Cell Phones and Wireless Plans

[homer]

I need to get a cell phone and plan. I've used a work phone for years and haven't had to buy my own phone for like a decade. Any recommendations? I need the following:

 

- unlimited text

- unlimited minutes (nationwide)

- voice mail

- internet

- wireless data would be nice. I have a MacBook Pro and might need internet anywhere.

 

I really like iPhones and that would compliment the MacBook but I'm wondering if there's some way to start out on a cheaper plan (looks like the cheapest plan for and iPhone is $75 a month) and then upgrade to an iPhone later on.

[LouisEly]

If you travel or will predominantly be in a major metropolitan area look at Sprint. I've had them for over a decade. I think unlimited talk/text/data is $99.95/month; with Verizon it's $149/mo, similar for AT&T. Can get phones with internet (Blackberry, HTC, Samsung, etc.), but if you mean a wireless card you plug into your laptop (or use the phone as a modem) so you can get internet wherever you get a cell signal then an internet plan w/wireless card is another $40/month on top of that. Cheaper than Verizon and AT&T though.

 

As for iPhones, everyone I know who has one says the same thing - love the features, but as far as phones they suck. Lots of dropped calls, poor signal, etc.

 

If you don't travel and will solely be in a major metropolitan area then T-Mobile I think has the best deal. My buddy has it and he told me that unlimited talk/text/internet w/using the phone as a modem (Blackberry) is $99/month. Definitely check a map/reception though, as they are almost exclusively only in major metropolitan areas.

[endaround]

Verizon and T-Mobile have just lowered their prices to be $99 a month as well. Avoid an iPhone because of AT&T. The Verizon commercials about AT&T's coverage are actually to generous because AT&T has terrible coverage in even those areas it has a 3G network. In San Francisco and New York for example the circuits are often too full and the coverage is thin everywhere.

[Menace II Sobriety]

If you need an I-phone this could be a way to save a lot of money on your monthly bill and allow you to have a personal and business line on the same phone.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/...hone-app-to-sidestep-att

For a little $1 iPhone app, Line2 sure has the potential to shake up

an entire industry.

More from NYTimes.com: • Want Better AT&T Cell Service? Now You Can Buy It • Messages From Steve Jobs Are Making Recipients Swoon • Advertisers Show Interest in iPad

It can save you

money. It can make calls where AT&T's (T) signal is weak, like

indoors. It can turn an iPod Touch into a full-blown cellphone.

And

it can ruin the sleep of cellphone executives everywhere.

Line2

gives your iPhone a second phone number -- a second phone line, complete

with its own contacts list, voice mail, and so on. The company behind

it, Toktumi (get it?), imagines that you'll distribute the Line2 number

to business contacts, and your regular iPhone number to friends and

family. Your second line can be an 800 number, if you wish, or you can

transfer an existing number.

To that end, Toktumi offers, on its

Web site, a raft of Google (GOOG) Voice-ish features

that are intended to help a small businesses look bigger: call

screening, Do Not Disturb hours and voice mail messages sent to you as

e-mail. You can create an "automated attendant" -- "Press 1 for sales,"

"Press 2 for accounting," and so on -- that routes incoming calls to

other phone numbers. Or, if you're pretending to be a bigger business

than you are, route them all to yourself.

Popular Stories on Yahoo!: • New National Park Quarters Unveiled • Top Voice Earners in Hollywood Animation • Rock Stars' Financial Woes Revealed More From Yahoo! Finance

The Line2 app is a carbon copy, a visual clone,

of the iPhone's own phone software. The dialing pad, your iPhone

Contacts list, your recent calls list and visual voice mail all look

just like the iPhone's.

(Let's pause for a moment here to blink,

dumbfounded, at that point. Apple's (AAPL) rules prohibit App

Store programs that look or work too much like the iPhone's own built-in

apps. For example, Apple rejected the Google Voice app because, as

Apple explained to the Federal Communications Commission, it works "by

replacing the iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple

user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls." That is

exactly what Line2 does. Oh well -- the Jobs works in mysterious ways.)

So

you have a second line on your iPhone. But that's not the best part.

Line2

also turns the iPhone into a dual-mode phone. That is, it can make and

receive calls either using either the AT&T airwaves as usual, or --

now this is the best part -- over the Internet. Any time you're in a

wireless hot spot, Line2 places its calls over Wi-Fi instead of

AT&T's network.

That's a game-changer. Where, after all, is

cellphone reception generally the worst? Right -- indoors. In your house

or your office building, precisely where you have Wi-Fi. Line2 in Wi-Fi

means rock-solid, confident reception indoors.

Line2 also runs on

the iPod Touch. When you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, your Touch is now a

full-blown cellphone, and you don't owe AT&T a penny.

But

wait, there's more.

Turns out Wi-Fi calls don't use up any

AT&T minutes. You can talk all day long, without ever worrying about

going over your monthly allotment of minutes. Wi-Fi calls are free

forever.

Well, not quite free; Line2 service costs $15 a month

(after a 30-day free trial).

But here's one of those cases where

spending more could save you money. If you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot most

of the time (at work, for example), that's an awful lot of calling you

can do in Wi-Fi -- probably enough to downgrade your AT&T plan to

one that gives you fewer minutes. If you're on the 900-minute or

unlimited plan ($90 or $100 a month), for example, you might be able to

get away with the 450-minute plan ($70). Even with Line2's fee, you're

saving $5 or $15 a month.

Line2 also lets you call overseas phone

numbers for Skype-like rates: 2 to 5 cents a minute to most countries.

(A full table of rates is available at toktumi.com.) As a handy

globetrotters' bonus, calls home to numbers in the United States from

overseas hot spots are free.

All of these benefits come to you

when you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot, because your calls are carried by the

Internet instead of by AT&T. Interestingly enough, though, Line2 can

also make Internet calls even when you're not in a hot spot.

It

can, at your option, place calls over AT&T's 3G data network, where

it's available. Every iPhone plan includes unlimited use of this 3G

network -- it's how your iPhone sends e-mail and surfs the Web. So once

again, Line2 calls don't use up any of your monthly voice minutes.

Unfortunately,

voice connections on the 3G network aren't as strong and reliable as

the voice or Wi-Fi methods. Cellular data networks aren't made for

seamless handoffs from cell tower to tower as you drive, for example --

there's not much need for it if you're just doing e-mail and Web -- so

dropped calls are more likely. Fortunately, if you're on a 3G

data-network call and you walk into a hot spot, Line2 switches to the

more reliable Wi-Fi network seamlessly, in midcall.

Whenever you

do have an Internet connection -- either Wi-Fi or a strong 3G area --

you're in for a startling treat. If you and your calling partner are

both Line2 subscribers, Line2 kicks you into superhigh audio-quality

mode (16-bit mode, as the techies call it).

Your calling partners

sound as if they're speaking right into the mike at an FM radio station.

It's almost too clear; you hear the other person's breathing, lip

smacks, clothing rustling and so on. After years of suffering through

awful cellphone audio, it's quite a revelation to hear what you've been

missing.

Now, this all sounds wonderful, and Line2 generally is

wonderful. But there's room for improvement.

First, as you've no

doubt already concluded, understanding Line2 is complicated. You have

three different ways to make calls, each with pros and cons.

You

miss a certain degree of refinement, too. The dialing pad doesn't make

touch-tone sounds as you tap the keys. There's no Favorites list within

the Line2 app. You can't get or send text messages on your Line2 line.

(The company says it will fix all this soon.)

There's a faint hiss

on Line2 calls, as if you're on a long-distance call in 1970. The

company says that it deliberately introduces this "comfort noise" to

reassure you that you're still connected, but it's unnecessary. And

sometimes there's a voice delay of a half-second or so (of course, you

sometimes get that on regular cellphone calls, too).

Finally, a

note about incoming calls. If the Line2 app is open at the time, you're

connected via Wi-Fi, if available. If it's not running, the call comes

in through AT&T, so you lose the benefits of Wi-Fi calling. In

short, until Apple blesses the iPhone with multitasking software, you

have to leave Line2 open whenever you put the phone to sleep. That's

awkward.

Still, Line2 is the first app that can receive incoming

calls via either Wi-Fi or cellular voice, so you get the call even if

the app isn't running. That's one of several advantages that distinguish

it from other voice-over-Internet apps like Skype and TruPhone.

Another

example: If you're on a Wi-Fi call using those other programs, and

someone calls your regular iPhone number, your first call is

unceremoniously disconnected. Line2, on the other hand, offers you the

chance to decline the incoming call without losing your Wi-Fi call.

Those

rival apps also lack Line2's call-management features, visual voice

mail and conference calling with up to 20 other people. And Line2 is the

only app that gives you a choice of call methods for incoming and

outgoing calls.

All of this should rattle cell industry

executives, because let's face it: the Internet tends to make things

free. Cell carriers go through life hoping nobody notices the cellephant

in the room: that once everybody starts making free calls over the

Internet, it's Game Over for the dollars-for-minutes model.

Line2,

however, brings us one big step closer to that very future. It's going

to be a wild ride.

E-mail: pogue@nytimes.com

(offset quoted material --1992)

[nate82]

I have Sprint for my personal phone. Unlimited text, unlimited data, pretty much unlimited nationwide calling (free mobile-to-mobile calling...my 450 minutes only count toward land lines), have GPS, get my work email and I pay $69.99. Pretty much a dream plan.

 

I have an iPhone for work. I think the plan costs around $130 or so (not sure since I don't have to pay for it). My Sprint (Palm Pre) phone has just about everything I use on the iPhone so far. iPhone is faster on the Internet but I have better coverage/reception with Sprint.

I have actually had the opposite experience with Sprint. My calls were always getting dropped with Sprint well not always but a large percent of them. I did get an iPhone recently and AT&T can be spotty sometimes but I haven't had a drop call yet and the other problems I was having with Sprint haven't been happening yet on AT&T. I can now use my cell phone at my house though which I couldn't with Sprint.

[DKM4Boston]

I have Sprint for my personal phone. Unlimited text, unlimited data, pretty much unlimited nationwide calling (free mobile-to-mobile calling...my 450 minutes only count toward land lines), have GPS, get my work email and I pay $69.99. Pretty much a dream plan.

 

I have an iPhone for work. I think the plan costs around $130 or so (not sure since I don't have to pay for it). My Sprint (Palm Pre) phone has just about everything I use on the iPhone so far. iPhone is faster on the Internet but I have better coverage/reception with Sprint.

[DuWayne Steurer]

My plan with U.S. Cellular is pretty good. 750 minutes, unlimited text and 5GB data for $95 a month.

 

With blackberry you can purchase the tether app for $30 bucks on a one time only fee and turn your BB into a modem. It's pretty consistent at about 1.5 to 2MB download speed.

 

And U.S. Cellular kills Sprint for coverage/call dropping.

[endaround]

Looks like the oft rumoured Verizon iPhone is coming this year:

 

http://online.wsj.com/art...tml?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEADTop

[FVBrewerFan]

TV ad war aside, AT&T simply has a lousy 3G network. If you travel a lot, Verizon or Sprint are your best choices. HTC and others have phones that are very similar to the I phone now. Not quite as "cool" and they don't have all the apps I phone does. But if you want fast downloads and fast internet browsing, Verizon or Sprint is the way to go. Sprint is ahead of the curve as far as 4G is concerned. I have used every provider, past and present, with the exception of Sprint- so I can't "vouch" for their service quality, coverage area, customer service, etc.

 

If Apple does open up the Iphone for Verizon, I'll be first in line.

[homer]

I do not travel a lot anymore. Basically it'd be Milwaukee or Chicago.

[endaround]

If you just need the phone in Milwaukee or Chicago AT&T might work (but again their coverage is so thin they are about to sell people $150 mini towers). But if you need to use the 3G network it might be a problem in between the two cities.

 

 

(edit: took parenthesis out of link --1992)

[craigharmann]

Had US Cellular when I lived in Wisconsin. Loved it, but had to get rid of it because they don't offer service in San Antonio. Now, have AT&T, basic plan, and it works fine for what I need. No I-Phone or other bells and whistles.

[chrisisoutrunning]

If you just need the phone in Milwaukee or Chicago AT&T might work

(but again their coverage is so thin they are about to sell people $150 mini towers). But if you need to use the 3G network it might be a problem in between the two cities.

Just so this doesn't become an AT&T bashing thread (I have US Cellular, so I think I can be unbiased), Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile all have versions of the same thing/idea. Verizon's is called the Network Extender, Sprint's is the AIRAVE, and T-Mobile's is called @HOME. All of these are designed to be used inside your house where you can't get a decent 3G connection, not exactly just an AT&T problem. AT&T definitely has a lack of coverage outside of cities, I can't argue with that.

 

(edit: fixed link in quote --1992)

[JJHardy7]

I have had AT&T, US Cellular, and Sprint. I can't speak to every area since I had AT&T and US Cellular in WI and Sprint in TN. US Cellular is awesome in WI. Easily the best coverage I've had in a location. I really, really wish their coverage extended further. AT&T was awful. I'm sure it has improved some, but I had so many dropped calls in Milwaukee I don't think I'd ever consider their service again. I complained multiple times and for whatever reason they simply did not care.

 

My plan with Sprint is pretty nice now. The 'Simply Everything' or whatever it is called is reasonable. The main thing is coverage. I would check with service providers and such and most plans give you 30 days or whatever. I really like Sprint, but even with Sprint there are a few 'dead' areas where I live. I really do think your location is the most important piece of the puzzle. My 'dead' spot is a small span on the highway in a rural area I driver through. To me, it is not a big deal, but if someone was on the phone all the time it would be a deal breaker.

[theavrock]

If you are only going to be in Milwaukee or Chicago and dont need an iPhone or other major carrier exclusive go with US Cellular. They have hands down the best coverage in the Midwest. Customer service is awesome (US/Midwest based) if that matters to you. The only thing you will sometimes lack with US Cellular is the latest and greatest phones. If you are looking for awesome coverage at a good price, but dont need all the bells and whistles I see no need to look any further.

For what its worth if I still lived in an area that had US cellular I would probably still have them, even with as much as I love my iPhone.