What service for your Cell Phones?

[Farmboy]

I've come to realize I could prob live without my smart phone. I like the idea of having a cell just for the convenience, but don't really need all the other crap. Along with my business line I have at least 5 other lines I pay for through Verizon. Always reliable service, but I had a situation with them that's left a bad taste and I'm thinking of ditching all of them and just going with prepaid or pay as you go phones. Right now I spend close to $5,000 a year on these phones, I'd like to put that cash to better use. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I've had Sprint and Verizon, Verizon still has my vote. I haven't had a bad experience with either of them, but Verizon just better cell coverage compared to how Sprint was when I was using their service.

I use the smart phone too much for business and being able to quickly communicate with clients on quotes etc via email, so while I could live without it, I'm sure the quality (speed in this case) of my service would take a hit if I had to always be in the office.

Track phones sound good in theory, but every service that you use it for nowadays costs you minutes, so you'll be recharging those minutes more then you might think. A few years ago you used to only get charged for calls, but they slowly went away from that. Going the track phone route would really depend on how much you use your phone.

Edit to Add: I forgot to mention that Alicia started out with a tracphone and is with Verizon now and wouldn't switch back, that's how I know a little bit about what went on with the pay as you go cell phone. She saw a lot of changes.

 

[ThinkRight]

I have Sprint, not really many problems.
I have had service with all of the providers, and my work phone is Verizon.
Not much difference between them all.
I have thought about switching to a prepaid phone, I never use the phone except for listening to music and for the wife and kid to get in touch with me.
My sister ditched her land line about three years ago and never missed it.
If you come up with a good plan let us know.

 

[Stealth Ryder]

I have used Sprint for 5 years, Cingular/ATT for years before... Sprint has served me well in almost all of my travels, no complaints thus far... I rely on my smart phone in regards to e-mail, etc...

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

I have Sprint and a very old out dated phone that does nothing but make phone calls, my average bill per month is 60.00 I'm switching to Boost for 50.00 a month with an up to date phone and unlimited everything with decresing payments.

 

[ThinkRight]

I have Sprint and a very old out dated phone that does nothing but make phone calls, my average bill per month is 60.00 I'm switching to Boost for 50.00 a month with an up to date phone and unlimited everything with decresing payments.

How is the coverage , and is there any roaming charges ?

 

[fixtureman]

I have used Virgin Mobile for a pay as you go that was pretty good

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

Please accept my apology in advance - but I am hijacking this thread to rant about our AT&T service (actually, it may be of some benefit in your decision making). We have been unable to use either of our two phones for going on two weeks now - no ability to make or receive calls or texts from in our home. We can drive half a mile away and everything functions fine. We've lived here for about 4 years, had AT&T the whole time, and never experienced this issue before. AT&T said the tower 3 blocks from our home checks out just fine with their diagnostics, so they have no idea what's up. They suggested we spend $200 to place a "micro tower" in our home to boost our signal. I said it's their issue - they should foot the cost of a micro tower. I said I'd give them til Monday to have our service restored, after that they will have to let us out of our contract. They insist we will still be charged for this. Sounds like typical corporate America response - give us our money even if the problem is on our end! We've been with AT&T since 1997. To switch now would cost us about a thousand bucks to replace four phones, which we obviously don't want to spend. What would you do?

 

[ThinkRight]

Please accept my apology in advance - but I am hijacking this thread to rant about our AT&T service (actually, it may be of some benefit in your decision making). We have been unable to use either of our two phones for going on two weeks now - no ability to make or receive calls or texts from in our home. We can drive half a mile away and everything functions fine. We've lived here for about 4 years, had AT&T the whole time, and never experienced this issue before. AT&T said the tower 3 blocks from our home checks out just fine with their diagnostics, so they have no idea what's up. They suggested we spend $200 to place a "micro tower" in our home to boost our signal. I said it's their issue - they should foot the cost of a micro tower. I said I'd give them til Monday to have our service restored, after that they will have to let us out of our contract. They insist we will still be charged for this. Sounds like typical corporate America response - give us our money even if the problem is on our end! We've been with AT&T since 1997. To switch now would cost us about a thousand bucks to replace four phones, which we obviously don't want to spend. What would you do?

Go higher up the food chain.
There are people that will help you, you just have to push the right buttons.

 

[SightLine]

Verizon here. Best coverage, period. Also I have no smart phone. Never have and have no interest in one. Cmon' what did people do before cell phones? Go bankrupt, go out of business, people died? I think people got by just fine... I do not text either. I find it much easier to actually speak, with my mouth. I did recive about 4 texts last month though and wife has a smart phone which is a frequent source of aggravation for her. I have not shut my phone off or had to reboot it in close to 2 years, not once. I honestly work so much, that I enjoy NOT having internet and a way for customers to contact me at times.

 

[artbot]

@arlo kalon micro tower equals micro waves. i'd read up about just how much boosting you want in your home.

 

[slipperyfrog]

Been with Sprint for 10 years. Never had an issue.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Cmon' what did people do before cell phones? Go bankrupt, go out of business, people.

The problem I have with this argument is that if you are going to take that stance then why don't we regress to where we travel by walking, no indoor plumbing, and no A/C. People managed to work and live back then. Of course, I do remember some of those things but that wasn't because of the time.

Do we have to have these things...no, but some of these help make us more efficient at what we do. Not everything mind you, but some of these things do. And I think quick response via email in this digital age is one of those. I post this while at Applebee's on my Droid..

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

How is the coverage , and is there any roaming charges ?

The coverage is excellent plus it runs on the Sprint network and there is NO roaming charges. So after having it for 18 months of service my bill will only be 30.00 per month.

 

[Farmboy]

Thank you for all the replies. I've got some homework to do.

 

[allamericantrade]

I have had verizion and was more than happy to ditch them for sprint many years ago. Sprint has worked with me when I have been late. There is no signal from any carrier at my house and they gave me a tower boost thing at no charge. Sprint roams to verizion and i don't pay roaming charges so I have the benefit of verizions coverage as well. There customer service is friendly and more than willing to help with any issue. I have had a lot of bad experiances with verizion and made the switch about three years ago. I use my smart phone to the fullest extent and have about 8 lines on my account at this time.

 

[DizzyMarkus]

My current personal and business phones are from Walmart Straight Talk -- 46.95 a month unlimitied everything and the service is right along with the rest as far as web etc. I believe they run throught AT&T

Markus

 

[HulkSmash]

I pay 120 a month for ATT.
I pretty much have unlimited everything. If i didn't then my bill would be very expensive.

 

[theskipman_98]

I got tired of paying AT&T $110/mo for 450 talk minutes/unlimited text/unlimited web (grandfathered in).

I switched to Straight Talk for $45/mo unlimited everything (still piggybacks on AT&T towers). Due to the phone I got (The Nokia e-71), it had an unlocked SIM card in it. Due to the poor choices in smart phones, I discovered I could use AT&T smart phones with that SIM.

With that said, Straight Talk now offers SIM cards that work in T-mobile or AT&T cellphones (depends on zipcode). They cost $15, then activate the SIM card, and pay $45/mo unlimited everything. Yeah, customer service sucks, but any problems you have are just a Google search away.

Currently use an AT&T Galaxy S with Straight Talk.

 

[rjssigns]

Virgin Mobile for me at about 8 bux a month. TracFone for the wife about 90 bux per year.

I agree with the argument that cell phones are necessary business component. I just can't bring my self to pay the monthly fees.
If I were to get a smartphone it would probably be from Virgin Mobile with a $35 dollar a month plan.