I'm sick of breaking phones,I'm sick of cell carriers not treating me right,I'm sick of learning how to use my new phones,I'm sick of trying to figure out my cell bill.My new phone a razorv3,we'll see how long this phone lasts.My new carrier Alltell:want:

Alltel isn't bad service but with the razor phone id be afraid to break it. I just got the E810 or the E815 i don't really know the number but the guy said it has the exact same technology as the razor so i went with that one cuz I knew I would end up breaking it. I would go with either verizon or cingular if they had it around me. What are peoples experience with verizon and cingular?

I've had a V3 for a year now, and it's surprisingly strong. I've dropped it plenty of times and no damage at all. The external caller ID screen is made of hardened glass, so it's even pretty hard to scratch that.

I have Cingular, and I get service almost anywhere and dropped calls are very rare. Rollover is really great too, over 3 years I now have more than 2,500 rollover minutes :thumbsup:

Rollover is really great too, over 3 years I now have more than 2,500 rollover minutes :thumbsup:

Thats the reason I would get cingular

Don't go with Verizon. A couple months ago I had to use the phone just about every day. My bill was $1400..... Overage charges. Enough said.

Nextel has some rugged phones. I've had mine for over 2 years.

I learned an interesting statistic on CNN the other day. If you drive while talking on the phone you are more likely to have an accident than a drunk driver. No Joke. I think NY banned the use in a moving car.

Correct. It is illegal to use the phone while driving in NY

Verizon - Hands down the best network in the country. Best coverage over all. I don't like the company attitude or customer service. Plans are costly for what you get. Lots of analog sites still in use.

Cingular - Horrid company, bad business practices terrible coverage. Lots of analog sites still in use. Plans are cheap because they cater to kids. Network sucks and is always broken.

Sprint - Bad business practices, inaccurate billing, crap phones, terrible coverage and insane customer service. Lots of hidden fees. I wouldn't own a Sprint phone ever. They cater to the people with less than perfect credit so they think they can treat everyone like crap.

Nextel - Good company, Have come a long way over the years. I cried the day they merged with Sprint. Great phones all around. Less FUN features than the others but a lot more practical stuff available. Top notch customer service.

Coverage isn't the best bet they're building every year. Best penetration of all carriers. Verizon techs carry Nextel phones because no one else can penetrate the buildings that they work in. And the one thing I love about Nextel is the entire network was built from the ground up digital AND for data.

With Nextel there is no such thing as an area, no roaming, no coverage spots, home areas and so on. If you have Nextel and you have service that's it. Nothing to think about, all feature work everywhere including world wide.

All phones are SIM based. Also important when you change area codes during travel most carriers make you dial the area code first and all calls are as if you were in your own area code. With Nextel your phone becomes a phone in that area code and all calls are always local to the area code you're standing in even if you don't have nationwide LD.

Oh and when someone else is good enough to engineer a PTT service that actually works (Verizon) and doesn't take out half their network during testing (Sprint). I'll consider it

I agree with Codewise. Verizon has great coverage. Our bill never exceeds the basic fee. There is no roaming charge.




I'm sick of erratic, inconsiderate drivers on cell phones. The sooner every state makes them illegal to drive with, the better.

I'm sick of phones ringing in inappropriate places; church, movies, meetings. More people ought to speak up!

I'm sick of having to listen to others' personal problems over the phone while standing in lines etc. Again speak up!

I can't believe people will answer their phones in a public restroom. I make it a point to flush and let the other party know the situation.


I borrowed this survey information from an article at MSN.com called Cell phone etiquette: 10 dos and don'ts by Joanna L. Krotz: "People are defining new rules and new behavior for what's personal and what's private," says Robbie Blinkoff, principal anthropologist at Context-Based Research Group, a Baltimore marketer that relies on ethnographic fieldwork for insights into consumer behavior.

The results of Context's just-completed, six-country field study of wireless habits found that the vast majority of mobile users frown on loud or private calls in public. But that same majority indulges in such calls themselves.

There's your disconnect. Everyone's convinced he's the polite one. It's other people who are rude. "Technological change leads to social change, but there's always a lag," says Blinkoff.
Ms Krotz has a plan that includes the following Do's and Don'ts of Cell Phone use that will make this technological wonder more acceptable in a civilized culture;
Don'ts

1.Never take a personal mobile call during a business meeting. This includes interviews and meetings with co-workers or subordinates.

2.Maintain at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking.

3.Never talk in elevators, libraries, museums, restaurants, theaters, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship, auditoriums or other enclosed public spaces, such as hospital emergency rooms or buses. And don't have any emotional conversations in public — ever.

4.Don't use loud and annoying ring tones that destroy concentration and eardrums. Grow up!

5.Never "multi-task" by making calls while shopping, banking, waiting in line or conducting other personal business.

Do's

1.Keep all cellular congress brief and to the point.

2.Use an earpiece in high-traffic or noisy locations. That lets you hear the amplification — how loud you sound at the other end — so you can modulate your voice.

3.Tell callers when you're on a cell phone and where you are — so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections.

4.Demand "quiet zones" and "phone-free areas" at work and in public venues, like the quiet cars on the Metroliner.

5.Inform everyone on your stored-number list that you've just adopted the new rules for mobile manners. Ask them to do likewise. Please.

I've been with Verizon since December of 1990.

They're a pain in the ass to deal with, but my guess is that they all are.

Their customer service has gradually declined over the years, in part because of deadbeat customers. Again, I'm sure all cellular service providers are this way.

Verizon has the best coverage map in my area, but there's a dead spot about 100 yards south of my house. I've checked, and the other providers have an even larger dead spot there, so again Verizon isn't as bad as the others.

Someday I'm going to throw my cell phone into a lake and be done with it forever. I wouldn't have one if I didn't absolutely need one. I absolutely hate them and I hate being at everyone else's disposal. LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Have you seen the taxes tacked onto the bill lately? On mine, it's north of 12%. It's over 20% on my landline.

So it's the users that we're mad at not the phones.

Taxes very from state to state. In NY we collect 17% of the total bill, A rip off yes. I was also referring to the decline in Verizon's customer service. 10 years ago they were great. Now they're just so big they don't care.

Nextel has top notch customer service as far as I'm concerned. I've heard people complain about them also but I haven't had a single problem in the last 7 years. they're willing to work with you, you can bargain about equipment costs and the bill is always accurate.

Sprint was wise to take Nextel's years of marketing genius and use it. The yellow, the Done| , and everything else that Nextel worked hard on. They had a great marketing team.

My personal opinion is that Sprint's intentions are to run the Nextel name into the ground therefore doing away with the name all together and reaping the benefits of all the things they couldn't do on there own.

Then we'll have one of the most technically challenged companies with all the good technology. Great...

I agree with all of the user complaints mentioned above and usually obied by most of those rules just out of respect for others.

No phone I've ever had worked better than my 3 watt digital car phone. It had few features compared with today's phones but at least I could get and make calls on it. Plus I could convert it to a bag phone and take it with me if I needed it.

No phone I've ever had worked better than my 3 watt digital car phone. It had few features compared with today's phones but at least I could get and make calls on it. Plus I could convert it to a bag phone and take it with me if I needed it.
My first cell phone was a car phone,when the phone would ring when the truck was off the horn honked and the lights flashed,I thought I was pretty cool.My next phone was a bag phone,OMG it was big,again I thought I was pretty cool,My first handheld was the size of a big walkie talkie.I have had cell service for 13 years now,I have never upgraded a phone that wasn't broke.Most just died,a couple in the lake,lost one,a couple just got wet,and a half a dozen flip phones that became 2 pieces.

Anybody have a blackberry or trio,I wanted one for the games and palm capabilities.I don't need one,i'm not important,don't need it for work,just wanted to feel cool again.This new razor will take a shot,dropped it today while talking on it,no worrys so far.:highfive:

I had that three watt up until '01. Then AT&T didn't want anything to do with it anymore.

I'm pretty happy. I use a PDA phone from 2001 and have enjoyed Sprint service on and off since 1995. No complaints whatsoever.

I agree that Verizon is the only way to go. I have zero complaints with their customer service dept, they've always been helpful:thumbsup: .

My phone is pretty basic compared to what's on the market, I upgrade every 2 years though... I see no point in having games on my phone, seems like a distracting feature. By the way, my cell phone IS my primary phone. I have a landline but rarely (if ever) use it, it's just there *in case*:thepan: .

Don'ts

1.Never take a personal mobile call during a business meeting. This includes interviews and meetings with co-workers or subordinates.

2.Maintain at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking.

3.Never talk in elevators, libraries, museums, restaurants, theaters, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship, auditoriums or other enclosed public spaces, such as hospital emergency rooms or buses. And don't have any emotional conversations in public — ever.

4.Don't use loud and annoying ring tones that destroy concentration and eardrums. Grow up!

5.Never "multi-task" by making calls while shopping, banking, waiting in line or conducting other personal business.

1) Always try to avoid it.
2) Nope, sorry, isn't going to happen:tisk: .
3) See above.
4) I usually have mine on vibrate with a low "La Chucharacha" playing.
5) What's wrong with multi tasking?

Do's

1.Keep all cellular congress brief and to the point.

2.Use an earpiece in high-traffic or noisy locations. That lets you hear the amplification — how loud you sound at the other end — so you can modulate your voice.

3.Tell callers when you're on a cell phone and where you are — so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections.

4.Demand "quiet zones" and "phone-free areas" at work and in public venues, like the quiet cars on the Metroliner.

5.Inform everyone on your stored-number list that you've just adopted the new rules for mobile manners. Ask them to do likewise.

1) I'm hospitable...
2) I've tried it but that earpiece gets quite annoying after a while.
3) Didn't you just say to keep the call short and to the point?
4) I hope not...
5) Haha.....that also won't happen in this lifetime:thepan: .

I tell this story all the time. I'm in a Walgreens and there's a loudmouth bozo near the front of the store talking as loudly as he can into his cellphone. With that exception, the store is very quiet.

I go about my business, all the way to the back of the store, pick up my prescription and comment to the pharmacist about the loudmouth bozo. We have a good laugh.

So I yell "can you hear me now?!" and the guy looks at me but doesn't react.

I walk ten steps closer, "can you hear me NOW?" He turns his back, and continues to talk loudly.

I walk another ten steps closer (by now the pharmacist and his tech are starting to laugh) "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!?!?"

He looks at me and says "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

I just laughed and walked out.

I just threw one of those away.

No phone I've ever had worked better than my 3 watt digital car phone. It had few features compared with today's phones but at least I could get and make calls on it. Plus I could convert it to a bag phone and take it with me if I needed it.

I have a V3 on Cingular in the DC area. I have a few spots that I lose calls but I know where they are and they usually don't cause me problems.

It's worked everywhere I have taken it and I can't complain about Cingular except for all the BS charges that everyone has to pay.
I was really disappointed with the V180 phones that I had, those were junk but I'd agree, the V3 seems pretty durable. I have used it for several months without incident. I did drop it twice. I think once I had to R&R the battery because the jolt freaked it out, but it was fine after that.

I used to have AT&T, service was the worst ever around here.
I couldn't even make calls in my own house!
I turned off my land line phones, all we have now are 3 cellular phones.
My only gripe about new phones is they are so full of crap no one needs.
I just want a phone to ring, be able to talk on it and have voice mail and maybe a few other features. I don't need a typewriter on it, I don't really need a camera either. I already have 2 digital cameras.
My wife works for the Govt. She CANNOT have a camera phone but she needs a new one. I think I have like 1 phone I can get her that's not full of crap and doesn't have a camera.

I also can't stand being forced to listen to people's cell phone conversations.
I don't really want to hear about who they contracted their latest disease from.
Why is it in the middle of a store they think they are in a private place?

I just threw one of those away.

If that is true, that is was a three watt digital, then you just tossed out a couple of hundered bucks worth of phone.

I love Verizon 4 years with them no complaints.

No phone I've ever had worked better than my 3 watt digital car phone. It had few features compared with today's phones but at least I could get and make calls on it. Plus I could convert it to a bag phone and take it with me if I needed it.

That's the best kind I ever had too. There are still areas that I goto that normal cellphones don't work at all and with it it was almost perfect. It was so good that it sounded like you were on a normal phone. People you were talking to couldn't believe that you were in a car. Then someone tried to steal it and it doesn't work anymore:rant2: I tried reactivating the car phone in my Cadillac but it's too old to work properly.

All good guys,heres another bitch.First bill came,now its time to send off for my 100 dollar rebates.I had to buy 2 of these razors,ones for the kid.Had to make copys of bill,cut upc off of boxes,fill out rebate form Completely!!!!,put receipts and all other bs in envelopes and mail.Extra postage just to be sure it gets there.Took about an hour and a half,I better get my rebates back,I f'n hate mail in rebates.Enough to start a new thread HATE.

I got my rebate from Cingular a couple weeks ago.... debit cards!
I prefer the checks that I used to get, but whatever.
These still spend.
I just gotta figure out what to use them for... hmmm.....

The rebate process is designed to make you not want to do it.
I always do though, it's like a challenge!
"Can you get it all done before the deadline?" :D

I dont understand why I'd care if someone was on their cell phone in the store or on a bus/train. Its a public place. Noises occur in public places.

I dont understand why I'd care if someone was on their cell phone in the store or on a bus/train. Its a public place. Noises occur in public places.It doesn't bother me that much either,as long as their respecting my space and not yelling in my ear too.Of course there is the occasional teeny bopper talking on her phone that can't form sentences without the word LIKE.Makes me want to like go outside and like shoot myself in the head.

I've been a Sprint customer for a long time, I have had excellent luck with their tech support. They have by FAR the best phones in the business (does not apply to Nextels with their back-assward interface). They also have the best data services, and the ability to do "data roaming", unlike Verizon. Coverage is significantly improved since about 5 years ago, works in places my parents' Verizon phones don't (grandparent's house up north). Has unlimited roaming agreement with Alltel, so up north coverage is extensive. However, the "dual band" digital only phones (vs. Tri-mode, which does Analog too) that Sprint and Verizon are really pushing on their customers can really hurt coverage in most ligntly populated areas. Sprint tech support tends to also do whatever you tell them to. I told them "I had unlimited text messaging on my last data plan and now I don't. I feel that I am paying more for a lesser service. I want that fixed." (I am notified of events by various computer systems via emails forwarded as text alerts.) I now have unlimited free messaging AND reduced price data service on both lines.

I've gotten screwed a dozen times by Verizon, that's why I dropped them. When there are extra charges in the total amount of $30-200 per bill on and off during a year long period that the customer support cannot explain, there is a BIG problem. AFTQ service charge, anyone? How about ZBMY? All four letter codes, none made sense. Verizon tech support seems to believe that their service is a privledge. They also are a company that believes over all else in ensuring their own profits. They typically disable the capacities of their phones to transfer images and other information by cable, to force you to use their services (at a cost) to do the same. They also deliberately engineered their implementaion of JAVA subsystem to be incompatibly with the standards, so that you cannot use most publicly available Java software, unlike Cingular and Sprint who simply say they won't support it if it breaks.

Nextel... Worse two years of my life. Phone provided by company, luckily. I deliberately smashed, drowned, defenestrated, microwaved, and threw in garbage a total of seven Nextel phones. The two-way is a big selling point to those who enjoybeing obnoxious, and you can't beat them for the bling-bling thing for all you urbanized city-schmucks who wear them around like a badge of honor. They also tend to work there you least expect them, and not where you do expect them.

T-Moble is for idiots. All they care about is boasting of their huge prime airtime offerings. They brag about having the lowest data prices, yet charge extra for each service you want. $5 for internet, $5 for pictures, etc. Use of Tmobile's data services consumes airtime, quickly making their price very high. Using their service requires a fondness for disconnection mid sentence.

I had the RAZR V3, and now have the SLVR, and am now going back to the black RAZR v3. LOVE the sleek design of these phones and they are very strong.

I've had Cingular for a long time now. They've been amazing. In the Bay Area, CA Cingular is the best thing you can have. They have the best coverage and the least dropped calls out of any carrier here. I always have service which I love. My friends are always borrowing my phone lol. Anyway, Cingular's Customer Service has always been extra nice, and I love the "rollover minutes". Anytime I've had a problem with my bill they've helped me out or credited a certain amount back. My fiance just recently switched to Cingular because he had Nextel :nono: now THAT is horrible service (at least here in the Bay Area).

The next time you get a ear full of static from analog cell site, remember that it would have been better just to drop the call rather than say, are you still there, for 5 minutes.

That's a really nice claim they have but that's why. You can't hear a damn thing BUT the call wasn't dropped.

I'm all about digital. Verizon is doing away with all analog service at the end of 2007

The next time you get a ear full of static from analog cell site, remember that it would have been better just to drop the call rather than say, are you still there, for 5 minutes.

That's a really nice claim they have but that's why. You can't hear a damn thing BUT the call wasn't dropped.

I'm all about digital. Verizon is doing away with all analog service at the end of 2007

You know... Static is really exaggerated. I'll trade a second of light static in the middle of a sentence for a disconnection any day of the week. Sprint, Verizon(at the time Airtouch), Ameritech with their PCS, Powerband, and Clearpath (anyone remember that one) early digital systems convinced everyone that static was this horrible horrible problem and everyone else had it but they did not. I'll tell you, there are days when I would trade any phone there is for my old Motorola DPC550. A brick yes, occasional static yes, but works where NO digital, not even the tri-modes (that support analog) work.

Of those afore mentioned digital systems, by the way... The only one that still exists is the CDMA2000 Sprint PCS network, which now Verizon, Alltel, and USCellular have adopted the standard of too (standard IS-2000, trade name Qualcomm CDMA2000). Clearpath more or less evaporated after its initial launch in test markets, Ameritech moved everyone to TDMA (pseudo-digital time-sharing BS system). The Powerband system was some kind of CDMA derivative if I remember right, but they dropped that too the IS-95 CDMA standard (850MHz CDMA) was adopted.

Of those afore mentioned digital systems, by the way... The only one that still exists is the CDMA2000 Sprint PCS network, which now Verizon, Alltel, and USCellular have adopted the standard of too (standard IS-2000, trade name Qualcomm CDMA2000). Clearpath more or less evaporated after its initial launch in test markets, Ameritech moved everyone to TDMA (pseudo-digital time-sharing BS system). The Powerband system was some kind of CDMA derivative if I remember right, but they dropped that too the IS-95 CDMA standard (850MHz CDMA) was adopted.


I use to work for AT&T Wireless before getting lay'd off. I learned all the ends & outs, I had an annoying job as I was a Switch & Roaming Cordinator. AT&T's early TDMA system back then use to always get hung up in heavy traffic areas. People's phones wouldn't hand off to the next cell tower they drop there call. And the phone would still be registered in that cell tower.

Oh what fun.. I'm so glad I don't do that crap any more.

I have had Sprint for about 5 years now. While I agree that they have challenges, I think they all do. I use a Treo 700 and love it.

As for driving. Get a phone with bluetooth and get a Motorola headset. I use the H700 headset (one of the smallest ones). If you watch the ads, many stores sell them for $50 to $70 on sale with a normal retail of $120, but others start as low as $30. They are all EASY to set up and use.

CompUSA.com: Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset - ER921AA - Electronics » Cell Phones » Cell Phone Accessories » Handsfree (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=cat3&product_code=337198&Pn=H700_Bluetooth_Headset)

CompUSA.com: Motorola H300 Bluetooth Headset - 89010J - Electronics » Cell Phones » Cell Phone Accessories » Handsfree (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=cat3&product_code=338574&Pn=H300_Bluetooth_Headset)

The only issue I have had is losing the damn thing. Motorola, Jabra and Nokia all make a bluetooth car kit with a speaker. The Jabra is on clearance at Comp for only $30 right now if you can find it, not a bad item, but I love my H700.

The next time you get a ear full of static from analog cell site, remember that it would have been better just to drop the call rather than say, are you still there, for 5 minutes.

That's a really nice claim they have but that's why. You can't hear a damn thing BUT the call wasn't dropped.

I'm all about digital. Verizon is doing away with all analog service at the end of 2007

Not saying it doesn't happen...but in the last two years I don't think i've ever heard static on my cell phone. Must just be the area....

Not saying it doesn't happen...but in the last two years I don't think i've ever heard static on my cell phone. Must just be the area....

They're able to filter it out now that everything's digital. What you probably hear is the vo ce cut ng in nd ut dur ng th con rsa ion.

They're able to filter it out now that everything's digital. What you probably hear is the vo ce cut ng in nd ut dur ng th con rsa ion.

Ohh ok. Yeah no static but ever once and a while I'll hear the cutting out....normally it is from the OTHER persons service lol.

They're able to filter it out now that everything's digital. What you probably hear is the vo ce cut ng in nd ut dur ng th con rsa ion.

Digital phones do that and they echo a lot too. That's a lot more annoying then static is and usually where you get static is areas where digital phones don't even work at all anyway.

I heard that the older analog phones took 16x the bandwidth that the digital ones do. The quality wasn't 16x better, but it was two or three times clearer, even with the occasional static. When you got a good signal, you could clearly hear voices.

They finally forced me to switch, I was one of the last holdouts with an analog Motorola StarTac. That was a nice little phone.

16x... No, try a maximum of 6x. In TDMA 3x. GSM is incomparable because it can cary from about 1/6 to about 1/2. :cookoo:

LittleB, everyone blames the other person. You can have maximum signal shown on the meter on your phone and still have interference on your side.