Top 5 - Best Cell Phone Companies Review

Our Top 5 list of Best Cell Phone Service Providers come from user feedback spreading multiple forums and websites and from personal experience. Nick has been a customer of 4 of the 5 major cell phone service providers (exception being US Cellular) pre- and post-merger of these companies (exception being the Verizon/Alltel merger). Nick is currently a satisfied customer with AT&T Wireless. Why so many? No, it wasn't to eventually create a review, but various reasons came into play - moving to college and service had no reception in that area, service reception just sucked, bad customer service, among many other reasons. Nick has used all 4 of the companies as both his cell and home phone. The areas that Nick has tried these cell phone companies are: California (mainly around San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties), Oregon, Illinois (including Chicago and suburbs), Indiana (in and around Indianapolis, West Lafayette, Bloomington, and South Bend), Minnesota, Georgia (only around Atlanta), and Rhode Island. Nick certainly understands the common complaints and praises. These are our Top 5 - Best Cell Phone Service Companies. Ridicule us, praise us, hate us, love us for our list.

Please note that there will always be exceptions to individual experiences.

Motorola

We understand the needs of any one individual or family will differ. This is a quick summary of the costs of the 5 cell phone providers. In terms of the price of individual plans, the individual plan prices at all levels are exactly the same between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and US Cellular (nationwide plan) with the exception being T-Mobile. US Cellular is by far the cheapest if choosing their "widearea" plan, which only caters to the 25-26 states that they cover. In terms of the price of basic family plans, the basic family plan prices at all levels are exactly the same between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and US Cellular (again nationwide plan only) with the exception being T-Mobile. T-Mobile sells their family minute plans on different "minute" levels than the other 4, but on a per-minute cost, T-Mobile is the cheapest of all nationwide individual and family plans. All other companies are exactly the same in regards to the basic plan, not the plans with added features. The reason why some cell phone service providers are more "expensive" is because of the cost of adding these additional options/features.

5 (4b). Sprint Nextel

Pros:

* Night and weekends start at 7:00 PM, which is 2 hours earlier than the other cell phone service companies

* Free minutes on incoming calls

* 1-year contract as opposed to the standard 2-year contract (you decide if requiring any contract is a pro)

* Strong business-friendly features - 1st mover in walkie-talkie technology - a surprisingly useful function

* Fast internet

Cons:

* No international plans

* Coverage is not as expansive as Verizon Wireless or AT&T, which inevitably means weaker signals, more dropped calls, echoing, etc.

* Limited/outdated phone selection

* Since merger in 2005, plans are not as good a deal as pre-merger

* Post merger, customer service has dropped off as they try to be helpful - the end result should be good news for the customer, not a moot point for customer service

Personal experience: Sprint has always had a limited selection of phones, which to me, really didn't matter. However, as I started relying on my cell phone more and more, I started to care about the looks of my phone (the needs for certain functions remained the same). The phone selection is limited and in many cases seem outdated. From my experience with customer service, Sprint (Nextel) was actually #1 on my list pre-merger in 2005, but it has dropped since then. The customer service pre-merger was excellent - consistent bills from month to month, credits on bogus charges I disputed, and free "loyalty program offers" such as free internet for 6 months. Since the merger in 2005, the customer service still tries to be very helpful, but it gets to the point where you want to start yelling through your phone because of the frustration. Sprint's coverage will be hit or miss if you travel, however, if you're just going to the city for work and going back home to the suburbs, the service will stay consistent for the most part. There is nothing about the cost or the types of plans of Sprint Nextel that really stands out with the exception being international plans. Besides that, the plans offer the usual variety and benefits to meet your need.

4 (4a). US Cellular

Pros:

* Good customer service

* Excellent coverage in the midwest as they should since they are a regional carrier

* Free incoming calls/text messages

* No activation fees on many plans

Cons:

* Poor coverage outside of the 25-26 states that US Cellular covers

* Very limited phone selection; durability of phones offered a concern

* Beware of hidden costs

* Add-ons such as unlimited texting, downloading, etc can add up quickly

* Limited/outdated phone selection

* If downgrading plan, be absolutely sure of your minute usage; they are not helpful in providing advice, but quick to provide recommendations

* If you go over your minutes, get ready to pay big time

The majority of US Cellular's customer base is satisfied by its customer service. The biggest complaint is in the limited selection and durability of the phones. The individual and family nationwide service plans are exactly the same as the others with the exception being T-Mobile. If you live outside of the 25-26 states that US Cellular covers or travel frequently, then choose another cell phone service provider. However, if you live within those states that are covered, US Cellular should be considered as long as you don't mind the phones and/or seemingly unknown brand (outside of the midwest and sports world - White Sox).

3. T-Mobile

Pros:

* Cheapest basic individual and basic family plans out of the 5 cell phone service providers

* myFaves add-on is popular and useful

* 1-year contract as opposed to the standard 2-year contract (you decide if requiring any contract is a pro)

* Lots of different plans and options - most flexible of the 5 cell phone providers and 2nd best offering of plans and options (Verizon is #1 in our opinion)

* Excellent reception in certain populated cities

* Ease of upgrading/downgrading plans - a breeze with great advice and recommendations from customer service, but...

Cons:

* Poor customer service (especially disputes) - worst of the 5 cell phone service providers

* Limited phone selection, tends to sell outdated and even worse, phones that are no longer in production/discontinued

* Inconsistent signal reception/spotty coverage

* Poor insurance policy

* Slow internet

* Pesky about "too much roaming"

Personal experience: I've had a unique love-hate relationship with T-Mobile. The love comes in with the "contract" and the hate comes in with the customer service. I have to start with the "hate" before I go into the "love". After a year and a few months into the service with T-Mobile, like all cell phone providers, I eventually had to call customer service to dispute charges. To put it simply, a complete nightmare. I won't go into the specifics of the dispute, but the way T-Mobile handled the situation from several customer service reps to a couple supervisors was the worst 5-hour nightmare. Yes, I was on the phone for 5 hours getting bounced from department to department, having to explain the dispute over and over again, and had to to take a 1/2 day from work. I started the call at 7:30AM, you do the math. Conclusion of the 5 hour nightmare? I ended up paying the full amount with no leeway given. Even with the energy drinks, steroid shots, power bars, and the like, I couldn't hold up any longer and they would not budge or give anything back that was rightfully owed to me. T-Mobile is great at handling simple customer service requests like upgrading/downgrading a plan or asking simple questions like, do you think I should add the fave-5 plan? They'll actually go through your bills and review your usage and give you great advice and recommendations, but other than that, they have the worst overall customer service of the 5 cell phone service companies when it comes to disputes or anything to do with questioning T-Mobile and their bills. In another instance of "hate", I was experiencing several dropped calls per day and spotty coverage throughout Illinois (specifically Northern suburbs and Chicago). It was extremely frustrating and it got to the point where I called customer service and canceled without hesitation. But Nick, you say, what about the cancellation fee? That's where the "love" comes in, apparently when I signed up for the family plan, we were never obligated to a contract. So all this time, I thought I was under contract and I could've switched at anytime. The reason why T-Mobile barely outranks Sprint Nextel and US Cellular is because of their flexibility and options in their plans, cheapest plan options, better phone selection, although still limited, and more consistent coverage than the last two companies with very good signals in populated areas compared to the two.

2. AT&T

Pros:

* Consistent coverage and reception - closing the gap with Verizon Wireless

* Wide selection of phones - arguably the best selection thanks to the Apple iPhone

* Overall good customer service that helps you and/or resolves issues

* Internet is fast and reliable

* Out of all the phone company mergers, AT&T/Cingular was the biggest improvement

* Rollover minutes is an extremely useful feature/benefit that no other company offers - this is standard on all plans

Cons:

* Dropped calls is hit or miss

* Customer service is absolutely a joy when you are a customer or activating lines/transferring numbers, etc, etc, however, once you become a customer, they are helpful, but they get impatient

* Ever since the merger, extra services/add-ons have increased (compared to just Cingular), which leads to costs piling up quickly

Personal experience: As a current customer of AT&T Wireless, I am satisfied. AT&T Wireless has had the biggest improvements of all the mergers. Their customer service is still lacking compared to Verizon especially once you become a customer, but I have noticed improvements since the merger. Their phone selection is arguably the best. The coverage and reception has been consistent in all the areas I've been to. Although I rarely experience dropped calls, this seems to be a hit or miss issue with others. The one thing that really stands out from the rest of the companies is the rollover minutes. This has saved me lots of money in the long run because a plan I used to have with the other carriers allows me to downgrade due to the extra minutes thus saving me money.

1. Verizon Wireless

Pros:

* Widest variety of plans and options available than any other cell phone company

* Consistent coverage and reception - considered the best, but AT&T is closing the gap

* Wide selection of phones

* Customer service is the most consistent of all the cell phone companies although there are inevitable hit or miss days

Cons:

* Need to keep an eye on your monthly bills - mysterious charges showing up on bills

* Customer service is hit or miss, some days you get great, no, extremely great service, other days you want to reach into your phone and do bad things

* Add-ons can pile up quickly especially the data plans for smartphones

* Most expensive of the 5 cell phone companies (factoring in phones, plans, add-ons, deposit, etc)

* Blocks certain features on your phone, ex: transferring photos to/from your phone requires purchase of software and certain bluetooth features

* If upgrading/downgrading plan, they will extend contract for another 2 years

Personal experience: I have not experienced the "new Verzion" with Alltel, but as much as I hate to admit (being a current and satisfied AT&T customer), Verizon Wireless is the most consistent from customer service to coverage and reception and down to phone selection. One shining customer service moment was when I accidentally dropped my phone in a puddle of water completely ruining my phone. I did not have insurance, as a matter of fact, I never purchase insurance on phones, but after an hour or two of sweet talking, they not only replaced the phone, but rushed the order to me free of charge with next day delivery. An example of a bad customer service is refusing to budge on mysterious charges (over .00) worth that they said would be removed, but never did. I ended up changing services because of this dispute. It took over one year until a collection agency contacted me out-of-the-blue saying I still owed .00 and as one can imagine, my credit score dropped like a ton of bricks.

There you have it, our list of the Top 5 Best Cell Phone Service Companies. We would love to hear your thoughts so feel free to comment on this list. Ridicule us, praise us, hate us, love us for our list. Got topics/categories you'd like topped? Give us a shout through the comments or contact us.

Top 5 - Best Cell Phone Companies Review

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The SVP Digital Camera Review

With the age of digital imaging, nearly every (shallow water) diver can be involved with underwater photography. This review is of a true beginner camera outfit. The Chinese made, SVP Acqua digital outfit includes the camera system and waterproof case for under 0. There are obvious limitations and we'll cover them in this review.

Don't expect professional results with this camera, but you'll be surprisingly pleased with the versatility this little compact outfit provides. With all the features you'd expect to find in popular brand 'point and shoot' cameras, this compact system will easily fit into your BCD pocket. The specifications are listed after our review comments. Since the factory marketing brochure supplied these, we cannot confirm or dispute them.

Motorola

First of all, before using this camera... view the enclosed DVD instruction manual provided with the camera. There are many features and settings that you'll need to know before you get out on the water to use your camera system. We've used many different brands and all seem to have some logical settings and some not-so-logical procedures. Like most 'point and shoot' cameras, there is a delay between pushing on the shutter and having the actual shutter operation. After you become familiar with the operation of the camera and the features you're ready for the underwater part.

Like any housing, you need to keep the housing clean and free from sand or grit that could create a leak. Since the main seal is not really an o'ring, I was very careful to clean the surfaces with a cotton tip (Qtip) and apply some o'ring grease to the surface as well as a thin film on the seal itself. The seal is sort of a wedge shape, so it should provide a good positive pressure seal. The clean part is more for all the little control buttons that allow you to change settings of the camera underwater. We'll get into the best settings we found when using the camera underwater.

When they say the housing is good to 15 meters or around 33 feet, they are not lying. Not that we were trying to flood the housing or anything, but at 60 feet the camera is not operational because the pressure is squeezing the controls and shuts the camera off. At 40 feet, you might get the camera to work, but don't count on changing the settings. At 35 feet the camera seems to work fine with all the features and settings operational. For many divers, this will be too limiting because most of your dives will be deeper than 35 feet. However, keep in mind that the red/yellow/orange end of the spectrum is filtered out beyond this depth too.

The camera and housing combination are well matched and easy to operate. With the clear plastic housing, you can easily see the settings on the camera. Like most digital displays certain angles are more difficult to see, but with the proper shading and angle everything is visible on the 2 inch screen. Even though you can change the lens focal length from wide angle to zoom, we kept the setting on wide angle for the dives during the whole process because of the water. Keep this in mind for all underwater photography; stay close to your subject and use the widest angle possible for better results.

For the still shots, the camera was set for the strobe to fire with each shot. This uses up your batteries faster, but if the subject is closer than 8 feet, you'll have better imaging and color. The best results were our macro shots where we set the camera for 'close-up' and used the flash. When using the movie mode, you'll be impressed with the sharpness of the images, but don't expect high quality audio. The housing must absorb a lot of the sound as much of the underwater audio is muted. More than likely, you'll edit with some musical background anyway.

The color balance was a little off. We did change the settings according to the instructions and the results were that the color balance was a little on the blue side for topside shots. This was not an issue for the underwater shots as the greenish tint of the water was eliminated. Most of the color balance issues can be handled in the editing phase.

The claim of being 12.0 mega pixels is a little deceiving because this is the 'hardware interpolation' not the 'image resolution' which is 5.0 mega pixels. All in all, we were not disappointed in the quality results of the better pictures. However, some of the shots showed camera shake even with the built in flash. This means that the shutter does adjust for the amount of light, so it's important to squeeze the cameral and hold it as still as possible.

We used an 8 GB SD card because we expected to take a lot of video and had ample memory space for two dives. We didn't use the provided USB cable because we use a card reader to our laptop and then back up the memory to a portable hard drive. The power source uses two triple A Alkaline Batteries, so it's not a problem having new batteries for each dive. We didn't use the 'voice recorder' feature, but from our underwater video experience, it would not be recommended inside the underwater housing.

Now for the bottom line advice on this gear: If you plan to take your underwater imaging seriously, save your money for a more comprehensive system. This could be the perfect outfit for a sport diver that wants to share their diving experience with their friends and family. For less than 0 (prices range from -100), not including your SD Memory card or batteries, it is a value. The SVP cameras are available at some dive shops and are directly marketed from several importers online. The next "point and shoot" underwater outfits, without an external strobe, will most likely cost over 0. So, if you are going on vacation and thinking about having your own digital camera outfit for shallow water, this is the answer. Of course, for around at most diving centers you could rent a camera with everything included. Sometimes the choice is not easy, but you can know a lot more from someone who has tested the SVP out. It is a great still and video camera outfit for around the water and underwater to about 35 feet.

Specifications from the Manufacturer:

· Waterproof design: Don't be afraid to take this Aqua camera to the water-even underwater. The waterproof case will protect this camera to depths of 30 feet.

· Very sleek and small camera design

· Takes Pictures, Video, and Audio Clips with it's built in microphone.

· Resolution sensor gives you the option of taking: 5 MP, 3.1 MP, 1.3 MP, and 300K Resolution Images.

· Takes, 12 and 8 MP pictures through hardware interpolation.

· Movie mode: When a picture isn't enough, shoot 640 x 480 (VGA) video, with sound, at 30 frames per second.

· 2.0" LCD screen: This compact color screen has plenty of room to help you compose your shots.

· Zoom: The 8x digital zoom enlarges pixels to fill the frame with your favorite part of the image.

· Adjustable Flash

· Self timer: 2/10/10+2 Seconds

· Tripod Capabilities

· Onboard White Balance

· Waterproof to 50ft

· 16MP Built in Memory, Takes SD Cards to expand memory.

· Power Source: 2 triple A Batteries

· Time Stamp Options: Off/ Date only/ Date and Time

· Comes with software, hookup via USB 1.1

· Video/TV out supported- Via video out cable.

· Automatic power mode- Prolong batteries life by auto-switching the camera power off.

· Auto Flash, Auto Flash with Red-eye reduction, Slow Sync, Fill-in Flash, Flash off, Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Tungsten, Sunset, Custom etc...

· MULTI-LINGUAL INTERFACE 8 Menu Languages including: English, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, T. Chinese, and S. Chinese.

The SVP Digital Camera Review

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Samsung R451c Review - Straight Talk and Net10

The Samsung r451c came out in mid October, and is currently available for Net10 and Straight Talk. I've been using it with Straight Talk service, and I'm going to give you a quick review of this phone.

This phone was released shortly after the very similar T401g Net10 phone, and it also includes a QWERTY keyboard. Besides the keyboard, it has an mp3 player and 1.3 megapixel camera, very similar to the T401g. However, the r451c does NOT include a camcorder.

Motorola

The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is a big selling point for many people who are considering this phone. This keyboard has four rows of keys, which are a soft rubbery material.

I haven't used this phone quite as much as I use the T401g, but on either phone I do like the addition of the QWERTY keyboard. Especially if you do a lot of texting, it will probably save you some time. Like I mentioned in my T401g review, though, using the QWERTY pretty much requires using two hands to text. Of course, if you want to text one-handed you can always keep the slider closed and use the regular keypad with T9 predictive text.

Now, I'll give a description of the other buttons on the Samsung r451c. On the left side is the rocker switch to adjust the call volume. On some models, these same buttons can be used to change ringtone volume when you're NOT in a call, but that's not the case here. On this model, there's a separate button to open the ringtone settings.

Over on the right side is a dual-purpose shortcut key. It doesn't do anything when the phone is locked. If the phone is unlocked, a single click of the button loads the camera function. Or, if you press and hold the button, it will load the mp3 player.

Farther up the right side is the connector that is used for the charger, and USB cable. I believe it could also work with a Samsung-branded stereo headset, but I haven't tried that personally.

On the top of the phone is a standard headset jack. This is a pretty universal connector type, but if you want to listen to music with stereo headphones, you'll have to be careful to get the right connector. Most music headphones use a 3.5mm jack, while phone headsets are usually 2.5mm. I was also able to use an adapter with my regular music headphones to listen to the mp3 player. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure to get the right size connector if you're buying accessories for this phone.

One other thing worth mentioning here is that under the battery cover is the microSD card slot. You can use these cards to store mp3s and pictures, and to transfer files to and from your computer or other device.

Next, let's take a look at the mp3 player. It's nearly identical to the player on the T401g, and both players are nicer than the Motorola EM326g. The sound is okay through the built-in speaker, which surprised me. Of course, if you're listening for very long, you'll probably want to use headphones. And Bluetooth is also an option for listening to music, if you have a stereo bluetooth headset.

I know that the mp3 player is a big attraction for many people looking to upgrade their phone, so I wanted to say a little more about it. While the audio quality is good, this phone probably isn't going to replace your stand-alone mp3 player or iPod. The playlists are hard to use and I couldn't get my songs to play in the order I wanted - they played alphabetically according to the song title. Even songs on the same album played alphabetically rather than album order. Also, the player doesn't remember where you left off when you close it out. So there are some significant drawbacks to the music player feature.

Finally, a little bit about the camera - it's pretty standard. There are a few editing features you can do on the phone, but there's no digital zoom, so you'll have to do that with photo editing software after the picture is taken. The camera resolution is 1.3 megapixels, which is probably good enough to do small prints - 3 x 5 or 4 x 6, but certainly no bigger than that. So, it's a pretty basic camera for a modern cell phone.

There's a quick overview of the Samsung r451c. To sum it up, it's a pretty solid phone. In my testing, battery life and reception were very good, and the display is big and bright. Call quality wasn't quite as good as the EM326g or the LG 290c, but it's still pretty good. And of course, the QWERTY keyboard makes texting really easy. All in all, I like it. I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

It's currently selling for , and it's recently been showing up in some stores. It's also now available from Net10's website, where you can get it for using the discounts codes I recommend, and the Straight Talk Version is available from Straight Talk's site. Go to the page linked in the resources box to find more info about any applicable discounts.

Also on that page, you'll find links to my full review of the r451c. I included a lot more detail in that review than I had time for here, so definitely check it out if you're interested in this phone.

Samsung R451c Review - Straight Talk and Net10

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Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone Review

Nowadays, there is a lot of competition in the mobile phone industry so it is very hard to choose a mobile phone if you are in need of one. There are large companies like Nokia and Samsung. You also have other companies like Apple, HTC, and Blackberry. Over the past few years, the mobile phone has become more than just a phone. It also provides other useful capabilities and this has been helped by the development of the touch screen. The Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone is one phone which utilizes the touch screen in order to provide useful applications and feature. In this article, we review the pros, cons, customer reviews, product specifications, technical specifications, and primary features of the Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone.

First off, this phone can only be used with Verizon. In America, there are three primary phone coverage companies: Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T. Each company has their pros and cons but Verizon tends to be one of the best phone coverage companies in most states. The Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone utilizes the Android operating system in order to power the main processor. You can get a lot out of the Android operating system. You can test out new applications and play many fun games, just like the iPhone. For example, if you are in need of a scientific calculator then you can use the Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone. There are many free applications available. You also have access to many of Google's service. Google Map becomes extremely useful if you have to visit a new place. You can use the GPS location feature in order to find your way to your target address. With the Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone, you also get a five mega pixel camera. With this camera, you can take many great photos. Preferably, you should get a hold of a digital camera but if you are not the type to take excellent quality photos then this mobile phone will do the trick.

Motorola

So what did customers have to say about the Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone? One customer commented that he has seen big improvements since the first Motorola DROID was released. He commented that the phone was faster and a lot sleeker. He still had a few problems with the touch screen but it was definitely much more spacious than all the other phones he had so far. The Wifi networking feature was also very useful because he did not include internet access for his phone coverage plan.

Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone Review

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A Review of the Motorola GP340 Radio

As a user of the Motorola GP300 for many years, I had become accustomed to the build and transmission quality of the Motorola Radios. To my dismay, a few years back, Motorola announced that they would be discontinuing the beloved GP300 and replacing it with the GP340.

First impressions of the GP340 were not great. I would receive white noise after transmission, the unit didn't feel great and there were numerous software glitches that needed ironing out.

Motorola

However, a few years on and I thought it was time to review the current generation of GP340 radio.

Sound quality has improved no end, and I no longer get the annoyance of a blast of white noise down my ear everytime I make a transmission. The build quality is still the same, and whilst not as good as the GP300 I have learned to live with it. After all, it seems that most things these days aren't built like they used to be!

I used the GP340 on a site with an interesting geography. There were lots of high and low points, but the radio didn't seem to bother. It worked seamlessly over a 500 acre site. The battery life is pretty good, given that I was using the radio 8-10 hours a day, maybe even 12 hours a day in the summer. I would charge the device overnight and get a good days use out of it the following day.

The GP340 radio is an excellent and unobtrusive way of keeping the team in contact. Streamlining operations with radio communication increases productivity and can form part of an organisation's health and safety system which is particularly important for individuals who work alone or remote from the team.

As with all Motorola Radio's, the GP340 is supported by a wide range of Motorola Original Accessories including carry cases and straps, earpieces and headsets, batteries and chargers, all designed to tailor the radio to the precise requirements of the user.

A Review of the Motorola GP340 Radio

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