Weighing my options, looking at T-Mobile...

[CNYBlackBerryAddict]

Okay, T-Mobileers (or T-Mobileites, whichever you prefer! ), I need to pick your brains.

I'm currently with Sprint, and I've got to admit, I'm loving the features I get for the price -- especially with the new Any Mobile, Anytime due to hit my account later this month....and the coverage works pretty darn well, too. But, I'm always on the lookout for the best value for my money.

As far as coverage goes, it looks to me like I'm pretty equally covered between Sprint and T-Mobile, though it looks like T-Mobile is actually marginally better here at home, according to the map. However, that really doesn't matter, 'cuz I'd most likely use UMA here at home anyway, thanks to the wi-fi option on my home router. With the corporate discount I could get, the prices would actually even out pretty well, and I'd get a smidge more anytime minutes with T-Mobile. So, I'd probably be silly not to try them out. And, as someone noted in another subforum today, value for the money and price aren't necessarily equal.

My concern is, a few years back, I briefly had a T-Mobile prepaid phone because I didn't use the phone much...problem was, I couldn't get a signal in the house. This seems an ideal situation, then, when UMA would come in handy. I'm just curious how call quality is via UMA, and if I'd notice a difference in call quality. Of course, I also realize that this was a few years ago, and I might see a different story

Also, I really like the look of the 9700, but since there's no firm date on that yet, I'm just wondering if I should wait and take my "test drive" when that comes out, or if I should grab a 8900 for a good price now and try it out and see. On one hand, I see the value in waiting, since it gives T-Mo a bit more time to roll out more 3G coverage (the oddest thing here is, on my side of the street at home, it looks like it's EDGE according to the map, but on the other side of the street? 3G! I know I could take a test drive with less than a BlackBerry, but really...I'd love to compare my Curve 8330 against another BlackBerry to get a true feeling for the network. But, since the 8900 isn't 3G and I'll see EDGE speeds, would that really be a fair comparison?

Most of my travel takes me through central and upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, and northeast Ohio, and much of Michigan (especially the upper half of the Lower Peninsula, with occasional trips to visit family in Arkansas and Iowa. I see what the coverage maps say, but I've learned that coverage maps and personal experience can vary greatly.

I guess I'm just wondering if y'all, being T-Mo customers, think I should give it a few months to let them tweak their network and roll out the 9700 before I see if it's the right carrier for me.

I'd appreciate any feedback.

I think if you jump to TMO you'll be pleasantly surprised.....TMO still experiences the same issues with structure signal penetration but the UMA feature more than makes up for it....make sure you thoroughly research the device you want though.....as is always true with any device the 9700 will have some flaws or bugs and Ide hate to see you blacklist TMO over a buggy phone....the 8900 however is a proven workhorse and well proven UMA device.....I agree the 9700 will be a game changer but give it a few months from roll out to purchase so you don't get the wrong impression....

I came from VZW and while TMO's network is a little less reliable indoors the UMA and Outstanding customer service puts TMO well ahead of the other carriers......plus TMO values you as a customer and is happy to go the extra mile for ya if you have problems........

Im a firefighter by the way and in no way am affiliated witrh TMO besides my subscriber status

[lisap006]

If i were you I would wait till the 9700 comes out since it is official that it will have the uma option and the 3g option!!! i live in a basement and have no coverage at all!!! being connected over UMA w. my 8900 is amazing!!!! i never have dropped calls and my signal is perfect in a basement where my friends bb 8100 has no bars what so ever!!! Uma makes a difference and is worth the swtich!!!! Now as far as the coverage goes, like u said its all about personal experience, tmobile coverage is no where as good as sprints coverage that's the downfall....but atleast you'll have ur uma when u visit hotels with wifi

[CNYBlackBerryAddict]

Thank you both for your initial weigh-in! Since my part of Syracuse is in a very weird situation, re: 3G vs. EDGE (as I said, it looks from the map that if I were to cross the 2-lane street to my neighbor's house, I'd get 3G! :O ) and since the 9700's still a ways away from bringing 3G and BlackBerry together for T-Mobile, are T-Mo's EDGE speeds pretty decent for limited Web surfing and the like? (If I'm home, I'll just use my PC for the Web). I'll be curious to put them into a side-by-side comparison with my Sprint 8330 sitting here, too! Though I know that in itself probably isn't a fair comparison, since the 8900's inherently faster....but it seems silly to go with an 8320 for a "test drive" whenI could really open it up and give the 8900 a spin.

A couple more questions, too (be warned, I tend to think of a ton of things to ask like minutes and hours later! ).... How long do I have to test out a phone and service with T-Mobile before I'm locked into a contract? I know some carriers are 30, but that some are less than that. I thought I read 14 days someplace for T-Mobile, but I figured I'd ask the T-Mobile Crackberrians! And also....since T-Mobile doesn't have a paid GPS navigation option like Sprint Navigation or VZ Navigator, do third-party solutions work pretty well with T-Mobile GPSs? (I remember reading that VZ, for example, doesn't always play nice with GPS-dependent apps from other parties).

UMA is definitely an attractive feature, especially combined with the fact that I can get a 10% discount through my union, so I appreciate you all answering my questions as I mull over what's going to be the best value for my dollar! As a poor grad student, every penny helps...but I don't want to be SO frugal that I forego a potentially great experience with another carrier.

Oh, and as a total side note.... Larry, thanks for all that you do as a firefighter. I work as a Red Cross disaster volunteer, and locally, I've gotten to interact with a lot of great firefighters....and I'm going to start training as volunteer EMT soon, too.

[ace587]

UMA works great, i would def go Tmobile esp when going overseas with your blackberry. At places where there is no cellphone rf at all wifi def helps a lot!

Im also tempted by the 9700 and 3G is perfect from Tmobile where i live

BUT, as a sprint user, you do get the best in wireless for the plan, $70 unl calls to mobile and everything else, BIS, GPS, TV, music, domestic roaming w/o charges. Instant premiere status which guarantees you new upgrades every year not to mention you can apply corp discounts which are higher than sprint. even up to 25%


But overall, do your research well and good luck which carrier you end up with

Originally Posted by CNYBlackBerryAddict

Thank you both for your initial weigh-in! Since my part of Syracuse is in a very weird situation, re: 3G vs. EDGE (as I said, it looks from the map that if I were to cross the 2-lane street to my neighbor's house, I'd get 3G! :O ) and since the 9700's still a ways away from bringing 3G and BlackBerry together for T-Mobile, are T-Mo's EDGE speeds pretty decent for limited Web surfing and the like? (If I'm home, I'll just use my PC for the Web). I'll be curious to put them into a side-by-side comparison with my Sprint 8330 sitting here, too! Though I know that in itself probably isn't a fair comparison, since the 8900's inherently faster....but it seems silly to go with an 8320 for a "test drive" whenI could really open it up and give the 8900 a spin.

A couple more questions, too (be warned, I tend to think of a ton of things to ask like minutes and hours later! ).... How long do I have to test out a phone and service with T-Mobile before I'm locked into a contract? I know some carriers are 30, but that some are less than that. I thought I read 14 days someplace for T-Mobile, but I figured I'd ask the T-Mobile Crackberrians! And also....since T-Mobile doesn't have a paid GPS navigation option like Sprint Navigation or VZ Navigator, do third-party solutions work pretty well with T-Mobile GPSs? (I remember reading that VZ, for example, doesn't always play nice with GPS-dependent apps from other parties).

UMA is definitely an attractive feature, especially combined with the fact that I can get a 10% discount through my union, so I appreciate you all answering my questions as I mull over what's going to be the best value for my dollar! As a poor grad student, every penny helps...but I don't want to be SO frugal that I forego a potentially great experience with another carrier.

Oh, and as a total side note.... Larry, thanks for all that you do as a firefighter. I work as a Red Cross disaster volunteer, and locally, I've gotten to interact with a lot of great firefighters....and I'm going to start training as volunteer EMT soon, too.

FIRST Off were the TMO Nation AKA TMO ARMY........

1. You have 14 days...Im not a big fan of this but......oh well

2. Yes......I use Google maps......but TMO plays extremely well with 3rd party apps.......

3. No problem....and you're welcome ............go get that EMT....I'm sure you'll do well....I am an Instructor II as well and hope after you get some time in you'll consider sharing you're knowledge...you seem like a bright young person......

[Doctor A]

Originally Posted by larrygump

FIRST Off were the TMO Nation AKA TMO ARMY........

1. You have 14 days...Im not a big fan of this but......oh well

2. Yes......I use Google maps......but TMO plays extremely well with 3rd party apps.......

3. No problem....and you're welcome ............go get that EMT....I'm sure you'll do well....I am an Instructor II as well and hope after you get some time in you'll consider sharing you're knowledge...you seem like a bright young person......

Not to change thread but Big Props to Firefighter Paramedics! I am retired MD and when Paramedics were called in I would just get out of the way and let them work.
Doc

Larry-please disregard my Thumb-I meant as Thumbs Up and somehow screwed it up!
Figured out how to correct it...

[BlkBear]

Originally Posted by CNYBlackBerryAddict

Okay, T-Mobileers (or T-Mobileites, whichever you prefer! ), I need to pick your brains.

I'm currently with Sprint, and I've got to admit, I'm loving the features I get for the price -- especially with the new Any Mobile, Anytime due to hit my account later this month....and the coverage works pretty darn well, too. But, I'm always on the lookout for the best value for my money.

Personally I'm a big fan of it it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just go month to month, until the phone or phones you are interested income out. In the mean time, borrow a few TMO friends (invite them over for dinner) and see how their service is at home and work. Or do prepay for a while to see what the service is like now, compared to before, where you normally would use the phone.

The most important thing to do is figure out what features you have now and compare them with what you may have to give up or pay extra for with another carrier. Pop over to BillShrink, to compare your current plan with TMO and other cell carrier plans.
Save Money on Gas, Cell Phones, Cell Phone Plans and Credit Cards at BillShrink.

[CNYBlackBerryAddict]

Originally Posted by BlkBear

Personally I'm a big fan of it it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just go month to month, until the phone or phones you are interested income out. In the mean time, borrow a few TMO friends (invite them over for dinner) and see how their service is at home and work. Or do prepay for a while to see what the service is like now, compared to before, where you normally would use the phone.

The most important thing to do is figure out what features you have now and compare them with what you may have to give up or pay extra for with another carrier. Pop over to BillShrink, to compare your current plan with TMO and other cell carrier plans.
Save Money on Gas, Cell Phones, Cell Phone Plans and Credit Cards at BillShrink.

Yeah, I looked at BillShrink, and T-Mobile and Sprint pretty much went toe-to-toe cost-wise and even coverage-wise; T-Mobile actually comes out a little more, but since I'm eligible for a 10% discount through work, it drops to be on par with my current deal from Sprint. I'm thinking I might just grab a T-Mobile prepaid (none of my friends have T-Mobile...they're either Sprint, AT&T, or (the majority) Verizon) and check out the coverage....though on prepaid, you can't use UMA, right? That's the other feature I really wanted to test out...to see just how well UMA worked, re: call quality and the like.

I know it's ultimately a personal decision and about picking the option that works best for me, but I wanted to get some input from actual T-Mobile customers, too.

Y'all have been really helpful so far in giving me things to think about!

[MrShawn]

All I can say is Sprint has a much larger 3G network, don't expect 3G in very many places with T-Mobile

And as for Arkansas, T-Mobile is terrible here, their coverage map is wrong, Verizon is by far the best carrier here, and see Sprint can roam onto them, so you get that added coverage

So, I recommen you stay with Sprint

Look at the 3G comparisons on cellularmap.net

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[K Bear]

T-mo is not perfect, but as far as service and price, you can't beat them. I know a lot of people are dumping on them because of their limited 3G network. Unlike a lot of carriers, they are trying to ensure a stable network and trying to prevent a situation like AT&T whose network gets bogged down by all of the iPhones on their network and netstick users. Anyway, I hear that by the time T-mo is fully 3G, they'll be ready to upgade anyway to 4G or higher.