US cell phones and providers?

2010-08-08 07:34:52

#1

Noobeater: Northern numpty; +194|6444|Boulder, CO

Hey everybody.

To cut a long story short I'm buggering off to Colorado until May for university stuff. This means that I need a phone when I get over there; I have absolutely no idea about current US cell phones and providers. Because I'm just a northern numpty with no idea of such things I would like some assistance if possible from anyone on t'other side of the Atlantic. I have no real requirements that a phone must have althought a smart phone would be awesome so long as it was one I could get unlocked and take back home with me afterwards.

If anyone can help me then I will be incredibly grateful, any form of advice would be just invaluable to me.

Cheers all

N'beater.

2010-08-08 07:36:26

#2

ig: This topic seems to have no actual posts; +1,199|6520

sprint or verizon. evo, blackberry, or droid

2010-08-08 07:36:26

#3

ghettoperson: Member; +1,943|6647

From what I understand, Verizon are the only provider worth bothering with. So go to a Verizon store when you get there and see what you like.

2010-08-08 07:37:29

#4

jord: Member; +2,382|6676|The North, beyond the wall.

Get a droid, they're dapper.

Also have fun, go to South Park innit.

Last edited by jord (2010-08-08 07:37:49)

2010-08-08 08:14:39

#5

Mitch: 16 more years; +877|6523|South Florida

ya ya droid this droid that. there cool, but sprint is the best for the money. Im in ny and i heard on the radio that they have an unlimited talk and text plan for 30 bucks a month (might have been 39.99) but anyways thats half of what any other provider is gunna do for an unlim plan

15 more years! 15 more years!

2010-08-08 08:15:35

#6

RTHKI: mmmf mmmf mmmf; +1,736|6734|Oxferd Ohire

what if he gets a smartphone?
and how listens to radio anymore

Last edited by RTHKI (2010-08-08 08:16:04)

2010-08-08 08:17:50

#7

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|6714

RTHKI wrote:
what if he gets a smartphone?
and how listens to radio anymore

Rednecks and conspiracy nuts.

https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png

2010-08-08 08:38:08

#8

ig: This topic seems to have no actual posts; +1,199|6520

Mitch wrote:
ya ya droid this droid that. there cool, but sprint is the best for the money. Im in ny and i heard on the radio that they have an unlimited talk and text plan for 30 bucks a month (might have been 39.99) but anyways thats half of what any other provider is gunna do for an unlim plan

ya sprint is def the best for the money. the coverage can be dodgy if youre in bumfuck, though, but its like that with all providers. i pay $65/mo for unlimited everything on my bb

Last edited by ig (2010-08-08 08:39:15)

2010-08-08 08:48:10

#9

jsnipy: ...; +3,276|6520|...

sprint + evo

2010-08-08 08:55:12

#10

bennisboy: Member; +829|6644|Poundland

make sure you get one that takes sim cards if you wanna take it back home. I got a cheap verizon phone for $20, it's done it's job perfectly so far, only needed it for around 4 months.

2010-08-08 09:12:42

#11

ig: This topic seems to have no actual posts; +1,199|6520

jsnipy wrote:
sprint + evo

we better get the fucking torch or i will kill someone

2010-08-08 11:30:09

#12

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6468

get an iphone on AT&T i hear they're fuckin sweet and have like a thousand apps or something idk

siihb

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2010-08-08 11:31:42

#13

PrivateVendetta: I DEMAND XMAS THEME; +704|6189|Roma

Gonna be in a similar situation next month, anyone know if it's anything at all like over hear with PAYG etc.?

https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/29388/stopped%20scrolling%21.png

2010-08-08 11:34:42

#14

ATG: Banned; +5,233|6527|Global Command

My Sprint 3g is awesome.

I have a HTC smart phone which tries too hard and sucks, but the coverage is great and Verizon stores are a hellish place.

2010-08-09 05:13:28

#15

bennisboy: Member; +829|6644|Poundland

karma wrote:
where the fuck are you-jd

Dunno who that is, but i'm at a summer camp in MA for 12 more days, then off to nyc for 8 days, then a three week cross country trip ending with a few days in LA.

Back on topic, i'm currently in the middle of nowhere, and cell phone service is still quite good.

Last edited by bennisboy (2010-08-09 05:13:50)

2010-08-09 05:18:30

#16

Noobeater: Northern numpty; +194|6444|Boulder, CO

Well, thanks for the advice guys I shall bear it in mind.

2010-08-09 05:37:44

#17

DonFck: Hibernator; +3,227|6629|Finland

it's possible that you only need a SIM card from a provider, given that your current phone supports 850 & 1900 MHz (Euroland uses 900 & 1800). My (now retired) Nokia E56 worked just fine in WA. Although I used my own Finnish SIM which lead to telephone bills of epic proportions; praise Jah for company phones.

I need around tree fiddy.

2010-08-09 06:05:32

#18

Benzin: Member; +576|5996

Yea, just use your current phone over there and get a matching plan from one of the GSM carriers (AT&T or T-Mobile).

2010-08-09 06:31:04

#19

OrangeHound: Busy doing highfalutin adminy stuff ...; +1,335|6647|Washington DC

Here's my quick overview of American cell phones ...

(1) Verizon is usually considered the best (quality, price, coverage), but they DO NOT use technology that is compatible with European systems. They don't use sims.
(2) Similar to Verizon, everyone I know who has T-Mobile likes them ... good customer service, coverage, etc.
(3) Sprint / Nextel is usually considered the cheapest, and people like their customer service ... but their coverage is absolutely horrid in many regions ... so, be careful going to them. Sprint, I believe, works on the European networks without any problem.
(4) AT&T Mobility (merger between AT&T and Cingular) ... I have yet to find anyone who can tolerate their customer service. I left them because of the way that they treated me, and I had been a Cingular customer for a decade. This may be a "dated" opinion since I haven't really heard anything in the last year. That is, they may be improving since AT&T merged with Cingular ...
(5) Depending upon your region, you might also have access to a smaller carrier such as MetroPCS or Clearwire or U.S Cellular. I don't know these (since none serve the region where I live), but I've heard good things about U.S. Cellular.

So, the one's above are the big national and regional carriers. There's lots of smaller carriers still around in places, and there are companies that are "virtual" and piggy-back on top of the national infrastructure to provide a different mix of services (TracFone piggy-backs on Cingular ... VirginMobile piggy-backs on Sprint ... Cricket piggy-backs on Sprint and MetroPCS).

This might be helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Un … _providers

2010-08-09 06:36:50

#20

Noobeater: Northern numpty; +194|6444|Boulder, CO

Thank you very much OH, this is all very useful to me.

EDIT: I was actually looking at going with Cricket as they are rather cheap and seemed to have decent enough coverage.

Last edited by Noobeater (2010-08-09 06:37:31)

2010-08-09 06:42:01

#21

ig: This topic seems to have no actual posts; +1,199|6520

rofl at verizon being the best price. stopped reading there

2010-08-09 06:50:03

#22

DrunkFace: Germans did 911; +427|6679|Disaster Free Zone

Get the one that doesn't charge you to answer phone calls.

2010-08-09 06:58:04

#23

OrangeHound: Busy doing highfalutin adminy stuff ...; +1,335|6647|Washington DC

ig wrote:
rofl at verizon being the best price. stopped reading there

I didn't write "best price" ... I wrote "best" (in terms of the mix of things customer's value like price, customer service, coverage, etc.). T-Mobile is nearly even with Verizon in terms of customer satisfaction with their service.

Best price is dependent upon what services you are looking for, and what region you live in ... Sprint gives great data package prices here in Washington DC, and a company like VirginMobile or TracFone gives great prices for people who are low-volume users of cell phones.

2010-08-09 07:01:40

#24

ig: This topic seems to have no actual posts; +1,199|6520

you cant even talk about price being anywhere near good with verizon. they absolutely rape you, just like att. sprint is the only way to go

2010-08-09 07:49:05

#25

devilhammer: Member; +16|6592|San Marcos, Texas

Go with tmobile and get a Nokia N900

BF2S Forums US cell phones and providers?

RTHKI wrote:

Mitch wrote:

jsnipy wrote:

karma wrote:

ig wrote:

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