^yea, i spelled mobile wrong. ignore that. ha

i didnt put this in lounge b/c i dont care about personal opinions on T-mobile service, i just want to know if its possible to buy T-mobile if you live in NC.

my roomate says no because it has to do with the number of carriers allowed to service a general area, and that even though T-mobile phones work in NC (ie. there is cellular coverage), you cannot buy T-mobile if you actually live here.

is this right? i really want to get a T-mobile phone and want to know if this is true and if there is a way to circumvent this.

thanks.

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 8:37 PM. Reason : asdf]

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 8:37 PM. Reason : their vs. there]

3/16/2006 8:36:31 PM

get a friend in a t mobile area to buy one for you or buy a used one online

what phone do you want?

3/16/2006 8:43:50 PM

Yes.


You can get it through Amazon.com, just enter a VA (or whereever there is Tmobile service) zip code, and then proceed as normal. You can even have your billing address set up as a NC address. They don't care.

3/16/2006 8:44:00 PM

^^a sidekick. my friend has one and i think its pretty functional.

^awesome, i'll give that a shot.

3/16/2006 8:52:21 PM

suncom has sidekicks

http://www.suncom.com/store/PhoneDetail.jsp?id=1214

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 8:54 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2006 8:52:42 PM

If you want a phone with no coverage here ...

(T-Mobile roaming in NC is bad ... BAD. Based on contractual problems the phones will only work with certain towers and there are HUGE dead zones.)

3/16/2006 8:53:00 PM

^^i read the lounge and suncom is boo scary to me.

^yea, that was my next research....along with finding out if T-mobile has a contract stipulating that most of your minutes must be used on their network or they will drop your plan.

3/16/2006 8:58:49 PM

man i really want that T-mobile SDA but i live in NC

i don't want to be "roaming" when i'm at home

3/16/2006 9:01:12 PM

the hiptop 2 is the sidekick
you can get it with suncom
suncom is going to be better than t mobile roaming

also the founder of danger is a ncsu grad

3/16/2006 9:02:24 PM

Quote :

"^^i read the lounge and suncom is boo scary to me."

SunCom is EVIL.

Quote :

"^yea, that was my next research....along with finding out if T-mobile has a contract stipulating that most of your minutes must be used on their network or they will drop your plan."

Last year I had a T-Mobile BlackBerry but it was useless most of the time. There were a few spots on I-40 that it would work and a few cities but for the most part I could not expect it to work when I needed it. I have a Cingular BlackBerry now and an Alltel phone and I don't have any connectivity problems with either.

3/16/2006 9:05:03 PM

^how do you like your blackberry?

and if you dont mind me asking, how much do you pay a month and what is included (email, AIM, internet, etc.) i'm just getting interested in the whole blackberry/sidekick thing and want to know how it all works.

and yea, suncom is a definite no-go.

thanks

3/16/2006 9:08:24 PM

dude, suncom is going to be a lot better than out of area t mobile

and the blackberry is pretty bulky and spartan in functionality

3/16/2006 9:10:01 PM

^although i agree t-mobile roaming would be extreme suckage, from what ive read it wont compare with the suckage of suncom's service

i may just go with cingular, verizon or sprint and get a blackberry so i dont have to worry about either.

3/16/2006 9:13:29 PM

if you plan on using a data device you dont want verizon or sprint
calls will not come through if you are using data features, its a problem inherent in the technology

if you want data go gsm

and suncom isnt that bad, have fun with your crappy t mobile coverage or heavy ass boring blackberry

3/16/2006 9:18:49 PM

Quote :

"how do you like your blackberry? and if you dont mind me asking, how much do you pay a month and what is included (email, AIM, internet, etc.) i'm just getting interested in the whole blackberry/sidekick thing and want to know how it all works. and yea, suncom is a definite no-go."

I LOVE the BlackBerry. After having dealt with Treos and similar devices I love the BlackBerry simplicity:

It is a completely integrated solution that does what it is supposed to do and does it very well.

Quote :

"if you plan on using a data device you dont want verizon or sprint calls will not come through if you are using data features, its a problem inherent in the technology"

I have direct empirical evidence in a side-by-side comparison of services that refutes this. For work I compared data services from Verizon and Cingular. In terms of bandwidth (upstream and downstream), latency and reliability (number of dropped connections, lost packets) Verizon did TWICE as well as Cingular did consistently. CDMA isn't that bad - it will only be a problem if you are traveling internationally.

Overall Cingular provides good service but I just don't know what the hell that claim was about.

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 12:46 PM. Reason : +]

3/17/2006 12:43:41 PM

i called about this recently. out of area for more than 6mos is grounds for termination.

dunno if that is 100% correct, but thats what the CSR said.

3/17/2006 12:46:51 PM

^ that sounds correct. In Cingular's and Suncom's agreements they have a right to terminate your service if over half your usage is over a roaming network.

Point of this is that T-mobile probably operates in the same way.

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 5:34 PM. Reason : ....]

3/17/2006 5:34:18 PM

Quote :

"have direct empirical evidence in a side-by-side comparison of services that refutes this."

your evidence is impossible, it has to do with how the different types of service work
its a problem with the technology

3/18/2006 1:13:06 AM

Quote :

"I have direct empirical evidence in a side-by-side comparison of services that refutes this. For work I compared data services from Verizon and Cingular. In terms of bandwidth (upstream and downstream), latency and reliability (number of dropped connections, lost packets) Verizon did TWICE as well as Cingular did consistently. CDMA isn't that bad - it will only be a problem if you are traveling internationally."

true.

Quote :

"your evidence is impossible, it has to do with how the different types of service work its a problem with the technology"

bullshit...cdma is a superior technology IN EVERY WAY except that it won't work internationally...if you want, i can find the link to the thread where i went over, in detail, every aspect of CDMA vs. GSM, and no one, to this day, has been able to offer proof to contradict me...you included, guth

3/18/2006 1:42:10 AM

http://www.google.com/search?q=cdma+data+missed+calls&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

so.... pwnt

look you can not receive calls when you are using active data, only gsm can do that
if you say you have evidence otherwise you are lying because its impossible


[Edited on March 18, 2006 at 8:49 AM. Reason : .]

3/18/2006 8:46:56 AM

well...i certainly don't have a link, but since my parents have alltel's (CDMA) data service for getting online out in podunk where they live, and while they're online, if someone calls, it asks them if they want to answer the call...when they do, they're still online...i'll take actual experience over a google link anyday

you lose.

3/18/2006 11:30:36 AM

then it wasnt active data

i mean this isnt a which technology is better thing, its just fact of how that technology works

3/18/2006 1:52:30 PM

suncom owns the cingular contracts and service in nc

3/18/2006 7:57:52 PM

Quote :

"i called about this recently. out of area for more than 6mos is grounds for termination. dunno if that is 100% correct, but thats what the CSR said."

that is complete and utter bullshit, and I am one of the few people here that can speak from experience. I have had t-mobile for going on 2 years now. I bought my phone in Atlanta in the summer of 2004, came back to school in Raleigh and stayed in NC for 9 mos straight before setting foot back in T-mobile's home area and they have never bitched at me or threatened to end my contract.

The plan I'm on has free roaming and long distance calling, etc so I haven't payed an extra dime for all the roaming I do.

As far as the coverage around here goes, I admit that it can be spotty in some areas, but I have never been without service long enough to really notice it, unless I'm out in the middle of nowhere, where hardly anyone has service.

Roaming with a T-mobile account means that you will be using primarily Suncom and Cingular's towers around here and I can't say that I have any complaints. Therefore the following quote is bullshit:

Quote :

"dude, suncom is going to be a lot better than out of area t mobile"

T-mobile out of area will be as good as or better than suncom cause you have access to cingular towers as well as others.

So i know many of you are thinking: "Why the hell would anyone want T-mobile?"
1. Plans are cheaper (for $39.99 I get 1000 anytime minutes and free nights/weekends, free roaming and long dist.)
2. T-mobile uses GSM phones and since GSM is used internationally, more cooler and advanced phones exist for use in this network. (I use the Sony Ericsson K750i, hella sweet phone, GSM only)
3. I have found that the coverage area is sufficient for all the places I go (all over the east coast and occasionally cali or navada)

3/18/2006 8:09:58 PM

Quote :

"1. Plans are cheaper (for $39.99 I get 1000 anytime minutes and free nights/weekends, free roaming and long dist.)"

thats more expensive

3/18/2006 10:14:52 PM

more expensive than what? please elaborate...

3/18/2006 10:44:03 PM

than suncom

3/19/2006 9:47:58 AM

uh.......no

Quote :

"SunCom America 1200 w/2-yr Service Agreement 1200 40¢/Min N/A $49.99 "

3/19/2006 11:23:19 AM

look at regional plans

3/19/2006 1:39:55 PM

^yeah, about that...

Regional plans don't include free roaming like the plan I stated above, roaming on the Suncom plan is $0.50 per minute there buddy.

If you compare apples to apples, you get 200 less minutes and no free evening/weekend calling with Suncom for your $39.99 when you keep free long distance and free roaming as part of the plan.

3/19/2006 2:23:53 PM

Quote :

"GSM is used internationally"

this is the absolute STUPIDEST reason for gettin a GSM phone...out of the people in this thread, how many have left this continent for an extended period of time, taken their cell phone with them, and switched carriers while in another country? i'd so much rather have my phone work in the country i live in, whether i'm in a city or out in the country, than worry about whether my phone will work in turkey

Quote :

"more cooler and advanced phones exist for use in this network"

of course...GSM carriers have to make up for the fact that their crappy network, unless near moderately-populated areas, is spotty at best

3/19/2006 2:40:52 PM

^ both are extremely good points.

I was out in the country yesterday and my Alltel cell phone had a strong signal the whole time. My Cingular BlackBerry was cutting in and out the whole time.

Even if GSM technology looks better on paper, the real-world results of a comparison of two local networks shows GSM to currently be dragging behind in terms of data performance and connection reliability.

Very early on when I first got a cellphone I decided to go with CDMA and I have never regretted that decision. My phone has always worked when I needed it, even if I was out in the middle of bumfuck.

3/19/2006 2:52:50 PM