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macfantn · Aug 28, 2006, 10:49 PM

what cell service do you have?

turtle777 · Aug 28, 2006, 11:02 PM

iVotinated.

-t

ghporter · Aug 28, 2006, 11:08 PM

Six votes, three posts (counting this one). Slow group tonight.

macfantn · Aug 28, 2006, 11:14 PM

everyone is watching MNF and brett favre

ink · Aug 28, 2006, 11:14 PM

Cingular is pretty liberal with their services, and aren't a$$holes about activating non-Cingular phones.

I had Verizon for 5 days, until I found out that I couldn't do bluetooth with my phone because they "deactivated that feature" on my phone.

SirCastor · Aug 28, 2006, 11:22 PM

T-mobile, and I love it. They let me do with my phone what I want.

macfantn · Aug 28, 2006, 11:25 PM

except get a signal in a rural area LOL

mac-at-kearsarge · Aug 28, 2006, 11:27 PM

I recently started with Amp'd Mobile. Since I sell cell phones I got it just to try it out and be able to be able to give an honest recommendations to my customers.

I have decided to stay with them throughout the contract (18 months).

They use the EVDO service just like Verizon, But the're plans, in my opinion, are much better. I have been very happy with them.

KeriVit · Aug 28, 2006, 11:27 PM

Verizon is the only one that works wherever I need it. Just my experience.

The others did not work at home or here in my current location.

Spliffdaddy · Aug 28, 2006, 11:28 PM

Cingular.

I get service in the middle of Farm Country, USA...and even more astounding, I get service on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

That being said, I was never dissatisfied with my Verizon service - always had a signal. Except for where I live now.

baw · Aug 28, 2006, 11:32 PM

Nextel.

baw · Aug 28, 2006, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by macfantn

except get a signal in a rural area LOL

Exactly.

voodoo · Aug 28, 2006, 11:33 PM

Amena

V

paul w · Aug 28, 2006, 11:35 PM

T-Mobile prepaid. Not the best for coverage but whatever. It's the best value for the prepaids. $100 buys you up to a year. This works as I'm gone for months at a time.

gururafiki · Aug 28, 2006, 11:51 PM

Verizon. Their service covers more area around me. Plus, if I have my laptop with me, I can get free internet through my phone.

rickey939 · Aug 28, 2006, 11:51 PM

Sprint.

Kenneth · Aug 28, 2006, 11:59 PM

T-mobile here as I got myself a Sidekick 3. I had Cingular in the past 2 years tho. Interestingly, I live 2 minutes from T-mobile HQ, but the signal is just so-so.

bstone · Aug 29, 2006, 12:07 AM

Verizon. Works everywhere Cingular does and does not.

Goldfinger · Aug 29, 2006, 04:03 AM

Mobistar.

Andy8 · Aug 29, 2006, 04:17 AM

Smartone

ajprice · Aug 29, 2006, 04:33 AM

O2 in the UK.

slpdLoad · Aug 29, 2006, 06:55 AM

TracFone

Paco500 · Aug 29, 2006, 09:49 AM

Vodafone in UK. Seems ok. But mobile plans pretty much rape you compared to the US.

I kept hearing how much better mobile service is in Europe and how much more pervasive, and it seems true, but I wasn't prepared for it to be so expensive.

Landos Mustache · Aug 29, 2006, 10:17 AM

Rogers Canada. Been with them for 7 years with no probs, I call them every year and threaten to cancel so they give me a brand new top of the line cell for about $150 and give me 9-12 months of unlimited air time for $40 month. I feel like I'm practically robbing them.

SSharon · Aug 29, 2006, 03:14 PM

I have both cingular and tmobile and the cingular always has better reception. rollover minutes are the best.

macfantn · Aug 29, 2006, 09:12 PM

no one is giving sprint any love

hickey · Aug 29, 2006, 09:31 PM

used to be on my family's Sprint plan. now I have my own Cingular plan, but i miss having my dad pay for my phone.

Zeeb · Aug 29, 2006, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by macfantn

no one is giving sprint any love

The reception on my Sprint phone is better than any of my friends' who have other services. Also, my "nights" start at 8 instead of 9.

I have to say though that Sprint has the ugliest phones of any company. I don't know why they all have to be 2 inches thick and overpriced. They do have a razor copy (their only "thin" phone-but its also ugly)

macfantn · Aug 29, 2006, 10:14 PM

i like the spring A900, the razr sucks IMO at least the Cingular razr. I really am liking the SE W810, I hope it comes out soon.

rickey939 · Aug 29, 2006, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by macfantn

no one is giving sprint any love

I love to hate them....does that count?

Eug · Aug 29, 2006, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by Zeeb

I have to say though that Sprint has the ugliest phones of any company. I don't know why they all have to be 2 inches thick and overpriced. They do have a razor copy (their only "thin" phone-but its also ugly)

CDMA isn't a big enough market (according to some of the manufacturers) for the latest and greatest phones.

In fact AFAIK Sony Ericsson dropped CDMA altogether, and other companies are considering dropping it, including Nokia.

It's interesting to note that while in the past it used to be thought the logical upgrade path for networks was CDMA --> CDMA2000/EV-DO and GSM --> 3GSM/UMTS & HSDPA, it now seems that it's going towards UMTS/HSDPA from both GSM and CDMA. In essence, in some areas, CDMA seems to be a dead end.

Originally Posted by macfantn

i like the spring A900, the razr sucks IMO at least the Cingular razr. I really am liking the SE W810, I hope it comes out soon.

You guys don't have the W810 yet? Ouch!

macfantn · Aug 29, 2006, 10:38 PM

america is behind on the cell phone front it seems.

Eug · Aug 29, 2006, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by macfantn

america is behind on the cell phone front it seems.

Yeah, but Canada has been behind in the past as well. I guess we're speeding up though, since we've had the W810i for ages.

Too bad our data plans suck though. Total ripoff.

Spliff · Aug 29, 2006, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

CDMA isn't a big enough market (according to some of the manufacturers) for the latest and greatest phones.

In fact AFAIK Sony Ericsson dropped CDMA altogether, and other companies are considering dropping it, including Nokia.

Isn't CDMA supposed to give much superior reception and clarity? My friends with Fido always sound like crap over their phones. Hollow, static-y, and with lots of breakups. I don't notice this with my friends on Bell or Telus.

Eug · Aug 29, 2006, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by Spliff

Isn't CDMA supposed to give much superior reception and clarity? My friends with Fido always sound like crap over their phones. Hollow, static-y, and with lots of breakups. I don't notice this with my friends on Bell or Telus.

Good phones have good sound quality. Depends on the phone and when it was bought.

I had a ClearNET (now Telus) phone, and it sucked. Poor reception, echoes, etc. (Not really just a phone problem, but a network problem.) My GSM phone of the same era on Fido had no such problems, but the sound quality wasn't necessarily the best. Nowadays however, both GSM and CDMA can provide great sound quality. My GSM K790a certainly sounds excellent. But then again it's a phone that became available in North America just last Saturday.

CDMA is arguably better technology in some ways than GSM, but that's a moot point. Current GSM is good, and and its derivatives have 80% of the world's market. Plus, the fact that CDMA phones need activation is majorly irritating. It certainly doesn't help CDMA's cause.

Sage · Aug 29, 2006, 11:11 PM

Originally Posted by paul w

T-Mobile prepaid. Not the best for coverage but whatever. It's the best value for the prepaids. $100 buys you up to a year. This works as I'm gone for months at a time.

I pay $60/year for Virgin Mobile.

It is more expensive per minute than T-Mobile, but I end up using about $50 of my balance per year, so it’s perfect for me.

TheoCryst · Aug 29, 2006, 11:14 PM

T-Mobile, for now. Gonna be switching to Verizon at the end of the year, when my current contract's out. Their reception is just too sub-par in the Tucson area, especially on campus. Plus, many of my friends have Verizon, and that'll save me a ton of minutes.

jokell82 · Aug 29, 2006, 11:20 PM

Verizon, and I need a new phone except every single one of their phones sucks. I'm thinking about waiting for the LG VX9900, which may be out in early September. But if not I'll be switching to Cingular because they don't purposefully cripple their phones.

Angelo78 · Aug 30, 2006, 12:24 AM

I have Cingular. I had Verizon but got really tired of the crippled phones. Now I can just drag and drop songs and clips onto my phone via the OS X Finder, or use bluetooth. I'm loving it!

Angelo

placebo1969 · Aug 30, 2006, 12:41 AM

I've had Sprint since 1997 (when it came to the Puget Sound). I had Cellular One/AT&T for 3 years before that. I have the Samsung A900. Great phone.

nate_02 · Aug 30, 2006, 12:48 AM

verizon

Velocity211 · Aug 30, 2006, 01:01 AM

Cingular, never got a no signal alert on my phone before.

SpaceMonkey · Aug 30, 2006, 01:20 AM

Verizon. But I don't need phones with lots of features. I'm still on a contract that I started when I was still living in upstate NY, where Verizon was the dominant option.

Sealobo · Aug 30, 2006, 01:21 AM

3 should be made an option.

badidea · Aug 30, 2006, 03:36 AM

O2 Germany

Landos Mustache · Aug 30, 2006, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Spliff

Isn't CDMA supposed to give much superior reception and clarity? My friends with Fido always sound like crap over their phones. Hollow, static-y, and with lots of breakups. I don't notice this with my friends on Bell or Telus.

ASAIK, CDMA has better range meaning you can get a signal from twice the distance of a GSM one. But considering how widespread GSM is it shouldn't make a difference.

The sound quality is pretty much equal.

The major downsides to CDMA is the phones tend to be clunkier and have about half the battery life as a GSM. Other downsides is that it isn't a "World phone" and many manufacturers don't want to make CDMA handsets anymore.

I wonder what current CDMA providers will do in the future. Will they push the technology forever or will they fold and go GSM. What is involved in switching? 100% new hardware or can CDMA towers and servers be converted?