Hi, hope someone can help me here. I am considering switching from Cingular
to Verizon. We have the family plan and just moved from FL to SC. The
connectivity in FL was terrible, most calls went to VM instead of to the
intended recipient. We have been in upper NE SC for a year now and it's not
much better here, even worse, you can see the cell towers here in the hills,
yet cannot connect or get dropped calls. I'm sick of paying for service I
cannot use.
Verizon gives a discount where I work, but I also rely upon Bluetooth phone
to phone transfer ability and Motorola Phone Tools (I like Moto phones). The
people I have seen who have Verizon phones have had these functions disabled
by Verizon (Verizon told them that it was purposely disabled). If I pay for
a full featured phone, I want to be able to unrestrictively use ALL of those
features that Motorola intended to work.
For example, I take a photo at work and try to Bluetooth connect and send it
from my Cingular V557 phone to a co-worker's Verizon Razr, no can do. Or I
gave a licensed copy of MPT for the Razr to same person, Verizon says this
functionality is also disabled unless he purchases a "special Verizon
version".
Again, if I buy a phone and service, I want everything to work, no matter
what, am I better off staying with Cingular or will Verizon neuter my
phone's functionality? TIA.
I've always been dumbfounded by people picking a carrier because of a %$#@ piece of phone equipment...
Remember, a phone is something you access a NETWORK with - and the NETWORK is what
you write a monthly check for. No usable network? It doesn't matter how fancy or feature laden
a phone is - it still is a non-functional hunk of plastic.
What carrier serves the area you plan to use your phone in best? Choose THAT carrier.
As to the question - yes it is extremely unfortunate VZW chooses to play stupid games with
equipment. Greedy and very customer un-friendly in my opinion.
But, it is really a non-issue also. I and MANY others have very successfully (and easily) restored
the functionality to Motorola and other brands of phones.
Soo.... best of both worlds - best carrier and the phone I want with the features I want.
HINT: Howardforums.com
"marx404" <404@404.com> wrote in message news:L6CdnXZNMPiOhsfbnZ2dnUVZ_ruknZ2d@adelphia.com ...
> Hi, hope someone can help me here. I am considering switching from Cingular
> to Verizon. We have the family plan and just moved from FL to SC. The
> connectivity in FL was terrible, most calls went to VM instead of to the
> intended recipient. We have been in upper NE SC for a year now and it's not
> much better here, even worse, you can see the cell towers here in the hills,
> yet cannot connect or get dropped calls. I'm sick of paying for service I
> cannot use.
>
> Verizon gives a discount where I work, but I also rely upon Bluetooth phone
> to phone transfer ability and Motorola Phone Tools (I like Moto phones). The
> people I have seen who have Verizon phones have had these functions disabled
> by Verizon (Verizon told them that it was purposely disabled). If I pay for
> a full featured phone, I want to be able to unrestrictively use ALL of those
> features that Motorola intended to work.
>
> For example, I take a photo at work and try to Bluetooth connect and send it
> from my Cingular V557 phone to a co-worker's Verizon Razr, no can do. Or I
> gave a licensed copy of MPT for the Razr to same person, Verizon says this
> functionality is also disabled unless he purchases a "special Verizon
> version".
>
> Again, if I buy a phone and service, I want everything to work, no matter
> what, am I better off staying with Cingular or will Verizon neuter my
> phone's functionality? TIA.
>
> --
> marx404
>
>
>
> Again, if I buy a phone and service, I want everything to work, no matter
> what, am I better off staying with Cingular or will Verizon neuter my
> phone's functionality? TIA.
The best Verizon phone at the moment is the tri-band V325i. Verizon does
disable some of the features. However there are easy hacks to restore
the features, i.e. transfers of stuff using MPT, at least with a cable
(I have the older non-Bluetooth version of this phone).
"marx404" <404@404.com> wrote in
news:L6CdnXZNMPiOhsfbnZ2dnUVZ_ruknZ2d@adelphia.com :
> Hi, hope someone can help me here. I am considering switching from
> Cingular to Verizon. We have the family plan and just moved from FL to
> SC. The connectivity in FL was terrible, most calls went to VM instead
> of to the intended recipient. We have been in upper NE SC for a year
> now and it's not much better here, even worse, you can see the cell
> towers here in the hills, yet cannot connect or get dropped calls. I'm
> sick of paying for service I cannot use.
>
Do yourself a BIG favor and stop by the ALLTEL office. Alltel still has
regional service, lots of minutes for little money, if you don't spend
your time in airplanes all week. Verizon doesn't. $39 buys 700 minutes,
unlimited N/W, free LD, all the toys. That's nearly double Verizon.
Now, as to NE SC, Verizon bought out a little PCS mom and pop band in
Myrtle Beach that extends way back inland and switches to 800 Mhz about
the Charleston County Line. PCS, as you already know, sucks for range.
Alltel, all the way across SC/NC has smooth 800 Mhz coverage from a very
well built-out system they inherited from 360 Communications a long time
ago. Alltel's 800 Mhz system works in the country, not just in the city
and on the interstate. I live in Charleston and travel eastern SC fixing
church organs in the boondocks, towns, cities. Alltel just does it
better.
Alltel's other benefit is they do NOT tamper with the phone's functions,
like Verizon does something awful. You can copy music/picture/video from
the phone to its SD card, unhampered by company bureaucrats, plug it into
your computer, without having to hack the phones, right out of the box.
Copy any MP3 or WAV file to a card (Mine is the Moto E815 which works
great with its extendable 800 Mhz antenna), plug the card into the phone,
copy the file to internal memory and click MAKE A RINGTONE from the menu
button and use any file you like, limited only by internal memory. No
restricting you to sending pictures for 25c/each over the damned cellular
network to some spammer crap website. Alltel's phones all do everything
the phone's manufacturer wanted them to do.
Do not buy Alltel's 25-channel Axcess TV because it only runs 10 minutes
at a time. I'm still raising hell with them about it. I dumped it after
10 days of disappointment. Alltel's internet is 1X, so far, but the
equipment is being installed across SC for wider bandwidth (I don't call
800Kbps broadband). Their system is not overloaded and does not crash.
Texting comes in immediately, not after hours in some overloaded que, as
reported by users here on Verizon.
It just works better in the South....including Florida. When I travel to
FL on my SC/NC regional plan, I simply add 100 minutes of nationwide
roaming for $10 by calling 611 and asking for it. That way you only pay
for nationwide service you use.....not all the time while you're home.
Larry
--
One other comment. Alltel has "Circle" on their plans. 10 phone numbers
with unlimited service 24/7/365 that don't use your plan minutes for a
pittance. Unlike Verizon's that only includes Verizon customers, My
Circle numbers can be landline/cellphone/any number US/Canada on ANY
SYSTEM, not just Alltel. Calling another Alltel customer is ALWAYS a
"free call" and doesn't use plan minutes. This is separate from the My
Circle part of their plans. If all your mobiles are on Alltel, you're
never charged minutes for calling them, Circle or no Circle. Verizon
cannot compete with it....and ALLTEL IS CHEAPER!
Check it out for yourself. You can even give your friends a referral
card to sign them up and make your cellphone free if you sell two plans a
month...(c;
Verizon sucks in Myrtle Beach on PCS....yecch.
They won't let you roam onto Alltel or Sprint anywhere in SC when your
phone is NO SERVICE, either.
Wow! great replies. Yepp, I am well aware of Howardforums and firmware
h@cking, I just don't want to go that route, nor do I have the time to
tinker anymore. Besides, it is most common that hacking your Moto can
sometimes compromise other functionalities. I think it's between Alltel and
Cingular (att) now. I have both next to each other in town. Connectivity is
#1, but working features are just as important or I would have stayed with
my old pre-paid Verizon analog, lol. I want straight out of da box - no BS
and everything works. Thanks everyone.
"marx404" <404@404.com> wrote in
news:utSdnbd1LIWGqsfbnZ2dnUVZ_smonZ2d@adelphia.com :
> I would have stayed with
> my old pre-paid Verizon analog, lol. I want straight out of da box -
> no BS and everything works. Thanks everyone.
>
>
No Verizon AMPS N of Charleston's 800 system. N of Mt Pleasant,
Verizon's in PCS country. Alltel has AMPS and AMPS-capable phones up
there, but must sell you a CDMA phone to comply. Alltel techs tell me
AMPS will still be online for years on Alltel in SC as so many rural
people still depend on AMPS' long range and great coverage in the SC
boonies.
Hang around the Cingular booth at any mall in SC when they're bringing
their phones back mad as hell. Only works in the core cities and along I
20, 26, 95. Drive a Cingular from Myrtle Beach to Florence and watch the
light....dead. Hands down...it's ALLTEL.
By the way, I was the 3rd cellular customer in Charleston on Cellular One
of Charleston when there were two AMPS towers in the whole city...(c;
Before that I had an IMTS "Carphone" in my car on 152 Mhz FM. Does your
car have dial telephone service...hee hee. Old fart.
Larry
--
Grade School Physics Factoid:
A building cannot freefall into its own footprint without
skilled demolition.
On Sun, 27 May 2007 19:57:56 -0400, "marx404" <404@404.com> wrote:
>Hi, hope someone can help me here. I am considering switching from Cingular
>to Verizon. We have the family plan and just moved from FL to SC. The
>connectivity in FL was terrible, most calls went to VM instead of to the
>intended recipient. We have been in upper NE SC for a year now and it's not
>much better here, even worse, you can see the cell towers here in the hills,
marx404 Wrote:
> Wow! great replies. Yepp, I am well aware of Howardforums and firmware
> h@cking, I just don't want to go that route, nor do I have the time to
> tinker anymore. Besides, it is most common that hacking your Moto can
> sometimes compromise other functionalities. I think it's between Alltel
> and
> Cingular (att) now. I have both next to each other in town.
> Connectivity is
> #1, but working features are just as important or I would have stayed
> with
> my old pre-paid Verizon analog, lol. I want straight out of da box - no
> BS
> and everything works. Thanks everyone.
>
> --
> marx404
On my old LG phone the bluetooth was limited in functionality. Also,
with all verizon phones that aren't running windows mobile, you have to
use get it now to get games. It's almost impossible to get games for
free. They want you to buy ringtones and music the same way, but
luckily verizon wasn't that greedy.
> Wow! great replies. Yepp, I am well aware of Howardforums and
> firmware h@cking, I just don't want to go that route, nor do I
> have the time to tinker anymore.
You haven't time for a dozen mouse clicks?
> Besides, it is most common that hacking your Moto can sometimes
> compromise other functionalities.
I live in the center of Hartsville, SC, the rest of the family is up 5 miles
in the north end , by Lake Robinson at the foot hills. You can actually see
the cell towers where my brothers live yet reception is crummy there. I work
45 min away in Florence, but will be traveling to Myrtle Beach to work soon
(a looong drive). My work is mostly on the road, so connectivity is a
priority in and 'tween all areas. Funny, there are some odd little pockets
(some as small as a house length) between Darlington County and Florence
where service just drops off during a call, grrrr.
Bluetooth is also a priority as I'm not one of "those ppl" holding a phone
up to their ear while navigating traffic. I plan to replace my phone and mp3
player as one unit for plug and play in the car usage, radio stations here
suck sand.
I take and share pic also , so you get what kind of phone I need and why it
cannot be neutered at all. I work 56 to 80 hrs a week. alt.cellular.motorola
and Howard forums, and much more, been there, done that, hacks, phreaks an
warez days are gone, jes gimme something that works properly - out of the
box plz.
At work, the managers just got new Cingular service and phones. We are in
area code 843, but Cingular assigned an 803 (Columbia) area code to their
phones. They are complaining on a daily basis of dropped calls and more.
What is MOST common is that with a small bit of effort,
you have a Moto that does what you want.
The rumors you have heard (and obviously buy into) about
"compromise" are NOT accurate and I can assure you that the
10 or more Moto phones I have restored features on - have FULL functionality.
I can understand if you don't want to make the (minimal) effort. But, I
can assure you that IF you do so, there are no 'side effects'...
"marx404" <404@404.com> wrote in message news:utSdnbd1LIWGqsfbnZ2dnUVZ_smonZ2d@adelphia.com ...
....snip...
>Besides, it is most common that hacking your Moto can
> sometimes compromise other functionalities.
> Bluetooth is also a priority as I'm not one of "those ppl" holding a phone
> up to their ear while navigating traffic. I plan to replace my phone and mp3
> player as one unit for plug and play in the car usage, radio stations here
> suck sand.
> I take and share pic also , so you get what kind of phone I need and why it
> cannot be neutered at all. I work 56 to 80 hrs a week. alt.cellular.motorola
> and Howard forums, and much more, been there, done that, hacks, phreaks an
> warez days are gone, jes gimme something that works properly - out of the
> box plz.
While I agree with that sentiment, if you want the coverage of Verizon
you're going to have to make the very small effort at restoring the
functionality. It's not more than a fifteen minute job.
On Mon, 28 May 2007 19:03:18 -0400, "marx404" <404@404.com> wrote:
>...or go with Altell who seems to have both?
Certainly a viable option. I left VZW almost two years ago because of
their pathetic phone selection. Some may say the overriding concern
should be the network. While the network is important, for me its
usefulness would be lessened by using a phone I didn't like.
On May 27, 6:57 pm, "marx404" <4...@404.com> wrote:
> Hi, hope someone can help me here. I am considering switching from Cingular
> to Verizon. We have the family plan and just moved from FL to SC. The
> connectivity in FL was terrible, most calls went to VM instead of to the
> intended recipient. We have been in upper NE SC for a year now and it's not
> much better here, even worse, you can see the cell towers here in the hills,
> yet cannot connect or get dropped calls. I'm sick of paying for service I
> cannot use.
>
> Verizon gives a discount where I work, but I also rely upon Bluetooth phone
> to phone transfer ability and Motorola Phone Tools (I like Moto phones). The
> people I have seen who have Verizon phones have had these functions disabled
> by Verizon (Verizon told them that it was purposely disabled). If I pay for
> a full featured phone, I want to be able to unrestrictively use ALL of those
> features that Motorola intended to work.
>
> For example, I take a photo at work and try to Bluetooth connect and send it
> from my Cingular V557 phone to a co-worker's Verizon Razr, no can do. Or I
> gave a licensed copy of MPT for the Razr to same person, Verizon says this
> functionality is also disabled unless he purchases a "special Verizon
> version".
>
> Again, if I buy a phone and service, I want everything to work, no matter
> what, am I better off staying with Cingular or will Verizon neuter my
> phone's functionality? TIA.
>
> --
> marx404
Fear not, Lady Jay to the rescue !
Alcatel-Lucent: Management: Individual Snapshot
Alcatel-Lucent
54 Rue La Boetie
Paris, 75008 Phone: +331.40761010
Fax: +331.40761400
Jay, Sylvia
Title Director
Age 60
Officer Since 2006
Biography
Lady Sylvia Jay held several senior positions within the British
administration from 1971 to 1975, dealing notably with financial aid
to developing countries. She also worked in France within the Ministry
of Cooperation and Treasury and contributed to the foundation of the
European Bank for reconstruction and development. She spent several
years in Paris as the wife of the British Ambassador to France. Lady
Jay is now Vice President of L'Oreal UK Ltd, President of Food from
Britain, Director of Saint Gobain and Lazard Limited, President of the
Pilgrim Trust, and Director of Prison Reform Trust and l'Entente
Cordiale Scholarships Scheme.
On Wed, 30 May 2007 06:31:52 -0700, Evan Platt
<evan@theobvious.espphotography.com> wrote:
>On Mon, 28 May 2007 23:03:56 -0400, The Ghost of General Lee
><ghost@general.lee> wrote:
>
>>Certainly a viable option. I left VZW almost two years ago because of
>>their pathetic phone selection. Some may say the overriding concern
>>should be the network. While the network is important, for me its
>>usefulness would be lessened by using a phone I didn't like.
>
>I personally would rather have a phone with crippled features that
>works when and where I need it to, then a phone with nothing crippled
>that doesn't work.
>
>I always laugh when I sit there with my phone able to make a call, and
>someone next to me has their Cingular phone going "Crap! No signal."
The funny thing, Evan, is I got the phone I wanted (KX440/444) with a
decent network (Alltel), and wasn't forced to purchase their PTT
service to get the phone, as I would have been with VZW. It wasn't an
issue of crippled features for me. It was purely phone selection. I
will NOT EVER use a flip phone, and VZW has increasingly become the
flip phone king. One of their salemen told me that "98% of their
users prefer flip phones." I told him that was an easy claim to make
when basically all they sell is flip phones. None of my friends who
have had flippers liked them. They've all gone back to candy bars.
On Wed, 30 May 2007 10:03:58 -0400, The Ghost of General Lee
<ghost@general.lee> wrote:
>.... It was purely phone selection. I
>will NOT EVER use a flip phone, and VZW has increasingly become the
>flip phone king. One of their salemen told me that "98% of their
>users prefer flip phones." I told him that was an easy claim to make
>when basically all they sell is flip phones. None of my friends who
>have had flippers liked them. They've all gone back to candy bars.
Hmmm. My wife and I would never have anything but flip phones. They're
smaller for pocket carry, and you don't have to be constantly locking
and unlocking the keypad to avoid accidental actions.
I have Altell stores on either side of me. My plan is to check out Altell
1st then approach the Cingular rep and see how pathetic an offer he makes me
just for sh*ts and giggles. More than likely Cingular will be fired anyways
and I wil goto Altell.
>
>
> The funny thing, Evan, is I got the phone I wanted (KX440/444) with a
> decent network (Alltel), and wasn't forced to purchase their PTT
> service to get the phone, as I would have been with VZW. It wasn't an
> issue of crippled features for me. It was purely phone selection. I
> will NOT EVER use a flip phone, and VZW has increasingly become the
> flip phone king. One of their salemen told me that "98% of their
> users prefer flip phones." I told him that was an easy claim to make
> when basically all they sell is flip phones. None of my friends who
> have had flippers liked them. They've all gone back to candy bars.
>
I like flip phones. A candy bar doesn't feel right because it doesn't
seem like you are talking into anything.
Evan Platt <e...@theobvious.espphotography.com> wrote:
>
> I personally would rather have a phone with crippled features that
> works when and where I need it to, then a phone with nothing crippled
> that doesn't work.
Philisophically, yes the network connectivity comes first. However,
there is a certain amount of "tooth-grating" when you know that you
have a phone that has been explicitly crippled by its provider simply
to try to fork more money out of your wallet.
> I always laugh when I sit there with my phone able to make a call, and
> someone next to me has their Cingular phone going "Crap! No signal."
Merely your personal - - and regional - - experience. Where are you
located?
FWIW, I have both a VZW and Cingular phones at present, and while I
can attest to neither network being 100%, the facts are that holes
exist on both, but to a relatively low degree, such that I find both
to be adequate.
However, I've found that I'm not even bothering to carry my VZW phone
much anymore on a day to day basis - just my Cingular one. As such,
I'm probably going to either switch my VZW over to Cingular later this
year, or just drop my VZW phone entirely. Probably the clincher for
me is that VZW doesn't work at all in Europe, and its a pain in the
ass to have to schelp a second, utterly useless, phone for an entire
week, just in case the Limo driver fails to meet me on time in the
airport upon my return.
So somebody found a place where Alltel doesn't all-out suck?
They completely suck in northeast Texas (SID 418) and they most
definetly suck in most of Arkansas. Its a damned shame when people say
Suckular GSM actually beats Alltel (CDMA) in calls dropped in
Fayetteville and around Little Rock.
JS
Traveling Man wrote:
> On Mon, 28 May 2007 01:05:06 +0000, Larry wrote:
>
>> Verizon sucks in Myrtle Beach on PCS....yecch.
>
> No arguement here. I frequently had poor signal strength with call drops
> when I was there a few weeks ago.
>
> Now if only AllTel served the NorthEast.....
"balsofsteele@gmail.com" <balsofsteele@gmail.com> wrote in
news:43F8i.73323$iu.5525@fe01.usenetserver.com:
> So somebody found a place where Alltel doesn't all-out suck?
>
>
hMM...No they work great from NC to FL, including SC and west to
Birmingham. Verizon bought out Cellular One of Charleston...well, GTE
did which became Verizon when Vodaphone ante'd up. Only problem was the
800 Mhz license only covered Charleston east of I-95 on A800. In
Columbia, they swallowed BellAtlantic's B800 and it used to switch from A
to B at I-95, but there was a freq swap, as I understand it, so they're
all A up there now. General Lee will correct me in the upstate SC.
South of Charleston was a Mom & Pop shop called South Carolina Cellular
on A800, PRIME country for a rural carrier's AMPS system. Eventually,
VZW coughed up more than they could stand and bought them out to cover
A800 to Savannah. But, in the VERY lucrative Myrtle Beach-Conway
vacation zone, the A800 carrier (I forget who that is at the moment.)
refused to deal with his cash cow, so VZW bought out one of the rinkydink
PCS carriers, like they had to do in South Florida. That zone has lots
of rural area down way past Georgetown, SC, that PCS is a joke in. North
on US 17 at the Santee River/Charleston County line, noone competes with
Alltel, who's service across mostly-rural SC is B800 and very smooth,
indeed. Back when I was a Cellular One aka Verizon customer on AMPS, we
used to pay the price for this nonsense roaming onto Alltel AMPS for big
money when GTE/VZW had no service at all in Myrtle Beach/Georgetown way
back inland in Northern SC. At least you get some kind of "service" on
PCS at the Beach, now. Of course, as usual, all in-market ROAMING onto
Alltel's superior system is strictly forbidden to VZW customers where the
phone says NO SERVICE. Tough tittie from the kittie in the city.
I find it hard Alltel has poor service in AL. That's where Alltel is
from!
Larry
--
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
> hMM...No they work great from NC to FL, including SC and west to
> Birmingham.
They work well in Northeast Ohio, or did when I was there. I know people
who still use them, and don't have problems. Former GTE Wireless network
there; mature and well built-out.
> I find it hard Alltel has poor service in AL. That's where Alltel is
> from!
Does Verizon neuter phone functionality? 
Linear Mode
