Cell Phones & Service

[dazedland]

My contract finished with Verizon 5 months ago and my phone recently broke...I had insurance, but was told they didn''t make that phone anymore, so it would be a comparable phone. I realized if I signed a new contract that I could get $100 off a phone at the new customer price so I got a Motorola E815 or 810 or something for free. It retails at $299...however, Verizon has no choices for phones! I really want a sidekick, but I looked at T-Mobile''s service and it is terrible! In my parents town Verizon is really the only phone that works and I go there often, plus my fiance and I move all the time. (We did just renew our lease, which is a first for us to be in the same city, let alone the same apartment for two years.)

Does anyone have a sidekick? And do you love it or hate it? I''m stuck for the next two years now, but it''s ok to dream

 

[aphisiglovessae]

A friend of mine has a Sidekick II and can't live without it. I personally think it's too big and bulky. He's sold his friends on so many sidekicks though that he actually got a job recently with T-mobile. It does lots of neat things, but like I said, it's kinda dumb looking and clunky for me. I have an LG VX8000 that I love. It has a built-in 1.3MP camera with a flash and has a super large screen. It's also V-cast capable (but I don't want to spend 15 bucks a month for it).

 

[dazedland]

The LG VX8000 was the phone that I was thinking about getting because the one I broke was a LG6000. I don''t know why I went with the Motorola, they all seemed similar to me. It has vcast, and the first month is free, I have no clue how to use it though. The sidekicks are really clunky, but it seems people really get attached to them.

 

[ame]

You can exchange for like 2 or 4 weeks I think right? Just take it back say I don''t like this phone what have you got in a nice LG.

 

[aphisiglovessae]

The first month is free??? I didn''t know that! Is that only if you sign up for it though?

 

[Kamuelamom]

I just switched to Verizon last week after having AT&T (now cingular) for over 10 years. Sure, Cingular has the rollover minutes, but in the end, coverage was a hot button for me since we live in a relatively rural area. I also took the family plan and added my son on. Got the LG 6100 and and pretty happy with it. Woo hoo, my phone has a camera!!

Now if I can just get used to the other new features...

I like the flip style.

 

[dazedland]

Yeah, I signed up for it since the first month is free and I will probably cancel it unless I use it and like it a lot.

It''s crazy how the best service providers have the worst phone selection.

 

[yellowfan]

I also have the LG from verizon.

 

[IrishEyes]

Here''s all I have to say: Sprint =

Oh yeah, and the sidekick is too bulky for my tastes as well. I''m going with Verizon next year!

 

[MelissaSue]

we have AT&T Wireless/Cingular (We signed up with AT&T, but they got bought out by cingular).. coverage/recpetion SUCKS. When we first got our phones, at times my fiances HOUSE was considered roaming (he lives about 3 minutes from me, which was not roaming of course).. that stopped, the coverage got a LITTLE better as they gradually merged with cingular.. , but we''re still very unhappy with it.. Waiting for our contract to end!
We''re definitely switching to verizon.. They have the absolute best coverage

 

[dazedland]

I had Sprint when I first moved to AZ and my apartment was sandwiched in the middle floor between the top and ground level apartments. I couldn''t get reception outside and the customer service rep actually suggested that I make calls leaning over my balcony, which worked, but is completely ridiculous.

 

[AsscherGirl]

Dazedland:

I''d stick with the Motorola phone. My bf is a techno. nut (and a former LG devotee); he recently spent countless hours researching the differences between the VX8000 and E815. (If you''re really interested, the forum is visits is www.howardforums.com) He went with the E815 because the camera took better pictures & many of the features that were supposed to be included on the LG were disabled by Verizon (i.e. MP3 player). He''s had the Motorola for about a month now and he said it''s the only phone that he''s every truly loved. He''s so obsessed, but I love him!

The CEO of Verizon has actually been quoted as saying that cell phones are not meant to be used indoors & that people shouldn''t rely on them as their only phone source.

They shouldn''t advertise having coverage everywhere & then say things like THAT.

I know VZW doesn''t have the coolest phones, but I''d rather them spend their time working on the network than manufacturing cool phones personally. In due time I guess...I hear the Moto. Razor is supposed to be coming to VZW soon.

Good luck!

 

[KittenKat]

I live in Los Angeles and have Tmobile. Personally, I LOVE IT! Great customer service, and out here Tmobile works very well. MUCH better than my old AT&T phone.

And after having to use Verizon for my home phone - I will never use their cell service. They over-bill and then refuse to fix the problems.

Just my experience...

I read those Howard Forums when I researching services and phones!! Great website.

 

[rfath]

I''ve heard from AT&T that just because they got bought out by Cingular, it doesn''t mean you automatically get to use the Cingular towers - the networks are still technically separate. There was a free migration option for a few months, but of course they didn''t tell anyone about that.

Service really depends on where you''re living... Some companies have vastly better coverage than others in some parts of the country, so it''s hard to advise someone that one company is TERRIBLE because of it''s coverage if someone is living in a different area. Now, customer service.. that''s another story entirely

 

[MelissaSue]

rfath - We get reception from both cingular towers and at&T towers... We have always been able to even before the buy out was official (when we got our phones, it was a done deal, but the names hadn''t been changed etc.) We also used to be able to use t-mobile towers.. but I dont'' think so anymore.. (our phone tells us which network we are on...which would be nice, if my FI paid attention to it before calling me from roaming places!)

 

[rfath]

MS, I noticed the same thing, but the AT&T dealers as well as the Cingular dealers insisted that it''s DIFFERENT somehow. I didn''t quite get the sense that they knew how it was different, just that they''d been told to tell everyone. When pressed, they mutter about some fantastic new tower network blahblahblah

Fortunately, I haven''t had problems with being outside of the service area and roaming. Otherwise, I just might have to kill my fiance for those charges