ATTWS migration experience (so far)

I've got a T68i from the ATTWS days, and have been out of contract for over
a year now. In general, I should be considered a pretty desirable customer,
since I pay my bills on time, typically use about half of my minutes, and
control three other lines (which the rest of the family use).

The T68i has been an OK phone, although reception would be a lot better if
it were quad band (it gets both Euro GSM bands, but only the upper US GSM).
Also, the battery, after 2.5 years, is beginning to show its age. And, truth
be told, my eyes are beginning to show their age, and the small screen isn't
so easy to read anymore.

So I looked into migrating over to the Cingular side, and this is what I
come up with-

#1: My present plan gives me 550 anytime minutes, plus infinite
night/weekend & mobile-to-mobile. $39.99/month. What Cingular is offering me
is 450 anytime minutes, 5000 night/weekend (which is essentially infinite),
along with infinite mobile-to-mobile. The downside is the loss of 100
minutes/month; the upside is that, with Cingular, you get "rollover"
minutes, so what you don't use one month are added down the road.

#2: I dropped by the local Cingular store; if I want the Razr V3, I'm
looking at $199.99, same price as a new customer. Plus, since I'm listed as
a "VIP" customer in their database (probably just means I pay my bills on
time), they'll give me a one-time $30 credit on the first Cingular phone
bill, plus no activation fee. Later on I called Cingular customer service,
and on the phone, I got even less... no $30 credit, plus they'd charge me
the activation fee.

I'd love to get the Razr for less money, especially after seeing it at Best
Buy for something like $80. But there's a lot of fine print on that one; to
effectively get it for $80 means paying $299 and then sending in a bunch of
rebates at different times. Doesn't seem very easy to do.

I guess what bothers me most is that I'll be getting less service for the
same amount of money. In the old days, there were a zillion rate plans,
including various hidden ones. But the new world order doesn't seem to work
that way. I'd consider changing providers, but my service has overall been
pretty decent (and promises to be even better with a different phone), plus
it's handy having something that works overseas.

If the Razr is reasonably reliable, it's probably a worthwhile investment.
Just wish it came with a better plan! :>)

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 07:10:05 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
<mikej1@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>I've got a T68i from the ATTWS days, and have been out of contract
for over
>a year now. In general, I should be considered a pretty desirable
customer,
>since I pay my bills on time, typically use about half of my minutes,
and
>control three other lines (which the rest of the family use).
>
>The T68i has been an OK phone, although reception would be a lot
better if
>it were quad band (it gets both Euro GSM bands, but only the upper US
GSM).
>Also, the battery, after 2.5 years, is beginning to show its age.
And, truth
>be told, my eyes are beginning to show their age, and the small
screen isn't
>so easy to read anymore.
>
>So I looked into migrating over to the Cingular side, and this is
what I
>come up with-
>
>#1: My present plan gives me 550 anytime minutes, plus infinite
>night/weekend & mobile-to-mobile. $39.99/month. What Cingular is
offering me
>is 450 anytime minutes, 5000 night/weekend (which is essentially
infinite),
>along with infinite mobile-to-mobile. The downside is the loss of 100
>minutes/month; the upside is that, with Cingular, you get "rollover"
>minutes, so what you don't use one month are added down the road.
>
>#2: I dropped by the local Cingular store; if I want the Razr V3, I'm
>looking at $199.99, same price as a new customer. Plus, since I'm
listed as
>a "VIP" customer in their database (probably just means I pay my
bills on
>time), they'll give me a one-time $30 credit on the first Cingular
phone
>bill, plus no activation fee. Later on I called Cingular customer
service,
>and on the phone, I got even less... no $30 credit, plus they'd
charge me
>the activation fee.
>
>I'd love to get the Razr for less money, especially after seeing it
at Best
>Buy for something like $80. But there's a lot of fine print on that
one; to
>effectively get it for $80 means paying $299 and then sending in a
bunch of
>rebates at different times. Doesn't seem very easy to do.
>
>I guess what bothers me most is that I'll be getting less service for
the
>same amount of money. In the old days, there were a zillion rate
plans,
>including various hidden ones. But the new world order doesn't seem
to work
>that way. I'd consider changing providers, but my service has overall
been
>pretty decent (and promises to be even better with a different
phone), plus
>it's handy having something that works overseas.
>
>If the Razr is reasonably reliable, it's probably a worthwhile
investment.
>Just wish it came with a better plan! :>)
>
>--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
>www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>
>
I have the RAZR V3 and I love it. Great sound quality and feel.
Initially I thought it was too thin, but it is great. No problem with
reception or dropped calls thus far, but that more of a Cingular thing
then the phone I suspect.

Beware of the rebates!!! I've purchased and used many phones over the
years. The phones I bought with a rebated discount, including two for
my parents, have never had the rebate come through. I followed the
instructions to a T. They just wait you out and you go away. I spent
a year on my parents phones before they told me "oh well, nothing we
can do".

Regardless of if it's from Best Buy, Wirefly, or any other, I NEVER
count on the rebates.
--
Scorp

> Regardless of if it's from Best Buy, Wirefly, or any other, I NEVER
> count on the rebates.

That's always a good plan, because many rebates are not applicable to
people who PO Boxes or people who live in apartments. In some areas, it's
actually illegal to advertise rebates because so many people are excluded
from being eligible.

TH

>> Regardless of if it's from Best Buy, Wirefly, or any other, I NEVER
>> count on the rebates.
>
> That's always a good plan, because many rebates are not applicable to
> people who PO Boxes or people who live in apartments. In some areas, it's
> actually illegal to advertise rebates because so many people are excluded
> from being eligible.


Well, I bought the phone, $199 with 2-year contract, no rebates, but does
include a $30 credit on my first phone bill. Wondering if I should have
pushed to get the optional 7pm nights & weekends tossed in? Normally
$7/month. We'll see how my minutes go.

I almost opted to pay $250 for the phone, with a 1-year contract. In the
long run, I'll bet that would have been cheaper, since I'd have leverage for
a new phone at an earlier time. Tough call!

PS: Instead of a rebate, to get the $199 price they do a credit card
imprint, and if you cancel your service within 6 month, they get another
$200. Seems fair enough to me.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"Tropical Haven" <email@example.net> wrote in message
news:42D2E2D5.FD639D6E@example.net...
>> Regardless of if it's from Best Buy, Wirefly, or any other, I NEVER
>> count on the rebates.
>
> That's always a good plan, because many rebates are not applicable to
> people who PO Boxes or people who live in apartments. In some areas, it's
> actually illegal to advertise rebates because so many people are excluded
> from being eligible.
>
> TH
>

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 17:21:26 -0400, Tropical Haven <email@example.net>
wrote:

>> Regardless of if it's from Best Buy, Wirefly, or any other, I NEVER
>> count on the rebates.
>
>That's always a good plan, because many rebates are not applicable to
>people who PO Boxes or people who live in apartments. In some areas, it's
>actually illegal to advertise rebates because so many people are excluded
>from being eligible.
>
>TH

I got my $50 Cingular rebate and my $150 Amazon is in process on the
website.

PO box was only a hassle getting the original account setup through
Amazon. Just needed a phone call but it's the ONLY way I can get mail
since we don't have good addresses here yet.