Cell phone company recommendations

[DPD6030]

Come May my plan with Sprint/Nextel will be up. I do not want them again as my carrier. I'm looking at probably Verizon or AT&T as the carrier. I live in SW Michigan near the Indiana border. Anyone with advice I am willing to hear it. Pros/Cons of each. Thanks guys/gals.

Andrew

[ucubed]

I miss Verizon. I literally had signal EVERYWHERE I went. It's a bit more expensive, but you are paying for quality I can assure you

[DrDubzz]

I have AT&T and am satisfied with it. However if Verizon existed where I am, I would likely switch. I've never heard anyone complain about their verizon service

[groogs]

I have AT&T and never have any service problems, although that probably doesn't help you in Michigan.

[elderboy02]

Verizon. There are only 2 spots I can think of that I don't get signal.

I have Verizon, I get a signal everywhere.

[icehog3]

I have AT&T.....I don't recommend them.

[Silound]

I HAD AT&T when they merged into Cingular. Then Katrina hit, and I was without reliable cell reception or service for nearly 2 weeks before I got fed up annd moved to Verizon (who's towers and service remained in operation to far better effect than AT&T/Cingular did).


Been with Verizon now since then, and I've loved it every minute.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Silound

I HAD AT&T when they merged into Cingular. Then Katrina hit, and I was without reliable cell reception or service for nearly 2 weeks before I got fed up annd moved to Verizon (who's towers and service remained in operation to far better effect than AT&T/Cingular did).


Been with Verizon now since then, and I've loved it every minute.

I am going to look into Verizon in the very near future.

[AD720]

Here is another vote for Verizon.

My personal Pros/Cons

Pros:

1 - The coverage can't be beat
2 - Most of the people I talk to have Verizon (family, friends, co-workers)
3 - Overall good customer service
4 - Good selection of hardware
5 - Good online bill pay/usage information
6 - You can call Tom for free!

Originally Posted by icehog3

I am going to look into Verizon in the very near future.

Cons:

1 - Verizon cripples the hardware
2 - Have to pay for features that would come for free with other carriers (a component of Con #1)

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by AD720

Cons:

1 - Verizon cripples the hardware

I am not very "tech savvy", Andrew, can you explain this for me please?

Never met one I liked, I'm about to dump my phone again.

I really don't like having one, and I'm paying for a headache?

I've found really more then company it's the area, I've heard oh well XYZ is great and when I hit a dead spot they did too.

So grab who's cheapest my personal thoughts. They all treat you like a dog and you can pretty much put any phone on any net work, I've found in traveling over 12 states with the 2 different phones I had provider didn't matter dead zones = dead zones.

I am with AT&T, but the only reason is because most of my friends and family are. They have pretty good coverage where I travel so no issues with that. I also like the fact that you can just switch out your sim card to a new phone without taking it in and having it reprogramed. The main reason I do that is so I can use two phone one small one and one pda.

[Smokin Gator]

I think as much as anything it is the area you live in. Around here Altell has by far the best coverage, but don't try traveling with it. I had t-Mobile for quite some time and was please. However, were I will be moving to had pretty poor coverage by them. I went with AT&T because I travel out of the country and Verizon uses a system that no place else in the world uses. AT&T phones work great in other countries that I have been to.

[ashtonlady]

You will be be happy to know Smokin Gator, tht Alltel is now Verizion.

[Studebaker]

Originally Posted by ashtonlady

You will be be happy to know Smokin Gator, tht Alltel is now Verizion.

I've been with Alltel for 12 years with few complaints. It will be interesting to see how my plan and costs change once they migrate us Alltel customers to Verizon plans. Very good to see a lot of satisfied Verizon customers here, that's encouraging.

[DPD6030]

Thanks for all the advice. It appears that Verizon is the winner and I will probably go with them. After all, my family seems to be wanting to go that way so I can call them for free.

i've sold verizon products for 8 years now. if you have any questions or anyone does feel free to PM me about stuff.

as for global coverage, VZW is slowly putting out world edition phones. almost all of north america and south america is covered by CDMA. the EU is the only place i know that mandates GSM only coverage. so you don't have to have AT&T for global coverage as we offe that capability as well.

we just started offering my circle type plans on sunday.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by barbourjay

we just started offering my circle type plans on sunday.

Unfortunately, not for everyone.
I have my wife on the $39 plan and it does not qualify for friends and family.
I have to go up to the $59 plan to be able to get it.
In my case, just not worth the extra $20 as my daughter is her main calls and she too is on Verizon so it would be free anyway.

[Raralith]

Originally Posted by barbourjay

i've sold verizon products for 8 years now. if you have any questions or anyone does feel free to PM me about stuff.

as for global coverage, VZW is slowly putting out world edition phones. almost all of north america and south america is covered by CDMA. the EU is the only place i know that mandates GSM only coverage. so you don't have to have AT&T for global coverage as we offe that capability as well.

we just started offering my circle type plans on sunday.

Is Verizon sticking with CDMA or going to come out with GSM? America does both, but Europe's standard is GSM so only GSM phones like T-Moble and AT&T can work there.

Also, happen to know why Verizon went with on board SIM cards instead of having them removable?