Where to buy AT&T Phones

[ksuohio]

We are lucky in south west Ohio. Cincinnati Bell was at one time the local AT&T cellular provider and now uses the Cingular network but offers phone plans without contracts and offers plans better than Cingular. Not sure if something like this exists anywhere else in the US or if it's unique to this area.

[ua549]

Did Verizon tell you that their handsets only work in North America and a couple of places in the Far East because they use CDMA instead of GSM or UMTS?

[angomeka]

I don't understand why the cingular phones wont work with AT&T plan. My dad uses a phone his buddy use to use and it was a T-Mobile phone and he doesnt have any problem with it. He just switched out the sim cards and he was fine.

[ua549]

The phones that are purchased from Cingular are SIM locked (sometimes called a subsidy lock) so that they can only use a Cingular SIM. The AT&T Wireless network code embedded in the SIM is different.

Cingular won't unlock their phones because they want to retire those old AT&T Wireless plans through attrition. Depending on the phone they are easy for the user to unlock or many independent cell phone stores will do it for a fee.

[angomeka]

The phones that are purchased from Cingular are SIM locked (sometimes called a subsidy lock) so that they can only use a Cingular SIM. The AT&T Wireless network code embedded in the SIM is different.

Cingular won't unlock their phones because they want to retire those old AT&T Wireless plans through attrition. Depending on the phone they are easy for the user to unlock or many independent cell phone stores will do it for a fee.

wowzers your a wealth of knowledge i did not know that

[ua549]

I learned a lot when I hacked my Motorola V635 phone to gain access to the firmware and engineering menus so that I can monitor all the phone activity - sort of like a network sniffer. I also changed all the other menus to suit my needs such as being able to select the network and tower I want to use for a call. Cell phones are just little computers with a different operating system.

[Timelessblur]

well I know you can buy unlock phones from sony ericrison. hell some of they are really nice. I wish I could afford the 710a from. Currently I am using a z525a and I love it. But I know they have a least 3 models that you can get unlocked from them directly.

[ua549]

Phones are only SIM locked when their price is subsidized by a provider.

[ImaNihilist]

well I know you can buy unlock phones from sony ericrison. hell some of they are really nice. I wish I could afford the 710a from. Currently I am using a z525a and I love it. But I know they have a least 3 models that you can get unlocked from them directly.

I believe there are actually Nokia stores now in the US that sell only unlocked phones.

IMO, locked phones are stupid, as are the subsidies in the US. My hope is that when the iPhone comes out that it either isn't locked to the AT&T network, or that somewhere in the world it exists as an unlocked version and then any version can be changed to that firmware.

[ua549]

Sometimes those phone subsidies amount to several hundred dollars. Many handsets are free with a 1 or 2 year service contract.

If you've had service for a couple of months you can get the provider to unlock the phone so that you can travel with it and use a different SIM with a local phone number at your destination. That is why I will only own an unlocked phone. I buy prepaid SIMs for my destination countries. It keeps the international roaming charges down. On my last trip I used 3 different SIMs - Italy, Monaco and France.

Nokia phones are the easiest to unlock because there are several Windows programs that will calculate the unlock code after you fill in the dialog with the handset info.

[Boneycat]

Here's an unlocked razor for $239 and includes a jabbar bt headset found here

[joeshmofro]

I assume they didn't bother to explain to you that if you want to increase your minutes, you have to sign a new contract. If you're in the first year of your contract, they charge you extra. Verizon's customer service is OK, it's their contract terms that suck more than any other company.
I just switched from Verizon to Cingular in Nov. Verizon's service is pretty good around here, but Cingular's has been better. Their "fewest dropped calls" ain't no joke.
With Verizon we had 800 anytime mins for ~$95 when you add in taxes & fees. We now have 1400 anytime mins for $10 more a month.

Actually they told me to get more minutes I don't have to pay a fee if its in the first year of the contract. So far I love verizon. From what I've read and heard Verizon is way better for people in the west, because there is more service out here. I dunno if thats true, but so far its wonderful.

[joeshmofro]

Did Verizon tell you that their handsets only work in North America and a couple of places in the Far East because they use CDMA instead of GSM or UMTS?

They didn't tell me that, but its not a big deal for me as I don't plan on using them outside the US.

[MrDigital]

Actually they told me to get more minutes I don't have to pay a fee if its in the first year of the contract. So far I love verizon. From what I've read and heard Verizon is way better for people in the west, because there is more service out here. I dunno if thats true, but so far its wonderful.

Verizon is better all across the US, and has been for several years, if the tests by Consumer Reports are to be believed. They are also the most expensive with the least amount of minutes and their phones don't work in many places outside the US, but them's the breaks.

[joeshmofro]

Would you mind telling us what plan you had under AT&T? I have been an AT&T customer for years so after each time my plan expired they would offer me like 400 anytime free minutes additionally to keep me. After a few extensions I have my plan at $39.99/mon w/ 1200 anytime minutes and unlimited off peak minutes all on a nationwide plan. Cingular won't touch that. Was Verizon able to do any sort of matching for you?

My plan under AT&T was 1460 minutes shared by 4 phones for $80 a month. It also had all those other bells and whistles like free calls to cingular customers, nights and weekends etc. In addition to that nights started at 7 not 9.
Verizon was pretty comperable to cingular in plans. My new plan has 1400 minutes shared by 4 phones for $100 a month. Its working out better however because everybody I call has a verizon phone so most of my minutes will be free. At a point I was just tired of dealing with cingular. Everytime I called they put me on hold for 45 minutes and the billing people couldnt talk to me about service and the service people couldnt talk to me about billing so they had to transfer me and put me on hold for even longer. Not to mention how expensive and hard to find the phones are.