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  • Who's your cellular phone provider?

    I just want to take a poll on who's your cell phone prodiver. (I'm interested in the people who lives in Hawaii, but you "mainland" can vote as well)

    Choices:
    Nextel
    ATT
    Verizon
    Cingular
    Tmobile
    Sprint
    Prepaid
    62
    Nextel
    4.84%
    3
    ATT
    11.29%
    7
    Verizon
    22.58%
    14
    Cingular
    17.74%
    11
    Tmobile
    25.81%
    16
    Sprint
    12.90%
    8
    Prepaid
    4.84%
    3
    How'd I get so white and nerdy?

  • #2
    Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

    That's nice...I'm the only one that has voted so far and it seems Verizon has this poll locked up at 100%

    But they better get better cell service down here in Kea'au by the ocean cuz it ain't happening much with signal strength.
    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

      I use AT&T Wireless with a Nokia. Pretty vanilla stuff.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

        I'm with Sprint, mostly because of a discount a friend hooked me up with when he worked for them. I like the hardware, the service is good, and while some of the proprietary things they do (i.e. messaging, e-mail) are annoying, I like their flat pricing for data services... allowing me to send gobs of blurry, cameraphone photos to my heart's content.

        When I considered changing providers, none of the others were particularly compelling save T-Mobile (formerly VoiceStream). But for now, I give Sprint a B- and I'm sticking with 'em.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

          I'm one of the last of a dying breed; I don't have one.
          http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

            I use prepaid, but I have a Maui phone number! Really throws people off up here when they see the "808" on their number display!

            I did that because I figured I needed the cell phone more when I'm in Hawaii than when I'm up here in Seattle. What's even funnier is for about 18 years, I worked in telecom and I never really wanted a cell phone just for the convenience. I could get a corporate rate through my company, but that would only encourage me to yak on the phone when I should be driving or walking (and watching where I'm walking) or quietly eating dinner at a restaurant.

            Cell phones (like crying babies at a concert) are abominations. The new ones with the cameras in them are going to get lots of people in trouble when they photograph people/things they're not supposed to be photographing.

            Miulang
            "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

              Originally posted by Miulang
              I use prepaid, but I have a Maui phone number! Really throws people off up here when they see the "808" on their number display!

              I did that because I figured I needed the cell phone more when I'm in Hawaii than when I'm up here in Seattle. What's even funnier is for about 18 years, I worked in telecom and I never really wanted a cell phone just for the convenience. I could get a corporate rate through my company, but that would only encourage me to yak on the phone when I should be driving or walking (and watching where I'm walking) or quietly eating dinner at a restaurant.

              Cell phones (like crying babies at a concert) are abominations. The new ones with the cameras in them are going to get lots of people in trouble when they photograph people/things they're not supposed to be photographing.

              Miulang
              My brother used to have a Hawaii number when he was with our plan, but since tmobile's service doesn't exist in Michigan, he decided to get Sprint.

              And the only reason why I think camera/video phones are a necessity, is that you can record news events if no one is. People can just shoot the video or take a couple of pictures of an unfolding news event, and send it to a news station. (I needed a camera phone when the route 43 bus was up in smoke (smoke coming from the exhaust) on the H1 freeway near the airport yesterday. Luckily, the bus was empty, but it caused everyone to slow down because of a thick white smoke was covering the rest of the lanes from the right hand lane).
              How'd I get so white and nerdy?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                About the only cellphone number I call halfway regularly is my principal client's, and it's a Maui number. So I get long-distance calls on my MCI bill even though the guy is on Oahu. It's annoying and costly, and having to remember to dial 808 first is a pain.
                Last edited by Linkmeister; October 1, 2004, 10:51 AM. Reason: Spell Check!
                http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                • #9
                  Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                  I use AT & T wireless.
                  I have used them for a long time & it's the only company I know, & that I am use to.

                  I bought an AT & T go phone for my best friend, & you should have seen how excited she has been, since she got it.(she gets billed on her name, only.)

                  Oh, Glen, FYI- I have upgraded my cell phone for free, where any one I call or any one who calls me, does not affect my minutes & it is not deducted from my minutes at all. If you want that type of deal, perhaps you should try to call AT & T wireless & discuss that deal with them. Good luck.
                  Aches & Pains
                  (through out our lives) knows no time!!.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                    I accidentally picked Verizon before reading all the choices--mine is actually prepaid thru Verizon, so I guess I'm half-right! It's an okay company with okay service, but since it's pre-paid, I don't know if I can keep my same number if I were to try switching providers, and I don't think it's worth the hassle of getting a new number if I don't use it that much to begin with. Anyway, if it weren't for my job, I'd never have a cell phone at all, but having on-call responsibilities thru work makes it a necessity. Most of the time, though, I don't carry it with me or have it on. Uh, oh, I feel a vent coming on...

                    It bothers me when I see people chatting on their phones in what I consider to be inappropriate places--if I had a penny for every time somebody apologized to me after almost hitting me while driving on the roads, one hand still holding their cell to their ear...sigh. I still can't get used to all the really loud ring tones that break the silence at movie theaters (even after seeing the big "please silence your phones and pagers" warning on the movie screen), concerts, performances, and in nice restaurants, and it makes me laugh sometimes at how technology changes--it seems I pass more people talking loudly on their phones, not paying attention to anything around them, competing to be heard over traffic in the streets, than I do people not using them these days. I'm now unfortunately been privy to more conversations than I'd care to, all thanks to cell phones! People always forget that their loud talking on the phone is readily in "listening distance" of almost everybody around them. I really don't want to hear about Auntie Ethel's divorce or what foods someone's dad wants them to pick up from the grocery and/or the follow-up prolonged arguments over the validity of some of these grocery items, sigh part two. I haven't come up with an effective method yet for tuning such people out. Got any suggestions? If I tried to leave every situation where such events took place, I'd have to become a hermit! (Unfortunately or not, I'm too social to become a hermit, heehee.)

                    Most of my friends, who like myself grew up with cell phones at a relatively early age, are used to all the things that drive me crazy, I suppose, but me, I miss the "good ol'" days when people had to excuse themselves from a social/public situation and isolate themselves in paid phone booths with some privacy that saved the rest of us from hearing all sorts of loud rings, loud ring tones, loud conversations, and most importantly, saved us from having to put up with the sometimes dangerous behavior of people distracted by their phones!

                    Believe it or not, I'm not as old as my diatribe makes me sound, lol...I'm in my mid-twenties. And I must also admit that cell phones are very instrumental in emergency situations, for letting people know you'll be late/conveying other SHORT important messages, and even useful for finding people in crowded places,etc (maybe everybody I see on the street chatting away so loudly on the phone is looking for their friends or family and is lost while looking for them, hence the LONG conversation? ).

                    But maybe people should think twice about their constant need to ALWAYS have their phone on them and turned on! The world won't end if they turn their phones off for the course of a meal or for a couple of hours in a movie or while they are driving somewhere--will it? At least they could excuse themselves and go to a more quiet, empty room or pull over their car if they absolutely MUST answer the phone that very moment! I know that people forget sometimes, and I think that many of them feel embarrassed when it rings at a strange time, but if it does, why not turn it off at that point and call whoever it is back later when it's more appropriate? Too many people don't seem to care about those around them, and they just answer the phone then and there, once again subjecting others to really LOUD conversations as they try to make themselves heard over everybody else--or the movie on the screen.

                    What does everybody think about laws that would bar people from using their cell phones while driving? I'd be relieved myself... I also wouldn't mind if teachers would take a moment to have all the kids pull out their cell phones (since you know they all got 'em anyway) and have a talk about cell phone etiquette. Then maybe we can get cell phone use under control and make cell phone behavior more discrete and classy...? Somewhere, over the rainbow... I guess I'll get used to it, that soon I'll be able to tune cell phones/cell conversations out the way people who live next to tracks can tune out a train. I also suppose that the next generation won't even think twice about it, having known no other life, but if I ever have kids, I'll try to impress upon them that there's a time and place for cell phones, and it isn't EVERY time and EVERY place!

                    Phew, nice to get that off my chest...thanks for listening to me rant!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                      You can move your number from a prepaid to a regular phone plan. Doesn't verizon offer that service for free?
                      How'd I get so white and nerdy?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                        Originally posted by AbsolutChaos
                        What does everybody think about laws that would bar people from using their cell phones while driving?
                        Hui AC: Some jurisdictions up here on the Mainland already have such laws on the books. If you're caught driving through town in North Bend while yakking on a cell phone, the cops can issue a ticket for inattentive driving. I think there is a loophole though: I don't believe you get ticketed if you're using handsfree. To me that's not a whole lot different than having a cell phone glued to your ear while driving while sipping on a latte; you're still not paying 100% attention to your driving. Maybe there should be a law against eating while driving too. I think I've seen surveys that say that there are more accidents caused by people eating while driving than talking while driving (and what about the people shaving, flossing their teeth or applying mascara or lipstick while driving...eesh ). Heh, I think inattentive driving really took off when people starting buying automatic transmission cars. If you have to drive a standard shift, you have very little "idle" time to be distracted. Maybe we should make automatic transmissions illegal...that might keep some of the idjits now driving off the road because they aren't coordinated enough to use a clutch and shift gears at the same time.
                        I'm on call almost 24x7 all the time for my job, too. But I rely on my text pager to let me know what the problem is and if I'm in the car, the problem just has to wait until I get to someplace where it's safe for me to talk.

                        Miulang
                        Last edited by Miulang; October 3, 2004, 08:51 AM.
                        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                          Originally posted by adri1456
                          You can move your number from a prepaid to a regular phone plan. Doesn't verizon offer that service for free?

                          Thanks--you're probably right. I need to look into that...I'm just lazy!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                            i had t-mobile but switched to verizon. t-mobile has better plans, while verizon offers better reception.
                            Fair and Balanced

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

                              I used to have a cellular phone back in the early 1990's from Radio Shack and I think my provider at the time was GTE, I gave it up after about a couple of years because no one really called me and it was a pain in the butt paying for a service I never used and lugging around the phone that was the size of small brick. Not to mention the fact that the battery I was using for that phone was losing it's charge.

                              Up until 3 weeks ago I didn't think I need a cell phone because I could either be reached at home or at work and if I am not there, they can always leave a message.

                              Then this trip to Kauai (which I just came back today) made me re-think on getting a cellular phone service. I initially was thinking of Hawaiian Telcom since for me it's easier to pay one big bill verus paying a lot of smaller bills but as fate would have it (like coming in after the Hawaiian Telcom office was closed on a Friday night), I stumbled across TracFone at Wal-Mart.

                              To me the price was reasonable, around $20 for a Nokia 1100 phone, plus $20 for 60 units of air time or $30 for 120 units of air time. I initially got the phone and one 60 unit card.

                              The way the usage goes if you use your phone (either making or getting calls) within your area (based on your zip code) the rate is 1 minute of usage takes 1 unit of air time. If you use your phone outside of your area the rate is 1 minute of usage takes 2 units of air time. If you send a text message that takes up .3 units of air time. Getting a text message is free. Checking on the TracFone web site they had defined my area as the entire island of Oahu which I thought was okay. However my TracFone phone's area code was not in the 808 area, it's in the 360 area code, so people calling me via cell phones is not a problem but people calling me via land lines would be making long distance calls to reach me (I don't think is an issue for me, but others might).

                              A week after I brought my phone and card I figured I should pick up another 60 unit card for the Kauai trip but I ended up using almost over 60 units due to calls relating to the planning of the trip. This past Friday night I picked a 120 unit card (mainly because they ran out of the 60 unit cards) for the trip itself.

                              When I arrived on Kauai Saturday afternoon I come to find out that I am still in my home area (at 1 minute for 1 unit of air time) so that was a good surprise.

                              What also impressed about the Nokia 1100 phone was that the battery lasted a long time. I forgot to pack the recharger and it was left on for about 95% of the time I was there and I think the battery level never went past 75% but then again I didn't make that many calls, no more than 25 minutes of talk time totally during the trip.

                              So far I am happy with the service and whatever time I have left is going to expire in July at which time I can add at least 60 units to keep it going.

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