ATTWS, TMO, Verizon comparison WAS The adventure begins:

Update with regard to trying Tmobile, Verizon, and ATTWS:

Verizon and Kyocera 7135:

Pros:

My child loves Tetres. I also find myself toying with it. I did the
phone sync last night and added some info to the phone. Worked
flawlessly. I was speaking with an attorney friend of mine yesterday
while he was on his Verizon phone. signal was crisp and clear on an
Airplane (at gate) in Florida. The guys lives on his phone and made
the switch from ATTWS about a year ago. He's very picky and says he
loves Verizon. Says I should end testing and just switch. Still no
fades or dropped calls.

Cons:

As it turns out I can not bill Verizon The rewards credit card for
extra points. (the issue that got this whole thing started). I can
bill Tmo and ATTWS. One of the things that I like most about the
Verizon testing is the phone, but I've already had 1 fatal error,
battery life is very short, and for dialing out, this is a more of a
two handed phone.

Tmobile and Motorola V300

Pros:

Having a V60 already, I'm quickly comfortable with this phone. Small
size makes it easily managed with one hand. Volume and sound quality
are very good. Signal throughout Ventura and L.A. County has been
solid and strong. No fades or dropped calls even on long drive. Neat
ring tones.

Cons:

Keys are a little odd might take some getting used to. I'm not excited
about the sleeve this phone comes with, but that is easily rectified
with a belt clip cover of one type or another. I find that navigating
the entry and retrieval of phone numbers can be a bit unusual, but
then again, I haven't read much of the manual.

ATTWS and V60t

Pros:

This is the service I've had and been fairly happy with for at least
five or six years. I've had the V60t for I believe about two years???
Phone is easy to use and set up. I have time established loyalty to
ATTWS. I can pay the bill an CC and earn double rewards points.

Cons:

I had accepted dropped calls and calls that wouldn't complete as part
of cellular. With my current testing of service providers and phones,
I'm finding that this is not true. ATTWS (for me) has dropped call
numerous times. Calls fade in and out often. ATTWS has recently
angered me over a billing issue. the V60t is a nice phone, but pretty
basic by todays standards ( I know, I can upgrade any time I want)
Using three phones and services over the last few days I often forget
which phone and service I'm on. While speaking with a business
associate last night, we started to loose clarity and voices faded in
and out. For a second I thought I was on the Tmo V300, when I was in
fact on the V60t ATTWS.

I'll keep you posted.


--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

<ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net> wrote

> for dialing out, this is a more of a two handed phone.

The whole idea of that phone is custom apps. TakePHone.

-Quick

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:46:16 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

>Update with regard to trying Tmobile, Verizon, and ATTWS:
>
>Verizon and Kyocera 7135:
>
>Pros: I love all the info I have quickly and in quantity at my
finger tips. I forgot how often I end up waiting around in lines or
for a table at my favorite places, tetres keeps me busy. While
reading the premier issue of Cargo Magazine, I found an interesting
article on Cell phones and providers. I was very impressed by what
they, and for that matter Mobile Computer Magazine had to say about
Verizon. The coverage is rated the best AND customer service was "the
gold standard". Still no dropped calls.


>
>Cons:

I'm still annoyed that I won't earn double rewards points with AMEX,
but that issue is slowly dying. The phone is still pretty big, but
other then that, I'm getting pretty handy with it.

>
>Tmobile and Motorola V300
>
>Pros:
>
I purchased the data kit for the V300, haven't installed it yet, but
it looks pretty basic. Still no dropped calls.

>Cons:
>
Sounds has faded from time to time while on a call. Cargo Magazine
claims Tmo has some of the best phones and in fact likes my V300, BUT
they say that coverage is not that good and that as of 2003 Tmo has
the highest customer turnover off all cell carriers. That is not
reassuring. New leather cover with belt clip is substandard. The
phone keeps falling off.

>ATTWS and V60t
>
>Pros:
>
No change
>
>Cons:
>
Though I've made a number of phone calls and written two letters,
ATTWS has not made any attempt to contact me on my billing issues. I
am becoming more annoyed by them every day.
>
>I'll keep you posted.

Testing continues...
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:46:16 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

Forgot to mention that I was under the impression that Tmo would be
getting the V600. According to sales rep at store, this is not to be.
As this would have upped my desire for Tmo, I consider this a strike
against Tmo
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

In article <360u50tlse7io9lo3hs8o9gg9k14pdnqlq@4ax.com>,
ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

> The coverage is rated the best AND customer service was "the
> gold standard". Still no dropped calls.

Verizon customer service is the "Gold Standard" only in relative terms.

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 15:23:44 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

>Forgot to mention that I was under the impression that Tmo would be
>getting the V600. According to sales rep at store, this is not to be.
>As this would have upped my desire for Tmo, I consider this a strike
>against Tmo

Why do you absolutely need to have T-Mmobile carry the phone? Find it
elsewhere from an independent dealer and use it with T-Mobile service.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply

"Robert M." <rmarkoff@msn.com> wrote in message
news:rmarkoff-1079F1.09410822032004@news1.west.earthlink.net...
> In article <360u50tlse7io9lo3hs8o9gg9k14pdnqlq@4ax.com>,
> ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
>
> > The coverage is rated the best AND customer service was "the
> > gold standard". Still no dropped calls.
>
> Verizon customer service is the "Gold Standard" only in relative terms.

Once you cross your personal floor of acceptability, "relative" is the only
thing that matters doesn't it?

-Quick

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 08:49:29 -0800, Joseph
<JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom> wrote:

>On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 15:23:44 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
>
>>Forgot to mention that I was under the impression that Tmo would be
>>getting the V600. According to sales rep at store, this is not to
be.
>>As this would have upped my desire for Tmo, I consider this a strike
>>against Tmo
>
>Why do you absolutely need to have T-Mmobile carry the phone? Find
it
>elsewhere from an independent dealer and use it with T-Mobile
service.


You can do this?
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 18:50:58 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

>On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 08:49:29 -0800, Joseph
><JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 15:23:44 GMT, ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
>>
>>>Forgot to mention that I was under the impression that Tmo would be
>>>getting the V600. According to sales rep at store, this is not to
>be.
>>>As this would have upped my desire for Tmo, I consider this a strike
>>>against Tmo
>>
>>Why do you absolutely need to have T-Mmobile carry the phone? Find
>it
>>elsewhere from an independent dealer and use it with T-Mobile
>service.
>
>
>You can do this?

Of course you can! That's the beauty of GSM. You just have to make
sure that the "flavor" of GSM in your area is compatible with what the
local carrier uses. T-Mobile will work on any phone that uses 1900.
AT&T will as well, though with AT&T some of their areas where they are
one of the "cellular" providers they also have GSM 850. GSM 850 will
theoretically give you better coverage when you combine it with GSM
1900. cingular's west coast is all GSM 1900 as is their operation in
the Carolinas. Everywhere else pretty much they are running a GSM 850
overlay over their old cellular systems.

http://www.gsmphonesource.com , http://www.just-talk.com ,
http://www.expansys.com among other places to get GSM phones away from
the carriers though just-talk often has very good pricing if you agree
to activate service through them. Otherwise pricing is a lot more
expensive than the "subsidized" phones you're going to get from the
major carriers ATTWS, T-Mobile, cingular, etc.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 19:44:47 -0800, Joseph
<JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom> wrote:


>>>>against Tmo
>>>
>>>Why do you absolutely need to have T-Mmobile carry the phone? Find
>>it
>>>elsewhere from an independent dealer and use it with T-Mobile
>>service.
>>
>>
>>You can do this?
>
>Of course you can! That's the beauty of GSM. You just have to make
>sure that the "flavor" of GSM in your area is compatible with what
the
>local carrier uses. T-Mobile will work on any phone that uses 1900.
>AT&T will as well, though with AT&T some of their areas where they
are
>one of the "cellular" providers they also have GSM 850. GSM 850 will
>theoretically give you better coverage when you combine it with GSM
>1900. cingular's west coast is all GSM 1900 as is their operation in
>the Carolinas. Everywhere else pretty much they are running a GSM
850
>overlay over their old cellular systems.
>
>http://www.gsmphonesource.com , http://www.just-talk.com ,
>http://www.expansys.com among other places to get GSM phones away
from
>the carriers though just-talk often has very good pricing if you
agree
>to activate service through them. Otherwise pricing is a lot more
>expensive than the "subsidized" phones you're going to get from the
>major carriers ATTWS, T-Mobile, cingular, etc.
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply

Hmmm This is interesting. When I spoke with the people at Tmobile
they said that the phone would have to be purchased from Tmobile to
work on their system.
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
> >Of course you can! That's the beauty of GSM. You just have to make
> >sure that the "flavor" of GSM in your area is compatible with what
> the
> >local carrier uses.
> Hmmm This is interesting. When I spoke with the people at Tmobile
> they said that the phone would have to be purchased from Tmobile to
> work on their system.


Both are true. GSM phones are meant to be interchangeable by simply switching
the SIM card.

Unfortunatly, in north america, networks have decided to lock phones to their
own network in exchange for a high subsidy on the phone. If AT&T sells you a
phone that cost it $400 for $25.00, it doesn't want you leaving them and using
that phone on T-Mobile or in the past Cingular since the subsidy would have
gone to help a competitor.

If you obtain an unlocked phone, then yes, it will operate on any GSM network
in the same frequency(frequencies) supported by your phone.

If you obtain a locked phone, then it will work only on the network to whom it
was locked. Some networks will allow you to unlock the phone for a certain
price. Some will sell unlocked phones at a much higher price, or give you the
optio to buy a locked phone at much lower price.

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:07:56 -0400, JF Mezei
<jfmezei.spamnot@istop.com> wrote:

>ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
>> >Of course you can! That's the beauty of GSM. You just have to
make
>> >sure that the "flavor" of GSM in your area is compatible with what
>> the
>> >local carrier uses.
>> Hmmm This is interesting. When I spoke with the people at Tmobile
>> they said that the phone would have to be purchased from Tmobile to
>> work on their system.
>
>
>Both are true. GSM phones are meant to be interchangeable by simply
switching
>the SIM card.
>
>Unfortunatly, in north america, networks have decided to lock phones
to their
>own network in exchange for a high subsidy on the phone. If AT&T
sells you a
>phone that cost it $400 for $25.00, it doesn't want you leaving them
and using
>that phone on T-Mobile or in the past Cingular since the subsidy
would have
>gone to help a competitor.
>
>If you obtain an unlocked phone, then yes, it will operate on any GSM
network
>in the same frequency(frequencies) supported by your phone.
>
>If you obtain a locked phone, then it will work only on the network
to whom it
>was locked. Some networks will allow you to unlock the phone for a
certain
>price. Some will sell unlocked phones at a much higher price, or give
you the
>optio to buy a locked phone at much lower price.

Ah, so maybe the young lady was confused. If the phone was purchased
say on ebay and is unlocked, I could just drop my Tmo sim in there and
it would work on what ever GSM system Tmo uses provided that the
unlocked phone uses the same freqs?
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

In article <r2aj60lmva5s62bnavradl9gjo01kdhkvi@4ax.com>,
ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:

> Ah, so maybe the young lady was confused. If the phone was purchased
> say on ebay and is unlocked, I could just drop my Tmo sim in there and
> it would work on what ever GSM system Tmo uses provided that the
> unlocked phone uses the same freqs?

or maybe she preferred you buy a phone from her, so she'd get the
commission and/or spiff.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 18:06:35 GMT, "Robert M." <rmarkoff@msn.com>
wrote:

>In article <r2aj60lmva5s62bnavradl9gjo01kdhkvi@4ax.com>,
> ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
>
>> Ah, so maybe the young lady was confused. If the phone was
purchased
>> say on ebay and is unlocked, I could just drop my Tmo sim in there
and
>> it would work on what ever GSM system Tmo uses provided that the
>> unlocked phone uses the same freqs?
>
>or maybe she preferred you buy a phone from her, so she'd get the
>commission and/or spiff.

Good point.
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

ScorpionKing@attNOSPAM.net wrote:
> Ah, so maybe the young lady was confused. If the phone was purchased
> say on ebay and is unlocked, I could just drop my Tmo sim in there and
> it would work on what ever GSM system Tmo uses provided that the
> unlocked phone uses the same freqs?

That is correct. Note that modern phones now handle multiple frequencies,
although support for 850 (which si new) is still limited.

For north american use: 1900 has more limited coverage, but greater number of
networks. 850 will have much greater coverage once old TDMA bandwidth is
converted to GSM, but only the older networks will have it (but they are the
bigger ones like AT&T for instance).

With a few exceptions, outside of north america, 950 and 1800 covers everything.

Also, beware when you buy a phone from ebay from an individual. It is very
hard to prove that a phone is unlocked until you get your hands on it. If the
former owner was on the same network as you, your SIM card will work fine, but
it doesn't mean that the phone is unlocked.