14 replies to this topic

[quente]

So my wife and I are very tempted to buy an iPhone and jump ship from Verizon to Cingular. Problem is my experience with Cingular in the past was horrible - poor coverage, calls dropping all the time, etc. I just checked out a survey in Consumer Reports that rated cell service in the major metropolitan markets (Boston & NYC were the only northeast locations): in all markets, Cingular was ranked dead last or second to dead last in terms of cell phone service.

Assuming we can't resist the temptation, if we buy the phone and switch to Cingular, we will end up with a reliable, state-of-the-art cell phone, or an expensive (but purty!) paper weight?

Thanks.

[runawayjim]

quente, on Jan 26 2007, 03:56 PM, said:

So my wife and I are very tempted to buy an iPhone and jump ship from Verizon to Cingular. Problem is my experience with Cingular in the past was horrible - poor coverage, calls dropping all the time, etc. I just checked out a survey in Consumer Reports that rated cell service in the major metropolitan markets (Boston & NYC were the only northeast locations): in all markets, Cingular was ranked dead last or second to dead last in terms of cell phone service.

Assuming we can't resist the temptation, if we buy the phone and switch to Cingular, we will end up with a reliable, state-of-the-art cell phone, or an expensive (but purty!) paper weight?

Thanks.

while i don't have cingular, those people i have spoken to who do have it either love it or hate it (generally they live in the 3 places where verizon does not have coverage).  also, something that should be known... their advertised "fewest dropped calls" thing is because rather than drop the calls, you either don't have service or end up with a crummy sounding call because of low service.

personally, i go with the company that has better service because that's what i really consider my cell phone for, phone service.  eventually new phones will be available across the board, they generally just debut with one provider.  don't be surprised if the iphone will be available with verizon in the future.  verizon also has different standards with what phones they will work with because of their relatively high standards in service.

i would also suggest against being an early adopter of the iphone as apple tends to have a history of first generation glitches, and if it's something you might rely on, like a phone, that could spell bad news.

[jencoleslaw]

i hated cingular enough that i terminated my contract before it was up and paid the fee just to get out from under them.

I have been pretty happy with Tmobile all over RI on both my cellio and my crackberry (yes, i have both.) Mr CS also have tmobile and is happy. We are kind of bummed how it doesn't cover  when we visit our parents in North Carolina and the Ct River Valley (Lyme), but maybe someday they will.

[smcbride11]

I think the service you receive is more a function of the phone than the service.  Living in the same area, with four different phones (all on Cingular), I've had alternatively horrific service and spectacular service.

My current phone, a RAZR I got about a year ago, has been stellar.  No problems with dropped calls, rarely ever less than full reception.  I don't know what the radio on the iPhone is like, but it's something to look into.  It's been my experience that the cheap phones have low service quality, but that's not always the case.

[JJK5]

smcbride11, on Jan 27 2007, 01:30 AM, said:

I think the service you receive is more a function of the phone than the service.  Living in the same area, with four different phones (all on Cingular), I've had alternatively horrific service and spectacular service.

My current phone, a RAZR I got about a year ago, has been stellar.  No problems with dropped calls, rarely ever less than full reception.  I don't know what the radio on the iPhone is like, but it's something to look into.  It's been my experience that the cheap phones have low service quality, but that's not always the case.

I totally agree.  While I'm not a Cingular customer (U.S. Cellular, you've probably never heard of it...) I can say that when I went from some LG p.o.s. to my RAZR all my deadspots up in northern new england literally went away.  Some phones get much better reception than others.

[runawayjim]

smcbride11, on Jan 27 2007, 01:30 AM, said:

It's been my experience that the cheap phones have low service quality, but that's not always the case.

that's not always the case (at least not with verizon)... if you read through phone reviews, a lot of times the more expensive and gadgety phones are worse than some of the less expensive more basic phones.  much of the reason for that is because they spend too much time worrying about putting gadgets into a phone.

and for what it's worth, the 2 people who just posted about their RAZR phones are the first 2 i've heard have really good things to say about it, most are just mediocre reviews.  i've had perfect luck with my LG phones for the past several years.

[matt]

runawayjim, on Jan 27 2007, 09:41 AM, said:

that's not always the case (at least not with verizon)... if you read through phone reviews, a lot of times the more expensive and gadgety phones are worse than some of the less expensive more basic phones.  much of the reason for that is because they spend too much time worrying about putting gadgets into a phone.

and for what it's worth, the 2 people who just posted about their RAZR phones are the first 2 i've heard have really good things to say about it, most are just mediocre reviews.  i've had perfect luck with my LG phones for the past several years.

One theory on this:  LG may be better at making CDMA (the network Verizon uses) phones than they are at GSM phones.  Isn't LG from S.Korea?  Aka, the only other country other than US and Canada that uses CDMA?

Just a thought. Could be wrong.

[dgreco]

I used to have cingular and never had problems really, I had some highway issues sometimes, but never bad.  I will say I have tmobile now and the service is amazing, I never lose a call and always have great service, everywhere.

[Frankie811]

What is this that I'm now reading in the newspaper? Cingular is the new AT&T. They've mreged?

[webbage]

Yes, the baby bells are merging back together. Go figure.

[drc72]

matt, on Jan 27 2007, 11:37 AM, said:

One theory on this:  LG may be better at making CDMA (the network Verizon uses) phones than they are at GSM phones.  Isn't LG from S.Korea?  Aka, the only other country other than US and Canada that uses CDMA?

Just a thought. Could be wrong.

I have never have had any issues with LG while using Cingular. Samsungs tend to be worse when it comes to RF performance. To the orginal poster why don't you just try the 30 day trial period? That should give you enough time to test out the service in the areas you use it most.

Edited by drc72, 29 January 2007 - 04:46 PM.

[provid]

AT&T was awful.

[JerseyBoy]

While I don't live in New England, I travel up there quite often from Charlotte. I have Cingular and am looking to purchase the iPhone also. Cingular is pretty decent IF you have a good phone as others have mentioned. I don't know how Apple's phone might be in terms of service, but if your with Cingular stick with a Motorola or Nokia phone. I've had 10 phones in the last 2 years (yes I'm a gadget-junkie lol) and I've had a phone from almost every brand Cingular carries like Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and LG. Nokia and Motorola got the best service out of all those brands I mentioned. When I do travel up north I get superb reception with my phone on 95. I've never had a problem with Cingular yet, well....except for customer service.

[quente]

drc72, on Jan 27 2007, 08:25 PM, said:

To the orginal poster why don't you just try the 30 day trial period? That should give you enough time to test out the service in the areas you use it most.

Didn't know about the 30-day trial! Thanks!

Thank you all for the input - lots of good information. We may still buy one of those overpriced phones (iPhone - 50% margin news blurb) after all!

[smcbride11]

quente, on Jan 30 2007, 10:45 PM, said:

Didn't know about the 30-day trial! Thanks!\

Make sure you save EVERYTHING if you intend to return the phone and cancel service within 30 days.  My gf used to work for a Cingular reseller and they're very strict on the condition everything must be in when you return it - forget the manual, and you're keeping the phone.  Not usually a problem, but something to be keep in mind.