want to spend a lot of money.

[Simon5282]

Anyone will tell you, there is no best carrier.

Want best coverage, go with either Verizon or at&t. Both have excellent coverage. Lowest advertised prices and a SIM card freedom, go with T-Mobile, but CHECK YOUR COVERAGE first. You can do that online. Sprint gives you free early nights, and coverage is ARGUABLY better than T-Mobile. It will be different for everyone. For the cheapest plans though, there is a little known secret. Go to Sprint.com/sero, and enter the email address savings@sprintemi.com and you can get dirt cheap plans, but it may not have the coverage you want and family plans are not available.

So, tell us exactly what you are looking for and ask specific questions if you want more information to make your decision, but there is no "Best carrier" for everyone.

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by Simon5282

Anyone will tell you, there is no best carrier.

Want best coverage, go with either Verizon or at&t. Both have excellent coverage. Lowest advertised prices and a SIM card freedom, go with T-Mobile, but CHECK YOUR COVERAGE first. You can do that online. Sprint gives you free early nights, and coverage is ARGUABLY better than T-Mobile. It will be different for everyone. For the cheapest plans though, there is a little known secret. Go to Sprint.com/sero, and enter the email address savings@sprintemi.com and you can get dirt cheap plans, but it may not have the coverage you want and family plans are not available.

So, tell us exactly what you are looking for and ask specific questions if you want more information to make your decision, but there is no "Best carrier" for everyone.

Thank you, I will look at the website

[Andy]

I think you are going to get the "BEST" coverage out of whatever carrier covers your area best...Where about are you so we may be able to determine who may be good carriers in your area? Just because Verizon has a good, large national footprint, does not mean they automatically are the best or one of the best in your specific area or for your travel patterns. T-Mobile or a small, tiny carrier may be the "BEST" coverage option.

You list ALLTEL as your current provider. Generally, in terms of coverage and the bang for the buck, ALLTEL is right up there, and no national carrier like Verizon or at&t is even going to come close to offering you, price wise, what ALLTEL can offer you, and coverage wise, like I said, ALLTEL is generally the best or one of the best in the areas they natively cover.

Andy

[bartelsse]

From looking at the coverage map for my area code at my house it would be good coverage compared to the Sprint Nextel PowerSource plan were the whole region is covered with a few great Nationwide Sprint PCS Network scattered around.

The Nationwide Sprint PCS Network coverage map (the house icon is the were abouts I live)
http://coverage.sprintpcs.com/WebIma...TTTTTFFFFFTFFT

The Sprint Nextel PowerSource Network coverage map (the house icon is the were abouts I live)
http://coverage.sprintpcs.com/WebIma...FTTTTFFFFFFFFF

[UFO]

Originally Posted by bartelsse

From looking at the coverage map for my area code at my house it would be good coverage compared to the Sprint Nextel PowerSource plan were the whole region is covered with a few great Nationwide Sprint PCS Network scattered around.

The Nationwide Sprint PCS Network coverage map (the house icon is the were abouts I live)
http://coverage.sprintpcs.com/WebIma...TTTTTFFFFFTFFT

The Sprint Nextel PowerSource Network coverage map (the house icon is the were abouts I live)
http://coverage.sprintpcs.com/WebIma...FTTTTFFFFFFFFF

The Sprint Nextel PowerSource map shows places where you get Nextel walkie-talkie plus Sprint Voice and data. It doesn't show signal strength. The Nationwide Sprint PCS Network Coverage map shows how strong the Sprint signal should be. So with Sprint it looks like you would be in a fair coverage area (almost in a good coverage if the accuracy can be trusted which sometimes it can and sometimes it cannot), where the nextel walkie-talkie service should work if you have a need/want for it. Sprint service will not just be automatically better and give a stronger signal if you're on any particular Sprint plan.

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by UFO

The Sprint Nextel PowerSource map shows places where you get Nextel walkie-talkie plus Sprint Voice and data. It doesn't show signal strength. The Nationwide Sprint PCS Network Coverage map shows how strong the Sprint signal should be. So with Sprint it looks like you would be in a fair coverage area, where the nextel walkie-talkie service should work if you have a need/want for it. Sprint service will not just be automatically better if you're on a Powersource plan.

I'm aware of that.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by bartelsse

I'm aware of that.

Great.
From reading your last post, it sounded to me like you were making a comparison of the two maps with one having great coverage scattered around and another having good coverage so I must have misunderstood. I apologize.

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by UFO

Great.
From reading your last post, it sounded to me like you were making a comparison of the two maps with one having great coverage scattered around and another having good coverage so I must have misunderstood. I apologize.

That is true I did compare the two maps which is not comparable they are the same. I was just thinking out loud to my self.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by bartelsse

I'm aware of that.

WOW no thanks!!!

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by RJB

WOW no thanks!!!

I forgot to thank OFO.

[Fred333]

I would go with Verizon as a carrier. I had cingular and it was horrible.

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by Fred333

I would go with Verizon as a carrier. I had cingular and it was horrible.

Why was it horrible? I would think that a cell service provider would have good to great service in the big apple.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by bartelsse

I’m looking for a new phone & service that’s reliable. In the phone I’m into preferably name brand but if there is a comparable phone that’s good, really what I’m looking for is a phone other then Nokia. Service provider either AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, or Verizon Wireless. Personal option is welcomed & encouraged because I want the most for the money. Though I do not want to spend a lot of money.

Not trying to be mean or anything, but I think what you're looking for is an impossible answer. It really depends on what you're looking for in a wireless provider and phone as to which one would be best. If you take other people's opinion's based on what they think is important, then it may just misguide you rather than help. It's the same thing as an elderly customer wanting a basic phone and asking the salesman which is best and walking out of the store with a mp3 player and qwerty keyboard. The salesman might give his opinion of a best phone based on what he considers important in a phone even though it wouldn't be the best choice for that particular customer. It doesn't make him a liar, it just means his situation and point of view is a little different than the customers.

There are 4 basic points to choosing a provider. Coverage, price, phone, and customer service.

For coverage, nobody can really help. What's good in New York might not be good in Santa Fe. In your area, alltel and Verizon are the 850 MHz, cellular band providers, and in theory should have an advantage in providing the best coverage. You can also check coverage maps, ask how family members and friends feel about their coverage, etc. But other than that, all we can do is make generalizations. I've personally found alltel to give me great coverage and work everywhere I travel. Before I had alltel I was also pleased with Verizon's coverage at the time although in general it wasn't as good in my area. Is that the case for you? ... maybe so, maybe not. On a national level, alltel, verizon, and Sprint are all CDMA providers that will roam on each other so you are rarely without a signal. At&t has a very large network and several smaller roaming partners. T-Mobile probably is the least reliable in rural areas and they tend to focus on urban areas. But they also have a number of roaming partners to partner with for national coverage.

For price, just go to the websites and compare. You know your needs, how many lines you need, and how many minutes. Alltel and T-Mobile generally have the best plans. They tend to give more minutes for the price and unlimited calling to 10 or 5 people (My Circle and My Faves). But if you know a ton of people on Verizon or At&t, will free mobile-to-mobile work out better? Also watch out for hidden fees, T-Mobile does charge extra for mobile-to-mobile with a My Faves plan where Alltel does not for My Circle althought the plan must be $59 or more. At&t, Verizon, and Sprint all have very similar plans but At&t has rollover and Sprint has nights at 7. Verizon lives on successful marketing and generally doesn't offer any incentives other than the Mobile-to-Mobile base.

For the phone, that's the biggest thing that you have to decide on your own. For alltel, I really like the Wave and AX8600 as reasonably priced options that are simple to use and have a lot of features. I also agree with you in not liking Nokias just because of the UI. I'm not that familiar with other providers phone selections because I've not used them near as much. My Verizon knowledge is out of date here. But if I were you, I would first select a provider, and then choose a phone from that provider unless there's a particular phone that you have to have. But it's generally agreed that the phone is one of the last things you decide on.

And for customer service. As the saying goes, opinions are like ... elbows, everybody's got one. If you search on google for "[Cell Provider] Horror Stories" you'll get a laundry list for every single provider. Verizon, Alltel, and T-Mobile usually get many more good stories than bad. At&t is hit or miss, usually more good. And Sprint Customer Service is more of a crapshoot.

Finally, for people's recommendations, take it with a grain of salt. As I said before, if they like a provider for any particular reason, that reason may mean nothing to you. Somebody may like Verizon because it works really well in Seattle ... to you that wouldn't matter. I like alltel myself and all of those providers are options to me. For my situation I've found their coverage, plans, and Customer support to be the best while having several reasonable phones to choose from. If you want to move onto another provider, just remember they all have pros and cons. If you do a lot of traveling, Verizon, Sprint, and At&t are also usually good. Best of luck in finding the provider that makes you happy. I hope this post was of some help

[bartelsse]

Originally Posted by UFO

Not trying to be mean or anything, but I think what you're looking for is an impossible answer. It really depends on what you're looking for in a wireless provider and phone as to which one would be best. If you take other people's opinion's based on what they think is important, then it may just misguide you rather than help. It's the same thing as an elderly customer wanting a basic phone and asking the salesman which is best and walking out of the store with a mp3 player and qwerty keyboard. The salesman might give his opinion of a best phone based on what he considers important in a phone even though it wouldn't be the best choice for that particular customer. It doesn't make him a liar, it just means his situation and point of view is a little different than the customers.

There are 4 basic points to choosing a provider. Coverage, price, phone, and customer service.

For coverage, nobody can really help. What's good in New York might not be good in Santa Fe. In your area, alltel and Verizon are the 850 MHz, cellular band providers, and in theory should have an advantage in providing the best coverage. You can also check coverage maps, ask how family members and friends feel about their coverage, etc. But other than that, all we can do is make generalizations. I've personally found alltel to give me great coverage and work everywhere I travel. Before I had alltel I was also pleased with Verizon's coverage at the time although in general it wasn't as good in my area. Is that the case for you? ... maybe so, maybe not. On a national level, alltel, verizon, and Sprint are all CDMA providers that will roam on each other so you are rarely without a signal. At&t has a very large network and several smaller roaming partners. T-Mobile probably is the least reliable in rural areas and they tend to focus on urban areas. But they also have a number of roaming partners to partner with for national coverage.

For price, just go to the websites and compare. You know your needs, how many lines you need, and how many minutes. Alltel and T-Mobile generally have the best plans. They tend to give more minutes for the price and unlimited calling to 10 or 5 people (My Circle and My Faves). But if you know a ton of people on Verizon or At&t, will free mobile-to-mobile work out better? Also watch out for hidden fees, T-Mobile does charge extra for mobile-to-mobile with a My Faves plan where Alltel does not for My Circle althought the plan must be $59 or more. At&t, Verizon, and Sprint all have very similar plans but At&t has rollover and Sprint has nights at 7. Verizon lives on successful marketing and generally doesn't offer any incentives other than the Mobile-to-Mobile base.

For the phone, that's the biggest thing that you have to decide on your own. For alltel, I really like the Wave and AX8600 as reasonably priced options that are simple to use and have a lot of features. I also agree with you in not liking Nokias just because of the UI. I'm not that familiar with other providers phone selections because I've not used them near as much. My Verizon knowledge is out of date here. But if I were you, I would first select a provider, and then choose a phone from that provider unless there's a particular phone that you have to have. But it's generally agreed that the phone is one of the last things you decide on.

And for customer service. As the saying goes, opinions are like ... elbows, everybody's got one. If you search on google for "[Cell Provider] Horror Stories" you'll get a laundry list for every single provider. Verizon, Alltel, and T-Mobile usually get many more good stories than bad. At&t is hit or miss, usually more good. And Sprint Customer Service is more of a crapshoot.

Finally, for people's recommendations, take it with a grain of salt. As I said before, if they like a provider for any particular reason, that reason may mean nothing to you. Somebody may like Verizon because it works really well in Seattle ... to you that wouldn't matter. I like alltel myself and all of those providers are options to me. For my situation I've found their coverage, plans, and Customer support to be the best while having several reasonable phones to choose from. If you want to move onto another provider, just remember they all have pros and cons. If you do a lot of traveling, Verizon, Sprint, and At&t are also usually good. Best of luck in finding the provider that makes you happy. I hope this post was of some help

Thanks UFO. I had not thought of it the way you stated.