# Cell Service and Phones



## BassBlaster (Jan 9, 2013)

Our contract with Sprint has recently expired and were shopping other networks. Based on what we can find online, it looks like the smaller non contract companies that run on others networks (straight talk, net 10, boost, etc) have better deals going than any of the other large contract networks for a completely unlimited package. Most of these companies are charging $50 or less for a completely unlimited package per line where some of the large networks are charging 100 bucks or more. The catch is, there is no phone discount. My question for those that have used these networks are what is your experience and what do you feel is the better company?

Also, we are completely new to smart phones so what do you like that wont break the bank. We looked at iPhone 5's but to buy one without a discount to use with these other companies, they are around $750 each. Thats not going to happen, lol. I'd like to keep phone cost limited to $250 per.

Thanks for any help.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 9, 2013)

My family and friends have tried the smaller networks and have all switched back, the service was sub par, dropped calls, no service, etc. I have been with at&t forever and have no complaints, even truck driving all across the country no problems.


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## Kevin (Jan 9, 2013)

I all but stopped using cell phones about 7 years ago and stopped completely about 3 years ago. My wife has one of those smart phones and her service is with Straight Talk and she says the service is great, and we live in a rural area in sort of a hole between towers yet she can still use it. When I was with Verizon and then AT&T out here I never could get good service.


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## drycreek (Jan 9, 2013)

I'm with woodtickgreg we've tried them all and are back with AT&T. Day in and day out hard to beat. I always stay a model or two behind and don't try to keep up with the changes. My last smart phone is an HTC cost a penny and might not be the best but I have no complaints.


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## BassBlaster (Jan 9, 2013)

woodtickgreg said:


> My family and friends have tried the smaller networks and have all switched back, the service was sub par, dropped calls, no service, etc. I have been with at&t forever and have no complaints, even truck driving all across the country no problems.



All of these companies run on the large networks so you have to pick one that has coverage in your area. I live in the city and should have excellent coverage from all of them.

Along with the pricing difference, I'm trying to get away from horrible customer service. Verizon has by far the best coverage in my area but I bailed on them years ago because they have the worse customer service in the industry IMO. Not to mention, they recently got rid of thier unlimited plans alltogether and are charging thier customers through the roof for data plans. Ive been somewhat happy with Sprint but again, the price difference for plans has me shopping. We pay almost 100 bucks a month now for 2 lines and dont even have data usage.


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## woodtickgreg (Jan 9, 2013)

I don't use my phone much, mostly for work, it's not a smart phone, I don't need all that junk. If I want to surf the web that's what my puter is for. I make calls and text a little and that's about it. I went and looked at a new phone awhile back, told the salesman I don't need a smart phone, I just call and text, the punk a$$ kid said the kids phones are over there, pointed his finger and walked away from me. I wanted to give him the 5 nuckle text across his smart a$$ lips but I used restraint.
Any cell phone provider will have dead areas, it's just how the system works, drive through Utah and see how many times your cell phone has no bars. If I am paying money for a cell service I want it to work as best as possible. Stick with the bigger companies, imo.


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## NYWoodturner (Jan 9, 2013)

I have been with Verizon for years and have no problems. In this area they have the best coverage. I can't speak to one I would recommend, but will share a caution. My FIL is 72 and has a pre-paid I think its Trac Phone. They hooked him by telling him he gets to keep his minutes and never lose them if he doesn't use them. The man use 10 minutes a day - five minutes to call each daughter. While he was up here visiting and had lost his hearing aid, I helped with a call he received. It was his provider telling him that if he didn't add minutes within 24 hours he would lose all his minutes. Didn't make sense so I asked "If he is out of minutes whats he got to lose?" Turns out he had 900 minutes banked, but would lose them if he didn't buy new minutes. He said they call him every month to add minutes. I tried to convince him to change companies couldn't. I would just say - read the fine print. The devil is in the details.


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## BassBlaster (Jan 9, 2013)

Yeah, I'm familiar with TracFone. My mom was with them for years. Zero problems with coverage but the same issue with minutes. She even paid an up front amount to double her minutes for life. So everytime she purchased 60 minutes, it added 120 minutes to her phone, etc. She spent a small fortune trying to not lose the minutes that were banked. She recently switched to I believe Net 10 but she hasnt been with them long enough for me to know if she is going to have any issues or not.


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## davebug (Jan 9, 2013)

If you decide to stay with sprint or anyone for that matter before you resign a contract always call and ask to speak with retention. When you get to them tell them you are thinking about leaving now that your contract is up because some other phone company has a deal and ask them what they can do for you so that they can keep a loyal customer. Sprint used to give me 5% off the bill for the life of the contract every time I called, all the companies I have been with give you some thing.

It depends on your needs for the plan and company. But yes all the small guys use the big 4's networks some of the small ones even hop between the big networks. I am currently with A&t and am happy enough but I am in NYC so their is coverage everywhere with a few dead spots though out the city. 

A few months back I picked up a sim card from Tmobile and tried it out. Coverage was good as expected customer service was not bad but I missed my 4glte speeds so I let the monthly contract expire.

Yes you have to pay up front for the phones but do a little math to work out the cost of the subsidized phone plan vs the unsubsidized, I bet over 2 years the unsubsidized is cheaper. So if you have the money to buy the phones up front and like a company that offers no contract phones its some thing to consider.

I like the gsm networks (at&t, tmobile) because they have the latest and greatest phones usually. Pretty much the rest of the world uses gsm sim cards and only the us has CDMA networks. So I can take my phone on vacation with me buy a week long prepaid sim and have a phone almost anywhere.

Being so near to Columbus you should have your choice of most any network. Tmobile offers some creative solutions for you they actually have 3 different categories of service. You can get a standard subsidized contract phone, a unsubsidized contract phone (bring your own device), or a monthly no contract phone. They have some of the best deals around right now their downfall is they only have 4g not 4glte for me that meant 6GB/s vs 35GB/s. Depending on how tech savvy you are you could do the $30 online/walmart plan and use google voice for unlimited everything if 100 minutes is not enough. Other wise the other $30 unlimited minutes and text with only a little web. Then they have the same deal as all the other little guys $50 unlimited everything, even though they are a national company that is growing still.

You can check these guys out for used phones from all the major 4 carriers slightly safer then buying ebay or craigslist.


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## healeydays (Jan 10, 2013)

My wife and I have to depend on phones for our businesses we are in and we have tried a few networks and plans and Verizon has been the best for our needs. With company discounts (mine is 30%) it is still a little pricey, but I get the service level I expect with minimum outages.

As for smart phones, yes Apple puts out a neat phone with the Iphone, but I like the androids and you can pick up a decent Droid phone for cheap money. 

Mike B


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## Dusty (Jan 10, 2013)

I switched from Verizon to Straight Talk last Christmas. I found a Samsung Android phone on the Straight Talk website for $69 with a $20 gift card included. It's an older operating system than the latest and greatest, but it does everything I want and a lot more. I get the same coverage area that I got from Verizon and I saved about $40 a month in service charges for two phones. 

Go to http://play.google.com and search using the keyword: sawlog 

The free program does everything I need for my small sawmill operation. It calculates the weight of a log and how many board ft you should get out of it from measuring the length and the diameter of the small end. You have to adjust for curved or out of round logs yourself. The program includes a huge database of tree species. Here's the direct link to the free version. 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boardcalc.sawlogcalcpersonal 

Does anyone know of any other sawmill or woodworking apps? 

Hal


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## BassBlaster (Jan 10, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies. I called AT&T today and I'm going to go to the store and talk to them shortly. It sounds like its going to be $150 plus for 2 lines for what I want though. Thats way more than I plan to pay so I'm still strongly considering a place like Straight Talk. Thanks again.


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