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Cellular Phone Forum / General / General Topics / September 2003Cricket service - Any good? (Esp. for Tulsa)
Hey all. I'm finally looking into replacing my traditional SWBell phone line, now that cellular prices are finally approaching what I already pay. Primarily, I've been doing research on cell phones, ultimately determining that they aren't quite as far along as I'd hoped. Recently, though, I started looking into what my local (Tulsa) service options were. For starters, I would strongly prefer to get service on CDMA, for a variety of reasons that I shall not - and hopefully needn't - go into. That limits things right away. Near as I can tell, Cricket is a remaining option for my area, and the price is right ($33 a month). Question number 1: Cricket's website lists a handful of unremarkable cell phones as purchase options for their service. I would much rather hand- pick a cell phone that more fully fits my needs, and then utilize said phone with Cricket's service. Far as I can tell, as long as the cell phone supports 1900 and doesn't have any hardware prohibition against Cricket (ie, it's been unlocked), I should be good to go. Is this accurate? Question number 2: Cricket's website also lists $100 rebates for each of the cell phones offered. Is there any reason to expect one would not be able to cash in on this rebate if they purchased a different cell phone? Question number 3: How is Cricket's service? Any hiccups? Any significant past transpirations that might affect one's decision to buy into a Cricket service plan? Question number 4: Are there any other services I should consider investigating before finalizing my decisions? And slightly off-topic, I'll discuss my Ideal Cell Phone. Ideally, it would replace my PDA. This means a high resolution (320x208 seems to be the best in a cell phone, and that sounds about right), a touch screen with stylus, a USB interface, and RAM expandability. I'm also quite fond of the models which fold open, with the screen inside on the top portion, which is a common layout. A true, physical keypad is a must. And nothing stupidly fancy or art deco, the way some cell phones have been designed. I'm also after a digital camera, which is becoming most common in cell phones. Also want GPS and would prefer WiFi for a wireless headset. In fact, take a look at this gem: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3046877653&category=41350 This cell phone has precisely the look I am after. What it doesn't have is a touch pad, GPS or WiFi. Taking my wish list a step further, what I'd really love is to be able to install JWPCE on the cell phone. There is a new Toshiba cell phone PDA model available which does literally everything I want, but that brings up my final wish: It's got to be cell-phone small. A PDA is bulky by comparison. I know; I lug one around every day. Anyway, thanks for reading. > Question number 1: Cricket's website lists a handful of unremarkable cell > phones as purchase options for their service. I would much rather hand- > pick a cell phone that more fully fits my needs, and then utilize said > phone with Cricket's service. Far as I can tell, as long as the cell phone > supports 1900 and doesn't have any hardware prohibition against Cricket > (ie, it's been unlocked), I should be good to go. Is this accurate? Ideally, that's so. However, Cricket, like Sprint, will activate only its own branded phones. > Question number 2: Cricket's website also lists $100 rebates for each of > the cell phones offered. Is there any reason to expect one would not be > able to cash in on this rebate if they purchased a different cell phone? I think answer number 1 applies here. > Question number 3: How is Cricket's service? Any hiccups? Any significant > past transpirations that might affect one's decision to buy into a Cricket > service plan? I have used Cricket briefly, before handing off the handset to the intended user. If you have signal, it will work. Compared to the cellular carriers I have used in Memphis, GTE Wireless and BellSouth Mobility/Cingular Wireless, the signal is less robust, more fragile. There are residential areas that are just not covered (don't have a tower handy). > Question number 4: Are there any other services I should consider > investigating before finalizing my decisions? Get the voicemail option, to cover transits of uncovered areas. Keep waiting and watching for your Ideal Cell Phone. John C. > > Far as I can tell, as long as the cell phone > > supports 1900 and doesn't have any hardware prohibition against Cricket > > (ie, it's been unlocked), I should be good to go. Is this accurate? > > Ideally, that's so. However, Cricket, like Sprint, will activate only its > own branded phones. Hmm. This seems like shooting onesself in the foot. Especially since competition in this field is definitely there. Granted, most people getting cell phones and services these days pretty much don't care what sort of phone they get, and will happily choose from among the utterly lackluster selections available e.g. on Cricket's website. But all one has to do is peruse the "Phones Only" section of Ebay for all the evidence they need that the market for more stylish / functional / personable cell phones is very strong indeed, and 1900 support is hardly rare. Do Sprint and Cricket *seriously* not allow their customers to pick their own phone? It is a bit of a concern, as they are the only companies who offer CDMA- based service where I live. Alternatives all use one of the two less- desirable standards. Perhaps it is not beyond the scope of possibility to use the phone of one's choice in spite of Cricket's or Sprint's constrictive wishes. > I have used Cricket briefly, before handing off the handset to the intended > user. If you have signal, it will work. Compared to the cellular carriers [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > are > just not covered (don't have a tower handy). Sprint's coverage does seem a great deal more thorough. But on the other hand, they don't offer anything approaching the sort of deal Cricket does. > Keep waiting and watching for your Ideal Cell Phone. It's coming soon. I found out about a model that has handwritten Chinese input. If such a beast can exist, Japanese support should be right around the corner. Marc, Yes, many carriers, Sprint and Cricket among them, will ONLY activate their own branded phones. This is old news and has stood all court tests. There are no exceptions. While all of your arguments make sense, they just don't fly. The carriers don't care. Cricket's business model is to install a PCS network with a minimal number of towers and circuits, and sell at a low price. You get what you pay for. Their intended use is not really an extensive cellular network, but more of a local phone. And with unlimited minutes, many users talk a long time, and that ties up the network, resulting in dropped calls, especially after school. If you think you can put up with an unreliable network, Cricket may work for you, just be sure to get the voice mail (it's optional), so when you get bounced off, callers will still be able to leave messages. If you add the LD and Text Messaging options, you're paying more thsan you think. It could be that Tulsa's Cricket network is less crowded than others, and the upside is that you aren't locked into a contract, so if it doen't work for you, you can get another service and only be out the price of the phone. -Bill > > > Far as I can tell, as long as the cell phone > > > supports 1900 and doesn't have any hardware prohibition against Cricket [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > input. If such a beast can exist, Japanese support should be right around > the corner. In alt.cellular Marc Brown <retsa2@hotmail.com> wrote: > Hmm. This seems like shooting onesself in the foot. Especially since > competition in this field is definitely there. In fact, this is not true of Cricket, since most other carriers don't offer flat-rate unlimited home area calling as a regular, non-promotional package. (Except Alltel, and even then only in some of their markets.) > Sprint's coverage does seem a great deal more thorough. But on the other > hand, they don't offer anything approaching the sort of deal Cricket does. That'll be your tradeoff. I guarantee Sprint has better coverage. The unlimited cellular carriers generally have good coverage within a specific area that is much smaller than that of their non-unlimited competitors. >> Keep waiting and watching for your Ideal Cell Phone. > > It's coming soon. I found out about a model that has handwritten Chinese > input. If such a beast can exist, Japanese support should be right around > the corner.  SignatureJustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net >That'll be your tradeoff. I guarantee Sprint has better coverage. The >unlimited cellular carriers generally have good coverage within a specific >area that is much smaller than that of their non-unlimited competitors. And shrinking, in some cases. Northcoast PCS (a carrier I know you're familiar with, Steve) lopped off the Canton part of its Northeast Ohio coverage earlier this year. That's presumably a side effect of its spectrum deal with VZW. While I'm not in Canton much, some of the lost coverage includes the fast-growing Green area of southern Summit County south of Akron. And that lost coverage was one contributing factor to my decision to advise against Northcoast for my father, who generally doesn't leave the area. And Medina, where he works, is on the western edge of the coverage area for Northcoast PCS. If he drives a mile or two west of his business, his phone is a brick. That, and the fact that Cleveland/Akron is one of the few markets where Alltel does offer a $69/mo. unlimited plan, and he was already an Alltel customer - and the decision to stay with Alltel for him was a no brainer. No phone change, no coverage change (locally, anything outside NE Ohio will just cost him roaming), and a lot lower bill for someone who seems to have his cell phone surgically attached to his hand... BTW, there are competitors in the unlimited cell phone space... in addition to Cricket, there's also Metro PCS, which serves some West Coast markets (SF/Sacto) and a couple of others. But I can't recall where Cricket and Metro compete in the same market. Mike In alt.cellular Mike <inundated9@yahoo.com> wrote: >>That'll be your tradeoff. I guarantee Sprint has better coverage. The >>unlimited cellular carriers generally have good coverage within a specific [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > coverage earlier this year. That's presumably a side effect of its > spectrum deal with VZW. I've heard here on the a.c newsgroups that they're closing next month. Don't know whether that's true. > That, and the fact that Cleveland/Akron is one of the few markets > where Alltel does offer a $69/mo. unlimited plan, and he was already > an Alltel customer - and the decision to stay with Alltel for him was > a no brainer. No phone change, no coverage change (locally, anything > outside NE Ohio will just cost him roaming and long distance and airtime. Alltel's unlimited plan is unlimited for home-area calls only - at least the postpaid unlimited plan they offer in Cleveland. (Don't know about the Boomerang prepaid unlimited plan they offer in some other market areas.) SignatureJustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net >Do Sprint >and Cricket *seriously* not allow their customers to pick their own phone? > >It is a bit of a concern, as they are the only companies who offer CDMA- >based service where I live. Alternatives all use one of the two less- >desirable standards. Well, that's what you get when you get a CDMA carrier. By not offering a universal interface carriers can dictate whatever policies they wish and if that includes not accepting ESNs from competing carriers it's what you have to deal with. If you want interchangeability with phones go to GSM or perhaps if the CDMA camp gets it together the RUIM will be introduced on a larger basis. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To send an email reply send to GSMthemobilestandard (@) yahoo.com In alt.cellular Group Special Mobile <look@signature_to.reply> wrote: > Well, that's what you get when you get a CDMA carrier. By not > offering a universal interface carriers can dictate whatever policies > they wish and if that includes not accepting ESNs from competing > carriers it's what you have to deal with. If you want > interchangeability with phones go to GSM or perhaps if the CDMA camp > gets it together the RUIM will be introduced on a larger basis. That is absolutely ridiculous, I'm sure you know better, and I can't believe you posted this. GSM carriers lock their phones too. SignatureJustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net >In alt.cellular Group Special Mobile <look@signature_to.reply> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >GSM carriers lock their phones too. Yes they do. However, with GSM carriers you are able to get your phone unlocked and use them with *any* GSM carrier. This is not the case with CDMA carriers. Even if there is no lock on a CDMA phone some carriers such as Sprint PCS will not let you use a compatible phone on their system unless it has been sold by them and has the ESN in their database. Since the lock on GSM phones in the phone once it's been defeated lets you use any handset and the carrier doesn't care. I never claimed that GSM carriers don't lock their phones. It is easy to have a phone unlocked and then you can use it with any GSM carrier. Such is not the case with CDMA. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To send an email reply send to GSMthemobilestandard (@) yahoo.com > all one > has to do is peruse the "Phones Only" section of Ebay for all the evidence > they need that the market for more stylish / functional / personable cell > phones is very strong indeed, and 1900 support is hardly rare. I had to ask some pointed questions but I think I've managed to figure out just who's buying all the genuinely cool cell phones: People using SIM cards. Staggering as it may seem (to me), apparently the only way one can use a cell phone of their choosing is if they buy a SIM card. I'm still doing research on just who sells them and what sort of prices they can be had for (prepaid and pay-as-you-go). But I am a bit worried about a trend I have noticed in the information I have been able to dig up. It almost seems as though SIM cards are ONLY available for GSM-based services. I would love to hear differently, though. >I had to ask some pointed questions but I think I've managed to figure out >just who's buying all the genuinely cool cell phones: People using SIM cards. >Staggering as it may seem (to me), apparently the only way one can use a >cell phone of their choosing is if they buy a SIM card. I'm still doing >research on just who sells them and what sort of prices they can be had for >(prepaid and pay-as-you-go). The use of SIM cards makes using your service on any compatible handset as easy as taking the card out of one handset and inserting it in another handset. As for who sells them there are several independent dealers who sell them as well as getting them on places such as ebay. Of course the most up-to-date feature rich handsets will command higher prices, but older less "hip" models can be had cheaply for as little as $20. You won't have the most "cutting edge" phone, but if what you're interested in is a phone for a phone's sake a cheap second-hand phone should fill your need. >But I am a bit worried about a trend I have noticed in the information I have >been able to dig up. It almost seems as though SIM cards are ONLY available >for GSM-based services. I would love to hear differently, though. At present the only major standard that uses the "smart card" removable media is GSM. There is the "RUIM" removable media card that has been developed for CDMA, but as far as I know it's only in limited use. CDMA at the outset should have had the foresight to put removable media in the original spec for CDMA as was the case with GSM. By keeping the phones "proprietary" and letting the carriers dictate which ESN they will permit on their systems they have basically told their user base that they have no alternative but to get user equipment from them and only them even if the technology is technically capable of using an alternative carrier's system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To send an email reply send to GSMthemobilestandard (@) yahoo.com > > all one > > has to do is peruse the "Phones Only" section of Ebay for all the evidence [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > been able to dig up. It almost seems as though SIM cards are ONLY available > for GSM-based services. I would love to hear differently, though. You got it! The major players are T-Mobile, Cingular, and ATT; they are all in Tulsa. John C. > It almost seems as though SIM cards are ONLY available >for GSM-based services. They are only available for GSM based services! > I would love to hear differently, though. You won't hear differently from anyone who knows! -- John S. e-mail responses to - john at kiana dot net >> It almost seems as though SIM cards are ONLY available >>for GSM-based services. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > John S. > e-mail responses to - john at kiana dot net Nextel used Sim cards on newer phones. its IDEN 800 based not gsm. > Nextel used Sim cards on newer phones. its IDEN 800 based not gsm. Wrong - Nextel has some combo iDEN/GSM handsets. SignatureJustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net |
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