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Cingular Wireless Service and NYC

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aparisi2274

aparisi2274

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So I currently have Verizon Wireless and I am not to happy with them right now. Lack of new phones to choose from, high monthly bills, dropped calls, ect...

So I was looking for a new carrier, and I have always been enamored with the RAZR phone from Motorola, and as of right now, you can only use it on the Cingular network. I asked Motorola and they said it wouldnt be coming to Verizon, because of the different networks...

So my question is, How good is the Cingular service? I have read some reviews today and they all seem to be pretty much negative (bad CS Dept, dropped calls, static, hidden fees on your bill) but all these people were outside of NYC. So I was wondering if anyone within NYC and the 5 boroughs has any major issues with them? Is it worth making the switch?

Also, if I were to port my number over, how long does that usually take?
 
I had AT&T Wireless when it was AT&T and now Cingular. There are definitely dead spots all over the city. And the CS does suck now that it switched (AT&T used to be really good in this regard). I can't speak to the more technical aspects of plans and switching as I don't use my phone for much, but most others I know thing their phone plans/carriers suck too. The one i hear the least shit about is TMobile but I believe their plans are more expensive.
 
Only Verizon has cell phone access in Washington DC's metro system. That could be the same in NYC.

Might want to find that out before you switch.
 
Doth Togo said:
Only Verizon has cell phone access in Washington DC's metro system. That could be the same in NYC.

Might want to find that out before you switch.
Click to expand...

we dont have any cel service in the subways. I think they are just getting around to voting on it, and to see if it gets approval to wire up the subway system to get cel service.
 
There are a few universal, indisputable truths when talking about cell carriers:

1) [Company X] Rules
2) [Company X] Sucks
3) [Company X] drops calls like they're going out of fucking style
4) [Company X] handles calls just fine
5) [Company X] has shoddy customer support
6) [Company X] has great customer support
7) Every company has dead spots and occasional network issues

...and it goes on.

Ditching Verizon because they simply don't have flashy phones isn't a valid reason to dump them. (As an aside, a CDMA version of the RAZR does exist, and Motorola is working on a U.S. release aimed at the end of this year. There's no word yet on whether it will go to Verizon, Sprint, or both.) Ditching Verizon because of how they cripple their phones to force you into the Get It Now portal is a valid reason. For how much money you're laying out for even a subsidized phone, you should be able to use it as the manufacturer intended, not how Verizon would like it. Unless I'm horribly mistaken, Cingular doesn't shut down certain aspects of the Bluetooth profile that may prevent you from copying files to and from the phone's main or external memory.

As far as pricing goes, both Cingular and Verizon cost the same now. The one difference is that Cingular rolls over your minutes, which is actually pretty cool.

The big, mac daddy issue of them all now is coverage (your signal strength) and network stability (the odds of you getting a call out on a "perfect" signal and not dropping, or your ability to not have calls go directly to voicemail). You can be reasonably assured that in most major metro areas, coverage shouldn't be too much of an issue. You'd like coverage there, you probably have it. Where you need coverage is a whole different ballgame, and that is going to be the last place you think you're going to be. Like, stranded 10 miles off an exit on 87 somewhere outside Schenectady. I can't speak for network stability. Cingular's in the process of merging the ATTWS network into their own while maintaining roaming agreements with T-Mobile in certain areas of the country. That is definitely going to cause some headaches for users, and on top of that Cingular's been marketing themselves to death, increasing the load on a network that's trying to expand and integrate at the same time.

I'd recommend trying Cingular out before you commit. They've got a 30-day grace period where you can kill your contract and service without an early-termination fee. If it sucks, it sucks. If it's great? Hey, it'd be nice to have an alternative to Verizon in NYC/Metro. Just don't switch because it's a pretty phone (which it is, but I'm really over the RAZR). A lot of good it'll do you if you can't get reliable service.
 
xsarien said:
There are a few universal, indisputable truths when talking about cell carriers:

1) [Company X] Rules
2) [Company X] Sucks
3) [Company X] drops calls like they're going out of fucking style
4) [Company X] handles calls just fine
5) [Company X] has shoddy customer support
6) [Company X] has great customer support
7) Every company has dead spots and occasional network issues

...and it goes on.

Ditching Verizon because they simply don't have flashy phones isn't a valid reason to dump them. (As an aside, a CDMA version of the RAZR does exist, and Motorola is working on a U.S. release aimed at the end of this year. There's no word yet on whether it will go to Verizon, Sprint, or both.) Ditching Verizon because of how they cripple their phones to force you into the Get it Now portal is a valid reason. For how much money you're laying out for even a subsidized phone, you should be able to use it as the manufacturer intended, not how Verizon would like it. Unless I'm horribly mistaken, Cingular doesn't shut down certain aspects of the Bluetooth profile that may prevent you from copying files to and from the phone's main or external memory.

As far as pricing goes, both Cingular and Verizon cost the same now. The one difference is that Cingular rolls over your minutes, which is actually pretty cool.

The big, mac daddy issue of them all now is coverage (your signal strength) and network stability (the odds of you getting a call out on a "perfect" signal and not dropping, or your ability to not have calls go directly to voicemail). You can be reasonably assured that in most major metro areas, coverage shouldn't be too much of an issue. You'd like coverage there, you probably have it. Where you need coverage is a whole different ballgame, and that is going to be the last place you think you're going to be. Like, stranded 10 miles off an exit on 87 somewhere outside Schenectady. I can't speak for network stability. Cingular's in the process of merging the ATTWS network into their own while maintaining roaming agreements with T-Mobile in certain areas of the country. That is definitely going to cause some headaches for users, and on top of that Cingular's been marketing themselves to death, increasing the load on the network on top of everything else.

I'd recommend trying Cingular out before you commit. They've got a 30-day grace period where you can kill your contract and service without an early-termination fee. If it sucks, it sucks. If it's great? Hey, it'd be nice to have an alternative to Verizon in NYC/Metro. Just don't switch because it's a pretty phone (which it is, but I'm really over the RAZR). A lot of good it'll do you if you can't get reliable service.
Click to expand...


I was not aware that they had a 30 day grace period. I need to go to the store one night and check them out....

As for the RAZR on CDMA, I sent an e-mail over to Motorola and they said nothing exists for the CDMA signal....

Was there an article somwhere saying the RAZR was coming for the CDMA network?
 
aparisi2274 said:
Damn thanks man. I wasnt doubting you, I just could never find anything on it.... Do you know when its supposed to be coming out? Verizon better get it.

Also, do you think it will still be a world phone?
Click to expand...

Most of those articles point to the end of the year. I guess that's the official line until something changes. I doubt it's going to be a world phone, though. If you're interested in those, Verizon does carry one or two of those. They're CDMA/GSM 900/1800 hybrid phones and they don't look like complete ass.
 
I just read some of those articles, and every one of them say that its very unlikely it will come to the VZW network, because they require their phones to have the extendable antenna.... SON OF A BITCH!!!!!
 
aparisi2274 said:
cool. thanks for all the info. Any other sites I can check to get updates about the RAZR CDMA phone?
Click to expand...

Probably just the ones in the Google search. The thing only exists in, like, Korea right now.
 
I just saw that Samsung released a clone of the RAZR on CDMA networks in Korea. It looks very cool

sch-v740_women.jpg


They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, then Motorola should be extremely pleased to see Samsung launch the SCH-V740, a phone that, at first glance, looks eerily like the Motorola RAZR V3. What may not sit well with Motorola however is the fact that the V740 manages to pack better features into almost exactly the same dimensions.

Weighing in at 98g, only 3g heavier than the RAZR, the SCH-V740 has a higher resolution display (240x320 compared to the 176x220 RAZR unit) and a 1.3 megapixel camera instead of the Motorola's VGA module. The V740 also supports Bluetooth, just like the RAZR.

The SCH-V740 will be available on CDMA networks, although specific territory availability has not been stated as yet. Samsung's Korean home market is a likely candidate to be the first market, where it can battle head to head with Motorola's upcoming CDMA RAZR V3. No word on when, or if, it might reach other world CDMA markets.
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Well I had attwireless who is now cingular and I live in Queens. I have no problems at all with my service, the only time its dead is on the subways and thats it. I use it all over queens, manhattan and the bronx without any trouble ever. Yet my friend with verizon gets dropped all the time o.o
 
I've been using Cingular for a few months, and they easily have the best customer service of any cell phone carrier, bar none. Yeah, there's dropped calls, just like everyone else. And the price is similar to Verizon I guess (though I still feel its a bit cheaper), but I prefer talking to a person who seemed to actually give a fuck when a problem arose, unlike the apathetic idiots at Verizon (and especially Sprint).

Cingular may not be perfect but being their customer didn't feel like having a noose like Verizon did most of the time.
 
FortNinety said:
I've been using Cingular for a few months, and they easily have the best customer service of any cell phone carrier, bar none. Yeah, there's dropped calls, just like everyone else. And the price is similar to Verizon I guess (though I still feel its a bit cheaper), but I prefer talking to a person who seemed to actually give a fuck when a problem arose, unlike the apathetic idiots at Verizon (and especially Sprint).

Cingular may not be perfect but being their customer didn't feel like having a noose like Verizon did most of the time.
Click to expand...

Well, that's really the worst part about any company. On one CS call you can get a complete douchebag, and another call you can get someone who'll bend over backwards to help you out. When I was talking to Verizon about changing my cell number because I moved to a different area code - a different time zone - I got someone who really just gave me by-the-book answers. When I called the main line, I got someone who was exceedingly friendly, and even called me back after the call was over to give me additional information he just looked up.

With any company, customer service is a crap shoot. (Although from what I hear, Sprint in paritcular is mostly just crap.) ;)

Also, yes: Every carrier will occasionally drop a call. I don't think there's any kind of real metric for something like that. The best you can do is turn to surveys from the likes of JD Power and Consumer Reports. But the unfortunate reality is that these networks have conditions that can change depending on the hour of the day, and routine work can improve cell sites pretty quickly. The best thing you can do is just ask people where you want service who they have, and whether or not the service is any good.
 
I too went with Cingular for the V3 (I want a small, lightweight well-made phone; don't need it to do anything special). The phone is all that I expected it to be; however, the service gets a 7.5/10 from me. Not horrific by any means, not perfect by any means.
 
I'm about to switch from Verizon to Cingular as well. Not just for the RAZR though ;p.

I've asked a few people about the service and no one had any complaints. (I live in the suburbs of NYC, so I assume all carriers are good here anyway. )
 
Ratcage said:
I'm about to switch from Verizon to Cingular as well. Not just for the RAZR though ;p.

I've asked a few people about the service and no one had any complaints. (I live in the suburbs of NYC, so I assume all carriers are good here anyway. )
Click to expand...

All you NYC people are my guinea pigs. ;) I won't be able to see how the service behaves first hand in New York and the outlying suburbs until November or so. (I'm going to pick up a Cingular account on November 1, and then give the 30 day trial a whirl.)

I'm not getting it for any one phone, though. My cell operates as my primary line, and I could *really* use the rollover.
 
I'm actually in similar situation as you guys, except that I live in southern california. My verizon contract is about to expire and i kinda want to switch to cingular because a) verizon phones suck b) my connection quality has been really, really crappy lately. But I'm also hesistant because I used cingular before they merged w/ AT&T, and from what I remembered, their connection quality was horrendous. I've also used AT&T as well and they were slightly better than Cingular back then.
 
Cingular gives you 30 days to try out the service (you are responsible for the charges incurred during the trial period, of course).
 
I had AT&T now have Cingular. I get bad reception anywhere and it is a pain in the ass. I've been considering Nextel, but I am waiting for my contract to expire.
 
Wellington said:
I had AT&T now have Cingular. I get bad reception anywhere and it is a pain in the ass. I've been considering Nextel, but I am waiting for my contract to expire.
Click to expand...


If you are considering Nextel, you might want to wait. They are being absorbed by Sprint, and I know a lot of people, myself included, hate Sprint.

So you might want to see what happens once the merger takes place.
 
Wellington said:
I had AT&T now have Cingular. I get bad reception anywhere and it is a pain in the ass. I've been considering Nextel, but I am waiting for my contract to expire.
Click to expand...

And you live in NYC right? I'd say no; a friend of mine has Nextel and his reception is crap.

Plus with Sprint taking over... you might want either T-Mobile or Verizon (as much as I hate them, they have great reception).
 
Wellington said:
I had AT&T now have Cingular. I get bad reception anywhere and it is a pain in the ass. I've been considering Nextel, but I am waiting for my contract to expire.
Click to expand...

You're having reception issues and you want to go to Nextel? ;)

quin said:
so are the only national carriers remaining sprint, cingular, t-mobile and verizon?
Click to expand...

Yup.
 
hey I dont mean to bump this, but some people in this thread had made mention to a 30-day trial period with Cingular? Is that a known thing? I ask because I wanted to test out the service for 30days, and see if I like it or not, and I dont want to go in and ask them about the 30-day trial and have them look at me like I am crazy..

So can someone let me know if I walk into a Cingular store and ask them about the RAZR phone and a 30 day trial period, will they know what I am talking about?

Thanks.
 
aparisi2274 said:
hey I dont mean to bump this, but some people in this thread had made mention to a 30-day trial period with Cingular? Is that a known thing? I ask because I wanted to test out the service for 30days, and see if I like it or not, and I dont want to go in and ask them about the 30-day trial and have them look at me like I am crazy..

So can someone let me know if I walk into a Cingular store and ask them about the RAZR phone and a 30 day trial period, will they know what I am talking about?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

http://www.cingular.com/about/company_overview
 
A 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy nationwide—more than any other national carrier.
Click to expand...

I assume that means on everything correct? Like I can go in, buy the RAZR phone, and a service plan, leave with my new phone, try it out, see how it works, and then 30 days later, pack it all up and just tell them no thanks, and I will get a credit for everything??

Let me know...


Also, say I do this, is there a way to foward all my calls from my current cel phone (verizon) to whatever number I get from Cingular, so all my friends can still call my cel and the calls would just get fowarded to my RAZR phone for the month, so I can see how the clarity of the calls are?
 
aparisi2274 said:
I assume that means on everything correct? Like I can go in, buy the RAZR phone, and a service plan, leave with my new phone, try it out, see how it works, and then 30 days later, pack it all up and just tell them no thanks, and I will get a credit for everything??

Let me know...
Click to expand...

No, like every carrier the grace period just allows for a refund on the hardware and cancellation of your contract without penalty. As far as I know, the activation fee is non-refundable, and you're obviously responsible for any service that you use. If you think about it, that makes sense. If they didn't make you pay for the calls you make and services used, it'd be a freeloading nightmare. :P


Also, say I do this, is there a way to foward all my calls from my current cel phone (verizon) to whatever number I get from Cingular, so all my friends can still call my cel and the calls would just get fowarded to my RAZR phone for the month, so I can see how the clarity of the calls are?
Click to expand...

You'd have to talk to Verizon about that, I'm pretty sure they've got a call-forwarding option. If you decide to keep Cingular, there might be a charge to port your number over. The reason for that is that a number port is something that's usually done at the beginning of your service, not a month in.
 
xsarien said:
No, like every carrier the grace period just allows for a refund on the hardware and cancellation of your contract without penalty. As far as I know, the activation fee is non-refundable, and you're obviously responsible for any service that you use. If you think about it, that makes sense. If they didn't make you pay for the calls you make and services used, it'd be a freeloading nightmare. :P




You'd have to talk to Verizon about that, I'm pretty sure they've got a call-forwarding option. If you decide to keep Cingular, there might be a charge to port your number over. The reason for that is that a number port is something that's usually done at the beginning of your service, not a month in.
Click to expand...


Well I mean I know I would be responsible for the charges and the activation fee. I just wanted to make sure I could return the phone and cancel the subscription to the service if I didnt like it...

I need to look at my verizon phone manual and see if there is a call fowarding option on there...

Also, do you know what the activation fee is when signing up?
 
aparisi2274 said:
Well I mean I know I would be responsible for the charges and the activation fee. I just wanted to make sure I could return the phone and cancel the subscription to the service if I didnt like it...

I need to look at my verizon phone manual and see if there is a call fowarding option on there...

Also, do you know what the activation fee is when signing up?
Click to expand...

Dammit man, just poke around here:

www.cingular.com :P
 
aparisi2274 said:
Well I mean I know I would be responsible for the charges and the activation fee. I just wanted to make sure I could return the phone and cancel the subscription to the service if I didnt like it...

I need to look at my verizon phone manual and see if there is a call fowarding option on there...

Also, do you know what the activation fee is when signing up?
Click to expand...

My activation fee was 18 bucks for Cingular, but I got it from Amazon and heard some people were paying $35.
 
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