Help with two things....NC area.....

[silvertooth]

I am moving to the Lewisville area of North Carolina. I have only looked at Verizon phones and service. Initially, I liked the Motorola t720 only to find out that it is low on features (compared to others) and the display only has something like 6k colors. Then, I snapped to the Audiovox CMD9500. It looks ok, but the brand Audiovox does not have a good reputation among friends, etc. I read of a LG 4400 phone coming soon but did not get to view many features. Which of these phones are the best? I'm looking for signal reception, color display, battery life, and compactability (flip phone). I also like the calendar and scheduler in the T720.

Second, I'll be travelling US Rt 77 to southern WV quite often. Needless to say, I do not want any roaming charges. I was going to go with Sprint, but I hear their network is somewhat more limited than others. My friends say that Verizon is the best in NC and since they have the largest network, I shouldn't have any issues while travelling to or in WV. I read in this forum that Alltell could be a possible option. Any recommendations?

[scottb]

The only phones with color screens you'll get from Verizon are the T720 and the CDM9500. Since the LG does not exist and you state you don't really want the Audiovox, it sounds like you've made your choice - the T720. Although poor in my opinion, the T720's battery life is better than the CDM9500. Also, IMO the CDM9500 is far from compact (I'm used to a v60). I tried the T720 and was not overly impressed by it - except for the screen. I returned it due to issues that bothered me. Others on this board are very happy with their T720s - you should read some others' feedback on it.

Check Verizon's map to get an idea of coverage - WVA looks pretty spotty. Alltel has good coverage, but I don't know that it will be better than Verizon's - it looks pretty much the same. I've only gone through WVA on I81 where Verizon recently added that area to their extended network (home rates) - it used to be roaming, but not any more. I understand they will be picking up the area in VA along I81 in the near future also (roamer1 has info on that). Good luck.

[jayc]

I have a t270, like the phone so far. I have dropped it several occasions and it seems not to bother it. I think it's more solid than it seems. What features were you wanting that the t720 does not have?

...or you could wait around for the LG/Samsung color flips that are due to come out soon.

LG VX4400
Samsung A530

check them out on phonescoop.com

Regards.

[cryogenic]

Hate to burst your bubble, but southeastern WV is NOT included on AC... That area on I-77 is covered by US Cellular, which is not included on the America's Choice plans. If you check the map, that entire eastern section is white, meaning you'd be charged roaming while in that area. VZW does cover Charleston, though. I don't know exactly how far south into WV they cover, but it doesn't look like they cover too far down I-77

[Rebguy2]

Cyrogenic is right, Verizon does not have any coverage of their own in SE West Virginia; you would be roaming all the way from Bluefield to just outside Charleston. The whole southern and eastern part of WV is USCC. I don't know exactly where you are going in WV, but I have a friend who has Sprint service and a Sanyo 4900, he travels from Charlotte to his hometown of Summersville, WV quite often taking I-77 to Beckley and Rte 19 through Fayetteville on up into Summersville, and he has Sprint digital service all the way through VA and part way into WV with the exception of spotty service on Fancy Gap Mountain going into Virginia (I have a feeling all carriers will be spotty there). He usually loses Sprint service and starts analog roaming around Fayetteville on Rte 19. Of course, this is with the 4900; he used to have a Qualcomm (not sure which model) and it lost service between Princeton and Beckley, and then again outside Beckley going toward Oak Hill. He even manages to hold a signal about 3/4 of the way through Big Walker Mountain tunnel and halfway through East River Mountain tunnel. He gets better service with Sprint through there than I do with my Cingular phone. Of course, the best throughout SW Virginia and southern WV is without a doubt US Cellular, IMO; as well as in Western NC.