verizon wireless suggestions

[Scott R. Ehrlich]

On Sat, 8 Mar 2008, Matt Shields wrote:

> On Sat, Mar 8, 2008 at 9:36 AM, David Hummel <lemmuh at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, Mar 8, 2008 at 3:08 AM, James Kramer <kramerjm at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I am planning to switch to Verizon wireless cell phone.
>>
>>  I can't recommend Verizon.  I used Verizon for several years, on the
>>  west coast and east coast, and I found their customer service to be
>>  sub-par, the individuals working in Verizon stores were generally
>>  clueless, and the phone selection was not as good as other carriers.
>>  Things may have changed in the last 18 months though, so YMMV.  I
>>  can't say things are that much better with AT&T Wireless.
>
> I've found the opposite.  I worked for Cellular One (McCaw Celluar)
> which became AT&T Wireless for most of the 90's and have found that
> their coverage/service and customer service have gone downhill after
> AT&T bought them out.  When I moved up here I found that out of all
> the providers Verizon had the best service/coverage, although I've
> never in the last 7 1/2 years had to call customer service.  Granted I
> haven't tested any providers recently, but a lot of my collegues use
> T-mobile and AT&T and they are always complaining.

Granted this topic is completely off from computers, but cell phones have 
been a hobby of mine-

T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM technology.   Verizon Wireless and Sprint use 
CDMA.  In either case, the ability to of the phone to receive and make 
calls depends on several factors, including:

- Frequencies used by the phone - Cellular coverage where person is - 
Obstacles in area (hills, mountains, building design, florescent lights, 
etc)

Even quality of the phone itself.

Many people get the "cheapest" or "coolest" phone, not expecting any 
problems, and then claim the phone just doesn't work for them, maybe 
claiming the carrier stinks, and go looking at another carrier and other 
phones.  All along, some of the factors above may be contributing to the 
problems.   The customer doesn't know any better, and the store doesn't 
care.

I have a prepaid T-Mobile phone.   It works when/where I need it, but I 
hardly ever use it.   I lived on Verizon Wireless/Bell Atlantic 
Mobile/etc for many years.   Didn't have many problems with the phones, 
but as I learned more about the technologies, I started making wiser 
decisions.

http://www.phonescoop.com among other web sites have great features, 
reviews, and articles of carriers and phones.

Don't just go for the "coolest" or "cheapest".   Learn what you want, make 
sure the phone has the capabilities, then go with the carrier that might 
carry that phone.

Fundamentally, a CDMA phone usually ties you to a particular carrier. 
A GSM card can tie you to a carrier, but you can use most any GSM device, 
so if you go with T-Mobile or AT&T, just get the cheapest phone there, and 
then search for the unlocked GSM phone(s) you really want, and put the 
card in the phone device of choice.

For CDMA, I'd recommend dual-band.  For GSM, I'd recommand quad-band (or 
at least tri-band).

Hope that helps.

Scott

>
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> -matt
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