Who is switching to Cingular for iPhone?

[onlooker]

I use alltel right now, and I am very happy with it, but not for much longer.

Anyone else switching for iPhone?

[Feynman]

I'm already Cingular.

[Srewop]

I'm US Cellular and i dont get service in my bedroom. I don't think i can put up with it much longer.

Does anyone know how competitive Cingular is in their Family Plans?

[vinea]

I'm US Cellular and i dont get service in my bedroom. I don't think i can put up with it much longer.

Does anyone know how competitive Cingular is in their Family Plans?

Depends on whether some folks on your plan are under users that you have time left over for rollover minutes into the next month. My parents are on my account and we mentally budgetted time for them which for the most part don't get used and rolled into the next month.

They were competitive for us because their corporate discount was slightly better than Verizons at the time and at my company. I didn't compare undiscounted plans but I think that the rollover minutes was the what convinced us over Verizon. Looking at our phone bills we had ups and downs month to month and did get charged from time to time. Not so much anymore. I believe we have soo many rollover minutes it silly.

The only thing that will get us is roaming or international calls which has been zero.

This "feature" probably isn't useful for families with teenagers...

Vinea

[rayapple]

Cingular Sucks!

[fuzz_ball]

Cingular Sucks!

Newsflash: They all suck!

Everytime I've considered switching (and I've tried a couple of the others; Sprint and T-Mobile) either the service is no better than what I have, or for ones I haven't tried, seems everyone I know who has the "other" service tell me it sucks.

I've yet to hear a universal "X-Brand Cell Service" is great!

[rayapple]

Newsflash: They all suck!

Everytime I've considered switching (and I've tried a couple of the others; Sprint and T-Mobile) either the service is no better than what I have, or for ones I haven't tried, seems everyone I know who has the "other" service tell me it sucks.

I've yet to hear a universal "X-Brand Cell Service" is great!

Well here in Philadelphia Verizon is the best............... just incase anyone is wondering!

[Splinemodel]

It will be available for Sprint before too long. Verizon, I'm not sure: Verizon is the king of crippling phones.

[CosmoNut]

I very well may get an iPhone, but it won't be for several months so that my current contract with T-Mobile can expire and I can save up to buy one. I'll be able to start saving after I get married in June.

[sCreeD]

It will be available for Sprint before too long. Verizon, I'm not sure: Verizon is the king of crippling phones.
Only Cingular and T-Mobile have EDGE networks in the US.

The fact that I have T-Mobile and that Apple made this a multi-year exclusive deal irks me to no end. ...but I might switch.

[geekdreams]

The fact that I have T-Mobile and that Apple made this a multi-year exclusive deal irks me to no end. ...but I might switch. I second that.

[mania]

Well I checked the cingular site and it says golly gee we can't believe you are in one of the few places that can't get us. We add more places every day. So I check the map and big chunks of Colorado is in the dark and large portions of the western US. So at this rate I think the sun will burn out first. Sure would have liked to have one.

[Splinemodel]

Only Cingular and T-Mobile have EDGE networks in the US.

The fact that I have T-Mobile and that Apple made this a multi-year exclusive deal irks me to no end. ...but I might switch.

Yeah, but EDGE is 2.5G crap, and the iPhone is supposed to be the icon of the contemporary technical limit. I posted a reply in another topic about how I think the iPhone uses the OMAP 2230. Apple can drop in a 3G OMAP pretty easily. If indeed Apple is using a more cutting edge OMAP (like one from the 3000 series), then changing to 3G/3.5G EVDO is essentially a software fix. It's pretty evident that it's EDGE only because they found Cingular to be the easiest to work with (listen to the keynote for that clue). If the iPhone succeeds (and look at it, it most certainly will) we'll see EVDO models very shortly after launch.

[cuencap]

I love Verizon...it would be extremely hard to switch to a company who's service I've used and don't find as quality as Verizon...

I'm sure the iPhone will be half the price and work with Verizon in a couple years.
Remember the Razor that came out a couple years ago? It's down to $20 from Verizon! Prices of cell phones go down faaast!

[Bergermeister]

I would switch to anybody to get my hands on this baby. I live in Japn, though, so we can't get it for another year.

[gwoodpecker]

It's pretty evident that it's EDGE only because they found Cingular to be the easiest to work with (listen to the keynote for that clue).

Maybe that's because the rest of the planet (Europe, for example) uses GSM / EDGE and not the other more or less proprietary formats (CDMA)? Apple is smart enough to use the technology that's used in most countries around the globe (instead of being US-centric!) and therefore they will sell more iPhones because of that. Really easy!

Oh, one more thing: why do you think it is a quad-band mobile phone? Certainly not for selling it in the U.S. alone...

[Splinemodel]

Maybe that's because the rest of the planet (Europe, for example) uses GSM / EDGE and not the other more or less proprietary formats (CDMA)? Apple is smart enough to use the technology that's used in most countries around the globe (instead of being US-centric!) and therefore they will sell more iPhones because of that. Really easy!

Oh, one more thing: why do you think it is a quad-band mobile phone? Certainly not for selling it in the U.S. alone...

It would be nice if people who posted about cell phone technology actually had a clue. GSM/EDGE is dated technology. Everyone in the 1st world was supposed to have already gone to 3G by now, which in all cases uses CDMA-based technologies. In the US and Asia, other technologies (CDMA-based 3G) are at least as prevalent as GSM.

GSM and EDGE are higher level protocols. CDMA is, for lack of simpler nomenclature, a type of modulation. What is essentially GSM-3G uses CDMA signalling. Europe uses GSM/EDGE because it's home grown, but at the end of the day GSM/EDGE can't pack nearly as many users per cell as US 3G (EVDO) or US 2G (IS-95), it has much higher signal-to-noise as cells get more filled, and it doesn't deal as well with signal reflections. By modern standards, it's junk technology.

It's a quad band GSM phone because the commodity part they happened to buy, which acts as the cellular baseband, happens to support quad band GSM. Go look at TI's OMAP site: everything is deeply integrated. GSM/EDGE has the one benefit that as older technology, it's cheap, ubiquitous, and easy to implement. This, plus the fact that Cingular was obviously the most receptive ("I agreed without ever seeing the phone"), are key reasons to why the current model is GSM/EDGE. There's really no way that the iPhone won't be upgraded to CDMA, since it will have to be in order for it to be 3G.

[Digital Disasta]

Verizon is the best in NYC and out on Long Island for sure. I always have service in, elevators, basements, even some subway stations I can use the phone. I wouldn't switch for anything. My roomate has cingular and HATES it, more the reason to stick it out and see if they come out with other models

[Splinemodel]

Verizon is the best in NYC and out on Long Island for sure. I always have service in, elevators, basements, even some subway stations I can use the phone. I wouldn't switch for anything. My roomate has cingular and HATES it, more the reason to stick it out and see if they come out with other models

Yeah, that's pretty much where I am: 3G or bust. I'll only switch to Cingular if they update their network.

[Vasco Casquilho]

I am willing to go to NY in June to get one of these, but my question is regarding the deal with Cingular.
Does it mean that no iPhone will be available without a contract with Cingular? Is it locked? So if i bring it over to Europe, it wont wotk?
Or the iPhones sold at the Apple Store are unlocked?

If it is locked, why the hell do they do it ? Why do they want to sell 10 units (figure of speech) if they can sell 1000 ?

Txs a lot
Vasco

[Kavik]

This is my first post here (after lurking for several years ;) ) and I have to say that the Apple's decision of a Cingular/AT&T exclusive for the iPhone ruined one of the most exciting technology announcements (ever!) for me.

I've been a very happy T-Mobile customer for over five years. I have always been thankful for their pricing/plans and great customer service. You can reach someone 24/7, and I have never waited more than a minute to reach a rep (and one that is always here in the US!). They actually want to *help* solve your problem, unlike friends I have who can't even get through to their providers. And T-Mobile provides its unlimited EDGE data plan (including tethering to laptops) with T-Spots WIFI for $30/mo.

The most (and biggest) horror stories I've heard have been with Cingular. They have the second most expensive plans (after Verizon) and every iPhone user will be paying a *steep* price for data (not to mention some of the other 'exclusive' features). Their customer service really stinks, not to mention that their CS department isn't even open late nights or on Sunday! This is the nation's biggest provider?

I really hope that Apple reconsiders and provides an unlocked GSM option for the rest of us (much as Palm did with the Treo). Cingular can stay their 'exclusive' mobile provider for subsidized iPhones, but I don't think I would ever switch to them for the privledge of owning an iPhone. :no:

[willrob]

So far only Cingular can have the Visual VoiceMail. You might get another provider if you're willing to give that up, or wait until other providers can implement it.

[bladerunner]

I agree with Kavik-Have been with T-Mobile a long time too
Have a plan that I am happy with and am able to sync up my phone via Bluetooth.
Thankfully am no longer under contract!
But am concerned for all the reason's stated. Cingualar's $59 plan for 600 minutes is not a deal
for me considering am paying $40 something for a thousand.

Hopefully Apple will have hammered out some sort of "seperate deal" regarding minute and data
use for Apple iPhone customers.


But like Jeff Goldblum said at the end of the first Titanium TV Ad " But Jeez your Just So Gonna Want One!"

[BrwnTiger]

I spoke with an Apple rep yesterday when he was at my job and he said that the iPhone will NOT be CDMA. He said that Apple wanted to ensure QoS...so that's going to rule out Sprint, Verizon and who ever else still uses it. So it looks like it will be only Cingular and T-Mobile in the future....personally I have a Sprint Blackberry 8703e and I love the phone, especially when I tether it over EV-DO....just give me a touchscreen/widescreen 120 gig iPod and I'll be just fine!

[ethelcorn]

I am strongly opposed to any two year contract... :grumble: and was so hoping that Apple could do this without getting into bed with one of the mega-companies. Might change my isp now that ATT bought them up (to switch away from them) but definitely wont be switching to ATT/Cingular.


It is an amazing product and I very much need a new phone -but one that is simple and easy -unencumbered by television, email, photos, and the web. It is disappointing to find oneself not among the chosen 1% :( but Maybe S.J. will come out with a "nano" phone later on.











(first post in a few years)

[nina_p]

I also have T-Mobile and have been really satisfied with it. Occasionally some dropped calls but mostly it's really reliable.

I want to know -- if Cingular is so technologically advanced (EDGE, etc.) why is their sound so poor? Everyone I know who has Cingular in the Midwest hates it and can't wait to get rid of it. So I am sooooo sad that Apple chose Cingular. I wanted to get an iPhone immediately, but I guess I'll wait a few years.

[DotComCTO]

I live about 45 miles north of Manhattan. Up here, Verizon has the best coverage. I happen to work in Connecticut and take mostly back roads to avoid traffic. Again, Verizon has the best coverage along the route. I've had AT&T/Cingular as well as Sprint; both have had poor coverage where I live. So, Verizon is the only reliable provider for me at this time. I also have to carry a Blackberry and there's no way I'm carrying two phones!

Frankly, I want an iPhone minus the phone (and add a HD)...I guess that would be the new iPod Video. I'll pay whatever Apple is asking for that device!

--DotComCTO

[maimezvous]

It depends where you are for the quality of service, I think everyone knows that. Where I live none of the carriers are complete crap. What I'm hoping is that other carriers will adopt the same perspective as Cingular regarding the iPhone so that wherever I am living at the time that I can afford it, I'll be able to get the best service. The chances of this happening depend on iPhone's success, I think.

[Splinemodel]

I spoke with an Apple rep yesterday when he was at my job and he said that the iPhone will NOT be CDMA.

All 3G networks are based on CDMA, so this rep is most definitely wrong. Reps aren't generally versed that much on future technologies, but I'm pretty certain the iPhone will go 3G at some point.

[ThinkingDifferent]

I am currently with Cingular and I am wondering if I'll be able cancel my current contract and buy an iPhone without a early termination fee.

[icfireball]

I am currently with Cingular and I am wondering if I'll be able cancel my current contract and buy an iPhone without a early termination fee.

Thats not contract cancellation. You are always allowed to sign a new contract with the same provider.

[ebaydan777]

Newsflash: They all suck!

Everytime I've considered switching (and I've tried a couple of the others; Sprint and T-Mobile) either the service is no better than what I have, or for ones I haven't tried, seems everyone I know who has the "other" service tell me it sucks.

I've yet to hear a universal "X-Brand Cell Service" is great!

ya every phone company sucks sorry to say they all have their goods and bads...and you can trust me on this ive had verizon nextel tmobile and now im definitly going to cingular for the iphone, only company i havent had in my area is sprint (southern california)....

im going to cingular because i use the network anyways, by this i mean, having t-mobile, there isnt a tmobile tower for about a 50 mile radius around me, so my phone pretty much always says cingular on it, not once have i experienced a dropped call in 9 months...not even while driving, so i dont mind the switch, now im antsy to see if they will put together an unlimited data plan like tmobile did with the sidekick...hopefully!

[Kavik]

im going to cingular because i use the network anyways, by this i mean, having t-mobile, there isnt a tmobile tower for about a 50 mile radius around me, so my phone pretty much always says cingular on it, not once have i experienced a dropped call in 9 months...not even while driving, so i dont mind the switch, now im antsy to see if they will put together an unlimited data plan like tmobile did with the sidekick...hopefully!

Don't bet on them being anywhere near as competitive as T-Mobile. Remember they're the biggest so they don't have to be. ...and just wait until you have a billing problem or have to get ahold of customer service.

[Slewis]

It will be available for Sprint before too long. Verizon, I'm not sure: Verizon is the king of crippling phones.
Maybe 2009, but not before then I guess.

I'm assuming Apple chose a Service that works great around Cupertino :lol:

Sebastian

[Slewis]

Cingular Sucks!
Newsflash:
If Apple had gone with T-Mobile
T-Mobile Sucks
If Apple had gone with Sprint or Nextel
Sprint-Nextel Sucks
If Apple had gone with Verizon
Verizon Sucks
If Apple had gone unlocked
The iPhone would Suck
If Apple had gone MVNO
The Service Plan would be too expensive and there wouldn't be enough coverage
Sebastian
The Truth Sucks

[Slewis]

All 3G networks are based on CDMA, so this rep is most definitely wrong. Reps aren't generally versed that much on future technologies, but I'm pretty certain the iPhone will go 3G at some point.
I'm pretty sure that rep must have been talking about... you know, the iPhone that's coming out in June then. :p

So he would be correct in saying CDMA is not in the iPhone and neither is 3G.

Sebastian

[Splinemodel]

So he would be correct in saying CDMA is not in the iPhone and neither is 3G.

We all know that the iPhone, as it stands now, is not 3G. But "will be" specifies any point in the future. Even not counting that, it almost seems foolish for any device coming out in June to be less than UTMS at the very least. UTMS, for the record, uses CDMA and is handled by Cingular. It's the worst of the 3G standards, but it's from the GSM bloodline so what more can you expect. . .

[sammick]

Newsflash: They all suck!

Everytime I've considered switching (and I've tried a couple of the others; Sprint and T-Mobile) either the service is no better than what I have, or for ones I haven't tried, seems everyone I know who has the "other" service tell me it sucks.

I've yet to hear a universal "X-Brand Cell Service" is great!

Have you tried Verizon--here in Seattle I have had no problems

[Slewis]

We all know that the iPhone, as it stands now, is not 3G. But "will be" specifies any point in the future. Even not counting that, it almost seems foolish for any device coming out in June to be less than UTMS at the very least. UTMS, for the record, uses CDMA and is handled by Cingular. It's the worst of the 3G standards, but it's from the GSM bloodline so what more can you expect. . .
We know that 3G will be in the iPhone. What we don't know is if it is built for it now. My guess is no, and as of June, the iPhone won't be 3G, whether it is built for it or not.

Sebastian

[sammick]

Newsflash:
If Apple had gone with T-Mobile
T-Mobile Sucks
If Apple had gone with Sprint or Nextel
Sprint-Nextel Sucks
If Apple had gone with Verizon
Verizon Sucks
If Apple had gone unlocked
The iPhone would Suck
If Apple had gone MVNO
The Service Plan would be too expensive and there wouldn't be enough coverage
Sebastian
The Truth Sucks


That is not true--I have had to lend my Verizon phone to people who couldn't get their carriers to work--one of the things holding me back from considering an iPhone is Cingular

[freeny]

Newsflash:
If Apple had gone with T-Mobile
T-Mobile Sucks
If Apple had gone with Sprint or Nextel
Sprint-Nextel Sucks
If Apple had gone with Verizon
Verizon Sucks
If Apple had gone unlocked
The iPhone would Suck
If Apple had gone MVNO
The Service Plan would be too expensive and there wouldn't be enough coverage
Sebastian
The Truth Sucks


I couldnt agree more!
Either get the phone with the service provider or dont and stop the bitching already.
This will be one of those subjects where 2 years down the road people will still be complaining that Apple didnt pick their service provider.
My provider wasnt picked either (Sprint).

Aside from Sept 11th (I live in Manhattan), I have had no phone service problems with Sprint.

On the other hand, I have been very unhappy with the customer help we get as well as billing issues. But this is previlant in every service provider. They all add tiny charges you usually dont notice and they make it very difficult to cancel the service when you want to leave.

I want an iPhone and expect nothing less then crappy customer service and billing issues with Cingular.
My big issue with the iPhone is the battery that cant be changed. But that is for another thread....

[cuencap]

i second that about verizon!!

[ebaydan777]

Don't bet on them being anywhere near as competitive as T-Mobile. Remember they're the biggest so they don't have to be. ...and just wait until you have a billing problem or have to get ahold of customer service.

sorry but anything is better than tmobile service, they have a bunch of stupid kids at customer service that have no idea what they are doing, plus they leave me on hold for 30 min every time i have called...so anything is better than that...i dont mind the switch i use cingular network anyways

[Splinemodel]

My big issue with the iPhone is the battery that cant be changed. But that is for another thread....

I'm always a bit puzzled with this. In four years, I've owned two cheap LG phones, and neither of their batteries have had any noticeable degradation. My iPod mini is nearing 3 years old, and it still runs for 8 hrs. Barring my sister who seems to manage to drop everything in the toilet, I can't possibly imagine what people do to their electronics that makes the batteries turn to junk so quickly.

[mrpiddly]

i have a 3g phone and about 90% of the time with cingular, the EDGE network is much faster. In Chicago there are also only a few areas where you get 3g service. I tries sprint and verizon but cingular works best where i work and near my home

[ebaydan777]

thank you finally someone with 3G speaks....like i said 3G is a crappy network right now only good if ur in the very very very spotty areas...EDGE was the perfect plan for iphone beleive me...im tired of listening to all these 3G whiners...big deal if steve wants to put 3G on the phone NYTimes with Job's himself states that they will do this with a simple software update

[Aquatic]

They need to add other networks or it will be a failure. Well that and make it not suck as a phone. That would be nice. Like, $199, 5x the battery/Talk, etc. Pathetic.

[Slewis]

They need to add other networks or it will be a failure. Well that and make it not suck as a phone. That would be nice. Like, $199, 5x the battery/Talk, etc. Pathetic.
Maybe they should sell it at the Dollar Store, have it play PS3/Wii/360 Games, download HD video off of Youtube in the blink of an eye, cook your dinner, take over the world for you, and sing karaoke. :no:

If you look at it as a phone, you're only looking at a third of what it is.

Sebastian

[ebaydan777]

and if you think battery life is low..i own a POS Dash and it too only had 4.5hrs of battery life, very common for all smartphones, 5 hours is pretty good especially when you know Apple usually tests its battery and get the rate of time almost perfectly, i trust them more than moto lg and other cell phones, they say 5 hours and the phone is dead in 3..not cool

[Health Insurance]

Have to have this phone. I've always bought the cheapest (i.e. free) stripped down phone available -- no camera, no calendars, etc.

But I WILL be first in line to get the iPhone.

I do wish that Cingular wasn't changing its name back to AT&T. I was their customer when it was AT&T and it was the worst service I ever had. Hopefully, they've improved over the past few years.

Currently T-Mobile and I like them. Was considering not having a plan -- going with a pre-paid, and wish that was an option with Apple...

.... but I am SO getting the iPhone!

[Slewis]

Have to have this phone. I've always bought the cheapest (i.e. free) stripped down phone available -- no camera, no calendars, etc.

But I WILL be first in line to get the iPhone.

I do wish that Cingular wasn't changing its name back to AT&T. I was their customer when it was AT&T and it was the worst service I ever had. Hopefully, they've improved over the past few years.

Currently T-Mobile and I like them. Was considering not having a plan -- going with a pre-paid, and wish that was an option with Apple...

.... but I am SO getting the iPhone!
Heh Heh, about the AT&T name

It's actually SBC, former Subsidary of the "old" AT&T that bought AT&T and renamed themselves to AT&T.

Weird eh?

Sebastian

[iChina]

Seems a long way there to get iPhone in Canada.
Rogers wireless?
why not make north american markets the same pace... that's pity
why not sell individual phones instead of combining it to a wireless company like the asian markets.

[Splinemodel]

why not sell individual phones instead of combining it to a wireless company like the asian markets.

The East Asian markets tend to buy an absurd number of phones per person. The demand for the latest phones is high, so selling phones independent of plans is a wise business model there. In the US, the demand for new phones is low, so the carriers have to trick you by bundling them (and charging more for service).