Need advice on Cellular Phone service

[Sombeech]

What does everybody have? I'm just coming out of a 2 year contract with Verizon. BTW, do you think they'll give me a Missionary Homecoming?

Anyways, I'm using an LG flip-phone. It was cool 2 years ago, but I'm so sick of it now. I just want to go back to the simple one-piece. My phone cuts out SO BAD!

Here are my options... Stay with Verizon, just get a cheap new phone, and no new contract.

Or

New service, new phone, new contract, but better reception.

What service do you all have, and are you satisfied with reception? Please give me some of those "remote" areas where you had, or didn't have service.

Thanks.

[BrainDamage]

I have Verizon and I will be keeping there service when my contract runs out I have had excellent luck with them there are 2 main reasons I will be staying with them 1. all of my family and friends have there service, so it is free for me to talk to them, 2. I travel down to Price 2-3 times a month and I almost have reception all the way through Spanish fork/Price canyon

That is my 2 Pennies

[dbessee]

I'm still on Verizon and they've been pretty good service-wise in my area.

I use a small LG flip-phone that I got because it had a speaker and a was doing a lot of work on ladders/roofs/driving where I was on the phone.

It still works fine and I got insurance mainly for work as it gets turned off and thrown (gently) in the drybox when I go play.

When it comes to phones I'm a KISS proponent. The more toys (PDA, camera, etc) included in the phone, the more likely it is to break.

Keeping it small so it's light, easy to protect from shock/water/etc. is nice too.

Go with what works for you.

[accadacca]

I have been with T-mobile for a few years. I really like their service, customer support, online systems, etc.

[DirkHammergate]

I have been with T-mobile for a few years. I really like their service, customer support, online systems, etc.

I have a Verizon work cell and my wife has T-Mobile. I drop calls all the time and maybe we've dropped one or two over a year with T-Mobile. I like their service better, straight forward billing, no hidden charges and Catherine Zeta Jones is pipin hot....

[derstuka]

Been with Verizon for about 4 years now. Pretty happy with them. Most of my family and several friends have Verizon as well...makes the "IN Network" handy. A friend has Sprint, and I seem to have better coverage than him in rural areas.

I do agree with the comment about more the more gadgets you get, the more likely it will be to break. I just got the Motorola e815 a few months ago, and it works pretty well.

[DickHead]

We have Verizon. Coverage can be spotty. Wife made that decision without my input....whaddya gonna do?

[shaggy125]

It seems to me that the phone has more to do with dropped calls then the service. I had T-Mobile a long time ago and hated it because I couldn't get service past Provo (I hear they've changed that now). Then I had AT&T with a crappy phone. I dropped calls half of the time and couldn't get service the other half. Now I am with Verizon and have probably dropped like 5 calls in 2 years. It's by far the best phone and service I've had. I attribute it more to my phone though than Verizon. I finally learned that when I was researching what phone to buy to not look at all the cool extra stuff it can do, but look only at how it performs as a phone and buy accordingly.

[James_B_Wads2000]

I was with AT&T for years with great reception, but shitty phones as in the kept breaking and had to be replaced. I have made some pretty remote phone calls. The most famous being last June when I got stuck on the top of Notch Peak I was able to make a patch phone call to my wife and give her my GPS coordinates which was relayed to the county SAR. That call save us at least one day of hiking out.

But not long after that I broke my phone again and this time I signed a contract with Cingular (before I was on an AT&T/Cingular plan). I got my first flip phone that seems to break less than the candybar type. But the coverage sucks. I never lose calls in the city, but outside the valley I don't get good coverage. Meaning that anytime I basically leave the I-15 corridor I can't make a call. Cingular is better price wise. Now long distance and roaming are free. My bill for the time I got suck was about $80 more than usual for all the roaming and long distance fees.

Next time I will get a provider that covers more remote areas of the state.

James

[LJ]

Have had Verizon for about a year now. Spotty coverage down here in Southern Utah.

[Sombeech]

It seems to me that the phone has more to do with dropped calls then the service.

I agree. My wife and I have the same phones. LG VX6000. Mine cuts out all the time, and I finish the call on hers!



Now, imagine that picture with a couple of cracks on the front display, and the battery has tape on it to keep it attached.

I'm thinking I will stay with Verizon, but I need a new phone. I think I want to go back to a simple phone. 1-piece, preferrably. Both of our phones cracked on the hinge within 2 weeks of each other, and we had a HELL of a time making verizon send us out warranty replacements.

I'm thinking a 1-piece will hold up longer, plus, a lot cheaper if it "takes a swim with the fishes."

[rock_ski_cowboy]

I've had both T-Mobile and Verizon. I like T-Mobile better than Verizon for in-town and wasatch front service, seems to have a stronger signal (could just be the phone). My parents live about 10 miles off I-15 on the south side of Utah Lake and verizon gets no signal there but TMobile usually works pretty good. Also, the TMobile rates are better and the contract is only for a year. Verizon is much better for the backroads and back country, but since most of my buddies have verizon I get by just fine. If you are going to be using your phone around town all the time I would go with TMobile. The 1 year contract is also a huge bonus.

Ben

[accadacca]

I've had both T-Mobile and Verizon. I like T-Mobile better than Verizon for in-town and wasatch front service, seems to have a stronger signal (could just be the phone). My parents live about 10 miles off I-15 on the south side of Utah Lake and verizon gets no signal there but TMobile usually works pretty good. Also, the TMobile rates are better and the contract is only for a year. Verizon is much better for the backroads and back country, but since most of my buddies have verizon I get by just fine. If you are going to be using your phone around town all the time I would go with TMobile. The 1 year contract is also a huge bonus.

Ben

Well put. I have never had a problem with warranty items with T-Mobile. They never ask a question......just ask for my address to send the gear. And someone mentioned Catherine Zeta.........need I say more?