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[Blue Jays]

"...2) Can call/receive anywhere in the U. S..."This is the toughest parameter to effectively satisfy. Everything depends on how robust the network is in the particular area.
The major carriers (Verizon, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, etc.) have things pretty much under control, yet one will always encounter "spotty" areas.

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[1centaur]

Verizon is consistently rated the best network in the US. Europe is mostly on a different technological standard. I'd start by calling Verizon and asking them about their European solution (SIMM card?), then call AT&T about the same and do Net searches for their US coverage satisfaction. I suspect at this point both have workable solutions.

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[Ray]

Any of the big companies (I'd add t-mobile to the list above because they seem consistently less expensive and their network has gotten very good) will give you all the calling you can stand in the continental US for a reasonable price. There are a zillion good phones out there - it just depends on what doo-dads you do and don't want. It's almost hard to find one without a camera and a music player anymore.

But international calling will add a lot to the price and I'd check the different options pretty carefully on that. Also if you want to keep a "land-line" there are plenty of cheap ways to do that. We have t-mobile cell phones and recently switched our home phone (with the same number we've had for almost 20 years) over to their "t-mobile at home" service, which is internet based. Our home phone was costing us $60-65 per month - now its only $10 with unlimited calling in the continental US. I'd guess the other providers have similar options.

-Ray

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[girlie]

NEVER AT&T! NEVER NEVER!

T-Mobile makes me :D

girlie

[johnnymossville]

I've used T-Mobile in the USA, Europe and Asia. Always works well since a good GSM Tri-Band or better phone works anywhere. As far as phone reception, Motorola has always been best for me in more remote areas of the USA, along with being very LOUD. which is good since I talk sometimes on the phone when riding if I absolutely have to.

[markie]

I have t-mobile and it is OK. I do not get my voicemail in a timely manner... But it works well enough that I dropped my landline.

I am from the UK and live in the US, so I call the UK quite a bit. I use a virtual calling card from this company:

http://www.uwtcallback.com/

It was cheaper than going with an international plan.

I am not sure how calling from Italy would work....

[palincss]

The major carriers (Verizon, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, etc.) have things pretty much under control, yet one will always encounter "spotty" areas.

True, but those areas of poor reception seem to vary by provider. I was in the Black Hills of South Dakota last month with two friends. This is not a great area for cell phone reception.

The guy who had AT&T almost never had reception. I have Sprint, and I almost always had reception. It wasn't always great -- I'd often lose the call after a couple of minutes, and it was usually just one bar -- but one bar and 2 minutes worth of call was way better than zero bars.

The other member of our party has Verizon, I believe. A few times she had "emergency service only" when I had full service.

[girlie]

This is the toughest parameter to effectively satisfy. Everything depends on how robust the network is in the particular area.
The major carriers (Verizon, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, etc.) have things pretty much under control, yet one will always encounter "spotty" areas.


I think Cingular is now AT&T.
AT&T wireless went out of business then someone decided to bring it back from the dead and it merged with Cingular.
When I had AT&T in a year and a half they got 2 bills correct. They over charged and told you Thanksgiving was free......but when I did the math (yes I'm a little crazy like that) I figured out they had charged for the holiday. Wonder how much $ they made on that day? I spend most of my time on the phone trying to get bills fixed. Finally I paid the fine to be released from my contract early, it was worth it.
I strongly recommend staying away from AT&T even if it merged with Cingular. Why Cingular changed it's good name for AT&T which went out of business I do not understand.
T-Mobile!
girlie

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[johnnymossville]

Cadence, as far as phone reception, I'm talking about how different phones receive the same signals. Out at my parents house in the sticks and other places I've noticed, my brothers and I can be sitting there and my motorolas (I've had a few different models) will be the only ones able to make and receive calls. All using the same T-Mobile GSM towers etc,... Their Nokias, Samsungs, Sony Ericssons etc,... just don't quite have the reception in my experience.

Maybe I am just lucky, but that's my experience.

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[Ray]

Is your entire home (internet, phone, cable TV maybe (I don't have that either)) all T-Mobile? I ask only because I'm pretty sure my internet and land-line phone service in my location are Verizon-exclusive.


We get tv and broadband internet from Comcast. We used to get landline phone from Verizon. We ported our landline number over to t-mobile's home service. They just give you a router (that replaced our internet wireless router) that your phone plugs into and uses the Comcast internet signal to route your calls. So we dropped Verizon land line and saved well over $50 per month. We pay a pretty good amount for cell phones, TV and Internet, so it was nice to save on the landline. It doesn't get all that much use, but I'm not ready to be without it. For a lot of people, that number IS my family's number. And two or three of us can talk at the same time on different phones, like when my daughter calls from college and we both want to talk to her.

I think I get it. So the actual phone has nothing to do with the provider in the specific area; it's just superior phone technology.

Both the phone and the network can make a difference. For example, the tradeoff I found between T-mobile and Verizon was that Verizon had somewhat better coverage when I really got out in the sticks, but T-mobile SOUNDED much better and cleaner in the locations where I use the phone 99% of the time. I tried them back to back, with the same model of Motorola Razr and I bailed on Verizon because I just wasn't willing to live with the reduced sound quality for the slightly wider coverage area. But my brother lives in a house where he got good reception from Verizon and none from T-mobile, so not a close call there.

-Ray

[KeithS]

Coverage varies by carrier. Cell phones work best close to towers. There are more towers in well populated areas. Go figure. There are more towers and more alliances so service from the major carriers mentioned here is continually improving. I don't like most of the carriers equally, c'mon they're phone companies, they don't care, they don't have to.

I have had Sprint for the last 8 years, I now have a Blackberry that has all kinds of cool gizmo's except a camera. I didn't want a camera, so I lucked out. I have a plan that provides anything I can do on that phone for $99/month. I like it most times. The GPS is spotty, and browsing is not real straightforward but it works, and it fits in the little gizmo I put on my stem, or in a pocket in my jersey.

[Kurt]

I have used a t-m pearl on a bes server in the alps, pre alps, barolo, milan, verona, venice, lots of places without issue. was on a call for an hour from milan > alba last year this time and it sounded like I was next door. I love t-m, great rim support

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[palincss]

And what is a bes server?



Blackberry Enterprise Server (http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/) "The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution provides push-based access to email; calendar, contacts, tasks and notes; instant messaging; web-based applications and services and enterprise applications."

[chuckroast]

Cadence, you asked what GSM is. It is the European wireless technology standard and likely most of the carriers in Italy will be on it. Most carriers in the US (not all) are on the CDMA standard. It's like Beta vs VHS.

T-Mobile in the US is on GSM. Cingular, before the merger with ATT, was a GSM standard. Not sure about today. Sprint and Verizon are on CDMA.

[Kurt]

Mainly Venezia, Vicenza, Milano, Varese.

What is a t-b pearl? And what is a bes server?
I must have gone to the wrong college.

I use a t-m 8120 that replaced my 8100 but the curve would be an option is you still wanted small with a full keyboard. I also have a laptop so I like the size of the pearl. those 3 areas are fine with t-m, I find that I txt or email more than call but calls will work fine. once you get a taste of a bes server there is no going back - I host my own exchange but there are lots of hosting options - mailstreet offers single mailboxs for 10 bucks a month - access is outlook via https over rpc and owa - everything is 2007 based. very slick.

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[Viper]

There are people dead, buried and clutching their cell phones which still ring. I say you wait even longer or go oldschool with a can and lots of string. Should the can be steel, aluminum or carbon is the question.

[zap]

Thanks.
Verizon is my current land-line/FIOS provider. I'll call them up.

Isn't there something called "3-band" for Europe/U.S. connectivity, or is that tech. obsolete now?

Anyway, I guess the Verizon store will be able to help.

We got back from Europe 2 weeks ago.

We took advantage of verizons deal on world travel phone which is free (the phone, not minutes) to verizon users for one month. The phone worked like a charm in Germany, Austria and Hungary as well as here in the States.

I think the per minute charge in Europe was .95.

[palincss]

PS: Have all 3 of you dicontinued your landlines because these phones serve just as well?

Absolutely not. I have a cell phone primarily for emergencies, and I have a very basic, minimal plan that I made even more basic by blocking all text messages.

[Kurt]

Thanks palincss, chuckroast, and Kurt.
This info re: BES and GSM is very helpful; it now gives me something to work with.

I appreciate it.

PS: Have all 3 of you dicontinued your landlines because these phones serve just as well?

i still have a land-line for my cheap att dsl. btw, another feature if you are thinking along those lines of the t-m is the bb supports wifi, so domestic traffic @ home can go through your router so even if you have a bad connection at home on the edge network it will be perfect on the lan - all in/out bound calls are $10 a month. there are not many things that I can say changed the way I do my life but the berry is one of them - not having to always check email is a huge deal for me and stepping off a plane most anywhere and getting mail is huge. I have a 8gb card that slips in the side so no more ipod, this is the device I take on the bike and everywhere. I love it.

[saab2000]

The US is so far behind the rest of the world in cellular technology it's almost laughable (if it weren't so sad).

I had a Tri-band phone from Switzerland 10 years ago. And it worked great everywhere - US and Europe.

Now I am living in the US and my carrier treats international calls as if I were wishing to talk to the man on the frucking moon.

That said, for US use, I have Alltel and it is one of the better US solutions if (a big if) you can get them to get you a realistic solution to calling Europe/Italy.

I gave up my ability to call Switzerland easily because of the absurd expense and/or horrible reliability of AT&T. Dropped calls. Five bars but unintelligible calls, etc. They were decent in terms of calling them if I had a question regarding my bill, etc. But Alltel is so much better.

But I long for Swisscom of ten years ago. And that ain't saying much.

None of the US carriers are really any good. They offer 10-year old technology and act is if they were the first ones to fly to the moon. But much of the rest of the world had this stuff long ago.

The only significant US innovation in cell phones in the past few years is the iPhone.

[chuckroast]

Regarding wireline phones, no we haven't given up ours. If fact, we bundle it with our DSL service and I find the internet connection is more consistently quick and reliable than when we had a cable high speed connection. I like having a home phone due to the voice quality and reliability. The wireline telecoms are still a heavily regulated business and one of the things that the PUC's measure is the availability of the voice line, even during power failures.

That said, and full disclosure, until June I worked for a wireline phone company (Embarq) and prior to that I worked for a wireless company (Sprint). I have both devices and think they both have their merit.

I also carry a Blackberry for work and they are excellent e-mail devices but a poor excuse for a phone.

[Ray]

I also carry a Blackberry for work and they are excellent e-mail devices but a poor excuse for a phone.
I'm curious in what sense? My business phone is a BB Pearl 8120 and I use the email when I need to but mostly use it as a phone. I don't have any complaints about it as a phone. I've had various Nokias, Motorolas, and Samsungs over the years and the BB seems as good as any. Do you find a problem with sound quality, reception?

-Ray

[Kurt]

I'm curious in what sense? My business phone is a BB Pearl 8120 and I use the email when I need to but mostly use it as a phone. I don't have any complaints about it as a phone. I've had various Nokias, Motorolas, and Samsungs over the years and the BB seems as good as any. Do you find a problem with sound quality, reception?

-Ray

why ask questions you know the answer to - the 8120 is perfection for the right user that can live without a full keyboard. its one of the best devices I have every used. I am also using the new firmware that is not out yet - wait until you see the changes!

[Ray]

why ask questions you know the answer to - the 8120 is perfection for the right user that can live without a full keyboard. its one of the best devices I have every used. I am also using the new firmware that is not out yet - wait until you see the changes!
I'm clearly happy with it - but I was curious about whether it fell short in some ways as a phone for some users. Or maybe with a different carrier? I don't do a huge amount of typing, so I'm ok with the shared-key keyboard, except the keys are really little. I like the look of the new flip version, though, because the keys are larger and the screen is bigger and more protected too. And in the same sized package. I'm sure by the time I'm eligible for an upgrade, though, both of them will be obsolete. Size is a big issue with me though and the full-keyboard BBs are bigger than I want to carry around. I haven't found any tradeoffs in the phone-only function of it either.

-Ray

[Kurt]

I'm clearly happy with it - but I was curious about whether it fell short in some ways as a phone for some users. Or maybe with a different carrier? I don't do a huge amount of typing, so I'm ok with the shared-key keyboard, except the keys are really little. I like the look of the new flip version, though, because the keys are larger and the screen is bigger and more protected too. And in the same sized package. I'm sure by the time I'm eligible for an upgrade, though, both of them will be obsolete. Size is a big issue with me though and the full-keyboard BBs are bigger than I want to carry around. I haven't found any tradeoffs in the phone-only function of it either.

-Ray

its a email device first, phone second. I had a 8220 for a week, its not the same size, its chunky. the new os is the only thing I liked better. the curve.2 is supposed to be out soon, that should be interesting if they don't chunk it out.

[oldguy00]

A buddy of mine has the apple iphone. He loves it......I think he wants to marry it...
It is in fact pretty cool, and works really well for getting onto the web, both through the provider, as well as picking up wifi.

[Ray]

A buddy of mine has the apple iphone. He loves it......I think he wants to marry it...
It is in fact pretty cool, and works really well for getting onto the web, both through the provider, as well as picking up wifi.
My wife has an I Pod touch, which is basically an iphone without the phone. But as an internet device when in wi-fi range, its frickin' awesome. It makes me want an iphone for the cool interface. The web interface is really remarkably cool, reminds me of the first time I used a Mac back in '85 or so. But I realize that I'd get used to that and take it for granted within a few weeks. And functionally, its no better than the BB I have. And its bigger and heavier and has less battery life. And there's no choice of carrier. And typing on a touch screen sucks imho - I gotta be able to feel the keys or they have to be bigger or else I'm gonna hit the wrong one most of the time. As I do with my wife's ipod.

-Ray

[michael white]

seems to be some strong support here for T Mobile. . . so I just signed up for two years.

I've never been very happy with cell phones, so we'll see. But I like friction shifting, too. . .

[Kurt]

seems to be some strong support here for T Mobile. . . so I just signed up for two years.

I've never been very happy with cell phones, so we'll see. But I like friction shifting, too. . .

They are good but it depends on where you are. The big difference between them and everyone else I deal with is the support, they are instant on the phone. for blackberry support if there cannot solve the issue on the spot they will transfer you to RIM straight away - its like having a bes support contract for n/c. I would never have my clients use anyone else.

[chuckroast]

Sorry guys, I only get on here in the evenings. My objections to the Blackberry lie in the ergonomics of its use. The keyboard and the way the phone fits in your hands are very awkward for dialing compared to current cell phones. I find them to be quite unsafe for driving (I know, lecture me if you like) but my Rumor personal phone is wayyy more easy to use without looking.

[Kurt]

Sorry guys, I only get on here in the evenings. My objections to the Blackberry lie in the ergonomics of its use. The keyboard and the way the phone fits in your hands are very awkward for dialing compared to current cell phones. I find them to be quite unsafe for driving (I know, lecture me if you like) but my Rumor personal phone is wayyy more easy to use without looking.

voice dial - speed dial - BT in the car

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[ss-jimbo]

Funny. Not long ago my wife and I were driving to Atlanta and on a back road. My Samsung had reception, but her Motorola was terrible. Same Verizon plane.

Cadence, as far as phone reception, I'm talking about how different phones receive the same signals. Out at my parents house in the sticks and other places I've noticed, my brothers and I can be sitting there and my motorolas (I've had a few different models) will be the only ones able to make and receive calls. All using the same T-Mobile GSM towers etc,... Their Nokias, Samsungs, Sony Ericssons etc,... just don't quite have the reception in my experience.

Maybe I am just lucky, but that's my experience.

[Ray]

My objections to the Blackberry lie in the ergonomics of its use. The keyboard and the way the phone fits in your hands are very awkward for dialing compared to current cell phones. I find them to be quite unsafe for driving (I know, lecture me if you like) but my Rumor personal phone is wayyy more easy to use without looking.
OK, makes sense, particularly for the bigger bb's. The Pearl is more phone like in size and ergo and not a problem to dial. Although when I'm in the car, I don't talk much, generally just take incoming calls, and either voice or speed dial on the rare occasion I have to make an outgoing. So the lack of absolutely perfect ergonomics aren't an issue.

-Ray