Verizon vs. Cingular in Manhattan

This was covered pretty completely in this thread (http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=9659), "Verizon vs. Cingular in NYC & Vicinity". Read through the end.

The original poster in that thread moved from Tmo to Cingular and is happy with coverage.

 

The only way you're going to find out is by signing up for a service and using their trial period to find out which one works the best in the places you frequent.

Beware of posters who have large ads for their service visible in their profile. Which service do you think they will recommend?

 

Ha! Maybe you should read the post I pointed to? I supported the posters first decision to go with Verizon, but the OP was disappointed with the lack of BlueTooth features and phone (with Verizon)...then he tried Cingular on the 30 day basis and found for himself that it worked for him.

Yes, it is always my recommendation to use the trial periods to decide. It is the only thing to trust. This is why I recommended to look at this old post: it has that recommendation and various user input, a lot of which was inconsisent...and from people who don't even live or work in the region.

 

When two carriers are excellent in the same area, despite some biased claims, nobody can really tell you which one is better for you. Only you can find that for yourself as only you know your personal expectations. The trial period is the only thing I can recommend.

 

Only the trial period will tell you chich carrier works in the elevator, the basement, your train station, the bathroom, the storag closet, the freight elevator area......etc.

 

A bit touchy aren't we? Leads me to believe that there really are some cheerleaders here.

 

Ok, no off-topic confrontations, please.

 

I was reading through the forum linked above and was surprised at how many people experienced capacity issues. I live in São Paulo... the 3rd largest city in the world with over 20 million people in the metro area alone (32 when including surrounding neighboorhoods, etc.), and never have I had an issue. Never call clarity issues, Network Busy issues, nothing. I am aware that a big chunk of São Paulo's population is in poverty, because I see it every day. But that doesn't mean only 8 of the 20 million people in this city have cell phones (and if I remember correctly NYC has 8 million people in its metro area). And thoughts on this?

 

Hey i like the BEACHES Of of Rio de Janero including the Sunbathers
i think they only allow the top off.
i believe there's only GSM in there.
i don't know why they want to
use it in the toilet of Manhattan,
though i never had issues there.

 

No here in Brasil we have GSM, CDMA, and iDEN. And in January I am going to Rio! :biggrin:

 

NYC is 8 million itself, Excluding the metro area ... The number would be much higher if the surrounding areas were included....

 

Brazil has CDMA and TDMA as well. Even Nextel exists there too!

By the way, what's up with the "poem-like" style of your writing, jones?

 

I sure wish and hope that the OP for this thread tells us the result of his trial experience between Verizon and Cingular for him. So often we never hear the results from our advice to new posters.

 

I agree totally!

 

I know! Its always disappointing when I never know if advice I give is actually useful!

 

Greetings from California,
My wife and I just returned from a business trip to NYC yesterday. Here are my 2 cents regarding this topic.
First of all, we both use Treo 650 phones. Mine is a GSM model (Cingular) and hers is the CDMA (Verizon).
It has been my observation that Cingular and Verizon service levels are very very close to each other in NYC in particular below Central Park. We spent a week in the city took the bus tours while it was raining and the last 4 days we basically walked all over (we have the blisters to prove this) and found the services to be fairly comprable. There are some spots where one or the other service is not as strong but we were still able to make and receive calls.
The only difference that maybe worth mentioning is that Verizon seemed to have a little better reception indoors and at some subway platforms. (I have the both phones set to alert when signal is lost and mine would always be the first one to beep when we walked into buildings or down to the subway)
In the Bay Area, the differences are a little more obvious. I wouldn't necessarily call one carrier better than the other but we definetaly notice the difference more in the way of one phone being just fine and the other not having any service. This was not the case in NY.
So like so many others said, the best thing one can do is to take advantage of the trial periods companies offer and make their own determination as to which carrier is better for their needs. Lets face it, we all tend to stay within a certain zone 90% of the time and if your cell works well within that time.... I think we can all make due.

 

gunar,

Your report is one of the best and most useful I've ever read. What a great comparison, same phone type, side by side in NYC for almost a week. It is not surprising to me that both carriers give near equal service...this is a important market afterall.

Thanks!

 

Having both of VZW and Cingular Service
i concur.
Maybe in the rural areas there would be a Difference.

 

You mean the rural areas in Manhattan?

 

lol...the most rural you can get in Manhattan is the Central Park.

Was that one of the double-deck buses? I hope you weren't sitting in the upper deck.

 

Gunar, that was an awesome review thank you very much!

 

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words....


Was that one of the double-deck buses? I hope you weren't sitting in the upper deck. [/QUOTE]

Actually we took the MTA busses. I lived in NY in my previous life (when I used to have a life as a single guy) so I am very familiar with the bus and subway routes but we did see some diehards on the upperdecks of tour busses with their plastic raingears (a.k.a. garbage bags) I love NY but sitting on the upperdeck while its pouring rain.... I don't think so.

 

Your welcome, and welcome to the WA Forums.

BTW, did you and your wife talk to each other on your cells (or anyone else). Some people on this forum would love to hear comments on call voice quality in such a good comparison. Granted, that some phones are better than others, but at least you guys had the same phone.

 

This isn't specific to NY area but when I use my wife's Treo I feel (at least on my end) the voices sound more "real" than when I use my own Treo.
I also noticed (and this may be totally in my head coz wife swears that she can't hear it) that there is a "hissing sound " in the background with the Treo GSM. I don't know if that is a byproduct of a GSM system or just my headset.
I use the Treo GSM so when I travel overseas I don't have to switch phones (my Treo is unlocked) and the funny thing is I do not recall hearing the "hissing sound" when I was using the 900/1800 mhz frequencies.

 

gunar, thanks again for your side by side information. I don't hear the 'hiss' with my gsm phone. I think others have mentioned it with cdma. Go figure. If you don't hear it overseas, then it probably is a local issue: a lot of factors are involved. Anyhow, you have me thinking about the Treo as a new phone. But I will probably wait a year and see what improvements are made and what Nokia is offering. Also, most likely, I will switch between two phones, pda type and small phone only. Since I can synch my nokia with my plam calendar, it does fulfil most functions. I handled the Treo in the local store and I did like it alot.

 

Hissing depends on many variables. Could be generated from the other end (which opens up another can of worms). Could be the phone being used. Could be network generated.

Personally, I can't live without the hissing. Sometimes it is not there in my phone depending on who I am talking to or where they are, or where I am. When the hiss is not there and there's a moment of silence it makes me feel the person is no longer there and we got disconnected. So I prefer a mild hiss is there all the time. That's why many companies call it "comfort noise."

 

WOW... This is why one should always keep an open mind about things. Your post made me re-think what I said and I think you may be right. Hissing is not that bad afterall...:biggrin:

 

IMHO, if you can get past the size of the Treo 650, it is a really good tool to have. I call it a tool because it is so much more than a cell phone. Being in sales and pretty much always on the go, it literally serves as my office. It eliminated carrying a PDA and some cases a laptop for me. I haven't had too many problems with the operation of it (other than the occasional freezing) and the battery life is decent too. When there is time to kill, I play chess on it and use it as an MP3 player, so it is fun as well. Having said all that though, I don't like the bulkiness of it at all. So I look forward to switching phones on the weekends and being able to put my phone in my pocket like the rest of the world does.