Moving to Tyler, TX and need new service and phone

[s0darktheconofman]

I am looking at Alltel, AT&T and Verizon as those are the carriers that are recommended by local individuals. My problem is what phone and which of the 3 carriers?

My corp. office supports Blackberry via email and I'm looking for the best all around phone with fast email and EXCELLENT reception and a good organizer.

It's a stand-alone phone with no shared minutes unless the mother-in-law gets added later but that's a remote possibility. My wife will be using Alltell as that is the carrier provided by her office.

Fire away as I'm all ears right now.

 

[BLIZARD]

Alltel, if they have m2m plans..

Cingular for blackberry Curve... fast email, fast web browsing, and sexii camera, in case your company is paying for service. The user UI is very quick compared to previous BBs.

 

[PHAN TUYEN]

I would go with Alltel and the Blackberry 8703e.

This would give you free M2M to your wife, a very good phone that meets your needs, as well as very good Alltel data plans. Here's the link: http://www.alltel.com/personal/wireless/plans/plans_individual.html
You still have to click on the 'Smart Choice Packs' tab.

Alltel's data is truly unlimited and not limited like Verizon. Also, starting with the $89 plan, all lines on your plan get nights at 7 and unlimited text messaging, as well as My Circle on the account. Mobile-to-Mobile is included in all plans if you can get by on the cheaper 500 min plan though.

Tyler, TX is also an area where Alltel is EV-DO in (3G=EV-DO), as Alltel has made a huge upgrade to their network over the past year. Here is their current Texas map. Blue is EV-DO (400-700 kbps) and purple is 1x (1x=Edge) (40-70 kbps). AT&T is only 1x/Edge in your area so the data would be much slower: http://www.alltel.com/business/enhanced/mobilelink_coverage.jsp?state=tx
The map does not include Sprint EV-DO areas. Alltel just changed their roaming order so that you will get Sprint EV-DO before receiving Alltel 1x with no roaming charges. Giving high-speed data around virtually every US city between the two networks including Dallas/Ft. Worth.

 

[Putti P]

I like what you say about Alltel and am currently leaning towards them but I do travel quite a bit and some of the areas (Galena, IL, Des Moines, IA, Chicago, IL, Charleston, SC) doesn't really seem to have any coverage. You had mentioned that Alltell rolls to Sprint, are you certain about that? So basically I'm to assume that in the Tyler area I'm on the Alltel network and then when I head to Dallas I'm going to be roaming but on the faster Sprint network? I'm just a little confused.

And what about all the area that shows no service. I won't even have a roaming single in those areas?

Thanks for the input I really appreciate it.

 

[Giovanna P]

Now lets change the scenario a little bit because my wife will need to stay with a Palm due to here medical software not being supported by a blackberry. I can have my email forwarded in lieu of having my corporate office support the Blackberry and I would prefer to keep the same phone as my wife just to keep it simple. So does that change the recommendation of carrier? Alltel or AT&T or Verizon? Again she will be on the Alltel plan and it may make sense for me to be on another plan for when we travel or am I just getting too creative with that?

What Palm would you recommend? I may need to start a new thread for this but thanks for the help up to this point.

 

[Green123]

All network providers use roaming partners in certain areas. This allows all the providers to allow customers to have national coverage, without having to pay for licenses and the building of a network that spans the entire country. For instance, on the Verizon website, there is an option with their coverage map to show only the Verizon network, and it has many more holes than their 'America's Choice' map where practically the entire nation is covered in red. For Alltel, this is their Native Coverage Map. This shows areas where Alltel sells service. But, they will also provide service through other providers in areas they don't cover. That is why, under their 'Smart Choice Packs' map, the map covers practically the entire country in Blue.

This website might help a little bit if you want to understand the details of it: PRL Interpretations

But basically, for Alltel data, your phone would scan for signals in this order: 1. Alltel EV-DO, 2. Sprint EV-DO, 3. Alltel 1x, 4. Sprint 1x, 5. Verizon 1x, 6. Other Smaller Providers 1x.
For voice, it becomes simplified, 1. Alltel, 2. Sprint, 3. Verizon, 4. US Cellular, 5. Other Smaller Providers

The roaming list is different for different providers, but there are also many places where Sprint and Verizon would fall back onto Alltel, as Alltel is the main roaming partner for both of the other providers.

I looked up the cities you mentioned and in Tyler you would be on Alltel EV-DO. In Charleston-Alltel 1x (EV-DO later this summer). In Chicago, Des Moines, and Dallas-Sprint EV-DO. And in Galena-Verizon 1x. There is no roaming charges for data or voice anywhere around any of these areas. Once you leave your home area, your phone may blink roaming, but on a Smart Choice Pack, you will have access to all of these networks without any roaming charges. And it is a little confusing, because you may be in Charleston, and your phone may say roaming even though you're still on Alltel, because you're not in your home area, if that makes sense. But Alltel designes their roaming indicator like that for people on regional plans so they'll know when they are out of their area.

Sorry to write a book, but I hope that makes sense and explains the process well enough and I didn't get too confusing on it.

 

[Ba Gurk]

If you're going with a Palm. I would go with the Palm 700, the newest version out on Alltel and Verizon. If you're familiar with a Microsoft operating system, I would go with the 700wx, but if you're more into macs, the 700p may be easier to understand. They're basically the same phone that runs a slightly different software version. I personally like the Blackberry a little better myself, but there are definite advantages to both of you carring Palms, because between the two of you, you should know every little detail about it! There's also the point that applications may be more important than an extra bar of reception. I've long been told by many people in my family that just about everybody in the medical community prefers the Palms, although it is starting to become more diverse.

When you travel, because of the roaming list, there shouldn't be anywhere that a Verizon phone would pick up that an Alltel phone wouldn't. So you probably wouldn't see a gain of coverage there anywhere, but you would be paying a little more (Verizon's prices are a little higher) and wouldn't have access to unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes to your family on Alltel. As for AT&T, they use a different technology and do not roam with the other providers I mentioned, although they may roam in certain areas on T-Mobile, and you may see a different coverage layout. If it's better or worse, it's really hard to say without looking at the coverage map and trying it out. If you do want to try them, then they carry the Treo750. Their data network for 3G/EV-DO, isn't near as well built out as the combined Sprint/Alltel network, and you won't have mobile-to-mobile minutes to your wife's line. So, I wouldn't change my recommendation of provider based on those points. Alltel still has better plans, especially with their My Circle promotion, and would give you more areas covered by high speed data on your wireless device, especially in your home area of Tyler. But if you prefer to carry phones from two different providers, I would recommend AT&T above Verizon. AT&T is also very good in some of the more rural areas of Texas when it comes to coverage, even though none of those areas would have high-speed data including Tyler which is still Edge/1x.

EDIT: I do think the option will come down to the phone or the coverage. AT&T has a slightly newer version of Blackberry and Palm which tend to get released to the larger providers first. AT&T also shows many more pda/smartphone options, but many of those are refurbs and older models. But Alltel has the better-built, high-speed network in your area. I generally tend to side with with the better high-speed network as long as the phone suits your needs, because to me, that seems like the most valuable part of the service. No matter what type of phone you get, there will be something newer and better out in 3 months.