Just switched to Cingular from Verizon (some advice needed)

[cambrian]

Hi guys,

I am brand spanking new to the forum and I have a few questions for the veterans out there. I had verizon for a year now. I am happy with the service and coverage but switching to a new phone is kind of a hassle. If I wanted to switch to a new phone, I have to re-enter the contacts all over again. I don't think verizon can upload contacts between different model phones.

So I decided to switch to cingular just 2 hours ago. So far the coverage is good and I am in the La Jolla area (San Diego). I decided to go with the Nokia 6200, which received rave reviews at phonescoop.com. I decided against the Samsung S307 because I used cingular 1 year ago as a trial and the s307 microphone quality was horrendous. People said I sounded "electronic" and as if I was in a tunnel. It tried another s307 and it was the same. This happens with calling to land lines and all the other carriers (including cingular).

My questions are:

1) I checked out the t-mobile phones and the samsung e105 seemed to be very good. I was thinking of buying an unlocked e105 and use it with my new cingular service. What do you guys think?

2) T-mobile vs. Cingular GSM coverage. I want to know the difference overall on a nationwide basis not just where I live. Did I make the right decision going to Cingular instead of T-mobile. I had t-mobile 2 years ago and their coverage in Orange County sucked. Considering that Cingular just recently acquired ATT, will this give Cingular customers more coverage?

3) I heard that verizon will release the CDMA/GSM phone. Does this mean that switching verizon phones will be smoother? Can I save the contacts on the sim card and just put in another verizon CDMA/GSM phone if i want to switch phones?

Thanks.

[xikle]

1) It would work to do that.

2) Don't know.

3) The CDMA/GSM phone is going to be a phone that uses the GSM bands that are used over seas not here, [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] so it wouldn't work to use the GSM part of the phone here in the States.

[cambrian]

Thanks for the reply. With regards to the first question: Does anybody have experience with the e105 with either t-mobile or cingular (unlocked)? Does it have the microphone problem like the s307?

[Kaosu]

Tho not really one of your questions, if you want to load address books between different models of phones, get a usb cable. There's several computer programs out there that will do that for you. Although I have yet to get a cable for my VX6000's, I did it all the time with the T720's I had. I used iSync on the Mac, it would load all address between your phone and address book on the computer. Very nice indeed. I believe there's something called TrueSync or something along those lines for PC that should be similar.
Or for a small fee, there is a GIN program that links with Outlook.

Although since you're not with Verizon anymore, I guess this is all pretty pointless :-P

[budney]

Originally posted by: cambrian

My questions are:

1) I checked out the t-mobile phones and the samsung e105 seemed to be very good. I was thinking of buying an unlocked e105 and use it with my new cingular service. What do you guys think?

The e105 is a very good phone, but it dosn't have the 850 band on it. All new Cingular phone have this band on their phones as some of their coverage back east is 850, also they have roaming agreements with other carriers with 850. For a time I was thinking of unlocking a e105 to use on Cingular as I am in AZ/CA/NV about 98% of the time, and it's 1900 MHz only. You can get a x427, which is very simular to the e105. It just dosn't have a external display. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

2) T-mobile vs. Cingular GSM coverage. I want to know the difference overall on a nationwide basis not just where I live. Did I make the right decision going to Cingular instead of T-mobile. I had t-mobile 2 years ago and their coverage in Orange County sucked. Considering that Cingular just recently acquired ATT, will this give Cingular customers more coverage?

If you travel the country a lot and are in more rural areas, than yes you made the right choice. Cingular has a lot more roaming agreements than T-Mo, having the 850 MHz band on their phones gives them more coverage.

3) I heard that verizon will release the CDMA/GSM phone. Does this mean that switching verizon phones will be smoother? Can I save the contacts on the sim card and just put in another verizon CDMA/GSM phone if i want to switch phones?

From what I have seen with that phone the GSM bands on the phone are 900/1800 only, which are used overseas only. So you will not be able to use GSM in the US. I am not use how the SIM will work on the phone.

Thanks.

[azcellphonejunkie]

I have the e105 on T-mobile and have had it for the last week. From what I have experienced so far, I am very happy. I have had no dropped calls and people tell me I sound great. I like most of the features on the phone, but have found the following flaws:

1. When the phone is on vibrate, the low battery tone does not beep at you. This is very annoying when you are talking on the phone and the battery is getting low. Unless you look at the meter, you have no idea how close you are getting to when your phone dies. This is a problem with the a500 from sprint as well, so it may be something that is just a problem on the Samsung phones.

2. The external caller id display is a scrolling field. If it rings and it takes you more than a second to get to the phone, you have to either wait for it to continue the scroll to see the entire number, or open the phone if you have the flip to answer turned off. This is not a problem if you have the person in the memory as it seems to have enough room to fit the name on the screen.

3. I cannot figure out how to enter pauses into the saved phone numbers. I have a few phone numbers where I have additional codes to enter in (ie checking messages on my work phone). I don't know if there is a way to enter in this pause, so that when the next prompt comes, it can send the next string of numbers.

Other than those, I have had nothing but good things to say about the phone. It has worked great for me and has been a lot of fun so far. I just hope that I have the same results with the phone and service when I travel as I do here in the Tucson area.

[Rasputin]

e105 is a great phone, with rural coverage Cingular will have the advantage, but I did not think that the e105 is a dual band? If it does not you might not get some of that rural coverage that would be 850mhz gsm.

[cambrian]

hey guys,

Thanks for the great replies. You have answered my questions thoroughly. From what I have gathered, I have made the right choice in choosing cingular as a gsm carrier. I have been wanting to go all gsm for a long time now. It seems to be the technology of future wireless services. I could be wrong?

You guys are right about the e105. It is not a tri-band gsm. It doesn't have the 850MHz mode. Being able to travel around the country and have good coverage is important for me because I might end up in the East coast 2 years from now. So I think cingular is good for that. Hopefully the purchase of ATT wireless will lead to better coverage for cingular people.

Now I can settle down and actually feel my buyer's remorse dissipating [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Thanks a bunch.

[Andy]

Originally posted by: cambrian
hey guys,

From what I have gathered, I have made the right choice in choosing cingular as a gsm carrier. I have been wanting to go all gsm for a long time now. It seems to be the technology of future wireless services. I could be wrong?

Let's please not even get started on this... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]