TDMA vs GSM (ATT)? Which phone?

"lvdlrs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jeremy wrote:
> > Depending on your location, you may find that your GSM service is
> > unavailable in rural areas--areas where there IS either digital (TDMA)
or
> > analog coverage. My TDMA phone can be handed off to an analog network
if
> > there is no digital service--a GSM phone cannot. It just dies. Heaven
> > forbid that you have a breakdown or other emergency and you are in a
non-GSM
> > area. What good is that fancy phone, with all those bells and whistles,
> > then?
>
> I have ATTWS GSM in Northern Mississippi and work in an area still
> relatively rural. While true I cannot make or receive calls, which
> I really don't like and who does, my phone tells me that it will
> take emergency calls only.
>
> Gary P
>

Sounds like there is a signal there, but ATTWS has no roaming agreement in
effect with whatever carrier owns that tower.

My TDMA service has a huge roaming area, and I always can make or receive
calls--even if it is only via an analog carrier (I rarely flip to analog
anymore.)

I lose my PCS features when my phone goes to analog mode, but I get my
voicemail notification and text messages as soon as I return to the digital
network.

I even keep my PCS features when I am on Extended Area. I have read that
Verizon customers often lose their PCS features when they leave their home
system--even if they are roaming on the America's Choice Network! Bummer!

Biggest incentive for me to stay with TDMA is the fact that I've got so many
bonuses and incentives on my present plan that I would not be able to come
close to it if I went GSM. I have three lines, and I pay under $100 per
month, and they are all loaded with unlimited free mobile to mobile and
night/weekend minutes. So I'm staying with TDMA.

I can think of worse situations to be in.

---

› See More: TDMA vs GSM (ATT)? Which phone?

Jeremy <[email protected]> wrote:

> ... I have a $30 TDMA plan, unlimited mobile-to-mobile 24/7, including
> free long distance, 7 pm nights, unlimited nights & weekends, free long
> distance at all times, 650 minutes anytime...

That is excellent!

> I just bought another brand new TDMA phone on eBay last week, to keep
> as a spare.

What did you get and how much?

What are good TDMA phones that will work with ATT? (My old clunker is
ready to retire to its proper use: as a weight for wrist exercises!)

I have been looking at Nokia 3560 and 6560 on Ebay. What is a good Ebay
price for these?

Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use in
the car.

On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 14:56:41 GMT, RPS <[email protected]> wrote:

>Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> >It will largely be a moot point, as AT&T is converting people to their
>> >GSM network and plans to eventually shut down their TDMA network.
>>
>> In five to seven years *possibly*, but there are no immediate plans to
>> shut down the TDMA network.
>
>In cell phone world that is an eternity. I like to think in 1-2 yr
>chunks.

Well, bully for you!!

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On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 07:55:42 -0700, "Dan Albrich"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>One thing that effects me and some of my family members: If you depend
>on an external antenna to make calls, you'll have a hard time finding a
>modern
>GSM phone with any external connector. i.e. 5160, 6160 the old
>bread and butter TDMA phones have a well designed external antenna
>connector.

As does the Nokia 6310i a tri-band GSM phone.

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On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 15:47:31 GMT, lvdlrs <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I have ATTWS GSM in Northern Mississippi and work in an area still
>relatively rural. While true I cannot make or receive calls, which
>I really don't like and who does, my phone tells me that it will
>take emergency calls only.

Meaning that it's using either T-Mobile or cingular.

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>
>I have been looking at Nokia 3560 and 6560 on Ebay. What is a good Ebay
>price for these?
>
>Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
>whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use in
>the car.

I'm not the original poster, but have recently purchased the 3560 on
e-bay to use with the at&t Free2go preplay plan. (100$ card that lasts
for a year is tough to beat.)

The phone works great, has good reception, and an exceptionally long
batter life. No speakerphone though.

I paid $35.00 on e-bay plus 7 bucks to ship. It came with the wall
charger and a headset.

Rick

"RPS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:030820041234012992%[email protected]...
>
> What did you get and how much?
>

I have Panasonic Versio phones. I bought my first one from ATT, when my
Ericsson LX588 flip phone broke. The Ericsson had a very poorly designed
antenna mount--I broke 2 antennas. It also had a weak switch in the flip
hinge. The plastic cracked, and the phone would no longer work.

I didn't like the Panasonic phone at first. No flip. A "bar" phone. But
it was reliable as could be, and it had better reception in fringe areas.
It also had a speakerphone, and I found that quite a nifty feature, because
I could talk without holding the phone against my head (and, thus,
minimizing the risk of radiation).

The lithium-ion battery has been much easier to charge than the NiMH battery
on the Ericsson (that battery required regular conditioning--full discharge
followed by full recharge). The battery was much lighter and smaller than
the Ericsson battery.

The Versio is a multi-network phone. Works in digital and analog service
areas (not so important now, but it was a real concern 3 years ago).

The phone has never given me a moment's trouble. It just keeps on working
(I did have to replace the battery after 2 years, but that is to be
expected). It is as reliable a phone as I've ever seen. No bells and
whistles, no clamshell or flip design, but it is a handsome unit and it has
none of the design deficiencies of the Ericsson flip phones.

If you want a solid, reliable TDMA performer, I can't speak highly enough
about this particular model. Panasonic has a subsequent model, called the
Allure, that added voice dialing and more autodial locations.

There may be other reliable phones like this, but I can vouch only for the
model that I am most familiar with. I would not consider a flip phone or a
clamshell phone anymore. Too much potential for breakage.

I bought 3 new ones for $60.00 total! Used ones are even cheaper, and
because the phone is so rugged, a used phone typically has a lot of life
left in it. You can't go wrong with a Versio (unless you want color
screens, bells and whistles . . . )



> What are good TDMA phones that will work with ATT? (My old clunker is
> ready to retire to its proper use: as a weight for wrist exercises!)
>
> I have been looking at Nokia 3560 and 6560 on Ebay. What is a good Ebay
> price for these?
>
> Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
> whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use in
> the car.

I'd like to add my personal favorite, the Motorola v60i. There's lots of
them on eBay for $20 to $100. I also use a CDMA v60i and the battery in one
is the spare for the other. Accessories are cheap and performance is as
good as any of our AT&T phones. It doesn't have a speakerphone, but I use a
standard handsfree headset.

And yes, even in town, the TDMA network is still much better than the GSM
network. It will get better, but maybe not for a year or two.


Bill Radio
Click for Western U.S. Wireless Reviews at:
http://www.mountainwireless.com

"RPS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:030820041234012992%[email protected]...
>
> Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
> whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use in
> the car.

"Jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "RPS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:030820041234012992%[email protected]...
> >
> > What did you get and how much?
> >
>
> I have Panasonic Versio phones. I bought my first one from ATT, when
my
> Ericsson LX588 flip phone broke. The Ericsson had a very poorly
designed
> antenna mount--I broke 2 antennas. It also had a weak switch in the
flip
> hinge. The plastic cracked, and the phone would no longer work.
>
> I didn't like the Panasonic phone at first. No flip. A "bar" phone.
But
> it was reliable as could be, and it had better reception in fringe
areas.
> It also had a speakerphone, and I found that quite a nifty feature,
because
> I could talk without holding the phone against my head (and, thus,
> minimizing the risk of radiation).
>
> The lithium-ion battery has been much easier to charge than the NiMH
battery
> on the Ericsson (that battery required regular conditioning--full
discharge
> followed by full recharge). The battery was much lighter and smaller
than
> the Ericsson battery.
>
> The Versio is a multi-network phone. Works in digital and analog
service
> areas (not so important now, but it was a real concern 3 years ago).
>
> The phone has never given me a moment's trouble. It just keeps on
working
> (I did have to replace the battery after 2 years, but that is to be
> expected). It is as reliable a phone as I've ever seen. No bells and
> whistles, no clamshell or flip design, but it is a handsome unit and
it has
> none of the design deficiencies of the Ericsson flip phones.
>
> If you want a solid, reliable TDMA performer, I can't speak highly
enough
> about this particular model. Panasonic has a subsequent model, called
the
> Allure, that added voice dialing and more autodial locations.
>
> There may be other reliable phones like this, but I can vouch only for
the
> model that I am most familiar with. I would not consider a flip phone
or a
> clamshell phone anymore. Too much potential for breakage.
>
> I bought 3 new ones for $60.00 total! Used ones are even cheaper, and
> because the phone is so rugged, a used phone typically has a lot of
life
> left in it. You can't go wrong with a Versio (unless you want color
> screens, bells and whistles . . . )
>
>
>
> > What are good TDMA phones that will work with ATT? (My old clunker
is
> > ready to retire to its proper use: as a weight for wrist exercises!)
> >
> > I have been looking at Nokia 3560 and 6560 on Ebay. What is a good
Ebay
> > price for these?
> >
> > Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
> > whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use
in
> > the car.
>
I bought a Nokia 6360 a few weeks ago, specifically for its analog
capability; it can manage a good signal across 15 miles of open water at
my summer place, while my daughter's all-digital phone (with colour
screen, games, fancy ringtones, etc.) might as well be a brick.

The 6360 will also hold service along big stretches of rural BC
highways, where GSM is still several years away. A good "safety
device", it also offers a larger screen than my last one, with bigger
fonts, and good batttery life so far.

> >
> > Are there other phones you consider better? I don't need bells and
> > whistles but kind of like the idea of speakerphone for hands off use in
> > the car.
>

I have previously praised Panasonic Versio phones on this NG. This morning
I saw a seller on eBay that is offering them for $39.99, new and unopened
boxes, and he has a bunch of them for sale.

I've seen better prices, but even at $40 bucks, I think that this is a
really good value, because they are rugged, and they have given me more
reliable performance than any other wireless phone I've ever used. Also
they have a speakerphone, and I use it a lot (it is not as loud as a Nextel
speakerphone, because they need to watch out for feedback. The Panasonic
phone is full duplex. The Nextel phone is half duplex, and feedback is not
an issue. Their phones probably automatically mute the microphone whenever
a walkie-talkie inbound message is put ouve the phone's speaker.)

If anyone wants to have a look at these phones, here is the link. There are
other phones offered at even lower prices, but $40 for a brand new phone,
and no new ATTWS term commitment, looks pretty good to me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...713517925&rd=1

Jeremy <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have previously praised Panasonic Versio phones on this NG...

Thank you very much for your kind feedback. This has put Panasonic on
my list!

I have basically concluded that Nokia 6560, though I like it, is simply
too expensive.

If someone has experience with Nokia 3560 and Panasonic versio/allure,
I would be grateful for a comparison. They go for comparable prices on
Ebay.

Do you find the panasonic's speakerphone useful (eg, loud enough in car
with some road noise)?

Be careful.

GSM coverage is limited in areas that I visit.

I live in NY. I do have GSM from AT&T. It sucks.

I have it, because, 1 year ago, AT&T offered 100% unlimited U.S. coverage, day and night for a flat
fee of $99, so I live with it.

I would have loved to switch to a non GSM coverage. However, they won't let me get the same flat
rate.

Again, GSM from AT&T sucks for me. My travel area, is L.I., NYC and N.J.


Lawrence M. Seldin, CMC, CPC
Author of POWER TIPS FOR THE APPLE NEWTON and INTRODUCTION TO CSP
Author of RECRUITSOURCE PEOPLESOFT EXAM and RECRUITSOURCE SAP/R3 EXAM


NOTE: To send me an email, remove TAKEOUT from my email address: [email protected]

NOTE: My web home page: www.seldin.net

>Again, GSM from AT&T sucks for me. My travel area, is L.I., NYC and N.J.

While in the NY market installing more and more GSM for AT&T WS I very seldom
had a situation where my AT&T GSM phone didn't work wonderfully. In the one
instance that I can remember, my AT&T TDMA phone didn't work either. However my
Sprint phone worked wonderfully - on Sprint CDMA service.

The New York City market includes the 5 boros as well as all of Long Island and
most of NJ and Connecticut.

My experience was quite different from what you are reporting. I was using
Nokia equipment, an AT&T provided Nokia 6200 test phone and my personal 3595
phone.

--
John S.
e-mail responses to - john at kiana dot net