Booo Cingular!!!

[levitynyc]

I had them for 3 months. I had constant dropped calls - dead spots. The customer service was lousy and I actually paid an early termination fee to get rid of them.

I am with Verizon now and I love it.

The multiyear exclusive agreement with Cingular makes me sick!

Why couldnt they just use all of the cell networks?

 

[xfiftyfour]

Where I live, Cingular has great coverage.. I think in the two years I've been with them I've only lost 2 calls..

I'm pleased with the carrier, but pretty upset at the price.. $600 AFTER the contract discount.. gah.

 

[iW00t]

Is it even a GSM phone?

 

[Nikhil72]

I personally love Cingular and found their reception to be much better than Verizon's, both on my college campus and back at home. On top of that, data is much more affordable for Cingular (half the price!). Definitely enjoyed the experience with Cingular's store staff compared to the VZW store as well.

My question is, what do people with Cingular, still in contract, do? I want to pick up an iPhone immediately upon launch but will only be 7 months into my 1 year contract?

Man, this announcement actually had me physically unable to control my excitement. I ran around the room like a psycho.

 

[levitynyc]

Where I live, Cingular has great coverage.. I think in the two years I've been with them I've only lost 2 calls..

I'm pleased with the carrier, but pretty upset at the price.. $600 AFTER the contract discount.. gah.

In NYc cingular is horrble.

 

[tyr2]

Is it even a GSM phone?

IIRC It's does Quad Band GSM.

Not sure who they're going to partner with in the UK. That 'visual voicemail' stuff is going to need provider buy in. Wouldn't be surprised if they partnered with Orange (France Telecom) would seem the best brand fit in the UK.

 

[xfiftyfour]

I personally love Cingular and found their reception to be much better than Verizon's, both on my college campus and back at home. On top of that, data is much more affordable for Cingular (half the price!). Definitely enjoyed the experience with Cingular's store staff compared to the VZW store as well.

My question is, what do people with Cingular, still in contract, do? I want to pick up an iPhone immediately upon launch but will only be 7 months into my 1 year contract?

Man, this announcement actually had me physically unable to control my excitement. I ran around the room like a psycho.

Yeah, fortunately for me, my "New every 2" or whatever Cingular calls it is up in August.. right in time for the iPhone.. the timing is perfect.

Unfortunately, I'm going to need these entire 6 months in order to save up for the darn thing!

 

[CubeHacker]

I was kinda hoping they would stay away from all Cell companies, and just sell an unlocked GSM phone from their own stores. At least that way, just about everyone (except CDMA users) would be able to pick one up. Apple isn't the type to stick another company's branding on their own products, so I don't understand why they'd start now.

The iPhone is cool, but i'm not switching providors just to get one. I hope they figure out a way to unlock the phones - that is if they ARE locked. Hopefully Apple will be smart and still sell unlocked iPhones direct from their store. Obviously, it'll be more expensive that way, but at least anyone could get one.

 

[System6]

I would purchase this phone if it was $1000.00, but I wouldn't use it for free if it is on cingulars network. This might be the worst decision apple has made in the last few years.

 

[levitynyc]

I was kinda hoping they would stay away from all Cell companies, and just sell an unlocked GSM phone from their own stores. At least that way, just about everyone (except CDMA users) would be able to pick one up. Apple isn't the type to stick another company's branding on their own products, so I don't understand why they'd start now.

The iPhone is cool, but i'm not switching providors just to get one. I hope they figure out a way to unlock the phones - that is if they ARE locked.

AMEN

 

[evilernie]

I had them for 3 months. I had constant dropped calls - dead spots. The customer service was lousy and I actually paid an early termination fee to get rid of them.

I am with Verizon now and I love it.

The multiyear exclusive agreement with Cingular makes me sick!

Why couldnt they just use all of the cell networks?

You took the words out of my mouth. Cingular blows. The only way they can claim the least amount of dropped calls is because the calls don't connect in the first place!!!

 

[jne381]

Even though this phone does way more than I wanted an Apple phone to do, I would love to have one. Unfortunately, I don't want to pay $600 and have to be signed up to Cingular for two years for the privilege. I guess I will just buy a Nano now and deal with two devices in my pocket.

 

[levitynyc]

Even though this phone does way more than I wanted an Apple phone to do, I would love to have one. Unfortunately, I don't want to pay $600 and have to be signed up to Cingular for two years for the privilege. I guess I will just buy a Nano now and deal with two devices in my pocket.

I wish apple would have made the exact same device without the phone.

I would buy it in a second!!!

 

[xfiftyfour]

I was kinda hoping they would stay away from all Cell companies, and just sell an unlocked GSM phone from their own stores. At least that way, just about everyone (except CDMA users) would be able to pick one up. Apple isn't the type to stick another company's branding on their own products, so I don't understand why they'd start now.

The iPhone is cool, but i'm not switching providors just to get one. I hope they figure out a way to unlock the phones - that is if they ARE locked. Hopefully Apple will be smart and still sell unlocked iPhones direct from their store. Obviously, it'll be more expensive that way, but at least anyone could get one.

Problem is that without the backing of a carrier, the phone would be even more expensive. Plus Apple and Cingular already have a history together. I imagine that Apple needed the backing of a carrier in order to keep its price within the realm of acceptable.. and that Cingular wanted the iPhone exclusively.. at least at first.

I'm sure you'll eventually be able to pick up the iPhone either unlocked from the get (though you'll probably pay more - just like you do for any phone now), or you'll be able to unlock it.

 

[savar]

My question is, what do people with Cingular, still in contract, do? I want to pick up an iPhone immediately upon launch but will only be 7 months into my 1 year contract?

You can tack extra years onto the end of your current agreement...if you're a fan of indentured servitude.

I had a terrible experience with Cingular and wouldn't go back if they paid me.

 

[animenick65]

I can only imagine what these phones are costing apple to produce. We havn't even seen some of these technologies used in devices before, let alone all put together in one device. We all know what happens when new technology is shrunk down and cramed into a small space....

 

[spiritmn77]

Also to note

Cingular has the slowest internet access between Verizon, Sprint, and Cingular....

Try half the speed.

Basically, they partnered with Cingular. Cingular subsidized the phone cost to get Apple more sales...Apple gives Cingular the multi-year contract and gives them revenue.

 

[SkyBell]

It would be better if they were unlocked, as I have (and love) Sprint.

Obviously, the cost would be higher, but I know some people would go for it.

 

[technicolor]

Ahhhhhh can it.

 

[erummel]

It would be better if they were unlocked, as I have (and love) Sprint.

I think some of the Americans are having trouble with the concept of an 'unlocked' phone. Now, as an American living in England, I can say that, I too was confused at first, but I was shown the light.

First of all, most American mobile networks are CDMA networks. This includes Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Virgin and Boost. I know my figures aren't exact, but they account for roughly 75% of the market. These phones do not use SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) cards, and therefore cannot be 'SIM' locked or unlocked.

America has two GSM carriers, Cingular and T-Mobile. Their phones use SIM cards and can be unlocked for use on just about any GSM network, provided the phone can transmit and receive on the correct frequencies (tri band or quad band phones). So these guys have it easy if they plan to travel abroad since most of the world uses GSM (leave it to us Americans to ignore what the world does and make our devices so they don't play well with others). Case in point, I was recently back in the States and swapped the SIM out of my unlocked Orange phone with a cheap T-Mobile pay-as-you-go SIM. It worked flawlessly. Back in the UK, my Orange SIM goes back in and I'm back to normal.

Sorry for the long winded reply. Here it is in a nutshell: The Cingular branded iPhone WILL NOT work with Verizon, Sprint, etc. They are different network types. If you can get the iPhone unlocked, your only option is T-Mobile... why would anyone do that?

 

[Laslo Panaflex]

They are different network types. If you can get the iPhone unlocked, your only option is T-Mobile... why would anyone do that?

Well I would, because I am a T-Mobile subscriber and my contract isn't up until June 2008 and I don't want to pay a $200 fee to break my contract early.

 

[xfiftyfour]

Ahhhhhh can it.

Seconded.

 

[apfhex]

First of all, most American mobile networks are CDMA networks. This includes Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Virgin and Boost. I know my figures aren't exact, but they account for roughly 75% of the market.

Show me some solid numbers, because I'm pretty sure GSM and CDMA are on more or less even terms over here. I'll note that the real 4 major carriers are Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint Nextel (Virgin and Boost are merely MVNOs, part of Sprint Nextel's network). I don't know the number of subscribers for each or the virtual size of their networks but I'd be surprised if Verizon and Sprint accounted for 75% of the market!

 

[xfiftyfour]

Show me some solid numbers, because I'm pretty sure GSM and CDMA are on more or less even terms over here. I'll note that the real 4 major carriers are Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint Nextel (Virgin and Boost are merely MVNOs, part of Sprint Nextel's network). I don't know the number of subscribers for each or the virtual size of their networks but I'd be surprised if Verizon and Sprint accounted for 75% of the market!

Yeah I was pretty skeptical about that too.

BTW: In an article by (Times I think? My fiance was reading it to me), it said that Apple went with Cingular because they were the only carrier that would let Apple do whatever they wanted with the iPhone. Apparantly, what's typical is that phone makers have to follow very strict guidelines about what goes into their phones, and Cingular was the only one that would allow Apple to break this "norm".

 

[4np]

IIRC It's does Quad Band GSM.

Not sure who they're going to partner with in the UK. That 'visual voicemail' stuff is going to need provider buy in. Wouldn't be surprised if they partnered with Orange (France Telecom) would seem the best brand fit in the UK.

Probably one of the bigger european brands like Orange or Vodafone to cover most of Europe.