I have had it with At&t; Switching to Verizon to Rule the Air!

[ap3604]

Every time I ask whether I would able to retain the Verizon Unlimited Data Plan without a contract after July 7th, the Best Buy rep and Verizon sales rep both said you must have 2 years contract in order to retain the unlimited data plan since the Palm Pixi is considered to be a "Pre-paid" phone.

Those scumbags are lying their asses off in order to make a sale

Think about it: If you were a sales guy would you rather say that someone has to sign a 2yr contract now... or that they can just use a palm pixi contract free and upgrade whenever they want? Obviously its a better profit advantage for them to lie to you in order to get you to sign a contract now (believing that the pixi trick doesn't work, which it does).

 

[MortalDays]

Those scumbags are lying their asses off in order to make a sale

Think about it: If you were a sales guy would you rather say that someone has to sign a 2yr contract now... or that they can just use a palm pixi contract free and upgrade whenever they want? Obviously its a better profit advantage for them to lie to you in order to get you to sign a contract now (believing that the pixi trick doesn't work, which it does).

Here is the Math for each scenario:

***NOTE: I still have 26 days left for my At&t Contract.

Scenario 1:
~~Switch to Verizon NOW with 2 year contract and an iPhone 4 @ BEST BUY:
1) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 2) iPhone 4 = +$200
+ 3) Best Buy Buy Back Program = +$40
+ 4) Verizon Activation Fee = +$35
- 5) Sell back iPhone 4 to Best Buy in September = -$350
+ 6) Buy iPhone 5 in September = $700
- 7) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $520

Scenario 2:
~~Switch to Verizon with Palm Pixi without 2 year contract (chance of not retaining the unlimited data since it is unverifiable with Verizon)
1) Palm Pixi = $80 (with express shipping to receive it before July 7th)
+ 2) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 3) iPhone 5 in September = $200 (w/ 2 year contract start in September)
- 4) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $175

 

[erayser]

LOL... I was posting in this thread on my ipad... on how great Verizon's 4G LTE was for me this weekend, and coverage was fantastic in the Disneyland area. I was streaming live video on a paintball tounament on my iphone and ipad, and it was great. There were a few times where it switched to slower 3G, but I had coverage over the weekend. We are on our way home, and when I was about to post, and I lost coverage and now posting with my iPhone on AT&T 3G. I love having 2 options.. Anyhow, I am a very happy Verizon customer. It sucked retyping everything on my iPhone though.

 

[Thedeathbear]

Image





nuff said, you can clearly see the better carrier.

I fail to see the relevance of the picture. This thread is about voice coverage, not 3G coverage.

 

[wordoflife]

Here is the Math for each scenario:

***NOTE: I still have 26 days left for my At&t Contract.

Scenario 1:
~~Switch to Verizon NOW with 2 year contract and an iPhone 4 @ BEST BUY:
1) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 2) iPhone 4 = +$200
+ 3) Best Buy Buy Back Program = +$40
+ 4) Verizon Activation Fee = +$35
- 5) Sell back iPhone 4 to Best Buy in September = -$350
+ 6) Buy iPhone 5 in September = $700
- 7) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $520

Scenario 2:
~~Switch to Verizon with Palm Pixi without 2 year contract (chance of not retaining the unlimited data since it is unverifiable with Verizon)
1) Palm Pixi = $80 (with express shipping to receive it before July 7th)
+ 2) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 3) iPhone 5 in September = $200 (w/ 2 year contract start in September)
- 4) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $175

I would buy a Palm Pixi, open a new line with Verizon, and continue paying your AT&T contract until it expires. Then just use the Pixi until iPhone 5 comes out.

 

[nizmoz]

The Best Buy buy back program is a joke. Don't get that. Your iphone will hold it's value way more than 50% they want to give back to you. Sometimes you can make money.

Here is the Math for each scenario:

***NOTE: I still have 26 days left for my At&t Contract.

Scenario 1:
~~Switch to Verizon NOW with 2 year contract and an iPhone 4 @ BEST BUY:
1) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 2) iPhone 4 = +$200
+ 3) Best Buy Buy Back Program = +$40
+ 4) Verizon Activation Fee = +$35
- 5) Sell back iPhone 4 to Best Buy in September = -$350
+ 6) Buy iPhone 5 in September = $700
- 7) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $520

Scenario 2:
~~Switch to Verizon with Palm Pixi without 2 year contract (chance of not retaining the unlimited data since it is unverifiable with Verizon)
1) Palm Pixi = $80 (with express shipping to receive it before July 7th)
+ 2) At&t Early Termination Fee = +$95
+ 3) iPhone 5 in September = $200 (w/ 2 year contract start in September)
- 4) Selling my iPhone 3GS = $200
-------------------------------------------
TOTAL COST: $175

 

[sectime]

Even though your map is in blue color, it doesn't necessary represent At&t. There is no At&t label to your map?

Besides, I live in Texas, and I don't think At&t coverage maps are accurate. I only get like 2 to 3 bars.

Current map on AT&T webpage check for yourself. Verizon's map you show is voice only.

///That map doesn't differentiate between 2g/Edge and 3g so in alot of the places where you have 1.5mbps download speed with Verizon 3g you would only get Att's Edge speeds of 0.1mbps...///

Both data maps break down
To 1X/edge as you drill down.
Both Verizon and AT&T suck for different reasons.

 

[D1G1T4L]

Switched from AT&T to Verizon and have been VERY happy. AT&T has spotty coverage where I am and then if you do have 3G coverage it has WAY too many people using the towers so the data speed was horrible. Verizon has given me better voice coverage and faster data speeds. Verizon ended up being the better choice for me. Of course it all depends where you are that will decide which carrier will be the best for you.

 

[Dorv]

Similar to what I had with Sprint back in my med school days. Sprint has blanket coverage in the Kansas City area. My school was about one mile away from Sprint's former World Headquarters. Than o moved to NYC and had horrible coverage with Sprint.

See, and I used to have this one dead spot in KC that drove me up the wall. On 435 on the West side of town, when you cross the Kansas river. Yeah, you go into a little bit of a canyon, but Sprint was the only carrier that lost coverage there. Always thought it was ironic (But believe you me, if Sprint had the iPhone, I'd switch back to them in a heartbeat).

 

[MortalDays]

The Best Buy buy back program is a joke. Don't get that. Your iphone will hold it's value way more than 50% they want to give back to you. Sometimes you can make money.

True in certain extent since Verizon Iphone 4 is CDMA only; its hard to sell to my friends since not very much people has Verizon specifically and CDMA iphone is not compatible with other carriers like Att or Tmobile which have GSM band.

Any idea if this is true?

 

[nizmoz]

True in certain extent since Verizon Iphone 4 is CDMA only; its hard to sell to my friends since not very much people has Verizon specifically and CDMA iphone is not compatible with other carriers like Att or Tmobile which have GSM band.

Any idea if this is true?

Verizon Iphones are selling over $500 on ebay right now. Best buy will give you $99 for that phone when you turn it in vs you selling it for lets say $300-400 at that time if a 5 comes out.

 

[MortalDays]

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True in certain extent since Verizon Iphone 4 is CDMA only; its hard to sell to my friends since not very much people has Verizon specifically and CDMA iphone is not compatible with other carriers like Att or Tmobile which have GSM band.

Any idea if this is true?

Verizon Iphones are selling over $500 on ebay right now. Best buy will give you $99 for that phone when you turn it in vs you selling it for lets say $300-400 at that time if a 5 comes out.

Best Buy will give me $350 if I sell it back to them in September w/ the Buy Back Program as I mentioned before. That's why I am skeptical to see if anyone would buy a Verizon iPhone for more than that in September.

 

[wovel]

Why do you chose to come on the internet and lie sir.

http://www.cellularmaps.com/3g_compare.shtml

http://apb.directionsmag.com/entry/update-dueling-maps-verizon-wireless-vs-att/155766

If you honestly think att has better coverage you are mistaken

The maps you link and the accompanying article in the second confirm everything he said and then some.. They also point out that in most places Verizon's 3G is equivalent to AT&Ts Edge. He did not lie, you are just easily confused.

 

[Geckotek]

AT&T = Less coverage overall

Fixed that for you.

 

[dudeabiding]

I'm in Southern California (on the coast outside LA) and I get excellent AT&T coverage almost everywhere. Including Orange County, when we travel to Disneyland, where I get good reception. I get good signal in Santa Barbara, Monterey, Pismo Beach, Santa Cruz, Downtown LA (Museum row), pretty much everywhere I travel- usually 3 or more bars. I also get good signal when I go to Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Does signal drop sometimes? Sure. I've found dead spots, but rarely.

Sometimes what you live in can affect signal- houses and buildings can cut off signal depending on what they are made of. Maybe you live in areas between towers, I don't know, but I have absolutely no signal issues.

But I'm very picky about signal strength and I have no desire to leave AT&T based on lack thereof. If you can't get signal where you live, you SHOULD leave that carrier. Years ago, before the merger, I left AT&T for Cingular because I couldn't get signal at the school where I worked and my wife was pregnant (I needed fairly constant contact, and had to use school land lines). After waiting a year (promises of "new towers"), I jumped ship to Cingular and got excellent service in that location. However, after the merger, with all the towers they have now, signal strength has honestly never been an issue.

 

[noekozz]

While VZW does have better coverage, I just can't see myself getting butt raped with their prices.

I'm assuming you won't be able to lock in the unlimited plan before 07/07 unless you pay the ETF with ATT.

 

[richxps]

I just ported over this weekend from the ATT iphone. Both are great services but i have to admit Verizon seems to be some what better in voice and coverage. I'm glad im locked in to the unlimited at least for now.
I also noticed that the GPS seems to be a little better on the Verizon phone than my ATT, i wonder if the Verizon chip has anything to do with it ?

 

[psywzrd]

While VZW does have better coverage, I just can't see myself getting butt raped with their prices.

I'm assuming you won't be able to lock in the unlimited plan before 07/07 unless you pay the ETF with ATT.

Not necessarily true. You can get a Palm Pixi Plus and activate it with Verizon on a month to month plan. Then you can suspend the plan without billing for the last 6 months of 2011 and the first 6 months of 2012 - that will get you to the summer of 2012 when a lot of people's contracts with AT&T are up. At that point you can decide if you want to stay with AT&T or go to Verizon permanently (asssuming of course that you can get a 4G-capable iphone or another phone you actually want at that time).

 

[nooaah]

0 drop calls here a day. 10+ you have a phone problem not a service issue.

Holy God. Just because YOU get great service doesn't mean everyone else does. My reception at home is -50 to -65. My reception at work is -85 to -105. My reception at my dad's house 10 miles north is "no service" or -110. My phone is fine. Not everyone gets good coverage everywhere with AT&T. I hate to break your heart.

 

[Mliii]

Both Verizon and AT&T suck for different reasons.

This is it exactly! I can't believe we are still having these stupid conversations about Verizon and AT&T when they are BOTH good in spots and bad in spots.
I'm no fan of either. I'm on AT&T because my original company was bought by a company that was bought by AT&T. I've stayed because, originally, they were the only iPhone option AND I would really miss simultaneous data and voice which I use frequently.
But from my perspective, they are both out to grab as much money as possible from you as a consumer and provide you with as little as they can get away with.

 

[nizmoz]

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Best Buy will give me $350 if I sell it back to them in September w/ the Buy Back Program as I mentioned before. That's why I am skeptical to see if anyone would buy a Verizon iPhone for more than that in September.

No they will give you $99. New contract price is $199/$299.

They go by the price of the actual sales receipt of the phone not the actual retail value without contract.

 

[nateo200]

Here's two maps....verizon is data coverage and AT&T is overall coverage. The way they set up their maps is stupid now, I used to specify more specifics. Anyways dark red is verizon EvDO roaming, pink is 1xRTT roaming, and the little brown spots are verizon 1xRTT only.

For AT&T in orange the lines mean they require a 3G handset in this area, from what I understand the reason for this is they deployed 3G UMTS only in this area because at the time it would have made no sense to have GSM/GPRS services sucking up bandwidth. AT&T has a massive backbone in this area so I'm sure their network is pretty solid there.

For the blue AT&T map any lined area is GSM roaming (light blue GPRS, dark blue EDGE).

Allot of areas like Texas and Wisconsin are majority EDGE/GSM only...you may say "Oh who lives over in those areas" but that wasn't the argument. ALL the red on the verizon map is EvDO, EvDO is allot slower than HSPA but I think it would be unfair to call it "EDGE like speeds" because that is not nearly the case 100% of the time. See my speed test thread. So overall both carriers have positives and negatives depending on location and whether you prefer or need speed or coverage. I honestly don't hate verizon or AT&T more than the other I'm on verizon I would rather be on AT&T because I just so happen to like to have a technology that 80% of the world uses and will continue to gain speed and upgrades into the future. In rural areas the only reason I would be there is to have fun not be on my phone so I could deal with EDGE or GPRS for data services for little things like facebook and of course text messaging but in more urbanized areas I like my speed.

 

[flipster]

I just base it off this, and this opinion is in the BOSTON area. Service may vary depending on your area .

Anyway, I have an iPhone 4 on Verizon, my brother has a 3GS on AT&T. Since I'm a geek and made him download speedtest.net, I was shocked the see that he was receiving downloads of 3.6 mbps !! My downloads were only .70 mbps!

Kind of angry, I decided to do a little test. I opened Apple.com, Google.com, nytimes.com, and macrumors.com on both phones. I made SURE that the CACHE WAS CLEARED, HISTORY WAS CLEARED, AND COOKIES WERE CLEARED ON BOTH PHONES. Both phones has 5/5 bars, with AT&T's speedtest murdering Verizon's.

Anyway, as I loaded up each website, the Verizon iPhone managed to beat it every single time. To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but Verizon's network still managed to beat it by 1-4 seconds every time I tried it. That's why I don't care much about speedtests anymore. PING IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS HERE. If you have a low ping (verizon) then the web pages will start loading instantly. If you have a high ping (at&t) then they will start loading slower.

I also based it off of coverage. Most of the time, my brother has pretty good service, he will have 3-4 bars, I will also have that. But there are many times where he randomly drops all service to none (dead zones) which he and myself found annoying.

Overall, if your in the Boston area, I would recommend Verizon. It really depends on where your located. Location is key. We brought these two iPhones to many different places, and the Verizon one was the overall better choice. Again this is from my testing, your's may vary. I just wanted to point out that download speeds don't tell the full story, ping does. If you have a 200 ms ping with Verizon, and a 500 ms ping with AT&T, the Verizon iPhone WILL load faster and vice versa. Location is key.

 

[nateo200]

I just base it off this, and this opinion is in the BOSTON area. Service may vary depending on your area .

Anyway, I have an iPhone 4 on Verizon, my brother has a 3GS on AT&T. Since I'm a geek and made him download speedtest.net, I was shocked the see that he was receiving downloads of 3.6 mbps !! My downloads were only .70 mbps!

Kind of angry, I decided to do a little test. I opened Apple.com, Google.com, nytimes.com, and macrumors.com on both phones. I made SURE that the CACHE WAS CLEARED, HISTORY WAS CLEARED, AND COOKIES WERE CLEARED ON BOTH PHONES. Both phones has 5/5 bars, with AT&T's speedtest murdering Verizon's.

Anyway, as I loaded up each website, the Verizon iPhone managed to beat it every single time. To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but Verizon's network still managed to beat it by 1-4 seconds every time I tried it. That's why I don't care much about speedtests anymore. PING IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS HERE. If you have a low ping (verizon) then the web pages will start loading instantly. If you have a high ping (at&t) then they will start loading slower.

I also based it off of coverage. Most of the time, my brother has pretty good service, he will have 3-4 bars, I will also have that. But there are many times where he randomly drops all service to none (dead zones) which he and myself found annoying.

Overall, if your in the Boston area, I would recommend Verizon. It really depends on where your located. Location is key. We brought these two iPhones to many different places, and the Verizon one was the overall better choice. Again this is from my testing, your's may vary. I just wanted to point out that download speeds don't tell the full story, ping does. If you have a 200 ms ping with Verizon, and a 500 ms ping with AT&T, the Verizon iPhone WILL load faster and vice versa. Location is key.

I've heard bad some things about the Boston area's cellular coverage so its good to hear some positive. Keep in mind ping isn't EVERYTHING. Its just latency. So you send the request when you hit "Go" or "search" and that latency is what gets the page loading faster. You need a balance of everything. What's really scary is when you have 50MBs downlink with like 5ms ping...

 

[nizmoz]

I just base it off this, and this opinion is in the BOSTON area. Service may vary depending on your area .

Anyway, I have an iPhone 4 on Verizon, my brother has a 3GS on AT&T. Since I'm a geek and made him download speedtest.net, I was shocked the see that he was receiving downloads of 3.6 mbps !! My downloads were only .70 mbps!

Kind of angry, I decided to do a little test. I opened Apple.com, Google.com, nytimes.com, and macrumors.com on both phones. I made SURE that the CACHE WAS CLEARED, HISTORY WAS CLEARED, AND COOKIES WERE CLEARED ON BOTH PHONES. Both phones has 5/5 bars, with AT&T's speedtest murdering Verizon's.

Anyway, as I loaded up each website, the Verizon iPhone managed to beat it every single time. To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but Verizon's network still managed to beat it by 1-4 seconds every time I tried it. That's why I don't care much about speedtests anymore. PING IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS HERE. If you have a low ping (verizon) then the web pages will start loading instantly. If you have a high ping (at&t) then they will start loading slower.

I also based it off of coverage. Most of the time, my brother has pretty good service, he will have 3-4 bars, I will also have that. But there are many times where he randomly drops all service to none (dead zones) which he and myself found annoying.

Overall, if your in the Boston area, I would recommend Verizon. It really depends on where your located. Location is key. We brought these two iPhones to many different places, and the Verizon one was the overall better choice. Again this is from my testing, your's may vary. I just wanted to point out that download speeds don't tell the full story, ping does. If you have a 200 ms ping with Verizon, and a 500 ms ping with AT&T, the Verizon iPhone WILL load faster and vice versa. Location is key.

I agree to a point. Try to watch a Youtube video on Verizon and it will lag and buffer like crazy while AT&T won't with the speed difference.