What Is The Best Cell Phone Company?

[93LSOwner]

I have a Nokia and it is ok. Just a general question on what you think is....the best & why.....?

[VMF]

nokia is fancy and unreliable while motorola is a workhorse, it might not have that many features but it will last longer. all those new companies like samsung, lg, etc make fancy phones but they buggy sometimes and quality is not that great as well.

i myself have LG:) its an ok phone but i miss my v60

motorola is the best IMHO

[SKperformance]

I prefer nokia for overall reliability and price

i had 8 motorolas from the time they had brick phones to the startac.

I got a nokia and won't get anything else, but i don;t care for frivilous features like a camera phone just a workhorse with great reception like a nokia 6310i with bluetooth ,i have a 6360 right now and looking to go from tdma to gsm .

you want amazing feature reveiws goto

www.howardforums.com

the best place for unbaised results with actual testing equipment for true reception and life ratings not manufacture hype.;

[93LSOwner]

Hey, thanks guys. WOW, great website SK.

[silvermate]

i have a motorola V60 color phone. just got it about 3 months ago.....i like it a lot so far.

[DobieG]

IMO:

best company is Verizon.

best cellphone is Samsung a530.

I believe they have a newer model of the cellphone, but I've been extremely happy with the model I have. I strayed away from Samsung for a couple of years and had nothing but problems. I went back to Samsung and it's been bliss! :)

[blake918]

I have a Nokia 3588i right now. Overall, I'm pleased with it. I like the simple, straight foward designs that Nokia incorporates into their phones. I am, however, disappointed with the lack of a quality feel to the phone-the case in particular. I have had a couple random reliability issues: the power button hasn't worked for me--probably 5 times and the color screen severley looses quality when it gets over 105 outside which in the deep south is an issue for me. I'd prefer one of Motorola's flip phones.

Other phones I've had:

-Kyocera: crap, crap, crap

-"Sprint" branded phone: no real issues; I just didn't like the phone's design!

I agree with VMF that Motorolas are some of the best because they are simple and have a solid, quality feel. My parents have had them since the early 90's-their first one(and all of the equipment it used) had to be fitted in a bag! I wish Sprint had more than 5 phones to offer which is the main reason why I hate their service.

[SKperformance]

many people don;t realise that you don;t have to get what your carrier supplies to you.

There are many models of phones from all over the world that work on your network and can be added to it easily as it uses the same freqencies and lines like tdma cdma, gsm all 4 different mhz

check out HO Fo for more info regarding getting a better phone, like a verizon phone with bluetooth for the activation of the LS

[99lsguy]

I've got Sprint PCS............not very good at all.

Traded in my old phone last year for a newer model and got better reception.

Sprint told me companies only design cell phones to last a couple of years - by then the software is beyond updates..........not very good!!!

[ArmyofOne]

i work for motorola and i am VERY biased.

[SW03ES]

I've been using Sanyo phones on Sprint PCS for the past couple of years now. If cars are my thing then cell phones are my other thing and I don't keep them very long. Sanyo makes a fantastic phone, very high quality heavy feel with nice screens and okay cameras. Just yesterday I was shopping for phones and wanted a Bluetooth phone so I could install a bluetooth kit in my car. Sprint doesn't have one and wont for the next couple months, the model they have coming out is not very appealing to me (I like flip phones). SO I defected over to Verizon (always wanted Verizon service) and purchased a new Motorola V710 Bluetooth phone with 1.5MP camera and all the doo dads. I'm still waiting for my number to be ported from Sprint so I haven't been able to make a call yet, hopefully within the next 20mins or so. Verizon crippled many of the Bluetooth features on this phone so customers have to use their pay services which isn't very cool, but I wouldn't use those features anyway. Currently it only kind of works with the Toyota/Lexus bluetooth because the crippling stopped the ability to import phone books and the phone won't ring, but Motorola and Verizon are working on a way to allow those features while still limiting data connectivity.

I had a whole bunch of StarTACs a couple years ago, which were groundbreaking phones but never lasted very long, they'd only work for about 10,000 minutes and they'd get spotty reception and have to be replaced, then I had a Motorola Timeport (the StarTAC like one) which was the same way, then I switched to the Sanyo phones (I've had 4 now) and haven't looked back (which wasn't hard since Sprint stopped selling Motorola phones). To me Motorola has always been a kind of cheap looking and feeling phone next to the Sanyo phones (Samsung is the same way, cheap feeling) but this V710 is REALLY nice. Wish I could make a call on it...anticipation ;)

[ArmyofOne]

I've been using Sanyo phones on Sprint PCS for the past couple of years now. If cars are my thing then cell phones are my other thing and I don't keep them very long. Sanyo makes a fantastic phone, very high quality heavy feel with nice screens and okay cameras. Just yesterday I was shopping for phones and wanted a Bluetooth phone so I could install a bluetooth kit in my car. Sprint doesn't have one and wont for the next couple months, the model they have coming out is not very appealing to me (I like flip phones). SO I defected over to Verizon (always wanted Verizon service) and purchased a new Motorola V710 Bluetooth phone with 1.5MP camera and all the doo dads. I'm still waiting for my number to be ported from Sprint so I haven't been able to make a call yet, hopefully within the next 20mins or so. Verizon crippled many of the Bluetooth features on this phone so customers have to use their pay services which isn't very cool, but I wouldn't use those features anyway. Currently it only kind of works with the Toyota/Lexus bluetooth because the crippling stopped the ability to import phone books and the phone won't ring, but Motorola and Verizon are working on a way to allow those features while still limiting data connectivity.

I had a whole bunch of StarTACs a couple years ago, which were groundbreaking phones but never lasted very long, they'd only work for about 10,000 minutes and they'd get spotty reception and have to be replaced, then I had a Motorola Timeport (the StarTAC like one) which was the same way, then I switched to the Sanyo phones (I've had 4 now) and haven't looked back (which wasn't hard since Sprint stopped selling Motorola phones). To me Motorola has always been a kind of cheap looking and feeling phone next to the Sanyo phones (Samsung is the same way, cheap feeling) but this V710 is REALLY nice. Wish I could make a call on it...anticipation ;)

wityh all do respect, i hope you intend to upgrade very soon...im hearing rumors at work, there will be a V710 "counterpart" thats GSM, 4.5X zoom and Video feed.

BTW, your V710, is a CDMA phone, you will be upgrading in 2-5 years anyway when everything goes GSM.

[VBdenny]

I also had several Motorola's starting with "the brick" They are really durable phones and can take a lot of dropping. The problem which is probably gone is the batteries. They went dead quick. I had an Audiovox for awhile and it was excellent. Now I have had a couple of Kyrocera. They are great phones but they only last a little over a year (on a two year contract) before they start having problems. I use Verizon and they always fixed it for free. I still like the phone because I got 2 for $19.99.

Regarding Cell phone carriers. I have to go with Verizon. My wife travels extensively and I do quite a bit myself. It works everywhere. Occasionally during peaked times you get "Verizoned" (a term my brother and I call the drops) but overall it has the bezt service from LA to NY. I had Alltel (sorry Ryan) for 10 years and they screwed up my bill every single month making me stay on the phone forever. Verizon has never screwed up my bill and have been very accomodating in all other aspects.

My wife alos has a Blackberry with Verison and it is way cool.

I looked a long time and am very happy with Verizon. I don't work for them by the way, I'm a teacher.

[SW03ES]

wityh all do respect, i hope you intend to upgrade very soon...im hearing rumors at work, there will be a V710 "counterpart" thats GSM, 4.5X zoom and Video feed.

BTW, your V710, is a CDMA phone, you will be upgrading in 2-5 years anyway when everything goes GSM.

Thats if you believe that everything will go GSM. I personally am not so sure because GSM coverage is so poor in most of the US. It seems like maybe CDMA phones that have the ability to roam on GSM networks will be the future, its too soon to tell. Verizon and Sprint seem to think this is going to be the ticket.

I don't keep phones more than a year anyways, something new always comes out and I have to trade up. It will be a long time before I ever agree to GSM service again, my fiance has Cingular now and it is completely poor. Its so poor in fact we're happily paying the penalty for ending our Cingular contract early to go back to CDMA.

As for cameras and video feed, I've had a camera phone now for about 2 years (I got the first camera Sanyo) and still don't understand them. Sure they're cool for setting wallpapers and photo caller IDs but the pictures are terrible. The camera on my new V710 is absolutely horrible, much worse than the not even megapixel ones on the Sanyo phones I've had previously. The picture it takes is so small and dark it can't even be viewed on the phone screen, let alone in real life. Video feed? My previous Sanyo had that. I recorded 3 feeds ever I think. I haven't even tried to operate the video feed on my 710 yet, no desire to.

Regarding Cell phone carriers. I have to go with Verizon. My wife travels extensively and I do quite a bit myself. It works everywhere. Occasionally during peaked times you get "Verizoned" (a term my brother and I call the drops) but overall it has the bezt service from LA to NY. I had Alltel (sorry Ryan) for 10 years and they screwed up my bill every single month making me stay on the phone forever. Verizon has never screwed up my bill and have been very accomodating in all other aspects

Verizon definately has the best service, I'm glad I switched for that aspect even though Sprint had gotten much much better. I have however lost all respect for Verizon as a company for disabling the V710's Bluetooth data transmission functions to force customers to use their pay as you go PIX and messaging services. Very uncool. Mark my words in a couple of years we'll have a gov't ruling forcing all carriers to stop blacklisting ESNs so customers can be treated fairly.

Verizon may have the best service but they're crooks.

[denslexusgx470]

I've got Sprint PCS............not very good at all.

Traded in my old phone last year for a newer model and got better reception.

Sprint told me companies only design cell phones to last a couple of years - by then the software is beyond updates..........not very good!!!

very very true

[ArmyofOne]

irregardless of what you have been told, i work for Motorola. GSM will be fully implemented in the US and you will have the same coverage you do now, possibly even better. have you been to europe?? take a GSM phone over there mext time you go, you dont get the dropped calls, the waiting times, the "all circuts are busy now, please try your call again". it doesnt happen over there. they have been fully dependent on the system for about a year now. it works fantastic. its not a matter of "beliefs", its a matter of time. when GSM is up and running, your CDMA will be the one Dropping calls.

and the V710 isnt even top of the line CDMA (i know, im bashing my own phone here). its CDMA 1x. if you want to go CDMA, go 3G. i have a 3G (3rd Generation) QualComm Kyocera through sprint. i do not have the motorola because i lost my last one, and the company will only buy me 1 a year.

this isnt to say that your CDMA serivce will not remain for a few years after, im just saying better options will be there.

cingluars service does suck, motorola doesnt work with them very much anymore because of a fallout they had with a contract we bought, but they gave to nokia. we are having the same issue with sprint and samsung.

the V840 will have some SERIOUS upgrades. you wont have to upgrade to GSm right away, but motorola will quit manufacturing (or convert) all their existing phones in the future. one fo the first phones to ever go GSM was the V60 from cingular. all gsm. you know how mahy i see throught eh WRC (warranty repair center)???

not many.

again, its a matter of preference, you have your opinion, and i respect that. but you "beliefs" have nothing to do with what IS happening even as we speak.

[SW03ES]

Having had 3G CDMA service and now 1X CDMA service I don't see any difference. In fact the Verizon service (1x) works several places my Sprint service (3G) would not work like in metro tunnels and in highway tunnels. Yes I am aware that GSM is the standard in other parts of the world but I doubt their ability to streamline it here for one reason, it is legal in America to blacklist ESNs. In europe that is ILLEGAL which means the phone manufacturers can build what they want and all the service providers must activate those units and provide service for them. Thats why other countries get all the cool phones first, they don't want to sell phones in the US because the phone carriers like Verizon call all the shots. Your friends at Motorola should be very aware of that, Verizon walks all over them.

As long as the two largest cell carriers are CDMA (Verizon and Sprint)and it remains legal to blacklist ESNs and refuse to activate and fully support all phones on compatible frequencies then CDMA is in the US to stay. Motorola and all the other cellular companies will keep making CDMA phones for Verizon and Sprint to use because they cannot afford not to. The only way we'll see GSM here within 2-5 years is if it is made illegal to blacklist ESNs here like it is in europe. Which is very possible and would be the way to go as the only countries left that allow blacklisting of ESNs are the United States and several remaining semi-communist strongholds.

As for the V60 you are aware it came out as CDMA first right? And that it is STILL sold in various new iterations as CDMA right? Verizon was the first company to bring the V60 out (along with Alltell) then only after a matter of a couple years it became availiable through a GSM carrier (I believe T-Mobile). That phone is STILL produced and sold in a CDMA version sold by Verizon and now Sprint. Your company, Motorola, probably does 60% of their business with Verizon. If you think Motorola is just going to stop making CDMA phones when:

1. Verizon provides CDMA service and they are their biggest customer.

2. Verizon maintains the legal right to blacklist all Motorola ESNs and refuse to allow them to be activated on their service.

3. They have little to no strongholds with GSM carriers as it is

then you're fooling yourself. This is a very political decision, and these politics aren't present in countries that have GSM service now. A switch to GSM for the US would put Verizon and Sprint out of business do you really think they're going to allow that to happen? No way, not without a fight. Motorola in particular has already shown the power Verizon has over them by allowing them to strong arm them into disabling most of the advanced bluettoh and email features on the V710.

Verizon is a nasty nasty company, its whats left of "Ma Bell" which you may be too young to remember, I almost am. All the telephone service in America was basically controlled by one company, "Ma Bell". You used to only be allowed to use specific telephones, couldn't install lines by yourself. Phones got SO expensive you used to have to rent them! The gov't finally stepped in and said no more, disbanded the company into the subsidiaries we have today, At&T, Bell Atlantic and others. You know what Verizon was called a few years ago right? Bell Atlantic Mobile. I hope this will happen to the cellular service industry as well but we'll have to wait and see.

I would be happy to switch over to GSM whenever the service is of the same quality as CDMA. The only reason I bought this phone was because it has Bluetooth and I got tired of waiting for Sprint to come out with something.

CDMA is here to stay unless a couple of fundamental things change.

Also, I realize that this is your business but please don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. I know what I'm talking about.

[ArmyofOne]

i realize you are not an idiot, i never said you were, i was just responding to the last post you made. there are several facts in the one above that i did not realize, but i do now. the fact that blacklists are legal here, is what has taken so long to implement GSM here totlaly to begin with.

yes i also know that verizon walks all over us and i also know that the V60 was ACTUALLY released in TDMA first. then the CDMA, then the GSM and i realize that the CDMA phones re still being sold. (the TDMA ones were the first gen, motorola no longer updates software on TDMA phones.

the post before this last one, stated that "you believed..." i felt obligated to correct you. there are a lot of politics in this, and the Motorlans high up in the command are figuring that out. for right now, we will jst sit and wait.

Motorola has given VZ deadlines about the GSM network (some info i am privy too, i work on the GSM conversion project, as well as the iDEN team).

we are going GSM, whether Verizon likes it or not. how ling it will take, we dont know yet, but it will definately be before 2010. Verison is one of our biggest customers, yes, but they also rape us on everything form warranty repairs, to shipping and recieving costs.

anyway, BOT, IMO, Motorola is the best cellphone co.

:D

SW03ES, i apologize if i seemed harsh, but i too know what i am talking about. it is coming, i gave a range of time. thats when IMO it will happen, but i have been told by "very high people" that by 2010, the US will be ENTIRELY GSM. VZW wil either have to exceot that or go somewhere else for their phones, and guess what, when this happnes, there wont be anywhere else to go to get phones.

samsung is alomost completly GSM already.

LG is working on it

Kyocera is still CDMA but not for too much longer.

Sony-ericsson is alomst entirely GSM

Motorola WIll be Entirely GSM by that time

Nokia is about 80% GSM now and will be 100% by the time this happnes.

Audiovox will either stop maiing cell phones, or convert.

verizon will eitherhave to switch or go under...their choice. IMO, Motorola is taking a gamble doing this, yes, because we are calling the bluff of VZW.

we dont supply many sprint phones anymore, maybe 1/8% of total revenue comes from sprint.

BTW, i have nothing against you personally. you are puttingup a good argument, and i like a challenge, forgive me if iseem a little testy, i have a lot going on right now. but i dont mean to be an !Removed!. ;)

[SW03ES]

I realize that your info comes from people high up in Motorola's heirarchy but what you have to understand about business is that a people talk a lot but say very little. Just because this is what Motorola has "SAID" they are going to do means nothing. In the history of the Motorola partnership with Verizon we have seen nothing but Verizon saying what they want and Motorola caving in. Why would we think otherwise now? Whats changed?

yes i also know that verizon walks all over us and i also know that the V60 was ACTUALLY released in TDMA first. then the CDMA, then the GSM and i realize that the CDMA phones re still being sold. (the TDMA ones were the first gen, motorola no longer updates software on TDMA phones.

I did a little checking, actually they were released simultaneously on CDMA and TDMA, the V60C and the V60T.

the post before this last one, stated that "you believed..." i felt obligated to correct you. there are a lot of politics in this, and the Motorlans high up in the command are figuring that out. for right now, we will jst sit and wait.

But see you cannot correct someone's opinion. We both seem pretty evenly matched when it comes to knowledge about this subject, but you're getting yours from only one source, Motorola. Mine comes from research I've done on this subject on my own from many sources. There are a lot of players here.

Motorola has given VZ deadlines about the GSM network (some info i am privy too, i work on the GSM conversion project, as well as the iDEN team).

See thats the thing though, Motorola doesn't give Verizon deadlines, Verizon gives Motorola deadlines thats how their corporate relationship works. Verizon purchases phones from Motorola, phones they can purchase from many other manufacturers. When Verizon says jump, Motorola jumps. This would not be the case if it was illegal to blacklist ESNs, but its legal. Verizon basically owns Motorola. I'm not saying you haven't been hearing these things passed down at Motorola or that Motorola's goal isn't to switch to GSM entirely, I'm just saying that wont happen if Verizon has anything to do with it. The history of these Ma Bell subsidiarys shows that if Motorola crosses Verizon, then Verizon will make it their mission to put Motorola out of business.

we are going GSM, whether Verizon likes it or not. how ling it will take, we dont know yet, but it will definately be before 2010. Verison is one of our biggest customers, yes, but they also rape us on everything form warranty repairs, to shipping and recieving costs.

Verizon is your BIGGEST customer, they do over 60% of your business. If they pull out, Motorola will fold. That means you cannot do anything "if Verizon likes it or not".

samsung is alomost completly GSM already.

Samsung has the same problem with Sprint that Motorola has with Verizon. The vast majority of their business comes from Sprint, same with Sanyo. Sprint didnt just spend however much they did to upgrade their CDMA network to 3G to bow to GSM within 5 years. They believe CDMA is going to be here to stay.

LG is working on it

LG is basically a free agent so I'll give you this one.

Sony-ericsson is alomst entirely GSM

They are entirely GSM actually, thats why Sprint doesnt have a bluetooth phone because S-E screwed them over the T608.

we dont supply many sprint phones anymore, maybe 1/8% of total revenue comes from sprint.

Thats because Verizon gave them an ultimatum, if they continued to supply phones to Sprint Verizon would blacklist their ESNs.

I'm not saying GSM isn't up and coming, but what I have seen and heard from Verizon and Sprint they have no plans of switching their networks. Sprint just came out with a new Samsung phone that is CDMA but can roam GSM and are calling it their "world phone" and just totally revamped their entire product lineup, all CDMA. A company about ready to switch to GSM wouldn't do that.

Verizon MAY be looking at a switch, they never made the change to 3G like Sprint did. My one and only point though is that these two companies basically own the cellular service industry in the US, GSM carriers account for a small % of market share compared to Verizon and Sprint with Verizon being much larger than Sprint. Cell companies may want to go GSM, but if their two largest customers are CDMA and intend to stay that way, money talks.

[SKperformance]

Hmm , i like this topic.

Too bad i am too lazy to read all the deatils.

I So agree with sw on the strong hold of companies for their own marketshare, it is like the mob and security from others and themselves.

I also sued to work for the -ricks at Bell Canada, i won;t even go their in how they screw you and you don;t even know.

Tdma is not dea here in Ontario but it is no longer upgraded or havign phones sold for it.

I prefer the good old digital of cdma and tdma but gsm is the newer language for everyone to speak with. I also hooked up my 6310i last night with my hs-820 bt headset. I am about performance and reliability i don;t care how fancy it looks .

But then again i do own a Lexus.

lmao

great discussion guys , i am learning as i am sure others are watching also.

[ArmyofOne]

true true true and true. you have to see where i am coming from (and you have). i can only see what goes on at motorola, i can tsee what goes on at VZW cause idont work there (im assuming you do). you know alot more about that end than i do.

thanks for the civilized discussion. its noce to be able to do that and not get flamed.

motorolas goal now is to switch over to GSM. however, i did not realize that we were putty in VZW's hands. you are correct, if this thing backfires, we are screwed.

[SW03ES]

thanks for the civilized discussion. its noce to be able to do that and not get flamed.

Thats what this site's all about!

motorolas goal now is to switch over to GSM. however, i did not realize that we were putty in VZW's hands. you are correct, if this thing backfires, we are screwed.

Maybe not. I've been thinking about this and Verizon may just be planning a switch over to GSM. When Quallcomm's 3G came out Sprint immediately updated, cost them several billion $$s, Verizon didn't. Why not? The fact that Sprint updated means that they at least intend to remain CDMA for the forseeable future, that investment wouldn't be cost effective if it was only for the short term. I'll see what I can dig up about Verizon and GSM...

If thats the case then that makes sense why Motorola is planning a swap, with their largest customer also planning a swap it would be a very smart move.

But yeah, the whole blacklisting ESN's is not cool. Sprint will activate Verizon phones if you can talk them into it but they don't support a lot of the vision features. Verizon on the other hand though won't do it, big time in it for the money. There's an open letter to congress to let your representatives know you support the banning of the practice of blacklisting ESNs, I'll see if I can find it. If that were to happen then we'd get better technology sooner and we'd be treated more fairly because ambitious carriers like Verizon won't have the yay or nay power over our equipment. Then technology can really move forward.

[ArmyofOne]

motorolas goal now is to switch over to GSM. however, i did not realize that we were putty in VZW's hands. you are correct, if this thing backfires, we are screwed.

Maybe not. I've been thinking about this and Verizon may just be planning a switch over to GSM. When Quallcomm's 3G came out Sprint immediately updated, cost them several billion $$s, Verizon didn't. Why not? The fact that Sprint updated means that they at least intend to remain CDMA for the forseeable future, that investment wouldn't be cost effective if it was only for the short term. I'll see what I can dig up about Verizon and GSM...

If thats the case then that makes sense why Motorola is planning a swap, with their largest customer also planning a swap it would be a very smart move.

yeah i dont understand the whole blacklisting ESN's thing...what is the problem??? i mean, i know what it does, but why isnt it illegal yet???

and that was my original point :D thanks for making it LOL :P (as you may know) i have signed a conf. agreement with Motorola, so theres alot of things i cant say...but i can hint ;) sprint really screwed themselves. they are going to have to update (im still sticking by what i was told, GSM in 2-5 years) $30,000,000,000+ is quite a bit to spend for 2-5 years of use... granted the 3rd gen CDMA is Miles ahead of 1x, or even 2x, but why not just pop the rest of the cash and ge tthe GSM netowrk??

i may never know, cause i dont work there, but it seems that we will know soon enough.

but still, im not sure why VZW pushed us to deveolp the V710...only for a few more years of use??

[SW03ES]

Exactly, more evidence that Verizon may indeed be holding steady on the GSM track. It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds.

As for blacklisting ESNs it hasn't been made illegal for 2 reasons:

1. People haven't complained about it. People complained about number portability and that happened easily, open ESNs will come next too once people complain.

2. Again, Verizon is huge and is a BIG proponent of leaving it legal to blacklist ESNs. We all know the poll big business has with our government. Thats not as much an issue in other countries that have already made it illegal.

You can bet that Sprint was fully versed on the future of their industry when they decided to upgrade to 3G CDMA, they made a concious decision that they were choosing CDMA over GSM for the long haul. The release of CDMA phones that roam on GSM from Sprint and Samsung shows this even further. My guess is Verizon has a plan to implement either GSM or 3G CDMA and they're using Sprint as their Guinea Pig on this one.

[ArmyofOne]

that would make sense, a wise business decision for VZW, "dont make a choice until we see what happnes to sprint".

and with the 3G CDMA able to use the GSM netowrk, will sprint even need to "upgrade" to GSM?? thats my other question.

EDIT: dude this sucks, i have to be SOOOOOO careful how i word things...