Possible New User to AT&T. Input Please?

[redman2563]

Hello guys, I am currently a sprint user (blah) I'm sick of their crappy speeds. I just got a job so I can actually afford a decent plan. My contract is up on Halloween. I'm not sure what phones are worth waiting for so if there's anything worth getting I can wait till xmas. How are speeds and coverage? I'm leaning towards an android phone of course. If there's any verizon defects, please weigh in. I appreciate it.

I'm sort of leaning more towards att because of the unlimited mobile to any mobile.

 

[2manyPHONES]

I believe the 2 phones most are waiting for on att are the samsung attain and htc holiday. I haven't checked recently if either have a release date yet.

As for speeds and coverage I have had no problems with either. I think i hit a small area of edge coverage driving from ny to tx and then an area where I had like 5 seconds of edge in gettzville ny but then went right back to H+ . I travel a lot between ny and tx both driving and flying and haven't lost coverage. My husband does lose his signal, both data and call, about a mile or 2 from the mexican border in TX.

I thought about switching to verizon but for what I'm paying for 5 phones on att it would cost me more on verizon. Plus i like having my roll over minutes occasionally I have a month where I go over so it's nice to have that.

My cousin had verizon and switched to sprint which she now also hates. She said she thought she would be able to talk and surf at the same time but she was unable to do that with verizon and sprint. So I guess that's a plus of att.

 

[chicknlil]

Another upcoming phone is the LG Thrill (3D).

The announcement for the Samsung Attain is supposed to be August 29th - I'd suspect (hope?) that the device will be released before the end of September, but that may be wishful thinking. There's also been rumors of 2 versions of the device - one with a physical keyboard, one without.

In terms of phones already available, the Motorola Atrix is a pretty solid device, and it's at a pretty nice price point right now ($99 last I checked - may have dropped even lower).

I've been with AT&T for 6 years now - best suggestion I can make is to see if the corporation that you're working for has any sort of discount relationship with AT&T. I've never had any issue reaching service (and always get someone in the US), and I'd say 95% of the time they're able to quickly solve whatever issue I might be having. I also don't have any service issues in my area of New England, and have only encountered a few out of the way areas (towns in the boonies) that had poor service.

 

[redman2563]

what are your 4g speeds roughly? and I've heard a lot of bad things about att coverage but they've been from iphone users. Im assuming 85% of teenagers have an iphone and even since the 3gs its had network connectivity issues as far as I know. what do you think? I honestly leaning towards att because of rollover, unlimited mobile to any mobile calling, data plan is 5 dollars cheaper and I don't get a discount with my job but I do with my university. Verizon doesn't offer anything like that as far as I know.

 

[chicknlil]

I don't have a 4G phone currently, but I'd suggest checking out the Atrix or Inspire subforums on here - I'm pretty sure both have threads about speed. I know that the Atrix at least initially had capped data speeds, but I believe they've been uncapped. As for 4G, you'll want to see check out AT&T's site to see if that's been rolled out in your area - either way, it won't be as fast as the other carriers "4G", as far as I'm aware.

As I said, I've rarely if ever had coverage issues, and there was a point in time when I was traveling extensively around the eastern seaboard. YMMV where you live - definitely inquire to people in the area you live in how the service is in their area.

 

[redman2563]

Yes i agree with the statement that att's 4g is killed by lte, but I think it's a smart move that they did. They have an extensive hspa+ which delivers more than enough speed for a phone. LTE is supposed to get deployed sometime this year which will hopefully put them on par with other carriers. now, lets assume im in an hspa+ with a 4g phone, if hspa+ gets knocked down by lte does that mean ill have to get a new phone or will it be compatible?

 

[2manyPHONES]

Yes i agree with the statement that att's 4g is killed by lte, but I think it's a smart move that they did. They have an extensive hspa+ which delivers more than enough speed for a phone. LTE is supposed to get deployed sometime this year which will hopefully put them on par with other carriers. now, lets assume im in an hspa+ with a 4g phone, if hspa+ gets knocked down by lte does that mean ill have to get a new phone or will it be compatible?

From what I have read (which hasn't been much lately but im trying to keep up with the tech coming out) you would need to get an lte compatible phone.

As for speeds

Some of my last results are
Ping: 175ms, 167ms, 178ms
Down: 6.71mbps, 7.02mbps, 6.55mbps
Up: 1.08mbps, 1.12mbps, 1.16mbps

Before the speed update at&t released in April you could cut all those numbers in half or even lower.
Here are some before the update
Ping: 101ms, 135ms, 106ms
Down: 2.6mbps, 3.48mbps, 1.9mbps
Up: 0.75mbps, 0.80mbps, 0.49mbps

 

[nb_mitch]

The choices are endless these days, but the most important thing is coverage. It doesn't matter how great their service is or what cool phones they have, if your coverage sux

And coverage varies for each of us. I have been with At&t now for about 10 years, but have had service with T-Mobile and Sprint in the past. Where I live and play, At&t is the best. I haven't tried Verizon yet.

Before you jump ship, poll your friends and co-workers, see what works in your area, then decide on a device.

Some of us just like certain things in a device, so the replies you get may be skewed based on how each person uses the device, not which one is better. I prefer a big screen, so I have a Dell Streak with a 5" screen and I hear Samsung has one in the works for release later this year with 5 1/4" screen.

Good Luck.

 

[redman2563]

Either way im jumping ship from sprint, coverage has gone down the drain and speeds suck. Im just deciding between verizon and ATT. id say both of those have competetive phones.

 

[TgeekB]

I agree that coverage is #1. I've had great success with AT&T but that's where I live. Ask around and see what people say in your neck of the woods.

 

[tizzyzz]

I've had attish for 15yrs 1st bellsouth Cingular and now att never had an issue always helpful to me I have the family plan with 4 phone 3 with data. I would say the same see who has better service I'm in Tampa FL at&t has hspda+ so my intertnet is great I drop calls once in a while but all carriers have that issue