[bbman1605]

I just bought the 8320 for t-mobile and I have really been unimpressed with tmobiles reception. I like their prices and customer service but I'm not sure if I want to committ to this company if I am constantly going have to worry about recpetion. I've been thinking about getting the curve on AT&t because I know they have great coverage but I also know they have higher prices and bad CS. Is AT&T's customer services really that bad?

If anyone can share their experiences with either company that would be great.

[John Clark]

Reception with TMo is usually fine for me. Your results obviously may vary. TMobile Customer support has always been great, IMO.

[JSanders]

I have had both. It really boils down to your coverage in the areas that you live, work and travel. Both have coverage maps on their website, which can mean little if your home or office is in a hole.

You just have to decide, my experience on coverage issues are not relevant to another's coverage elsewhere.

[Noekozz]

It all comes down to coverage and reception. Like JSanders stated, if you cannot get reception at home/office, then what good would it be. I've had no problems with ATT and I live in the NYC metro area.

IMHO, what good is customer service and rate plans if the coverage/reception sucks.

[ajs3898]

Tmo coverage is not to bad in Los Angeles. I also use the WIFI hotspot at home service...have u tried that? its awesome.

[Aroc]

Can you explain what you mean by "unimpressed with T-Mobile's reception?" Are you actually referring to "reception" or the "garbling" that happens frequently on a GSM call? AT&T occassionally does the latter too. garbling!=reception.

[nuopus]

Im pretty concerned with T-Mobiles future. They are now just STARTING to roll out 3G for their network, which is a good thing. But they are STARTING to roll out the older technology. This may be okay now, because all of us are used to EDGE. But, even BB is going 3G, and so is everyone else. Even run of the mill phones are going 3G. What is T-Mobile going to do when BB goes 3G, and you have VERY SPOTTY 3G support because they are taking their time? All of this while dropping prices on everything? When everyone including RIM goes 3G, my prediction is T-Mobile on a sharp decline as people jump ship for faster units, and T-Mobile is now seen as the Cricket of the mobile phone industry. OR, T-Mobile may start raising prices and actually playing on the "moving forward" thing.

[BBFreak]

Like everyone else has said. It all depends on YOUR area. I live in Chicago and have excellent reception and get great service but someone living in Ohio could have terrible service on the same network.

There is a new website out were people can enter how the reception is in their area on a map. You may wanna check it out, even though this isn't exact science because it is everyday user's input. I'll try to find it and post the url.


Edit: Here is the link as promised. Signal Map - Find the best cell phone coverage in your area, or add your own cell phone signal to the map.

[vinmontRD]

My experience with T-Mobile has been generally excellent for several years, considering factors like cost, customer service, uptime (virtually no downtime), dropped calls (virtually none), coverage (works well for me at home in central NJ, and from DC through NJ and NYC and north, as well as on my trips to the west coast). Generally very happy with them.

Re: concern about their future - people have been forecasting doom for T-Mobile for years, and yet they have managed to to keep growing, consistently winning customer satisfaction awards and providing excellent service.

Next generation data speeds will certainly become an issue at some point. But it's worth noting that, despite the fact that Verizon and Sprint have been offering EVDO for a while now, at rates well beyond EDGE, this has not been a sufficiently compelling reason for the majority of users to switch carriers. It is just one factor among many in the overall customer satisfaction picture.

Some people will likely do what nuopus forecasts - jumping ship for faster service. Some will also jump to T-Mobile for better customer service and prices. Think about this: I have unlimited Blackberry BIS service & data from T-Mobile for $20 a month on top of my voice plan. If I'm not mistaken, a comparable plan from AT&T costs $30 a month, and from Verizon it's $40 a month. So - if I want to be able to download videos faster while I wander the streets of Manhattan, I can pay Verizon an extra $20 a month more than I'm paying now for the that privilege -- that also buys me customer service that is legendary for annoying customers. For me, the smarter decision is to pay T-Mobile $20 a month for BIS & data, enjoy excellent 24x7 customer service and never look back.

Eventually high speed connections will be critical to the way we use mobile devices. Right now, with T-Mobile, I great excellent blackberry email, excellent IM and SMS and Blackberry messaging, GPS mapping, RSS news feeds (Viigo), location based services with info on movies, shopping, etc -- and it's all just as fast as I could want it.

Sure - one day I'll expect live video conferencing on my phone, and live movie clips. But for many of us, that ability to watch live streaming video on my handheld while I'm mobile isn't enough to make me want to pay more and sacrifice customer service.

In the meantime, UMA is just getting off the ground, and it's quite conceivable that, between the growing number of public hotspots, home access points and office WLAN's, the occasional need for high bandwidth will be satisfied.

I suspect that the rumors of T-Mobile's demise are greatly exaggerated. I plan to be with them for quite a while to come.

[whsbuss]

I've been looking into moving from the Verizon network. My wife wants a Pearl and I want the Curve (VZW won't have either for a while). In any case, I checked AT&T pricing for their Personal Max BB data plan. Priced at $39.95/mo but I thought if you had a voice plan is was only $34.95/mo

Can anyone confirm?

[dooks88]

I have had at&t for quite a while and have had no problems. At&t CS is pretty good too. T-mobile is hit or miss in my area. I'll gladly pay $20 more a month for at&t because it works.

[dooks88]

Originally Posted by whsbuss

I've been looking into moving from the Verizon network. My wife wants a Pearl and I want the Curve (VZW won't have either for a while). In any case, I checked AT&T pricing for their Personal Max BB data plan. Priced at $39.95/mo but I thought if you had a voice plan is was only $34.95/mo

Can anyone confirm?

i pay $29.99 for my blackberry plan with voice plan for at&t

[nuopus]

Originally Posted by whsbuss

I've been looking into moving from the Verizon network. My wife wants a Pearl and I want the Curve (VZW won't have either for a while). In any case, I checked AT&T pricing for their Personal Max BB data plan. Priced at $39.95/mo but I thought if you had a voice plan is was only $34.95/mo

Can anyone confirm?

It is $29 a month for just unlimited data (BIS). $39 for unlimited data + 1500 sms text messages. The $34 is for unlimited + data through AT&T premier. That is all with a qualifying voice data plan.

[whsbuss]

Originally Posted by nuopus

It is $29 a month for just unlimited data (BIS). $39 for unlimited data + 1500 sms text messages. The $34 is for unlimited + data through AT&T premier. That is all with a qualifying voice data plan.

How does one get the $34 plan with AT&T Premier? I want BIS and web browsing.

[nuopus]

Originally Posted by whsbuss

How does one get the $34 plan with AT&T Premier? I want BIS and web browsing.

To get a premier account you have to have a business account, or be part of a business that has one.

[whsbuss]

Originally Posted by nuopus

To get a premier account you have to have a business account, or be part of a business that has one.

Thanks. So the $29.95 personal plan only includes BIS and not data, correct?

[nuopus]

Originally Posted by whsbuss

Thanks. So the $29.95 personal plan only includes BIS and not data, correct?

No. Unless it states email only, BIS is BlackBerry Internet Service. So it also includes data. the $29 plan from AT&T is unlimited data. It just does not include SMS text messages. I would suggest as a minimum, getting the $39 plan that includes 1500 text messages so you don't have overages in case you use it.

[whsbuss]

Originally Posted by nuopus

No. Unless it states email only, BIS is BlackBerry Internet Service. So it also includes data. the $29 plan from AT&T is unlimited data. It just does not include SMS text messages. I would suggest as a minimum, getting the $39 plan that includes 1500 text messages so you don't have overages in case you use it.

Thanks again. I may just get the $29.95 plan and add-on the $4.99 200 text messages as I never do more than 20 SMS per month.

[precoislen]

While we are on the topics of data plans and costs for both these carriers I have a question.

I am thinking about getting a Curve, and want it for email and data only.

What I don't want is a 2 year contract to go along with it. I am already strapped into Sprint.

Will either carrier allow you to buy the device (even at full retail price) and add on the data plan on a month to month basis with no contracts/committments?

[buckett]

i love at&t, it works everywhere, maybe not always data connection, but about the only place i have problems with that is quite literally in the middle of nowhere (i.e. woodlake nebraska) i pay $49.99 a month for my BIS and unlimited texting. at first i was a bit reluctant to pay this much, but once i started using it, i changed my mind REALLY quickly. AT&T is a great provider, IMHO.