TheHuntressDiana
12-28-2004, 07:32 PM
Well, I've been looking at the various companies to see what they have to offer (plans & phones) . . .
I currently have an old AT&T plan (500 any time minutes and unlimited nights & weekends, plus 25 text messages, it no longer exists but it's still "active" for me) that costs me about $42 a month after taxes & fees. My phone, a Nokia 6560 (http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6560), is okay but I wish there was more I could do with it.
Of course, AT&T was bought out by Cingular so the AT&T stores will slowly begin to disappear . . . and that's part of the reason why I'm looking into new phones/providers. I still haven't switched to Cingular . . . which is why I still have my old AT&T plan and am still getting my bill from them.
The people at the Cingular store (I stopped in the same week the buy-out was announced) and they told me that I can keep my plan as long as I want, but if I wanted a new phone, I had to switch over to Cingular.
Thus . . . my reasoning for looking into other companies and what they have to offer. I want the best bang for my buck each month, yet not pay more than $80 for a phone.
I'd love to take advantage of all these "free mobile-to-mobile" options but there's a slight problem . . . there's too much variety. • Pat (my boyfriend) has Sprint.
• Sister & her husband have AT&T.
• Mom has Verizon but hardly uses her phone.
• A few of Pat's family members have Verizon.
• Majority at my company have Verizon (until something better comes along).
All these "mobile-to-mobile" plans that they're offering now are great, but only if you have someone to talk to frequently who also has the same carrier that you do. For me, the one I talk to the most is Pat . . . but there's no way in hell I'm going to sign up with Sprint (I keep trying to get him to change but he just signed up for another 2 years, sigh).
I've been with AT&T since 1998. The last time I renewed a contract was back in February 2002 and I didn't buy a GSM capable phone and my reception is pretty damn good just about everywhere I go (except a few stores).
My brother-in-law has AT&T as well, but he has a GSM phone and gets dropped calls all the time. He lives/works in the same general area that I do, so if that's what's going to happen to me if I switch to Cingular and the whole network (AT&T's included) goes over to that GSM crap . . . I'm gonna lose a lot of calls; not good.
Verizon and Cingular have these 15 or 30 day "trial periods" with their phones and supposedly you can take them back if you're not happy with them. But if you're unhappy, then what? You keep trying phones until you find one that works where you make most of your calls?
I also want to bring my current number with me (I've had it for a helluva long time) and if I end up unhappy with this new company I'm screwed and can't go back to AT&T.
I'm very wary of T-Mobile. They carry a few cool phones and their contracts start out at 1 year . . . but when I looked at their coverage map I think my face went pale. Of all the carriers, I think T-Mobile has the worst coverage overall. Yeah, they cover the major/urban areas but once you start to head away from there . . . I think you're hosed.
God . . . what a mess . . .
So, my questions are: • What's so good about your cell phone provider?
• How's your plan? Can you switch it mid-cycle and not be penalized?
• What kind of phone do you have?
• Do you like/love/tolerate/dislike your phone?
• What about your phone do you like/love/tolerate/dislike?
I currently have an old AT&T plan (500 any time minutes and unlimited nights & weekends, plus 25 text messages, it no longer exists but it's still "active" for me) that costs me about $42 a month after taxes & fees. My phone, a Nokia 6560 (http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/6560), is okay but I wish there was more I could do with it.
Of course, AT&T was bought out by Cingular so the AT&T stores will slowly begin to disappear . . . and that's part of the reason why I'm looking into new phones/providers. I still haven't switched to Cingular . . . which is why I still have my old AT&T plan and am still getting my bill from them.
The people at the Cingular store (I stopped in the same week the buy-out was announced) and they told me that I can keep my plan as long as I want, but if I wanted a new phone, I had to switch over to Cingular.
Thus . . . my reasoning for looking into other companies and what they have to offer. I want the best bang for my buck each month, yet not pay more than $80 for a phone.
I'd love to take advantage of all these "free mobile-to-mobile" options but there's a slight problem . . . there's too much variety. • Pat (my boyfriend) has Sprint.
• Sister & her husband have AT&T.
• Mom has Verizon but hardly uses her phone.
• A few of Pat's family members have Verizon.
• Majority at my company have Verizon (until something better comes along).
All these "mobile-to-mobile" plans that they're offering now are great, but only if you have someone to talk to frequently who also has the same carrier that you do. For me, the one I talk to the most is Pat . . . but there's no way in hell I'm going to sign up with Sprint (I keep trying to get him to change but he just signed up for another 2 years, sigh).
I've been with AT&T since 1998. The last time I renewed a contract was back in February 2002 and I didn't buy a GSM capable phone and my reception is pretty damn good just about everywhere I go (except a few stores).
My brother-in-law has AT&T as well, but he has a GSM phone and gets dropped calls all the time. He lives/works in the same general area that I do, so if that's what's going to happen to me if I switch to Cingular and the whole network (AT&T's included) goes over to that GSM crap . . . I'm gonna lose a lot of calls; not good.
Verizon and Cingular have these 15 or 30 day "trial periods" with their phones and supposedly you can take them back if you're not happy with them. But if you're unhappy, then what? You keep trying phones until you find one that works where you make most of your calls?
I also want to bring my current number with me (I've had it for a helluva long time) and if I end up unhappy with this new company I'm screwed and can't go back to AT&T.
I'm very wary of T-Mobile. They carry a few cool phones and their contracts start out at 1 year . . . but when I looked at their coverage map I think my face went pale. Of all the carriers, I think T-Mobile has the worst coverage overall. Yeah, they cover the major/urban areas but once you start to head away from there . . . I think you're hosed.
God . . . what a mess . . .
So, my questions are: • What's so good about your cell phone provider?
• How's your plan? Can you switch it mid-cycle and not be penalized?
• What kind of phone do you have?
• Do you like/love/tolerate/dislike your phone?
• What about your phone do you like/love/tolerate/dislike?