I have the Storm 2 now and Jerry has the Blackberry Curve. No problems with either. We get a 22% discount. He is due for an upgrade in November. We are gonna try a Droid (Motorola) then for him and if he doesn't like it, our daughter will. I like the Blackberry for work stuff. Work pays part of my bill so we sure can't complain. I think that if a company sees you will be loyal to them, they will turn cartwheels to keep you happy. Verizon has sure done that for us. I have been with them since our first bag phone.
Uh, the fact you can only take a number of rollover minutes equal to your monthly plan allowance is simply to protect AT&T. What would prevent you from getting the highest minute plan for a few months--effectively stocking up on cheap minutes--then downgrading to a minimum $$$ plan and utilizing all your horded minutes.
I am not saying this is the best method to prevent the above scenario, but I can see why AT&T does what it does.
I will say AT&T seems to have the cheapest family plans and combined with the rollover minutes, I am going to make the move from Verizon soon.
That brings back BAD memories of having to deal with about 15 Nextel units from my Company. OMG, I don't think you could have a more confusing billing system if you tried. I wonder if they have gotten any better in the last 10 years.}
A bunch of my co-workers use their work cell as their only phone... and we are a government contractor... no, I am not super paranoid like some people on here, but, hey, I don't want the gov to have easy access to all my personal contacts... not like I have anything to hide but... no thanks, I think I will pay the 60 or whatever dollars a month, thank you very much!
I have fulfilled a two year contract with ATT, which is probably the only reason I am still with them, no committments left... that and I never worry about 'running over' or the time of day or the place I am calling to. As much as it pisses me off and my cheap ass phone sux, I won't got back to the whole enchilada... friggin electronic lease...
Same reason I probably won't get a GPS... I don't wanna know where I am and sometimes I just wanna be left alone...
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 10:39 am:
Char-have you looked at USCellular? They seem to have the best coverage for your part of the state and have many different plans. We have been with them for about 8 yrs and have no issues. The only draw back that I have with them is they are usually the last to get the latest and greatest technology. But that is fine for me as I am still limping along with my Motorola Razor.
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 11:38 am:
I am still limping along with my Motorola Razor.
I loved my Razr, got it when they first came out and had it for over three years when some of the buttons stopped working. Then when I went to replace my phone, they weren't available any longer from Verizon so they gave me a free Blackberry Curve. For a good quality cell phone, the Razr was hard to beat. I still keep mine as a backup phone in case something goes wrong with my Droid.
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 12:09 pm:
Char, GPS is "transmit only". The satellites transmit their identifier, and the current time from a *very* precise clock.
The GPS unit in your hand receives every signal it can receive, knows where each satellite is supposed to be by it's identifier, and then triangulates your precise location by calculating how far off the times are from each other (further satellites take longer for the transmitted time stamp to reach your unit).
The GPS has no transmitter, so it can't be used to track you, unless it cuts a log internally and somebody goes and grabs it and pulls it off the unit.
Cell phones, on the other hand, *do* allow you to be fairly precisely tracked (if they are turned on).
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 12:44 pm:
I had the same experience Char. I've downgraded our family plan twice and lost rollover minutes each time. However, after AT&T implemented their "A-List", I designated our ten most called non-AT&T Wireless numbers and our monthly minutes dropped like a rock. We've gone from 2000+ down to around 500. So I can't complain too much, that "A-List" feature was a HUGE concession by AT&T. That an the fact that any call to another AT&T Wireless number is free is tough to beat.
That said, I have never appreciated the payment plan nonsense. Whey the heck don't they just charge for actual minutes used on a sliding scale? It think the first major wireless phone provider to do that will score HUGE market share.
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 08:20 pm:
Dude, I know how a GPS works, I use one at my job and they are lots of fun- well except when you are standing in a trench in 90 deg weather and the dang thing won't click in on enough satellites... what I meant to say is that I often don't want to know where I am... and the phone stays off because I want to be alone... alone time is good... without it I would be totally crackers!
Posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 11:09 pm:
I will say AT&T seems to have the cheapest family plans and combined with the rollover minutes, I am going to make the move from Verizon soon.
Get used to talking outside. reception indoors SUCKS. I've had them for years and years, and 4 different phones. Totally useless in my workplace, or any of our sites. You can always tell an AT&T customer out in public because they're the ones hunting for windows to stand next to.
I got a big chuckle out of this Verizon commercial when it came out... too true!
Posted on Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 07:18 am:
Had a problem at my last house but works great here int he country and at work, which is out there too... anyone want to buy a used Samsung Blackjack cheap? Michael... yo interested... I would say 100 bucks and I could drop it at your house too!
Posted on Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 08:53 pm:
I have AT&T and when my plan is up next month I'm done. I've had them for about 5 years, and while i like the rollover and the price, I'm tired of the terrible service. I put up with it when I lived in the country because I figured they were all bad there (US cell was anyway) but now that I live in the middle of town....
I can literally sit and watch my phone cycle from regular signal, to no signal, to 3G, to no-signal-even-though-it-says-i-have-one.
If I'm talking to you and I'm inside anywhere but my own house for some reason, please be patient cause the call is going to drop at least once. When my boss calls me to go over designs when he is out of the office, he just tells me immediately to call him back from my office phone cause he knows what is coming.
I'll be switching to verizon or sprint in a month, I know verizon is good, any thoughts on Sprint?
Posted on Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 10:09 pm:
Verizon sucked the life out of me for six months trying to get my deposit back... it was only 100 bucks, but they were like an insurance company, they just thought I would give up in exasperation... jeez... even friggin charter got me my money in two weeks... I think Verizon is evil... but I don't think Virgin Mobile is up yet in the rural areas... I will have to check into it...
Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2010 - 10:07 am:
Virgin Mobile is not covered yet in most rural areas. But it is something like unlimited talk anywhere for 40 bucks... so hopefully they will get more agreements...
Damfino, I'm a dummy when it comes to the tech stuff unless it's got wheels. It's 8 something for the speed, but unlimited for the quantity, if that makes sense to you. But it's the unlimited international calls that's the best bit.
8 meg is "unlimited"? Huh? Did you mean 8 gig?