Need CELL PHONE advice

[SilverKJ]

hi every1,
i'm about to head off to college, and i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on what model cell phone and service plan to get (prolly something with long distance). and maybe if there are any deals out there http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/wink.gif

thx all!!!

[Renski]

Take a look at this site:
http://www.telstreet.com/modules/HotDeals/HotDeals.asp?ZipCode=90230&Go.x=5&Go.y=8

I recommend Nokia with AT&T service.
If you need accessories in the future I'll hook you up.

Renski

[motkrap]

I suggest Sprint...w/free long distance...and for cheap accessories for your Nokia...I suggest Ebay.

[Talk2raffi]

I suggest a Nokia 6190 with PacBell

If your gonna be anywhere between San Diego and Santa barbara, get the phone in LA..

If your in SD or SB, even Vegas, you get incomming calls with no long distance charges....

It's great with 1000 minutes on the weekends...

But I don't suggest AT&T...i had them in LA, and it was horrible....i got onto PACBELL once my year contract was over.

[onalamwar]

I'm looking for a good deal on a phone and service too.. i'm not sure what phone i'm gonna get but check out verizonwireless.com
they have a deal where you get 150 anytime minutes, 500 night/weekend minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile, and 1st incoming minute free for $34.95

[Renski]

onalamwar,

What phone are you planning on getting?

Renski

[bri]

i dont think this goes under deals.. but anyway..
the best carrier depends on where you are.. the plans & service quality all depends on area.. at&t may suck in cali but its all over the east coast.. bell atlantic has the best coverage in ny/nj.. sprint is a great buy for metro areas..etc

[tlminh]

for those in southern cali, try going to little saigon, they have it VERY cheap

i got my 6190 fone for FREE ($25 for the phone, but there's a $25 rebate). Also got a free vibrating batt, leather case, recharger, car recharger and some other extras

btw, good luck in college

trust me, don't do premed =)

[Renski]

tlminh,

That's a pretty good deal. Where exactly is that place?

Renski

[hapoo]

CELL PHONE advice uhh

in that case i suggest you dont get one unless you want cancer

[NiceMann]

ROFL...I was waiting for someone to say that hapoo http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[trae]

i got my cell fone through one of those websites like telstreet.com and ended up with a new nokia 5160 for free...all i had to do was sign up for ATT through their website...no difference in price. for a college student, the 5160 is a great fone...pretty much same thing as a 6160, just less geek goodies... believe me, i had a 6160... what the hell would i need a currency converter for on that thing ill never know http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/smile.gif hehe... i miss the calender and calculator tho.

[JIWC]

hmm, regarding the cancer, does it help if you wear headphones and mic?

[hapoo]

let me ask you a question, which is better getting brain cancer from it being next to your head or getting your sperm (or eggs)mutated by the radiation.

[tupacboy]

silverkj... if your in so cal go with pac bell... best deals and they now offer long distance for free... i basically pay 70 but i get a lot of ****... totally worth it.. plus pac bell has best reception in so cal... http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/smile.gif

[sammy]

hey TUPAC....
what deal do you have with pac bell?
i want free long distance but i think it's only for the peak mins....which isn't too good....i know they have some new deals... but i haven't looked into them...
can you inform me? thanks

[Jeffbx]

Whatever srevice plan you get - get a good phone! Stay away from Ericsson - get a Nokia or Motorola. Nextel is also great, if you can afford the service plan.

[PeteyBoy23]

Gotta agree with that. I have a Nokia 5160 and AT&T service. I pay $55 a month and get 1000 peak and 1000 off-peak per month. Can't beat it. Plus, anytime I bitch about the service, I get a month's credit http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/smile.gif weeee Oh, FYI regarding the cancer factor, I *heard* that getting a headset makes it worse because it channels the brain-scrambling goodness right into your cranium. Eek! I'll stick with it, as is. Only suggestion, is if you drive a lot, get a hands free kit for the car. Good luck!

[blxmjx]

Actually the reports that I have heard stated that headsets are supposed to help. The part that is supposed to be cancer causing is the antenna part of the cell phone, anyways thats what I read about. I have the pacbell plan here in Southern California and it's great.

[muffdivr]

i pretty much agree with everyone here. i have had airtouch, gte, and sprint but none can compare to pacific bell. you can get the nokia 6190 for next to nothing right now too. good phone and the battery life lasts like almost the whole week with moderate use.

[Rosebud]

I bought the new Nokia 8860 and AT&T and it's beautiful.

[psycho-]

No offense to anyone but...

There are two ways you can go..

You can go the Sprint PCS/ Pacfic Bell GSM way which runs in the "efficient" 1900mhz range. That range actually isn't the most efficient range for cellular service (compared to traditional 800 mhz cellular service carriers). Also, the 1900 mhz frequency range was just dished out approx. 4 years ago (vs. 24 for traditional cellular), which means that network buildout is not as great. Because of that, traditional carriers also have analog backup when necessary (I used that when I was in the desert the other day)

Services like Verizon, AT&T or GTE in my opinion are the best services to get. If you want to go cheap, you can go with the other carriers...but that's only if you don't care about call reliability.

I compare my sprint PCS service to my Verizon service for in-city coverage, rural coverage, and call dropping. Verizon wins hands down. On the downside, I pay 20 more/month for my Verizon phone.

It just depends on what your priorities are

Victor
http://www.psychokid.com http://www.rurouni.org

[ken]

GTE? You gotta be kidding. As far as I know, GTE is analog only. Plus, being a baby bell, they're living in the dream world where they're still a monopony - look at their prices.

As far as selecting a phone and a company, nokias are the best (but they have a uncomfortable shape, except the 8860) in terms of battery life and durability.

You can't go wrong with Pac Bell in Los Angeles. AT&T is good as well, except in parts of west LA where you'll get one bar out of 5. Sprint can be a big mistake in LA, coverage is weak.

Check out all the plans, they've recently changed and with the addition of Verizon, its work to sort out through all the plans. Most people here won't know the plan differences, they've all changed within the last few months.

[hapoo]

yeah i heard something about that to, They said that hands free kits are a lot worse than using it normally

[SilverKJ]

wow!! hehe, didnt expect so many replies....
thanks alot everyone for all the good advice! =)

i live on the east coast tho, so i'll prolly take a look at verizon and att&t...

http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/cool.gif college is gonna bring lotsa freedom! (and hopefully lotsa fun *wink wink*)

[psycho-]

By the way, GTE is mostly CDMA in majour metro areas. They run on the 800mhz range except for the Seattle, where they only got FCC license for the 1900 mhz range. They use Nortel networks systems and a mix of Motorola BTS systems.

They are merging with Bell atlantic, so they will become part of Verizon wireless.

Now, in terms of comparison, I carried 3 cellular phones (Sprint PCS, Pac Bell, Verizon) around, and I actually tested the capabilities of the phones. Pacific Bell GSM and Sprint PCS are just horrible. They are of no comparison. Once again, they are cheap, so alot of people buy them. Apperantly, they've never experienced the concept of "anytime, anywhere" (Cheap, that's a chinese concept. Don't kill me, I'm chinese too)

Don't get me started on Nokia phones. Nokia is the largest manufacturer of cellular phones in the world. They are popular, but they, depending on what model of phones you buy (6190 (GSM 1900), 6185 (CDMA 1900/800 AMPS/NAMPS 800), 6160-6162 (TDMA 1900/800, Amps/NAMPS 800), 6150 (GSM 1800/900), and so on..) The phones vary in quality, including the models made in Malaysia, Finland, Germany and the US. I've generally found all the US model phones, ones made in the US to be of poor quality. The only real exception is the 6160-6162 which is the TDMA trimode dualband. The 6150 (Rest of the World) is an awesome phone in comparison. I'd have to say that the old 2100 series nokias are the most reliable phones around. As nokias became popular, the quality has generally declined.

If you want WAP, hold out for the 7100 series, as the Nokia 6100 series is near the end of the life cycle.

I have this saying.. Nokias are popular phones, and that's about it. I went through 4 nokia 6100 series phones in the span of a year. I don't think I'll buy a nokia for a while.

(Added)
By the way, GTW is not a oligopoly. They do charge alot, but they are a traditional carrier that is now competing with PCS carriers. FCC regulation on PCS carriers are slightly different than that of cellular carriers. In fact, PCS doesn't even have an Aside/Bside.

[This message has been edited by psycho- (edited 05-16-2000).]

[SilverKJ]

onalamwar, i was looking thru the verizonwireless site and i found the single rate plan but i couldnt find any mention of the 500free nite minutes or the 1st free incoming minute details, could ya tell me where u were able to find mention of those?

[StarvingCollegeStudent]

no more essays please! http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[SilverKJ]

hehe....
essays r useful, just harder to read http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/smile.gif

[tlminh]

renski

the place is in either westminster or garden grove and it's in a supermarket called "vanco"

i think it's on westminster street

good luck

[Renski]

Thanks. I'll go check them out.

Renski

[MD2B]

Hapoo: You're right--latest study shows that handsfree will give you 3-4 times more radiation than without.

Last week there was a study published here in the UK that the risk of radiation is for children. Whether graduating HS students fit in that category--I'm not sure.

JUST KIDDING Silver KJ http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Apex]

OK, now here's a question. How about for data services as well? What service gives the best price for notebook connectivity?

[onalamwar]

silverkj: i went to verizonwireless.com and then it took me to airtouch.com I punched in my zip: 92612 and then selected "Phones and Service", "Calling Plans", and then "Analog and Digital Calling Plans". The plan that I mentioned is called Digital 150

Apex: Wireless is something I really want to know about to!

I've got a Palm V that I would like to use wirelessly (without spending 300+ for the omnisky v). Can I buy a certain cell phone that will allow me to do that?? Anyone here a specialist on that?

kar

[SilverKJ]

....interesting....
if the phone puts out enough radiation, i wont need to get me a microwave oven....
http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/wink.gif ...sweet deal....talk and cook at the same time.....

[BatmanBeyond]

There's this great site that lists a whole bunch of cell phone services at http://www.point.com/

I just signed up for a $30 Spring PCS plan with 180 anytime, 200 off-peak, free long distance, and no roaming.

[This message has been edited by BatmanBeyond (edited 05-16-2000).]

[Mike_N_Ike]

On the topic of cell phones,

Has anybody else had problems with AT&T in the UCLA or UCI area...to the point of not being able to use it at all?

...or is it just me?

[onalamwar]

mike_n_ike: every friend of mine has had trouble in the turtle rock area of irvine.. i haven't heard any other complaints from them.

kar

[SilverKJ]

sweet deal~! i was at the point.com site before but i guess i just neva stumbled onto the right page....hehe, must be all those microwaves frying my brain

[Renski]

My friend has has AT&T, around SM & Westwood, he gets almost a full bar.

Renski

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike_N_Ike:
On the topic of cell phones,

Has anybody else had problems with AT&T in the UCLA or UCI area...to the point of not being able to use it at all?

...or is it just me?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[muffdivr]

even though i work for Qualcomm i would NOT recommend their phones.

[speedracer120]

You would expect the companies to do something about reception, but they can't cause the very same people buying 20 cell phones per year, don't want the towers on the road. http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

So many people have cell phones that I can't connect on my own. http://www.gotapex.com/ubb/eek.gif

[psycho-]

I don't work for qualcomm, and I also wouldn't get qualcomm phones. Now that their handset division has been bought out by Kyocera, and new handsets are in line, I can only hope that they're better.

On the other hand, Qualcomm's CDMA chips are also not the best on the market. Their technology is the best by far, but their own DSP chips aren't the best performing ones. Motorola's Digital DNA DSP chips are, IMPO, the best ones out there. They're used in the CDMA startacs. Qualcomm's chips aren't the worst either. By far the worst non-Qualcomm chip has to be the Nokia DSP. All i can say is "UGH!"

Victor http://rurouni.org http://psychokid.com

[skillzphd]

"SprintPCS.com - Great Service Plan and Discounts
Need a Cell phone, well here's a great deal, sprint has an unpublished deal that's awesome, 200 Peak minutes, 800 Off Peak minutes, all for $30, no long distance, but for $30 who needs it. So how do you get it, well first purchase your phone online, pick the phone you like, and pick the $29.99 service plan, since the plan isn't advertised, it's not on their site. When you get the phone, call up customer service and tell them you want to switch plans to the $30 one mentioned above, you shouldn't have a problem, but if you do just mention the Radio Shack Plan, that should take care of it. Also since you ordered online, your account will come with a $50 credit. So get in on this Great Deal! Sprint PCS
Update: Drive to your local Sprint PCS store and pick up a $25 rebate coupon for new phone purchases, valid until mother's day, May 14th." - thas off the paid site, might be an option for those that dont care about long distance, personally i have a plan with att, i pay 60 bucks for 500 min, anywhere in the country. No Roaming, and No Long Distance fees...their service is excellent, so something you may want to look into...

[pennypinch]

A few observations:
Sprint, though I haven't heard anyone suggest it, is the worst calling service I have ever used or heard of. I swear, I had 90% of my calls dropped. I went through three phones at their behest, all to no improvment in service. I wouldn't get service right in the middle of Newport Beach, I'd drop calls all along the 405, and often not get service in building that everyone else was getting a signal. STAY AWAY FROM SPRINT, THE WORST OF THE WORST.
Airtouch, on the other hand, very recently upgraded their entire network (their old one was capped out, leading to pretty spotty service, but a few people I've talked to have noticed a marked improvement in the last month or so). Not only that, you don't have to buy a vendor-specific phone (a la Spring, Pac Ball). I have heard that Pac Bell is an excellect service, see Epinions.com for that.