May 19 2009, 11:22 am
In response to digitalmouse
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Danial.Beta
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That and existing contracts, monthly prices, and customer support. There are many factors in choosing a carrier. And often the quality of one carrier can make up the difference between the features on the phone.
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digitalmouse wrote:
disagree with what exactly? There's also an existing contract with Verizon. And, until somebody else provides good coverage in my hometown or until I move permanently, I can't really sign a contract with anybody else. So, I'm stuck with CDMA and with whatever phones Verizon wants to support. Everybody else has cool toys now, though: the Prē on Sprint, the iPhone on AT&T, the G1 on T-Mobile, and the Freerunner on all GSM networks. The best Verizon has to offer is the Storm, about which I'm not enthusiastic. | |
sounds like it's time to change contracts! or twist Verizon's arm to make other models available.
i guess this is one area where i like Europe: just about every phone, including the iPhone, is available via multiple carriers. in my case, i bought an HTC P3300 from a PDA shop just so that I could choose the provider separately. well worth the money, since I can buy either a contract SIM card, or a 'pay-as-you-go' SIM card. I chose the later since most people call me instead of me call them. cheaper for me that way. | |
It gets worse than that, too: US carriers bring phones to market 6-12 months later than it does the rest of the world, so that by the time they can sell old technology at new-technology prices after having time to ramp up massive global mass production. I lived in South Africa for awhile and, when I came home, it was like I could see into the future: whatever had been new in ZA 6 months ago was now brand new and being advertised in the US! I then went back to Europe and the UK later and once again peeked into the future of cellular technology. I understand that the gap is even bigger when it comes to the asian market, with phones sold there coming to market in the rest of the world much later, if at all.
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PirateHead wrote:
I lived in South Africa for awhile and, when I came home, it was like I could see into the future: whatever had been new in ZA 6 months ago was now brand new and being advertised in the US! I then went back to Europe and the UK later and once again peeked into the future of cellular technology. I understand that the gap is even bigger when it comes to the asian market, with phones sold there coming to market in the rest of the world much later, if at all. Incidentally, you could do what I do and use The Internets. It's a series of tubes that lets you see farther into the future than the US market. Most phones these days released in Europe seem to be quad-band GSM so, as long as you're not screwing yourself over with Verizon or some other nutty CDMA network, you could just get an unlocked international phone and pop in your SIM card like me. | |
Problem is, in the US CDMA is pretty much the best network. Sprint and Verizon have the best data networks, and tend to have the best coverage. AT&T is one of the few national GSM carriers, and they have very shotty service, and even worse customer service. T-Mobile is another one, but their data network is only available in a very small handful of major cities.
The US's cell phone market sucks. | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
T-Mobile is another one, but their data network is only available in a very small handful of major cities. False, their 3G network is the one that's on limited availability; that is, their normal data network is available all over, it's the high-speed that isn't. I live in a small rural Ohio town and make regular data network use. | |