Does anyone know a lot about cell phones?

[jesseandgrace]

Hi. We are about to drive across country and spend 4+ months on the west coast. During our drive we will be making tons of stops visiting family all over the place. We currently have a basic cell plan and basic phone. My question is - does anyone know if there is a difference in phones as far as good reception while travelling, or is the main difference features such as camera/etc? Also, out of all of the cellular plans does anyone know what plan is the best for free long distance/less "roaming" charge? This will obviously be our main phone for a long time, so money doesn't matter as much as reliability/ease of use/good service. Thanks!

[elvisfan]

I am going to say one thing: Do not go with Sprint PCS. Please.

[todzwife]

We just got consumer reports and Verizon rated the highest. Hope this helps.

[Calmegja2]

I know that if all else fails and you drop it and it's broken, thje last ditch repair effort is to stick it in the freezer overnight and then let it thaw.

Seriously. ;-)

[miki]

I actually find my Sprint PCS service extremely reliable. I live in the SF Bay area and travel a lot throughout California for my job. I also occasionally get sent out of state (Oregon, Hawaii, DC). My Sprint phone and service has worked very well every time. I was rather surprised because I am often out in the middle of nowhere because my work travel takes me to National Forests which tend to be away from the big cities. I've not had any problems using the phone when I'm stopped in the middle of the country on a layover. My husband has an AT&T phone and it only works well in San Francisco proper. My younger brother has an AT&T phone and found it worked well when he was in Southern Cal at school but now that he is back east, he says it sucks. I have a pretty basic phone, no camera or anything, and it switches between analog and digital. But Sprint has pretty good digital coverage so I've never had to pay extra to use analog service.

[peanut4us]

When we got our phone about 3 years ago, hands down SPrint PCS had the best coverage in the areas we thought we would be in the most. So you might want to just go to the web sites of the ones you might be intetested in and look for a coverage map. We drove from the west to Tx with great reception. And all over texas, the south, and the midwest. I've not tried it back east... um, wait, Boston did well. But that's all I know for that. Good luck, HTH.

[llcoddington]

My husband and I had Sprint cell phones when we lived in Dallas. In Texas, Sprint is great. Then, we moved to the east coast and Sprint was HORRIBLE! We switched to Nextel and it is ok. We are planning to switch to Verizon asap as we have heard good things about Verizon. And, we know people who are very happy with Verizon. I am not really familiar with cell phone coverage and the west coast, so my reply may not be extremely helpful to you, but I thought I would let you know what I have experienced.

Lana
mom to Lauren 12/5/03

[Sandy]

I would take a look at coverage map for the different cell phone companies in the areas that you are traveling through. Overall I have found Verizon the most reliable when traveling. The type of phone you have does make a difference. A tri-mode phone would probably be your best bet. While the digital network is getting better it still has a way to go and there are a lot of pockets out there that are not covered by a digital cell tower. Having a phone that also has analog ability will increase your chances of getting a signal in more areas.


Your best bet as far as a plan is to go with a nationwide plan that does not have roaming or long distance charges they are more expensive as a flat rate but will save you substantially in roaming charges which are astronomical. All the carriers should have this type of plan. As this will be your main phone I would get a plan with a substantial number of minutes so that you do not have to worry about going over your plan.

HTH,


Sandy mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[jd11365]

Go to www.letstalk.com/ to compare...it's a great website for cellular comparisons with reviews from people in your own area based on the zip you put in...I thought it was pretty cool.

Hth!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
5-1-03

[McQ]

I'm on the east coast, have Sprint and haven't had any problems with it. And I've traveled with it a bunch. I second getting a nationwide network with no long distance or roaming.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[starrynight]

We had cingular wireless, always was great service etc but got rid of it to cut expenses. We were paying $33.00 a month for 3000 night and wekend minutes and 250 daytime minutes for a nationwide, no roaming charge plan. But I think they don't offerthat plan anymore.

[amp]

Verizon got the best review in Consumer Reports. Sprint doesn't get such great reviews, but when my DH, who travels, had to pick what company to use for work, he had to go with Sprint for the coverage. They sometimes drop calls for no reason, but he has more consistent service & less roaming with them than with others, whose coverage lists are vague and spotty, making it difficult to determine whether you'll get great coverage in some of the areas he travels.

If you are going to be traveling, I would recommend either Verizon or Sprint with Nationwide long distance. The other companies may have benefits to them, but their coverage is less. They work on different networks than Verizon and Sprint, which may make it harder for them to find a cell tower to use in certain areas. Just my opinion.