Friday, March 12, 2010

Cell Phone Question

I have a cell phone plan. I won't name the company, but it rhymes with "Schmerizon." I've been seeing these cell phone war commercials about 3G service, better coverage, better rates, and I'm confused. My cell phone plan is up in July, and I really want to get the best deal in plans. Right now, I don't have a smart phone, but am really interested in upgrading. But, here's the thing - I don't know if it's worth it to put $30 more on a monthly phone bill just so I can surf the web when I need to.

I've been seeing commercials from Sprint - the have a deal for unlimited text and web, in addition to a good amount of phone minutes for around $129 (for 2 phones). This is far less than what Verizon and AT&T offers. Of course, I have no idea how good of coverage Sprint has.

And what about T-Mobile - I hear their rates are about $40 cheaper than Verizon and AT&T, but again, how's the coverage?

Then, I hear stuff from these alternate carriers - Boost, Cricket, Metro PCS ... they seem to have fantastic deals and no contracts (for the most part) ... but what is the deal with them? Why are they so much cheaper? Are there hidden charges?

Basically, I'm looking for your help. Can you help me in making my decision? Are there any websites or resources I can go to in order help me find reviews or help me make a decision based on my specific needs?

5 comments:

Sandi said...

I have to say that Sprint is horrid, I've heard T-mobile and AT&T are horrid with coverage. Verizon seems to offer the best coverage. JMHO.

Heff said...

Cell phones are OF THE DEVIL. There's your help :)

DILLIGAF said...

You just pays yer money and teks yer chance old bean.

I was with T-Mobile when they started out as 1 to 1. As 1 to 1 they were so useless I stayed for the laugh. Then just as I remembered I was paying for this crap they became T-Mobile and never looked back.

Might be different in the States of course, but in England T-Mobile signals are there. Yet to find a place where I can't get a signal including elevators, mountains, valleys, cities, forests...

No help at all old bean. They might be crap in America

Jeff said...

I've had Sprint for years, because it's the only carrier with any coverage at Edwards Air Force Base.

Sprint has a bad reputation, but the only problem I've ever had is some poor coverage at work. But co-workers with other plans also have poor coverage, so it might be the buildings.

Have had some loss of coverage in remote areas, such as the forests 45 min from PSU, but no problems in cities or on major roads anywhere.

snowelf said...

I have T-Mobile and it's awesome. I've had them five years, and not only are they the most inexpensive (I have an unlimited everything plan for 59 a month, plus data which is 34. extra), they are super customer friendly, have waved fees (moving, upgrading, plan changing and such) for me without me even asking. I had one issue ever with my bill and they told me it was going to be fixed in a week, but it was fixed the next day. Their website is also easy to use and find what you need from it. I have 3G more places than I don't, and I even had 3G when I lived in smalltown USA. I don't know a lot about the other companies, but I can say I've had nothing but a positive experience with T-mobile.

--snow