WirelessAdvisor.com

05-23-2002, 2:57 PM

I don't currently have a cell phone and am considering getting one. Not sure which service to use or which phone to get! I spend most of the year at school in Clemson (northwestern south carolina) and the summer up here in southeastern massachusetts (close to rhode island). anybody have any recommendations for me? thanks a lot.

05-23-2002, 3:13 PM

Verizon and Sprint serve both those areas. Both have National roaming and free LD plans. My personal choice would be Verizon. Sprint is cheaper -- but you'll likely get what you pay for. See numerous threads on WA for multiple opinions about Sprint's Customer Service.

Without more info on how you plan to spend your time at school and how you plan to use your phone, it's a bit difficult to be more precise.

05-23-2002, 6:11 PM

thanks for your help. i would be using it at school mostly for emergency reasons or short phone calls as well as occasional long distance calls to my home (in MA). i am in clemson basically all the time, but i also travel often with my team at school usually in georgia (augusta, gainesville), tennessee (knoxville, chattanooga, oak ridge), and sometimes florida. so it would need to work well in those areas as well. and while i'm home i am in southeastern mass, and the providence area. a minimal phone plan would be sufficient for me. i hadn't heard many good things about sprint, but i was considering both verizon and cingular.

Jack · 05-23-2002, 9:43 PM

You will probally want to use the phone more then you think so I would get a good bucket of night and weekend minutes when you can then call friends and family. ask some classmates what they have. If sprint is going to serve both you home and school well then consider them.

cingular currently is 250 and 3000 and can use the phone anywhere you can get a signal

sprint anywhere in the us as long as you are on the sprint network

Jack

05-23-2002, 10:18 PM

thanks jack. clemson university actually does sell cell phones at the telecommunications office and they use cingular. so that's probably the best choice. i just didn't know if verizon was any better. i know some people that use or have used sprint at clemson but haven't been very satisfied. the 250/3000 nation plan that cingular offers does look like a good deal. i'll probably go with that. any recommendations on the best phone to use. would i be able to use any cingular phone up here in the northeast and back at school?

roamer1 · 05-24-2002, 12:58 AM

First choice should probably be Verizon; SunCom (SC)/AT&T (MA) (but if you get them and ever come down to Atlanta you'll probably be unhappy) and Sprint are also good choices.

I would recommend against Cingular -- if you sign up in Clemson you will be on the GSM side and have rather limited coverage (and roam on VoiceStream in MA); if you sign up in MA you will be on the IS-136 side and face very bad service from Cingular and US Cellular in east Tennessee (and roam on SunCom in Clemson, and face the "50% of roaming must be on Cingular networks" rule because of Cingular's disjointed network.) Also, do NOT go with ALLTEL (in Clemson); their coverage in Clemson is VERY bad and generates MANY complaints.

-SC

05-24-2002, 10:53 AM

really, you recommend verizon over cingular? how is verizon's coverage in the areas i need it for? thanks for your help.

roamer1 · 05-25-2002, 12:55 AM

Verizon is great in all those areas (Augusta is roaming on ALLTEL but their coverage is fine there.)

-SC

05-26-2002, 10:15 AM

Well it sounds as if you know what you're talking about for that area, so I think I'll go with verizon. Kinda a shame since cingular's 250/3000 deal sounded the best, but better performance is more important. Thanks again for your help.

Jack · 05-26-2002, 6:06 PM

do a america choice rate plan with verizon

300/4000 for $35

05-26-2002, 11:14 PM

Yeah that's what I most likely will go with . Is the wireless web promotion that they're running for $5 extra worth the money? I've done some reading on it and it sounds decent. I figure it may be nice to be able to check my e-mail when I am away from the computer. Would I be able to check my clemson mail account with it (and would i be charged somehow for that?) or would i have to use a hotmail account or something? I also read you can use AIM on the phone (bookmarking wim.aol.com). How useful is that? That could very well come in handy on weekends that I am gone. Yes, questions questions. Sorry, I'm new to this and they seem pretty vague on the verizon web site as to details that are important to me (and many people, I would assume). Thanks.

05-27-2002, 6:25 AM

verizons WW is ok---it's best to have a msn or hotmail account since they joined up with msn--you can use msn instant messenger--it's worth the extra $5 which includes 100 alerts (or text messages) other wise if you wanted text messages it would cost $2.99 per 100--verizon won't be upgrading in use phones for about a month but if you call customer service they'll make it your home page before the upgrade actually happens

TNDan21 · 05-27-2002, 9:27 AM

Well the current promtion for the America's Choice Plans is mobile web AND Unlimited Nights and Weekends for only $5 extra per month and that is definately worth it.

05-27-2002, 9:32 AM

thanks again. this forum is great, you guys really know your stuff.

05-28-2002, 9:05 AM

<< First choice should probably be Verizon; SunCom (SC)/AT&T (MA) (but if you get them and ever come down to Atlanta you'll probably be unhappy) and Sprint are also good choices.

I would recommend against Cingular -- if you sign up in Clemson you will be on the GSM side and have rather limited coverage (and roam on VoiceStream in MA); if you sign up in MA you will be on the IS-136 side and face very bad service from Cingular and US Cellular in east Tennessee (and roam on SunCom in Clemson, and face the "50% of roaming must be on Cingular networks" rule because of Cingular's disjointed network.) Also, do NOT go with ALLTEL (in Clemson); their coverage in Clemson is VERY bad and generates MANY complaints.

-SC >>

That's true; there is no GSM coverage in VIRGINIA. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

06-18-2002, 9:17 AM

I'd have to agree w/ everyone else on here. I'm also a Clemson student and Cingular has disappointed me on football weekends and when roaming. I find it hard to get a line out a lot of the time. Impossible on football weekends. I use the GSM (Clemson) phone and I get no service when i visit friends at Virginia Tech. Knoxville area is solid, as is charleston. Atlanta is roaming for me as I'm on a regional plan. I'm not sure about the rest of Georgia. I've got friends w/ verizon who are happy, and i'm considering the switch.

cryogenic · 06-18-2002, 9:25 PM

I can speak for Verizon's coverage in Knoxville/Oak Ridge and all of East TN and say that it's awesome... there aren't too many areas where you won't have coverage. Cingular's GSM around here is ok at best... has a lot of coverage holes, from what I've found. If you got a TDMA Cingular phone, you'd be roaming on US Cellular, which is ok at best, but not so hot in Oak Ridge... and Cingular TDMA in Chattanooga is absolutely atrocious... so stay away from Cingular, in all honesty. Go with Verizon and I'm sure you'll be pleased. :-)

roamer1 · 06-19-2002, 1:24 AM

Consolidated responses...

<< That's true; there is no GSM coverage in VIRGINIA. >>

The GSM situation in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area looks bleak at best; it's possible there may never be GSM there (for VS/T-Mobile customers anyway.) Richmond/Hampton Roads/etc. are coming soon...

<< I'm not sure about the rest of Georgia. I've got friends w/ verizon who are happy, and i'm considering the switch. >>

If you don't get free roaming in Atlanta then ALL of GA would be roaming except the Augusta area, the Savannah area (includes Statesboro/GA Southern and the coast to the FL line), and I-85 northeast of (but not including!) the Commerce outlet malls. Also, there's still no GSM in Albany but it looks like VS may have some soon there.

<< and Cingular TDMA in Chattanooga is absolutely atrocious >>

My feelings exactly... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

-SC

TNDan21 · 06-19-2002, 3:00 AM

Stanley, SunCom (Triton PCS) happens to serve the Roanoke/Blacksburg area and they announced about a month or 2 ago or so that they are upgrading there entire network to GSM. I believe by the end of this year that in select cities they will be offering GSM service with other markets following later on.

This is just a total guess but my guess is that by 2004 if not earlier there will be GSM service in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area.

07-07-2002, 9:43 PM

all right, it's me again. the originator of this thread. still haven't purchased anything, though i've looked into it a lot more. it's getting closer to the time i head back down to south carolina so i'm looking more seriously into it (and eagerly awaiting new phone additions!). first off, is sprint pcs really that bad? i'm such a gadget freak that i can't help falling in love with their superior phone selection - most noteably the samsung a460. i mean, deals like the a460 on amazon.com for $29.99 are so enticing! but i definitely believe you guys on your verizon recommendation and have been looking mostly into going with verizon. any idea if this new samsung a310 will be as good as the 460? i really like the design of the 460 much more though! any news when this phone (a310) will finally be out anyway? all i've heard is july 2002, and at least up here in mass the calendars say it's july! the motorola t720 also seems like it might be worth checking out. will it be comparable in price to the a310? any other cool phones to satisfy this gadget freak that verizon has or will be coming out with that i should look at? or is sprint good enough in the clemson/ ne georgia/ east tennesse areas? well thanks again for your help. i keep checking this forum every day for the lastest info and opinions! keep up the good work!

TNDan21 · 07-08-2002, 11:44 AM

Anonymous, Sprint PCS may have cool phones but they do seem to generate a lot of negative comments on here and I myself would rank Sprint PCS as proabely the worst of the 6 major carriers. They just don't have the coverage yet and overall as a company I don't trust Sprint.

I'd choose Verizon Wireless anyday over Sprint PCS. No offense to Larry or any other happy Sprint PCS users out there this is just my personal opinion.

07-09-2002, 10:18 PM

well...only one extra reply! guess you guys are pretty solid on your opinion of verizon over sprint in my area huh? well, all right. i'll wait around for the a310 and hope that it is a really good phone! cuz i have a feeling i won't be able to afford the t720. just hope i don't have to wait too much longer!

05-23-2002, 2:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	Mass/SC I don't currently have a cell phone and am considering getting one. Not sure which service to use or which phone to get! I spend most of the year at school in Clemson (northwestern south carolina) and the summer up here in southeastern massachusetts (close to rhode island). anybody have any recommendations for me? thanks a lot.

05-23-2002, 9:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jack Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,475 Phone(s): Motorola T720 Provider(s): Alltel Devices: Sirius Satellite radio, ipod, laptop, pda Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	You will probally want to use the phone more then you think so I would get a good bucket of night and weekend minutes when you can then call friends and family. ask some classmates what they have. If sprint is going to serve both you home and school well then consider them. cingular currently is 250 and 3000 and can use the phone anywhere you can get a signal sprint anywhere in the us as long as you are on the sprint network Jack __________________ Current Plan with alltel 3000 anytime minutes w/nationwide LD $74.95 a month---Waiting not so patiently for the Alltel version of the V710

05-24-2002, 12:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
roamer1 In Memoriam Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sandy Springs, GA Posts: 1,749 Phone(s): Palm Treo 680, Sierra AirCard 860, Moto L2 & L6, Nokia 6015i Provider(s): lots of orange, a little Little Rock blue Devices: way too many :) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 2	First choice should probably be Verizon; SunCom (SC)/AT&T (MA) (but if you get them and ever come down to Atlanta you'll probably be unhappy) and Sprint are also good choices. I would recommend against Cingular -- if you sign up in Clemson you will be on the GSM side and have rather limited coverage (and roam on VoiceStream in MA); if you sign up in MA you will be on the IS-136 side and face very bad service from Cingular and US Cellular in east Tennessee (and roam on SunCom in Clemson, and face the "50% of roaming must be on Cingular networks" rule because of Cingular's disjointed network.) Also, do NOT go with ALLTEL (in Clemson); their coverage in Clemson is VERY bad and generates MANY complaints. -SC __________________ "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune sticking it out at you...

05-25-2002, 12:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
roamer1 In Memoriam Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sandy Springs, GA Posts: 1,749 Phone(s): Palm Treo 680, Sierra AirCard 860, Moto L2 & L6, Nokia 6015i Provider(s): lots of orange, a little Little Rock blue Devices: way too many :) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 2	Verizon is great in all those areas (Augusta is roaming on ALLTEL but their coverage is fine there.) -SC __________________ "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune sticking it out at you...

05-26-2002, 6:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
Jack Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,475 Phone(s): Motorola T720 Provider(s): Alltel Devices: Sirius Satellite radio, ipod, laptop, pda Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	do a america choice rate plan with verizon 300/4000 for $35 __________________ Current Plan with alltel 3000 anytime minutes w/nationwide LD $74.95 a month---Waiting not so patiently for the Alltel version of the V710

05-23-2002, 3:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	Verizon and Sprint serve both those areas. Both have National roaming and free LD plans. My personal choice would be Verizon. Sprint is cheaper -- but you'll likely get what you pay for. See numerous threads on WA for multiple opinions about Sprint's Customer Service. Without more info on how you plan to spend your time at school and how you plan to use your phone, it's a bit difficult to be more precise.

05-23-2002, 6:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	thanks for your help. i would be using it at school mostly for emergency reasons or short phone calls as well as occasional long distance calls to my home (in MA). i am in clemson basically all the time, but i also travel often with my team at school usually in georgia (augusta, gainesville), tennessee (knoxville, chattanooga, oak ridge), and sometimes florida. so it would need to work well in those areas as well. and while i'm home i am in southeastern mass, and the providence area. a minimal phone plan would be sufficient for me. i hadn't heard many good things about sprint, but i was considering both verizon and cingular.

05-23-2002, 10:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	thanks jack. clemson university actually does sell cell phones at the telecommunications office and they use cingular. so that's probably the best choice. i just didn't know if verizon was any better. i know some people that use or have used sprint at clemson but haven't been very satisfied. the 250/3000 nation plan that cingular offers does look like a good deal. i'll probably go with that. any recommendations on the best phone to use. would i be able to use any cingular phone up here in the northeast and back at school?

05-24-2002, 10:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	really, you recommend verizon over cingular? how is verizon's coverage in the areas i need it for? thanks for your help.

05-26-2002, 10:15 AM	#9 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	Well it sounds as if you know what you're talking about for that area, so I think I'll go with verizon. Kinda a shame since cingular's 250/3000 deal sounded the best, but better performance is more important. Thanks again for your help.

05-26-2002, 11:14 PM	#11 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah that's what I most likely will go with . Is the wireless web promotion that they're running for $5 extra worth the money? I've done some reading on it and it sounds decent. I figure it may be nice to be able to check my e-mail when I am away from the computer. Would I be able to check my clemson mail account with it (and would i be charged somehow for that?) or would i have to use a hotmail account or something? I also read you can use AIM on the phone (bookmarking wim.aol.com). How useful is that? That could very well come in handy on weekends that I am gone. Yes, questions questions. Sorry, I'm new to this and they seem pretty vague on the verizon web site as to details that are important to me (and many people, I would assume). Thanks.

05-27-2002, 6:25 AM	#12 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	verizons WW is ok---it's best to have a msn or hotmail account since they joined up with msn--you can use msn instant messenger--it's worth the extra $5 which includes 100 alerts (or text messages) other wise if you wanted text messages it would cost $2.99 per 100--verizon won't be upgrading in use phones for about a month but if you call customer service they'll make it your home page before the upgrade actually happens

05-27-2002, 9:27 AM	#13 (permalink)
TNDan21 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kingsport, TN Posts: 5,964 Phone(s): LG enV2, Samsung t219 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile Devices: iPod Nano Thanks: 0 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Well the current promtion for the America's Choice Plans is mobile web AND Unlimited Nights and Weekends for only $5 extra per month and that is definately worth it.

05-27-2002, 9:32 AM	#14 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	thanks again. this forum is great, you guys really know your stuff.

05-28-2002, 9:05 AM	#15 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	<< First choice should probably be Verizon; SunCom (SC)/AT&T (MA) (but if you get them and ever come down to Atlanta you'll probably be unhappy) and Sprint are also good choices. I would recommend against Cingular -- if you sign up in Clemson you will be on the GSM side and have rather limited coverage (and roam on VoiceStream in MA); if you sign up in MA you will be on the IS-136 side and face very bad service from Cingular and US Cellular in east Tennessee (and roam on SunCom in Clemson, and face the "50% of roaming must be on Cingular networks" rule because of Cingular's disjointed network.) Also, do NOT go with ALLTEL (in Clemson); their coverage in Clemson is VERY bad and generates MANY complaints. -SC >> That's true; there is no GSM coverage in VIRGINIA. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

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06-18-2002, 9:17 AM	#16 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	I'd have to agree w/ everyone else on here. I'm also a Clemson student and Cingular has disappointed me on football weekends and when roaming. I find it hard to get a line out a lot of the time. Impossible on football weekends. I use the GSM (Clemson) phone and I get no service when i visit friends at Virginia Tech. Knoxville area is solid, as is charleston. Atlanta is roaming for me as I'm on a regional plan. I'm not sure about the rest of Georgia. I've got friends w/ verizon who are happy, and i'm considering the switch.

06-18-2002, 9:25 PM	#17 (permalink)
cryogenic Join Date: May 2002 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 1,443 Phone(s): Samsung A990 Provider(s): Verizon Devices: iriver H10 6GB mp3 player Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I can speak for Verizon's coverage in Knoxville/Oak Ridge and all of East TN and say that it's awesome... there aren't too many areas where you won't have coverage. Cingular's GSM around here is ok at best... has a lot of coverage holes, from what I've found. If you got a TDMA Cingular phone, you'd be roaming on US Cellular, which is ok at best, but not so hot in Oak Ridge... and Cingular TDMA in Chattanooga is absolutely atrocious... so stay away from Cingular, in all honesty. Go with Verizon and I'm sure you'll be pleased. :-) __________________ Firefox My blog/pic gallery/etc

06-19-2002, 1:24 AM	#18 (permalink)
roamer1 In Memoriam Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sandy Springs, GA Posts: 1,749 Phone(s): Palm Treo 680, Sierra AirCard 860, Moto L2 & L6, Nokia 6015i Provider(s): lots of orange, a little Little Rock blue Devices: way too many :) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 2	Consolidated responses... << That's true; there is no GSM coverage in VIRGINIA. >> The GSM situation in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area looks bleak at best; it's possible there may never be GSM there (for VS/T-Mobile customers anyway.) Richmond/Hampton Roads/etc. are coming soon... << I'm not sure about the rest of Georgia. I've got friends w/ verizon who are happy, and i'm considering the switch. >> If you don't get free roaming in Atlanta then ALL of GA would be roaming except the Augusta area, the Savannah area (includes Statesboro/GA Southern and the coast to the FL line), and I-85 northeast of (but not including!) the Commerce outlet malls. Also, there's still no GSM in Albany but it looks like VS may have some soon there. << and Cingular TDMA in Chattanooga is absolutely atrocious >> My feelings exactly... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] -SC __________________ "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune sticking it out at you...

06-19-2002, 3:00 AM	#19 (permalink)
TNDan21 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kingsport, TN Posts: 5,964 Phone(s): LG enV2, Samsung t219 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile Devices: iPod Nano Thanks: 0 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Stanley, SunCom (Triton PCS) happens to serve the Roanoke/Blacksburg area and they announced about a month or 2 ago or so that they are upgrading there entire network to GSM. I believe by the end of this year that in select cities they will be offering GSM service with other markets following later on. This is just a total guess but my guess is that by 2004 if not earlier there will be GSM service in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area.

07-07-2002, 9:43 PM	#20 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	all right, it's me again. the originator of this thread. still haven't purchased anything, though i've looked into it a lot more. it's getting closer to the time i head back down to south carolina so i'm looking more seriously into it (and eagerly awaiting new phone additions!). first off, is sprint pcs really that bad? i'm such a gadget freak that i can't help falling in love with their superior phone selection - most noteably the samsung a460. i mean, deals like the a460 on amazon.com for $29.99 are so enticing! but i definitely believe you guys on your verizon recommendation and have been looking mostly into going with verizon. any idea if this new samsung a310 will be as good as the 460? i really like the design of the 460 much more though! any news when this phone (a310) will finally be out anyway? all i've heard is july 2002, and at least up here in mass the calendars say it's july! the motorola t720 also seems like it might be worth checking out. will it be comparable in price to the a310? any other cool phones to satisfy this gadget freak that verizon has or will be coming out with that i should look at? or is sprint good enough in the clemson/ ne georgia/ east tennesse areas? well thanks again for your help. i keep checking this forum every day for the lastest info and opinions! keep up the good work!

07-08-2002, 11:44 AM	#21 (permalink)
TNDan21 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kingsport, TN Posts: 5,964 Phone(s): LG enV2, Samsung t219 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile Devices: iPod Nano Thanks: 0 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Anonymous, Sprint PCS may have cool phones but they do seem to generate a lot of negative comments on here and I myself would rank Sprint PCS as proabely the worst of the 6 major carriers. They just don't have the coverage yet and overall as a company I don't trust Sprint. I'd choose Verizon Wireless anyday over Sprint PCS. No offense to Larry or any other happy Sprint PCS users out there this is just my personal opinion.

07-09-2002, 10:18 PM	#22 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	well...only one extra reply! guess you guys are pretty solid on your opinion of verizon over sprint in my area huh? well, all right. i'll wait around for the a310 and hope that it is a really good phone! cuz i have a feeling i won't be able to afford the t720. just hope i don't have to wait too much longer!

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