If you have T-Mo coverage why not just pick up an iPhone and unlock it? Yeah you can't get the 3G S (last I checked), but the 3G is still a dam good phone.
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Forced to chose Sprint or Verizon: Better of two evils?
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If you have T-Mo coverage why not just pick up an iPhone and unlock it? Yeah you can't get the 3G S (last I checked), but the 3G is still a dam good phone.
as has been stated... a lot depends upon coverage where you live. it's been nearly a decade since i was last with sprint. (insert grain of salt here) but i don't recall ever having a problem with the service. after that i was on verizon and while there phone service was great....i would never go back to them because they have the most ugly, uncustomizable, we need to fill up half your screen with our ugly verizon s*** interface! so i'd vote for sprint. at least if you can't receive a call your phone will it will look better! lol ... no seriously, i'd go with sprint myself, but again what gives you the best coverage?
Well, if you include text message you'll get a better deal with At&t with their unlimited text.
Verizon 5000 text is 20 bucks.
At&t unlimited text is 20 bucks.
On Verizon, you're locked to their phones, and you have to deal with ESN changing to swap devices. For years, it was a complete hassle to do, it's a tad easier with the *228 option 3 they added, but that doesn't work all the time either.
With the SIM chip, you go pop that sucker in any AT&T or Unlocked phone and you're good to go.
I don't understand all the hatred for Sprint - here is where I am coming from:
I was with AT&T for about 10 years, my service was always undesirable - like 8-9 dropped calls a day (I live and work in Chicago). For the last two years I have had the iPhone and the iPhone 3G - I love both phones but AT&T's service has just gotten terrible in these last two years - very poor unreliable coverage where I live and work (one should not expect to drop their calls, merely accept that will happen on occasion).
I figured something had to be wrong so I started calling customer service and was treated badly and given the typical "what do you expect from a GSM cell phone sort of speech" (i.e. go outside to make calls). Eventually, I spoke with a very nice woman in the office of the vice president and she said they would waive my termination fee if I decided to leave AT&T.
I had a decision to make and truthfully the iPhone is what kept me on AT&T for the last two-years, however, I went to sprint and checked out the Palm Pre (which seemed to be the most iPhone-like device on the market). I really liked the phone so I decided to give it a try.
A few weeks later and here I am really liking the phone (although not as much as the iPhone); loving the network and coverage - full bars nearly everywhere I go with fast data, no drops, and voice quality I have never heard in a cell phone; and the price can't be beat - with my credit union discount a family plan with two line 1500 minutes, unlimited everything else is $97.00.
I don't think Sprint is right for everyone, everywhere but really depending on where you live (which is what matters unless you travel 5 days for work) it may be the best or at least the better choice of the other carriers - I have certainly found it to be (if only Verizon were cheaper and had a better phone). But honestly I miss my iPhone!
by the way, I have dropped 3 calls (testing coverage in an elevator and train tunnel) in the last three weeks or so with Sprint - the only call I attempted with my old AT&T line since then, in order to call it in to cancel the line, dropped twice before I had to call back on my new Sprint phone.
But - YMMV and as a side note, I have not had to really deal with their customer service yet besides two sort of informational calls but the CS was a good as I could expect and very much a bit less snooty than what I got from AT&T but nothing like Apple (which is just great).
I was with AT&T for about 10 years, my service was always undesirable - like 8-9 dropped calls a day (I live and work in Chicago). For the last two years I have had the iPhone and the iPhone 3G - I love both phones but AT&T's service has just gotten terrible in these last two years - very poor unreliable coverage where I live and work (one should not expect to drop their calls, merely accept that will happen on occasion).
I figured something had to be wrong so I started calling customer service and was treated badly and given the typical "what do you expect from a GSM cell phone sort of speech" (i.e. go outside to make calls). Eventually, I spoke with a very nice woman in the office of the vice president and she said they would waive my termination fee if I decided to leave AT&T.
I had a decision to make and truthfully the iPhone is what kept me on AT&T for the last two-years, however, I went to sprint and checked out the Palm Pre (which seemed to be the most iPhone-like device on the market). I really liked the phone so I decided to give it a try.
A few weeks later and here I am really liking the phone (although not as much as the iPhone); loving the network and coverage - full bars nearly everywhere I go with fast data, no drops, and voice quality I have never heard in a cell phone; and the price can't be beat - with my credit union discount a family plan with two line 1500 minutes, unlimited everything else is $97.00.
I don't think Sprint is right for everyone, everywhere but really depending on where you live (which is what matters unless you travel 5 days for work) it may be the best or at least the better choice of the other carriers - I have certainly found it to be (if only Verizon were cheaper and had a better phone). But honestly I miss my iPhone!
by the way, I have dropped 3 calls (testing coverage in an elevator and train tunnel) in the last three weeks or so with Sprint - the only call I attempted with my old AT&T line since then, in order to call it in to cancel the line, dropped twice before I had to call back on my new Sprint phone.
But - YMMV and as a side note, I have not had to really deal with their customer service yet besides two sort of informational calls but the CS was a good as I could expect and very much a bit less snooty than what I got from AT&T but nothing like Apple (which is just great).
Before I give you my advice, please keep the following in mind:
I have had a Verizon phone for three years. I fulfilled my contract, and am forced to keep their service as my fiance is also on Verizon.
I work at a Sprint/AT&T authorized retailer, so I sell, am very familiar with, and deal with the sales support and customer service of each company on a daily basis. I also use demo Sprint and AT&T phones on a daily basis, and have a personal AT&T account for my iPhone.
If you can't go AT&T, go with Sprint. For those who say Verizon's coverage is better, they are right. However, with a family plan, or with an Everything plan (my suggestion would be the $99 simply everything) roaming is free. Roaming, ofcourse, means using Verizon's towers. So guess what? Sprint pricing and phones, Verizon service.
Yes, Sprint's phones aren't always the most attractive, but atleast they're not locked down like Verizon's phones are. Haven't seen the Tour yet, but I'm going to look it up. Edit: Tour should be available for all CDMA carriers eventually. It looks nice, I'd wait for it on Sprint. Guess is Verizon will have first, and I haven't heard anything from anyone at Sprint about a new Blackberry.
This is just one man's opinion, but I deal with it everyday, and am speaking from my experience.
I have had a Verizon phone for three years. I fulfilled my contract, and am forced to keep their service as my fiance is also on Verizon.
I work at a Sprint/AT&T authorized retailer, so I sell, am very familiar with, and deal with the sales support and customer service of each company on a daily basis. I also use demo Sprint and AT&T phones on a daily basis, and have a personal AT&T account for my iPhone.
If you can't go AT&T, go with Sprint. For those who say Verizon's coverage is better, they are right. However, with a family plan, or with an Everything plan (my suggestion would be the $99 simply everything) roaming is free. Roaming, ofcourse, means using Verizon's towers. So guess what? Sprint pricing and phones, Verizon service.
Yes, Sprint's phones aren't always the most attractive, but atleast they're not locked down like Verizon's phones are. Haven't seen the Tour yet, but I'm going to look it up. Edit: Tour should be available for all CDMA carriers eventually. It looks nice, I'd wait for it on Sprint. Guess is Verizon will have first, and I haven't heard anything from anyone at Sprint about a new Blackberry.
This is just one man's opinion, but I deal with it everyday, and am speaking from my experience.
If Sprint has good coverage where you live, get Sprint and get the Pre. I am a former 3G user who switched to the Pre, and while the Pre may not be as good as the iPhone it's very close. Not to mention you can get Sprint and it's easy to find a 25% discount that'll bring your bill to around $54 for a plan with 450 minutes and unlimited data/text/mms/navigation/7pm n&w and some other features. Sprint's customer service isn't bad. Besides, now that their plans are straight forward and they fixed their billing system you really won't have to deal with customer care too much.
Where I live, all the cell phone services suck so I chose the one with the awesome phone 
Anyways in a situation like yours I would choose the cheapest service... plus I've seen very good discounts (up to 30%) for sprint plans just by searching through fatwallet.
Anyways in a situation like yours I would choose the cheapest service... plus I've seen very good discounts (up to 30%) for sprint plans just by searching through fatwallet.
Sprint is cheap plus has great service. And the plus is, from all the info I've heard, they roam on Verizon, so you get the best of both worlds. Also, you can get an Airave antenna for 100 bucks to put in your house that gives you 5 bars of service for 5,000 sq. feet. I currently have one in my basement, and it works great.
I'm probably switching to an iPhone, so it won't matter to me much more, but as far as reception is concerned, in my area Sprint is great.
I'm probably switching to an iPhone, so it won't matter to me much more, but as far as reception is concerned, in my area Sprint is great.
go with sprint
i say go with sprint. i am from the northwest indiana area (currently live in indy) and have been with sprint for 10 years. i love them. their plans are cheap and i never have a dropped call anywhere i go. my phone always works up there whenever i go home for visits.
my mom has verizon up there and she always has dropped calls. she is leaving them when her contract is up later this year.
i REALLY want the iphone, but REALLY HATE at&t. i have had nothing but problems with them for our home phone and internet service and really don't want to give them any more of my money. it's killing me not having the iphone, but i'm waiting out the exclusive apple/at&t deal. i'm using an ipod touch for the time being.
good luck!
i say go with sprint. i am from the northwest indiana area (currently live in indy) and have been with sprint for 10 years. i love them. their plans are cheap and i never have a dropped call anywhere i go. my phone always works up there whenever i go home for visits.
my mom has verizon up there and she always has dropped calls. she is leaving them when her contract is up later this year.
i REALLY want the iphone, but REALLY HATE at&t. i have had nothing but problems with them for our home phone and internet service and really don't want to give them any more of my money. it's killing me not having the iphone, but i'm waiting out the exclusive apple/at&t deal. i'm using an ipod touch for the time being.
good luck!
For the love of god, don't get a bb 8300. I have one for work and it's awful. My main complaints are a terrible OS and an incredibly laggy and delayed UI.
If I were you I'd go Sprint/Pre. I know Verizon's network is better, but if sprint consistently offers pretty good service where you live and work then that's really all that matters. And the Pre blows away anything vzn has right now. Maybe the Tour will be good, but until RIM does something fundamentally different with their OS, their products will not be in the same league as the iphone or Pre.
(btw I'm an iphone 2G/3GS owner and I never even considered leaving iphone for Pre, but I have to admit, the Pre is a very nice phone with a very slick OS)
Sprint was downright awful. I used both Blackberries and HTC PPCs, I would drop calls left and right, Sprint first told my company it was a hardware problem, I probably went through 10 phones in the 3.5 years we used Sprint. Then they insisted that it was a software problem, they kept pushing updates to it, one day my PPC got bricked. That's when my company terminated the deal with Sprint and went to Verizon. I have a new job now where we use AT&T but I end up getting my iPhone data and voice reimbursed instead of having to carry around a separate business phone that I did for years.
Okay I have some initial updates (Yes I take forever to make up my mind sorry everyone) and would like to thank everyone for helping me out with their personal experiences. Also I don't want an unlocked iPhone for TMOBILE because if it get's bricked I'm out $400. =)
1. I checked out Sprint and with my wife's RN discount (go nurses!) I could get two phones + 1800min / Unlimited everything for only $110/mo.
I played the with PRE and the OS is fantastic but I think someone who lacks tactile sensory input designed the phone! The keypad is incredibly cramped and the edges of the opened phone are sharp like a plastic knife. (not enough to kill you but enough to rub your skin off) I was a little off-put when the sales clerk started out with "I know we have a bad reputation for customer service and coverage but it's a bunch of crap we are way better than we used to be".. not the best sales pitch!
2. TMOBILE is more expensive with less coverage/wifi/3G solutions. They don't have a discount (like Sprint and VZW do) and 700/min / unlimited data is $135.. yeowch. I really did like the Samusng Memoir though, very nice feedback and was quite fast in basic operation and the BB Curve 8900 was, well a nice BB. But the lack of better coverage and phone features (the G1 is just too slow, bulky and well bulky for me).
3. Verizon with unlimited data + 1400/min with RN discount comes to $110. The big issue (like everyone said) is that their phone selection is terrible. I played with the Storm and I actually didn't hate it like others do but it is NO iPhone! The Omnia seemed unresponsive to my gestures and the eV Touch seemed like a kids phone. The only real option seemed to be the very old BB 8300 which is pretty sad. (or the 8830 international version).
That said so far Sprint wins with the Pre, TMOBILE wins for phone selection and Verizon wins for coverage.. now if we could just meld them into one perfect carrier.... I am taking my wife out today when she is up to play around with the Pre and see from there.
I will update everyone when I have more info!
1. I checked out Sprint and with my wife's RN discount (go nurses!) I could get two phones + 1800min / Unlimited everything for only $110/mo.
I played the with PRE and the OS is fantastic but I think someone who lacks tactile sensory input designed the phone! The keypad is incredibly cramped and the edges of the opened phone are sharp like a plastic knife. (not enough to kill you but enough to rub your skin off) I was a little off-put when the sales clerk started out with "I know we have a bad reputation for customer service and coverage but it's a bunch of crap we are way better than we used to be".. not the best sales pitch!
2. TMOBILE is more expensive with less coverage/wifi/3G solutions. They don't have a discount (like Sprint and VZW do) and 700/min / unlimited data is $135.. yeowch. I really did like the Samusng Memoir though, very nice feedback and was quite fast in basic operation and the BB Curve 8900 was, well a nice BB. But the lack of better coverage and phone features (the G1 is just too slow, bulky and well bulky for me).
3. Verizon with unlimited data + 1400/min with RN discount comes to $110. The big issue (like everyone said) is that their phone selection is terrible. I played with the Storm and I actually didn't hate it like others do but it is NO iPhone! The Omnia seemed unresponsive to my gestures and the eV Touch seemed like a kids phone. The only real option seemed to be the very old BB 8300 which is pretty sad. (or the 8830 international version).
That said so far Sprint wins with the Pre, TMOBILE wins for phone selection and Verizon wins for coverage.. now if we could just meld them into one perfect carrier.... I am taking my wife out today when she is up to play around with the Pre and see from there.
I will update everyone when I have more info!
T-Mobile hands-down has the coolest phones. You can get somewhat decent coverage in their best spots. Travel anywhere else though...and you're in trouble. In my area, T-Mobile works on 1900mhz which doesn't penetrate as much as 850mhz. Geek babble aside, T-Mobile worked well when it worked, and blew hard when it didn't here. And it blew hard often. Sprint looks attractive, but I've never heard a happy Sprint customer other than the Sprint reps who were lying about their service left and right when trying to get me to sign up with a Pre, and customers who haven't had anything else than Sprint that don't realize it is terrible.
The Conclusion
Well everyone my wife was completely floored by the Palm Pre and she even got me one! (I wasn't planning on buying two expensive phones) We got her 23% discount unlimited data/msg 1500min for only $101/month for both phones which is awesome. Here is how it went down;
- We got ignored at the Verizon store for 40 minutes even though we signed in. We played with the Storm, BB 8330 and Omnia and none of they really made it worth the price or lack of features. She got a discount there but we would have had to pay $10/line to get GPS and didn't offer wifi.
- Maybe it was just our TMobile store but wow was it just not professional. I asked which phones could open documents (for my wife) and no one knew! Then I was looking at the BB 8900 and they kept pushing me to the G1 "It will do everything better and faster than the BB.. it even has music!". We quickly ran away.
-Sprint was great surprisingly. Knowledgeable staff, threw in some car chargers and the discount and we had new phones and out the door in 35 minutes.
I have some signal in my home which is fantastic news. It isn't full or anything but it's better than none! The wifi is excellent (screw you Verizon) and their data over the air is quite fast too.
The Pre is amazing! In minutes I had it figured out to push my gmail and business email, chat clients, downloaded some free apps, synced it with iTunes and it auto-downloaded all of my contacts via google gmail and I was out the door.
Thanks again for everyone's suggestions and keeping the Sprint option alive because we ended up with it anyway!
Well everyone my wife was completely floored by the Palm Pre and she even got me one! (I wasn't planning on buying two expensive phones) We got her 23% discount unlimited data/msg 1500min for only $101/month for both phones which is awesome. Here is how it went down;
- We got ignored at the Verizon store for 40 minutes even though we signed in. We played with the Storm, BB 8330 and Omnia and none of they really made it worth the price or lack of features. She got a discount there but we would have had to pay $10/line to get GPS and didn't offer wifi.
- Maybe it was just our TMobile store but wow was it just not professional. I asked which phones could open documents (for my wife) and no one knew! Then I was looking at the BB 8900 and they kept pushing me to the G1 "It will do everything better and faster than the BB.. it even has music!". We quickly ran away.
-Sprint was great surprisingly. Knowledgeable staff, threw in some car chargers and the discount and we had new phones and out the door in 35 minutes.
I have some signal in my home which is fantastic news. It isn't full or anything but it's better than none! The wifi is excellent (screw you Verizon) and their data over the air is quite fast too.
The Pre is amazing! In minutes I had it figured out to push my gmail and business email, chat clients, downloaded some free apps, synced it with iTunes and it auto-downloaded all of my contacts via google gmail and I was out the door.
Thanks again for everyone's suggestions and keeping the Sprint option alive because we ended up with it anyway!
Good choice... we had sprint for 8+ years. We really only left for the iPhone... and Sprint actually has the best coverage in our area (over AT&T, Verizon, Tmobile).
My husband actually can't get any reception at all with AT&T in his office... and looked a few weeks ago at switching back to Sprint and getting a Pre... but apparently they're building some kind of ramp to boost the signal as a lot of the corporate staff has bb's with AT&T in there.
My husband actually can't get any reception at all with AT&T in his office... and looked a few weeks ago at switching back to Sprint and getting a Pre... but apparently they're building some kind of ramp to boost the signal as a lot of the corporate staff has bb's with AT&T in there.
Last update: ATT tried to hose me out of the reduced termination fees. Luckily I'm a persistent person and contacted them and they took it off right away which made me think they tried to get away with something yet again.
I know many of you don't have issues with AT&T and I didn't want this to turn into a flame on them but wow their customer service has tanked in the last few years!
I know many of you don't have issues with AT&T and I didn't want this to turn into a flame on them but wow their customer service has tanked in the last few years!
I honestly believe Sprint is the way to go, I had Sprint for 10 years before I switched to ATT for the iPhone, which honestly was the worst decision of my life. With Sprint, at least in my area (Upstate NY) the 3G speeds are extremely fast and here we are able to roam off Verizon while Verizon can't roam off Sprint. So really when I paid my 115.00 a month for the simply everything plan I was paying for 2 providers Sprint and if necessary Verizon. Now I am not sure if the roaming agreement we have in upstate NY is a national agreement but it sure was nice, I basically had service everywhere. I will tell you though, when you roam on Verizon you do not get 3G data speeds just normal EVDO, that was the only downside. I would go with Sprint, their phones aren't locked into that stupid verizon menu style and we have wifi/gps phones. I am honestly thinking about dropping my iPhone plan to as cheap as possible and switching back to Sprint. I could get the simply everything plan with a Sprint smart phone AND keep the iPhone and pay just about the same 165.00 a month for both Sprint and AT&T.
I am in no way a Sprint fanboy or a Verizon hater, or a AT&T fanboy/hater...I'm giving you my honest opinion that Sprint is better especially if you have the roaming agreement we have here to roam off Verizon.
If the iPhone comes out on Sprint...see you later forever AT&T.
And no, I have never used (meaning having a contract with them) Verizon however my Mother does and I think their phones are garbage and locked down. Honestly, it's really about your area.
I am in no way a Sprint fanboy or a Verizon hater, or a AT&T fanboy/hater...I'm giving you my honest opinion that Sprint is better especially if you have the roaming agreement we have here to roam off Verizon.
If the iPhone comes out on Sprint...see you later forever AT&T.
And no, I have never used (meaning having a contract with them) Verizon however my Mother does and I think their phones are garbage and locked down. Honestly, it's really about your area.
Go with Sprint
Get the Pre
They also have that 99$ everything unlimited plan
you cant beat it. Also seeing as they are doing bad lately your business would certainly help
Get the Pre
They also have that 99$ everything unlimited plan
you cant beat it. Also seeing as they are doing bad lately your business would certainly help
The only reason anyone uses sprint is because they got the SERO plan which was much less expensive than a real carrier.
Verizon is the easy call. In most cases I would say compare the signals where you use the phones the most (ie home and at work), but in 99% of the cases this is unnecessary to do with sprint. Just pass on them.
Verizon is the easy call. In most cases I would say compare the signals where you use the phones the most (ie home and at work), but in 99% of the cases this is unnecessary to do with sprint. Just pass on them.