looking at a new plan. does anyone have a suggestion as far as service. in ten,sw fla.,wis,. we use nextel now, looking for some advice. cost etc. if anyone can help, i know it's here. thanks
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We have Verizon family plan, unlimited mins 9pm to 7am and on weekends and when you are calling any other Verizon cell phone.
ATT family nationwide plan, 4 phones kids (2) have unlimited text and Dave has all access internet with email, rollover minutes, 1400 plan free nights and weekends and same gfree when calling any other ATT customer (formerly cingular). The unlimited text is great with the "youngsters", doesn't use up your minutes for when you really need them.
Nextel doesn't work well here anymore and they are converting everyone to sprint.
Nextel doesn't work well here anymore and they are converting everyone to sprint.
woody
i had the c a n plan for years, but with the price of aluminum they were stolen weekly. found the reroute of calls to be a pain. and on a hot summer day lots of dropped calls or cans. thanks for the help.
i had the c a n plan for years, but with the price of aluminum they were stolen weekly. found the reroute of calls to be a pain. and on a hot summer day lots of dropped calls or cans. thanks for the help.
I'm a long time PacBell / Cingular / now AT&T Wireless customer - coverage in the metro areas has long been very good - rural areas greatly improved with the merger of AT&T and Cingular.
We are also on a family plan - like TPM - and find it to be a good value.
I'd suggest looking at the coverage maps of AT&T, Sprint and Verizon for the areas you plan to use the phone and make sure that they claim to have coverage. Lastly, I'd check to see that they have dealers near where you want to use the phones (yellow pages ads). The phones usually work best near the stores!!!!
08
We are also on a family plan - like TPM - and find it to be a good value.
I'd suggest looking at the coverage maps of AT&T, Sprint and Verizon for the areas you plan to use the phone and make sure that they claim to have coverage. Lastly, I'd check to see that they have dealers near where you want to use the phones (yellow pages ads). The phones usually work best near the stores!!!!
08
Whatever you do , do NOT let nextel talk you into changing over to sprint! 
terrible customer service and they do not disclose when you think thry are doing "nice" things for you.
I have been everywhere with ATT, never a service problem.
terrible customer service and they do not disclose when you think thry are doing "nice" things for you.
I have been everywhere with ATT, never a service problem.
We've had US Cellular for years, service is very good even in these mountains. We ended up moving to the nationwide plan, free nights after 7 and weekends, free to other USCell phones. Called Hawaii all summer with no problems even without a single US Cell store in the state. The only problem was when he took a swim forgetting the phone was in his pocket. With no store to go get another, he had to do without for 5 WHOLE DAYS!!
Most cell companies allow you to try them out for 2 weeks, while time consuming going to different stores and listening to their pitches, most are a 2 year committment, so take your time and BE HAPPY.
Most cell companies allow you to try them out for 2 weeks, while time consuming going to different stores and listening to their pitches, most are a 2 year committment, so take your time and BE HAPPY.
20dad-
I'll add 2 cents worth. We have the same number of dropped calls with ATT (from FL to IL)as we did with T mobile. ATT seems more $$$ but the customer service seems to be better.
I'll add 2 cents worth. We have the same number of dropped calls with ATT (from FL to IL)as we did with T mobile. ATT seems more $$$ but the customer service seems to be better.
BTW - t-Mobile uses the AT&T network in many areas so coverage should be very similar. t-Mobile does not have a great reputation for customer service - but on the other hand does have a reputation for really cool phones.
On the other hand, Apple and AT&T recently came out with the iPhone and I REALLY love that device - best phone I have ever had by a long margin.
On the other hand, Apple and AT&T recently came out with the iPhone and I REALLY love that device - best phone I have ever had by a long margin.
Not sure which is best for personal use, but for business we use Verizon after trying several others. This is based on a large number of phones.
There are a few dead spots around the country, but overall it is the best service at the best price we have found. And there seems to be lots of Verizon stores around the country.
There are a few dead spots around the country, but overall it is the best service at the best price we have found. And there seems to be lots of Verizon stores around the country.
quote:Originally posted by Tiger Paw Mom:
Whatever you do , do NOT let nextel talk you into changing over to sprint!
terrible customer service and they do not disclose when you think thry are doing "nice" things for you.
I have been everywhere with ATT, never a service problem.
I would definately second that. Absolutely terrible customer service. Used to be great.
Converted an employer from Nextel to Verizon when our son was a high school junior (2000). Went the same route for our family and have been with Verizon ever since. We have limited minutes (just 2 of us on the service now) with unlimited to Verizon customers, and son and his wife, as well as her family, also on Verizon so we barely use the minutes we have allotted, have no long distance or roaming charges, and have not had any problems with dropped calls due to location in years.
The only time he couldn't use the service ... when he was in Alazka in 2002 ... but the time difference was such that we didn't get to talk that much anyway.
I am a big fan of Verizon and their customer service. JMHO FWIW
The only time he couldn't use the service ... when he was in Alazka in 2002 ... but the time difference was such that we didn't get to talk that much anyway.
I am a big fan of Verizon and their customer service. JMHO FWIW
Verizon is my work cell phone and I like it very much.
08dad,
Do you really like the iphone? I hear mixed reviews. DK wanted it but he went to a blackberry instead and loves it. He wanted to wait until they got the kinks out. Then the brought the price down a few months after they released a new version? Also, because we were on a corporate plan they said if we added the iphone we lost our corporate discount, which is 20% off our bill. Apple would not allow those phones on corporate accounts. I figure that will change someday.
If I traveled I would get a blackberry, Dave can email wherever he is, and downloaded songs from his millions of songs he has stored on the PC. So on trips he does not need his pc or his ipod. With a chip you can expand it's memory and texting is a breeze. They had a rebate so it was very reasonable. What we pay for his service (text, shared family plan, internet and downloads) is less than I paid for nextel.
I have been with ATT since it first began with someone else, years ago. We buy some of our phones outright with a corporate discount so there is no service agreement on most of them. My husband has metropcs, talk all you want for 45 a month but he cannot travel out of Florida with it. Dave had Nextel for years but unable to get good service in South Carolina, so nextel sent him the buzz (for free) which is a dual walkie talkie and sprint network last year. The phone was really neat, but their plans are too expensive. By accident, I found out taking the free phone bumped me up a year, without disclosure so I was really upset and I ditched them. They lie. I then found out that they have done that to everyone and there is a big issue with them with the FCC. Be careful of sprint.
I think verizon and ATT have similar plans, and customer service and phones. Pretty competitive.
08dad,
Do you really like the iphone? I hear mixed reviews. DK wanted it but he went to a blackberry instead and loves it. He wanted to wait until they got the kinks out. Then the brought the price down a few months after they released a new version? Also, because we were on a corporate plan they said if we added the iphone we lost our corporate discount, which is 20% off our bill. Apple would not allow those phones on corporate accounts. I figure that will change someday.
If I traveled I would get a blackberry, Dave can email wherever he is, and downloaded songs from his millions of songs he has stored on the PC. So on trips he does not need his pc or his ipod. With a chip you can expand it's memory and texting is a breeze. They had a rebate so it was very reasonable. What we pay for his service (text, shared family plan, internet and downloads) is less than I paid for nextel.
I have been with ATT since it first began with someone else, years ago. We buy some of our phones outright with a corporate discount so there is no service agreement on most of them. My husband has metropcs, talk all you want for 45 a month but he cannot travel out of Florida with it. Dave had Nextel for years but unable to get good service in South Carolina, so nextel sent him the buzz (for free) which is a dual walkie talkie and sprint network last year. The phone was really neat, but their plans are too expensive. By accident, I found out taking the free phone bumped me up a year, without disclosure so I was really upset and I ditched them. They lie. I then found out that they have done that to everyone and there is a big issue with them with the FCC. Be careful of sprint.
I think verizon and ATT have similar plans, and customer service and phones. Pretty competitive.
I absolutely love my iPhone. Answers to some of your questions:
Since I pay my own bill and then am reimbursed by my company, the corporate account restriction never came up.
iPhone vs Blackberry is not even close - most of my co workers are blackberry users and are switching to iPhones rapidly. The email integration is excellent equal to the blackberry in every way. But the iPhone has better text messaging, internet browser, and calendar. Of course iTunes is tightly integrated. I also really like having google maps on the phone with integration into the address book. And the camera is also pretty decent.
Software updates come about once a week as they fix bugs and add new features. I have not had any bugs or any other issues - and when I use it internationally it has worked flawlessly. It also always draws a crowd (I am in Spain this week and when I used it at lunch there were about 15 people all checking it out.)
The price cut was annoying - but Motorola did the same thing to me with the Razr and at least Apple gave me credit for half of the difference - Moto did nothing.
Bottom line - I work in the telecom software business, have seen and used literally hundreds of different cell phones - and think from a user interface perspective and a feature perspective the iPhone is a long step ahead of anything else on the market.
08
Since I pay my own bill and then am reimbursed by my company, the corporate account restriction never came up.
iPhone vs Blackberry is not even close - most of my co workers are blackberry users and are switching to iPhones rapidly. The email integration is excellent equal to the blackberry in every way. But the iPhone has better text messaging, internet browser, and calendar. Of course iTunes is tightly integrated. I also really like having google maps on the phone with integration into the address book. And the camera is also pretty decent.
Software updates come about once a week as they fix bugs and add new features. I have not had any bugs or any other issues - and when I use it internationally it has worked flawlessly. It also always draws a crowd (I am in Spain this week and when I used it at lunch there were about 15 people all checking it out.)
The price cut was annoying - but Motorola did the same thing to me with the Razr and at least Apple gave me credit for half of the difference - Moto did nothing.
Bottom line - I work in the telecom software business, have seen and used literally hundreds of different cell phones - and think from a user interface perspective and a feature perspective the iPhone is a long step ahead of anything else on the market.
08
Have to agree with the ATT/Cingular folks. We have family in FL, GA, HI, CA, TN, and VA. We have no land line but three cell phones, nationwide calling, unlimited texting on my son's phone, and more minutes than we can use. The bill is about $115 a month total.
i have had nextel for my work ,since it came out with the big yellow phone. never had a problem untill son was in fl. had bad reception. i think i pay way to much, but i have echa sketch head. two shakes and i forget everything. i just may have to switch everything over. i would guess either att or verizon, all things being equal i guess the roaming and long distance is the swing.
20Dad,
Since the hurricanes in South Florida, Nextel has not made significant repairs to their towers and since being bought out by sprint that's their priority. That is why they developed the buzz, walkie talkie on nextel, cell service on sprint. No one here in South FL uses Nextel anymore, we used it for our jobsites but made a switch due to poor service.
You can call nextel and tell them you are not getting good service in FL and they might discount your account (they gave us 10%).
Since the hurricanes in South Florida, Nextel has not made significant repairs to their towers and since being bought out by sprint that's their priority. That is why they developed the buzz, walkie talkie on nextel, cell service on sprint. No one here in South FL uses Nextel anymore, we used it for our jobsites but made a switch due to poor service.
You can call nextel and tell them you are not getting good service in FL and they might discount your account (they gave us 10%).
If your children end up travelling out of the United States I would highly recommend Skype. Since we live in Canada and our boys are based in California now, we have "bought" a California phone number through Skype and phone calls cost practically nothing. We must talk to them through our computer (the microphone just cost $15.) and we call them on their cell phone for very little cost. One of our sons is travelling to Australia and Taiwan next month and I think we will still have no trouble talking to him through Skype using his California cell phone and our computer.
I'd find out what your friends and family are using .If they have ATT and you get Verizon you and they will be using up your mins. Every one I phone uses Verizon. We use very few mins.
First off let me say that I have had a "Nextel" for the last 12 years with most of this time being in So. Fl. I had one while I was in the Military and have had one while working with the FAA. The only problem I have had with this phone is back in Oct 05 when Hurricane Wilma went through So. Fl. and knocked out most of their cell towers. I will say that since then Nextel has made great strides with the coverage and quality of service. I have 5 nextels within my family and love the walkie-talkie feature and have used this service everywhere I have travelled to watch son play. What best about the walkie talkie feature is that these minutes don't come off your plans minutes. I and my son also have iphones and you must be careful with these and understand all of the features and prices.
We are in the construction business, every single one of our subcontractors (about 30 companies) no longer use Nextel in Palm Beach, Martin or Broward county. Due to that we were forced to another company because we could not radio.
Son was unable to get clear coverage in South Carolina for years, and worse here when he was home and since Nextel admitted they had problems they discounted.
Son was unable to get clear coverage in South Carolina for years, and worse here when he was home and since Nextel admitted they had problems they discounted.
tpm
i'm in construction as well ,every one i work with has nextel. i think they have a good market in the northeast. i do like the beep beep it works great and is free. but think or feel i pay to much.i have 5 phone as well and shared minutes etc. i guess i'll have to investigate further. but some really helpful reply's. you can always get help here. no matter the problem. thanks.
i'm in construction as well ,every one i work with has nextel. i think they have a good market in the northeast. i do like the beep beep it works great and is free. but think or feel i pay to much.i have 5 phone as well and shared minutes etc. i guess i'll have to investigate further. but some really helpful reply's. you can always get help here. no matter the problem. thanks.
As I originally posted, after the hurricanes there was interrpted service. With that, we were using too many minutes and costing a small fortune, there plans are expensive, we went verizon as did most of our subs. So did my husbands office, most everyone I know no longer uses nextel here, if they do, it is the hybrid buzz. It's great for families to be in touch, but not for business.
Look I'm not trying to get into a ****ing contest with you about Nextel phones. My point is that you slammed them about service and with my dealings with them this isn't the case in point. Please explain to me why two Gov't agencies with thousands of Nextel phones still do business with them. I have never had a problem except with the problems I noted earlier and even then Nextel was always prompt to issue a refund. Are their plans expensive yes they are but if mamaged correctly shouldn't be a problem......
raiders
you really don't need to defend nextel.my concern is with service in different parts of the country ,not here in the northeast.i like the nextel up here but it doesn't work well in sw fla.and i'm probably paying to much ,and your right i don't manage my account well. only because i don't have the time to. as far as government agency's using nextel they get a huge discount as compared to you and i. and lets face it,the government isn't the best salesman for most things.
you really don't need to defend nextel.my concern is with service in different parts of the country ,not here in the northeast.i like the nextel up here but it doesn't work well in sw fla.and i'm probably paying to much ,and your right i don't manage my account well. only because i don't have the time to. as far as government agency's using nextel they get a huge discount as compared to you and i. and lets face it,the government isn't the best salesman for most things.