[Sevyn]

I really like Sprint's pricing but we do not use anywhere near the amount of minutes in our plan (even without the Anymobile portion). We don't use a lot of data either so the unlimited data portion is kind of useless as well on Sprint. We stopped into our local corporate AT&T store and messed with the Torch a little. My wife and I both like it. We would switch to AT&T only for the Torch because we are Blackberry bigots and we have some family that is on AT&T, so that helps with the calls made to them.

The poeple in the AT&T store "seem" to care a lot more about the customer's happiness after the sale. We saw a family come in that had been a customer for some time and the lady behind the counter listened and took her time to fix the problem they were having with their daughters phone. I'm not bashing Sprint (we've been Sprint customers for 6 years), but we have 4 Sprint stores near us that would have cared less about that little girl's phone problem and just told the mom to call customer service. I'm not interested in starting a flame war about providers because that is not the issue I want to discuss. I'm just stating that I already have reason to leave Sprint, I just want to make sure that AT&T's network and warranty service after the sale is respectable because what we saw appears to lend credence to that.

Torch owners: Are you impressed with the phone and it's performance? What handset did you have before? Have there been any "sucks to be you" points after your upgrade/switch?

Thanks!

[Thanontos]

I left verizon to go to at&t for the Torch myself. While I never had a problem with the verizon staff correcting my problems (depending on which rep you got, some better than others...), at&t replaced my first torch due to the front buttons starting to detatch on the left call side even though I had only had the phone 24 hours. I have not had any other issues and am now past the first 30 day mark, so I'm not sure how they will handle future problems. I should also say that the fisrt case I bought for my torch was the casemate carbon fiber one and had an issue with the clip breaking on top that held the screen part on, and they offered a replacement on that too.

I came up from the original storm 1 and am very impressed with the new OS and I like the integration with the social apps too. Of course there are 3rd party apps for the same thing, but having them built in is less hassle. The biggest drawback in my opinion is the screen could have been a better one, but that is only what I'd like to have seen and not everyone needs a better resolution screen. It is the best BlackBerry to date and I recommend getting it. I must say I do miss the greater 3G coverage from Verizon....

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DawgMan]

I had the Bold 9000, Bold 9700 and now the Torch. All have been on AT&T so I can't comment on the coverage area or customer service. I can say that I have been very pleased with the customer service from AT&T. As far as actual coverage area I live in southern WV which is pretty mountainous and logistically difficult for any carrier to provide absolute coverage. I've been really happy with the coverage that I have. In your case you may want to check with family and friends that have AT&T to see if it will provide you the best coverage for your location.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ksteph]

I have been with AT&T for 15 years and have been pleased with the customer service they provide. I had the iPhone 4 but switched with my son who had bought the Torch. I'm very pleased with my Torch. No problems at all.

[jpsangel]

I'd been with Sprint (in Metro Detroit) since 2001 and just switched over to AT&T to get my hands on the Torch on Wednesday (plus we have phone/internet/tv already via AT&T Uverse). I'd never had any problems with Sprint (aside from their customer service), but so far I'm very happy with my switch.

I work from home and have wifi here, so the phone is using that primarily instead of counting against my new data plan (I agree with you that Sprint's plans are better than AT&T's). I was also very pleased to find that a Sprint "dead spot" (office at my other part-time job) gets great phone and data reception with AT&T.

In regards (so far) to the buying experience/customer service: I went into an AT&T store. They knocked $100 off the price of the phone right off the bat (which they probably all do, since it was priced $100 more than it's available for on the website). When I told my rep I was on my way to the Sprint store and that my contract with them was up, he threw in a free basic case and car charger. He told me to call back in thirty days and ask for him, and he'd reverse the activation fee at that time. In addition, AT&T (as does Sprint) offers discounts to employees of certain companies...I'll be getting 24% off my monthly bill because my PT employer participates in that program. Definitely worth asking about!!!

The employees at the store were very friendly and helpful, which is more than I can say for any Sprint store I've ever been in.

Only thing I was NOT happy about was some kind of automatic "roadside assistance" program that is tacked on and can NOT be opted out of at purchase, you have to wait a week! Needless to say I added that task to my to-do list.

I'll let you know if anything changes my mind anytime soon, but so far I'm VERY happy with my switch! I upgraded from a two-year-old 8330 Curve, and I'm STILL playing with my Torch...I'm very pleased with the performance so far!

[Sevyn]

Last night we went to the AT&T store and ported in from Sprint. Easy process and again what we saw in the store between the reps and the other customers was the same - doing what one would expect customer service to do - take care of the customer. Maybe we just went to a good store, but it's better than what we had at Sprint and that alone made spending the money to switch worth it. After getting to mess around with it, the Torch is flat out, just a great handset. We upgraded the OS when DM6 said that there was an upgrade. Everything transferred just like it should when you upgrade your handset within the same carrier - nothing was any different.

Pretty much like jpsangel said previously, we received the same deal with rebates and activation fee being waived. Also my employer, HP, has a large monthly discount as well.

All in all, from the very short time we have had them, we are pleased to have made the switch. We hope it stays that way.

Thanks!

[ennx]

To me it's CDMA vs GSM. I would never buy a CDMA phone.

[qbnkelt]

Agreeing with rje. Most of the world is on GSM and I do travel so it just makes better sense to me. That said, there are some world phones at Sprint and Verizon. I have used the 8830 and I now have the 9650 for work, great phones both.
I have been on AT&T since it went from L.A. Cellular to AT&T then Cingular then back to AT&T. So basically since the late 90s, if you count the Cingular years. Love it, and great customer service. I get the same coverage on my AT&T that I do on my 9650, I've tested both carriers side by side.
I love the 9800, I had the 9700 before that, the 9000 before that, and the 8310 before that. Work phones, the whole lot, almost!!!

[NoahFecks]

To me it's CDMA vs GSM. I would never buy a CDMA phone.

The 9650 is a dual-radio world phone. It can be used on both types of networks. Better yet, it's sold unlocked by Sprint, so one could buy the phone outright, pop a sim card in and be good to go.

[papped]

It's edge only on GSM though...

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

I would say go for the Torch and AT&T. I don't have the Torch (yet, still debating), but I feel at home with AT&T. The only times I have had issues is when I was using a non-BlackBerry smartphone.

[papped]

Went from the sprint 9650 to the torch and it's awesome. I loved my 9650 but I don't miss it at all.

[Giant Panda]

I had Sprint many years ago and grew pretty frustrated with their customer service. I switched to Cingular/AT&T when the Razr first came out and I have to say, AT&Ts in store and phone customer service has always been top notch. I am pretty happy with the Torch coming from an iPhone3g.

[jcp007]

Been with AT&T for almost 16 years...started with a bag phone and now fast forward to a Torch. Their partnership with RIM is hopefully a good sign of things to come along with acquisitions of Torch Mobile, Docs To Go and Cellmania.

[homer1475]

Been with AT&T for almost 16 years...started with a bag phone and now fast forward to a Torch. Their partnership with RIM is hopefully a good sign of things to come along with acquisitions of Torch Mobile, Docs To Go and Cellmania.

Same here, used to be on cell one, then cingular and now att. Customer service has allways been top notch. lol old bag phones that had antennas outside your car. Man have we come along way in a short time.

[Sevyn]

I love this phone. It just works like a Blackberry should.

[trego]

Switched from verizon to at&t to get gsm service versus cdma. went with the torch and so far no gripes.