I need some advice. I am currently shopping for a cell phone provider and I am don't want to get screwed into a contract with a phone that does not get coverage. I am thinking of going with Cingular which uses GSM. I am also looking into Verizon which uses CDMA. I will mostly use it in the Ann Arbor area, but will be traveling throughout the state since I just moved here. I hear Cingular is not very good outside major cities. Any validity to this? Any input would be greatly appreciated from fellow michigan oil junkies.
Michigan cell phone users
- Thread starter HondaRD
- Start date
- Status
welcome to michigan. you'll like everything except the phone service.
eh, i have a company phone (nextel) which, if i were paying for, would have been forcibly inserted into the nether regions of the provider.
that doesn't answer your query regarding cingular or verizon.
[ July 10, 2005, 11:49 PM: Message edited by: sbc350gearhead ]
eh, i have a company phone (nextel) which, if i were paying for, would have been forcibly inserted into the nether regions of the provider.
that doesn't answer your query regarding cingular or verizon.
[ July 10, 2005, 11:49 PM: Message edited by: sbc350gearhead ]
thanks. I will take that into consideration. The more I research into cell phones, the more I realize it is just a gamble. The one thing I did learn is that purchasing a phone and service online is way cheaper than going to the actual store. Even the monthly rates are cheaper for the same plan when purchased online. That really ****** me off that stores can get away with that. I've found the average cost difference is $10 per month which means someone is making $120 a year.
How many minutes a month do you plan to use it? If you aren;t heavy user one of the pay in advance plans may make sense for you. We use E CallPlus and average about $8/month using the ATT network.
What exactly does "throughout the state" mean? If it includes the UP, you definitely want to go with Verizon, as they're one of only a few that cover up there. Although I have a T-mobile phone (which I'm fairly happy with), my experience has been that Verizon provides much better coverage than anyone else. Also bear in mind that OnStar uses Verizon, mostly due to the fact that they have the best coverage.
I have Verizon and we travel to MI alot, family. I have amazing coverage with Verizon. I also fly into some pretty remote areas around the US and I have always had coverage when my buds do not. Verizon has the best coverage and this from a guy who puts up cell towers, verizon has been putting them up everywhere.
Just my experiences, with em
Just my experiences, with em
I have no comments on MI
I have Verizon - I will say they are the best of the lot...but they still suck. No matter what plan you decide on, it will be obsolete the next month, so any change will kick you into some other plan that sucks worse.
Nothing to do with GSM or CDMA.
I have Verizon - I will say they are the best of the lot...but they still suck. No matter what plan you decide on, it will be obsolete the next month, so any change will kick you into some other plan that sucks worse.
Nothing to do with GSM or CDMA.
Find jout thru friends/neighbors which carrier has the strongest signal at your house. That way you can use the free minutes for long distance. I liked verixon service but didn't have a good signal at my house. Then I switched to ATT/Cingular and now have a full signal.
I have a buddy of mine that goes up there to see his Dad every couple of months. He uses ATT, or Cingular now as it's called. When ever I call him, the service is terrible. Then when he gets back home and gets his bill, the Canada side picks up a lot of his signals and charges him extra. After 3 phone calls, he finally gets it resolved, but from what he has said, it's a pain in the arshe to have to go through.
Don't worry too much about this. In my experience, you have to be right at the riverfront AND have a weak signal on the Michigan side to have your phone switch to one of the Canadian providers. Actually, I don't take my phone into work with me for that very reason. I work right along the Detroit river in a part of the building that doesn't get a good signal. Every once in a while, my TMobile phone will connect to Rogers, it'll send a voice mail notification through and I'll get charged for a text message AND a roaming charge. If I was further up the tower, though, I wouldn't have to worry.
- Status
Similar threads
