I use a pre-paid T-mobile phone and have no complaints. I buy a $50 card and it lasts me 3 months. I use my phone about once a day.

Take a look at this website: http://www.howardforums.com/ When I found it a few months ago, I couldn’t believe there was this much information in one place. It has everything from how to hack your phone if so interested, to unannounced deals that the companies may be offering to reviews and issues with specific phones and carriers. Also found out who were the dependable sellers of accessories on EBAY and who wasn’t. Found the CD and Cable to maintain the phonebook for under $15, while Verizon wnated $60.

We’ve had Verizon for years and have been pretty happy with them. Recently upgraded phones in May. Tried out their Palm Windows based PDA and hated it after a week. Absolutely no problems returning it and getting another phone. Plus they offer us a 15% discount for being affiliated through our employer.

We are with Verizon Wireless…as are a large percentage of the family, so the minute count on some of our calls is irrelvant. We live in sort of a "Bermuda triangle" for cell-phone reception and Verizon has proved to be a decent service that others couldn’t cover

We both have phones (family plan) and the main use seems to be when she and I are on different errand/work schedules. We have yet to use the total minute allowance for a month, even when Jan was in SoCal and I was here at home for 10 days in June.

As far as "comfort" goes I much prefer the ‘landline’ phone to the cell for any ‘chit-chat’!

It may be a sign of the times but my mobile is a necessity. I never turn it off. It is 24-7. I envy those who do not require a mobile but some of us have to have it.

On the other hand, I never answer my landline. If it were up to me, I could kill it now but wife uses it. Confuses me as she also has a mobile.

Communications with your friends is a must for me. I cannot imagine life without talking with my roadfood friends. In addition the safety of having communications on the road, outside or anyplace else is imperative for me personally.

Sprint has always given me good service.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

uh…i don’t have a cell phone.
never turn the ringer on the phone i DO have:)

I was with Sprint but found service lacking if I was more than 2 miles away from either a metropolitan area or an interstate; Cingular, but was disappointed that their technology didn’t allow them to partner with other carriers when I was away from a Cingular tower. I now use Verizon and have either the direct "Verizon Wireless" or "Extended Network" coverage connection in 99% of the places I travel. In the past year I’ve spent at least 1 night in 26 states, small towns and cities and driving to/through 22 of them, with an available signal everwhere I’ve been. I live in an area that doesn’t have Verizon towers, but get the extended network coverage through their partnering agreements. The wider coverage when I travel causes me to stay with Verizon.

I’m with Pwingsx… Hate the phone… But unfortunatly, need it for business. I have a Sprint PCS here.. Works great!

I have a trac-fone, only for emergencies, because I HATE TALKING ON THE PHONE.

I’m on the Verizon Pay As You Go plan. I’m not crazy about phones in general and I don’t like being available to talk all the time. I keep my cell only for safety, or to call BillC from the supermarket ("They’re out of serrano chilis…should I get jalapenos?").

They sold me a basic phone that was used but cleaned up. I pay $15 per month for more than enough minutes. It works just about everywhere except Clarksdale, Mississippi which has a different regional service (very wierd). I’m perfectly satisfied, and happily unreachable when I choose to be. [:D]

I went with Verizon back in the mid-nineties when offered a deal of no monthly charge and 30 cents per minute charge. I thought that was great because I rarely used the phone. That deal eventually switched to $7.95 per month with the first 30 minutes free. I thought that was a price increase because I never once used 30 minutes in a month. Finally my old klunker of a phone gave out. I could not continue the deal with a new phone so had to change the plan. Now I get 450 minutes per month and that is just about how much I now use in 6 months. Verizon just happened to be the closest kiosk seller to where I worked so went with them. My wife has a company furnished Verizon phone, my far flung kids (Washington DC and Worcester, MA), and sister (Indianapolis) all now have Verizon so we get the anywhere anytime minutes free. Not a bad deal if I turned my phone on and called someone. [:D]

I used to have Cingular, but due to poor signal strength in my area, I switched to T-Mobile. My T-Mobile signal strength is far superior to what I experienced with Cingular, plus I get more minutes for less money with T-Mobile.

Also, with Cingular, I would almost always get a "Wait for service" message on the phone’s screen when first turning it on in the morning. That wait sometimes caused me to have to delay a call for 3 or 4 minutes until I had service. While Cingular could never explain that problem adequately, it was very frustrating, and it always made me worry about having to delay an emergency call, should that eventuality occur.

Bear in mind that my experiences with Cingular and with T-Mobile could be unique to my semi-rural area, and someone 20 miles away from me could have entirely different experiences with the same carriers.

If you want to compare "apples to apples", go to the websites for the various carriers that you are considering, in order to check coverage/signal strength in the areas that you are normally in. On T-Mobile’s site, if you type in an address, it will give you a graphic representation of the signal strength/coverage for the surrounding area. You can expand or reduce the area of the map as you see fit, in order to check the coverage. I assume that the other carriers have a similar feature on their websites (and if not–why not??).

Remember also that most carriers have a brief (1 week perhaps?) return policy if you are dissatisfied with service. This is a detail to check carefully before you sign a contract, of course. And, I would suggest a contract of only one year, rather than two. Resist the extra bells and whistles that may be offered with the two year contract, as you may regret being tied to one carrier for that long.

Hello All,
We used to buy minutes for a phone which was good for us until the daughter went to Wm & Mary.
Then we hooked up with Verizon. No problems, and I believe there are no charges to other
Verizon users. My only complaint is the bill, of course, around $80 a month for the two phones.
But if my daughter used the phone in her room at college, the bill would be much, much more.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

I have Cingular. The rollover minutes are excellent because I don’t use the phone that much and hate paying for minutes I’m not using. I’ve never had a moment’s problem with the service or billing. It also helps that Cingular gives people employed by my company a 20% discount. [:D]