?'s from a Newbie

I

ImAPQler1

New member
Hi,
I am currently a Sprint customer, no BB yet, but I am looking to get a BB soon, real soon. I was wondering why one would chose TMobile over a larger company. Specifically, I am in northern Florida adn travel frequently along I-10 from Pensacola to Jacksonville. The TMob coverage map looks weak at best for that corridor. But then I have read threads here and everyone seems more than satisfied with their coverage. Is the roaming on TMob that good?
Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Jim
 
I think the reason a lot of people recommend TMobile is because they have the cheapest data plans (by far) and they usually are one of the first companies to obtain newer Blackberrys. I travel throughout the northeast and never have any issues with TMobile even though the coverage maps would say differently.
 
definitely T-MOB! their roaming is great with a good phone, you can switch between them and cingular and not be charged, they have to pay roaming, roaming is free for you on the T-Mobile network. The unlimited Data plan is $19.99 a month, and if you don't make that many calls to different people per month you can get myfaves and a low minute plan and you can talk to 5 people unlimited, anytime! Also if you set up an IM app like Ramble IM you won't have to pay for IM as text message, it will use your existing data plan service, this will save you a ton of money.

FYI tmobile data rates are about 120kbps and cingular is about 148kbps, the difference is hardly noticeable for the price, cingular is $20+ more expensive per month.

Sorry for sounding like a Tmobile rep, but I love them, and I am not a rep. Also, they have the best customer service I have ever experienced in my life, better than amazon and all the rest, and they are always friendly. Also, if you call as a blackberry customer and there is wait time, they will take your number and you will be given a number in line and they will call you back when it is your turn. That is way out!

If you look around, before you sign up, you can get a Pearl for free with a 2 year contract, like on amazon or a local reseller, not directly from Tmobile.
 
oh, also you say "I was wondering why one would chose TMobile over a larger company."

Well the answer is that T-mobile is larger than any american cellphone provider, they are all over the world, and have more subscribers than any American provider. Also, they are skipping 3G and 3.5G and going straight to 4G, which means they will be setting a standard for what is to come in American cellphone coverage and data industry.
 
A good reason to choose Sprint would be you already have their service, and the BB plan is $39.99 for unlimited, and that even includes phone as modem at broadband EVDO speed.
 
welcome jim, also i wanted to add that since you are looking to get a bb I would recommend waiting a little while longer for the 8800. There is no definite word on when it will be released some say Jan some say April but just wait a little while and see what happens. It does seem worth the wait. This is assuming you dont need one right away
 
cp6169,
I am trying to stay with Sprint but they are giving me the runaround when I am trying to switch phones from my current to the 8703. Sure, they'll let me switch after getting the rights to my first born child. It almost pays to have separate accounts. I am getting frustrated with Sprint even though I have been a Sprint customer for over 10 years (not all wireless). Being military I have moved all over the place and brought Sprint along every step of the way, still I am getting no love from them whatsoever.
Perhaps you can help me understand.
Jim
 
T-Mo roams mostly on Cing, so never had a big prob. I think T-Mo's pricing is hard to beat, and there's two ways to look at the lack of EVDO. One, for twenty bucks a month extra you can get T-Mo's hotspot coverage, so for ten bucks more than the basic BlackBerry plans on the other networks you get unlimited WiFi. Plus, my Pearl is provisioned for use as a Bluetooth modem, and it's pretty decent for basic internet/Outlook email. If you live in an area loaded with T-Mo hotspots, it can't be beat.
 
Hi, JimZ. I have quite a bit of experience with nearly all of the carriers in the NW Florida area. Before moving to Indy 4 years ago, it was the only part of the country I had lived in.

My experience there (and I had cellular one, sprint, t-mo, at&t, etc.) is that they are all pretty crappy away from the beach or interstate. The best one for coverage, imo, was the Southern Link service. It is pretty much the same as nextel, but started by and for the regional power company's needs. Because they (the southern companies) wanted to have service anywhere their trucks had to go, that network was pretty extensive. No other cell carrier there could compare.

My point is that they (cellular companies) are all "pretty weak" there. Coverage maps for some other companies may say different, but if a t-mobile phone won't work in a particular location there, none of the other national carriers' likely do any better.

@Rcbjr: I don't think csa819 meant he used wifi with his phone. It looked more to me like he was simply saying why he thought t-mo would be an all-around better choice.
 
You're welcome, Jim! I hope you enjoy you're new BB, and if you have any more questions, everyone here will be more than happy to help.
 
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