Cell phones

buckwheat · Apr 2, 2011

My wife and I are looking to get on the road in July and are trying to find a good cell phone plan. We currently have Tmobile who is being bought up by ATT. What I'd like to find out from whoever is willing to share:
What company are you with?
Does their coverage area meet your needs?
Do you have unlimited talk, text and internet capability?(if not then what works for you?)
Monthly cost?

Thanks.

Dynamite 1 · Apr 2, 2011

we have sprint everything/everything plan. totally unlimited talk, text, data, internet and phone creates wireless hotspot for laptop. we have 3 phones on this plan for a 174.00 a mo. seems very adequate so far. have only had the smart phone and wireless through it for a month but i have had sprint for about 7 yrs. coverage is as good as any other major service. do drop a few calls now and then but not that big an inconvenience.

asjssl · Apr 2, 2011

I have Verizon w/ a Droid incredible ....have tried just about all the carriers....Verizon is the best.....coverage is never an issue.....little pricey ....but Yah got to spend $ to make $...

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

golfournut · Apr 2, 2011

I use Sprint. 900 min anytime, unlimited text and internet. Unlimited Mobil to any Mobil on any network. Unlimited nights and weekends. I have an Evo 4g. Great phone, big screen. Since android is open source, I have "rooted" my phone. I can use it for a WiFi hotbot or tether for free from apps in the market. I can also print doc, pic email and almost anything else via WiFi, Bluetooth, or internet. I can also take a pic of something like a document and fax it. Free gps navigation. Video calls.

My bill is $95.39 per month.

Your best bet, hire a vet! Please.

purgoose10 · Apr 2, 2011

I call it the cost of doing business. I have Sprint for dispatch calls or just plain business, but I also have Verizon because when you get out of town you don't know if Sprint will work or not. I don't advertise my Verizon number, more of a personnel phone and Sprint as a business phone. The Sprint has the Transportation package GPS etc. I can track my driver on my other truck because I gave him one also. I don't have to call him to know where he is. Very much worth the money.

greg334 · Apr 2, 2011

What company are you with?

AT&T and I wish I wasn't.

Does their coverage area meet your needs?

Not like I would want it to be. Sitting in Ft Wayne can't get a connection for my laptop but I can sit on the toll road in the middle of no where ohio and it has better speed than my home connection.

OH and I have the "drop call in Major Markets" feature which is free. I have sat in front of AT&T Building in Manhattan and get a dropped call.

Do you have unlimited talk, text and internet capability?(if not then what works for you?)

Unlimited take to other AT&T people with the same plan. Texts are $1 a message and internet ... what's that?

Monthly cost?

Between four phones, two data cards (which have unlimited transfer) I pay $175 a month.

BillChaffey · Apr 2, 2011

I have US Cellular. I don't have a "Smart Phone" primarily because I'm not smart enough to use one.

My phone plan is around $60.00 a month have had no problems from New England to Laredo, up into northern Colorado.

paullud · Apr 2, 2011

Verizon is much better than the competition, I had AT&T for 7 years and finally wised up and made the switch to Verizon. There is no comparison, with AT&T I would be standing in one place lose a call and try to call the person back only to keep getting an Emergency Calls only error message. Sprint has their commerical about being truly unlimited yet send letters saying they are disconnecting my Aircard for over usage or disconnecting my brother's phone because he uses over 800 minutes of roaming in the US. That sounds more like Sprint needs to have more towers to prevent the roaming and stop having their CEO lie to everyone in the commercials about being the only truly unlimited company.

Refer Hauler · Apr 2, 2011

Have had Verizon for years. Now using the IPhone with them and very seldom ever use the laptop anymore. have a freind with At&T we can be setting in same parking area and I have five bars he may have one.

They seem to be a little more $$ but well worth it in my opinion. Only place I can think of I donot get good signal is West Virginia and southeast Ohio, but I only pass thru here and am not waiting on a load or phone call so it is not an issue

purgoose10 · Apr 2, 2011

The only reason I have Sprint is the GPS tracking etc. I got it before Verizon came out with theirs (haven't seen it yet). I do my lap top with Verizon because there's no sense in even trying with Sprint (ATT) it just stinks as far as coverage. One customer likes the Sprint tracking so what do you do?? Both plans with two phones for Sprint and one for Verizon unlimited everything is about $215 a month. My driver can use his for whatever, text, talk all that stuff. I pay for his phone, like I said the GPS makes it worth while. He did not know it had GPS capabilities for a month after and couldn't figure out how I knew where he was. That was funny.
How Sprint gets away with their lying on advertising is beyond me. They bought Nextel so I guess they are only interested in people who never leave town.

Letzboogie · Apr 2, 2011

Some folks think pre-paid has a certain stigma but I will tell you the Straight Talk program available at Wal Mart is a great plan with a huge coverage area. When I was on the road I had great coverage, even on that stretch in Kentucky on I-65 north of Nashville. They have several different phones ranging from about $40.00 to $125.00. The unlimited talk and text plan is a flat $45.00 per month. I don't think you can beat it.

cheri1122 · Apr 2, 2011

Refer Hauler said:
Have had Verizon for years. Now using the IPhone with them and very seldom ever use the laptop anymore. have a freind with At&T we can be setting in same parking area and I have five bars he may have one.

They seem to be a little more $$ but well worth it in my opinion. Only place I can think of I donot get good signal is West Virginia and southeast Ohio, but I only pass thru here and am not waiting on a load or phone call so it is not an issue

Verizon never got any signal around Warren, Oh, or southwest Pa [Uniontown] a couple years ago, but I still thought they were the best. And my Verizon aircard for the laptop is pretty good too, for $50 per month.

Refer Hauler · Apr 2, 2011

Was in the Warren Oh / Sharon PA area lately and had good signal, probably have had a tower or two added lately

Will give up my Verizon AirCard next week (contract completed). the speeds were acceptable everywhere except at home ( southern Indiana). Will save $50 a month. have 3 phones on the plan ( Iphone, Blackberry and a regular phone) 1400 minutes, unlimted internet, I don't text, and bill is $208 a month

have been impressed by the I Phone it has taken the place of the laptop. The standard issue map program is quite good even though it is not truck specific. I don't trust GPS anyway, use CB and recievers directions if any questions

Dynamite 1 · Apr 3, 2011

while sprint does have its problems, other carriers do also. if your sprint account is being shut off you need to update accounts. some older plans are not unlimited or have a cap. where is your brother that he is roaming 800 min. that seems alot. i have had then 7 yrs and never roamed that much. the new anything/anything plan is truly unlimited, no caps. you need to go to a sprint dealer and look at your plan. might be worth while.

is verizon now truly unlimited or do they still have the 5 gig cap on the data and charge after that. i know its not usually a big deal except if you stream alot of movies.

zero3nine · Apr 3, 2011

Dynamite 1 said:
while sprint does have its problems, other carriers do also. if your sprint account is being shut off you need to update accounts. some older plans are not unlimited or have a cap. where is your brother that he is roaming 800 min. that seems alot. i have had then 7 yrs and never roamed that much. the new anything/anything plan is truly unlimited, no caps. you need to go to a sprint dealer and look at your plan. might be worth while.

is verizon now truly unlimited or do they still have the 5 gig cap on the data and charge after that. i know its not usually a big deal except if you stream alot of movies.

New plans are getting capped. This is why I am waiting to switch to 4G as long as possible.

I have 3 smart phones on Verizon with 1400 shared minutes and unlimited everything else. I pay $158 per month. Original Droid, Droid 2 Global and iPhone 4.

fired at you from my Droideka

cranis · Apr 3, 2011

They also use the verizon network.

buckwheat · Apr 3, 2011

I stopped in to a Verizon store and told the salesman to pretend he was explaining everything to a chimpanzee. I'm a little tech challenged when it comes to cell phones. I have a tracphone now. It had 1490 min. on it last may. It has 1201 now.

He said, according to the info I gave him, that I could get this doohickey that would give me 3 gigs of internet per month and a phone that flips open, does texting(not interested), takes pictures and movies(also not interested) all for around 110.00 per month. He had these "smart" phones that were internet capable also. Since my internet use consists of email, googling stuff and stopping in here to bother all of you with questions, would this be a better way to go since it was a little cheaper anyway?

If the snow ever melts I'm gonna go outside and throw some grass and leaves in the air. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

scottm4211 · Apr 3, 2011

A non smart phone for $110 a month? I pay $55 a month for my iPhone plan and that's in Canada where we get ripped off.

cheri1122 · Apr 3, 2011

Refer Hauler said:
Was in the Warren Oh / Sharon PA area lately and had good signal, probably have had a tower or two added lately

Will give up my Verizon AirCard next week (contract completed). the speeds were acceptable everywhere except at home ( southern Indiana). Will save $50 a month. have 3 phones on the plan ( Iphone, Blackberry and a regular phone) 1400 minutes, unlimted internet, I don't text, and bill is $208 a month

have been impressed by the I Phone it has taken the place of the laptop. The standard issue map program is quite good even though it is not truck specific. I don't trust GPS anyway, use CB and recievers directions if any questions

In theory, replacing several items [GPS & laptop] with a single item is good, until there's a problem with that one item - then you lose phone, GPS, and internet till it's fixed.

Besides the cell screen being too small [takes the whole screen for some 'siglines'], I get way better directions from the GPS than I ever got from people, [no one seems to know street names!] or the CB.

LisaLouHoo · Apr 3, 2011

asjssl said:
I have Verizon w/ a Droid incredible ....have tried just about all the carriers....Verizon is the best.....coverage is never an issue.....little pricey ....but Yah got to spend $ to make $...

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

Same here. Love the Incredible, especially the GPS we use as a back up to Garmin and the Wikidroid app which amuses us for hours on end on the road. I have the Verizon, he has Boost, and unless we're in mountains or BFE, one of us is going to have service. Costs me about $125 per month with 2 lines (my mom has the other phone), and the phone itself after all discounts were applied was $50.

"Bruises fade and bones will mend-but a psyche can be ruined FOREVER" : LisaLouHoo, c. 2008