Need New Phone - Want An Atrix, Less Than Ideal AT&T Service Where I Live. Ideas?

H

HanT

New member
As the title says, I am in need of a new phone, and really would love to buy an an Atrix. However, AT&T service is spotty at my home, with calls often dropping and the data is not terribly fast either. A Sprint Evo 4G I tested at home even before 4G was available was much faster as far as data.

Will Verizon be getting a version of the Atrix if I wait for a while longer? If not, do they have anything comparable on the way anytime soon? And I do not want an iPhone. Having spent time with both Evo 4G and Droid X loaners, the screen size makes a dramatic difference, and I simply would not want to go with a phone with a smaller screen.

I have the option of going to any carrier, as I am on month to month with Verizon at the moment.
 
You can agree to put an AT&T fematocell on your home. A fematocell looks like a router, but it really is a miniature mobile base station. That will improve the coverage throughout your home.

The closest thing Verizon has on the Atrix is the Droid Bionic. It's also a Motorola, has a bigger screen, dual core Tegra 2 but doesn't have the dock and all that. Its 4G and uses LTE. It won't be out till the next quarter though. For this quarter, the Thunderbolt is coming out.
 
Would the fematocell also improve both the coverage for calling and improve data speed? Also, will AT&T provide it free of charge since it is needed to make their signal usable?
 
Anytime you got a strong signal, that would improve coverage at least throughout your house (think of it like an extended range wifi router but using the phone signal). That also improves on the speed as well; there is always a direct relationship between data speed and signal strength. I'm not sure what the terms are for the fematocell, you have to ask AT&T.

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/
 
Thanks for the link, Drillbit, seems like exactly what I would need. Unfortunately, when I clicked on the availability tab and entered my zip code, and even several ones surrounding me, it said it was not available in my area. Which leaves me wondering whether they only have these targeted for very rural, or remote areas.
 
The other possibility then is to consider if your own perceptions of AT&T service in your area or your home is up to date or not. When is the last time you experienced the AT&T service in your home? How long was it time ago? The situation can change month to month. What particular phone is used? Some phones do better, others worst.
 
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