Ok, perhaps cell phones aren't really 'on topic' here, but they remain an essential tool for many of us gigging musicians who cana't afford to miss calls from potential clients, when traveling on the road to/from gigs. So now that I've convinced at least some of you that my topic is appropriate here:

I'm currently looking to switch cell phone service providers. I'm currently with T-Mobile with my contract over. I'm considering switching to Cingular, as inside my house, Cingular's cell phone 'signal strength' is far stronger than T-Mobile's. Another advantage going with Cingular is that since I also have SBC as both my DSL internet & landline telephone provider, and Cingular Wireless is also owned by SBC, SBC is offering new Cingular Wireless customers a substantial discount on their SBC bill if Cingular Cell Phone service is added to the total package.

Ok, here's my question: If I purchase cell phone service (and new phone(s)) DIRECTLY from Cingular, the price for the phone(s) is MUCH HIGHER than going with a 3rd party Cingular provider. For example: if I purchase a Nokia model #6620 phone directly from Cingular on a new 2 year plan, it costs $199, yet with only a 1 year Cingular contract with Amazon.com, I can get the same Nokia 6620 phone for $24.99 (after rebate). I've noticed there are a lot of these HOT phone deals (offered with new cell service) by '3rd party' Cingular online stores. Curious if they're legit and what (if any) risks are involved purchasing Cingular cell phone service from Amazon.com or Nokia, who offers the same Nokia 6620 phone for $49.99.

Many thanks to all for advice & feedback on this.

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 08-30-2005).]

Scott,

I'm a Cingular dealer so I'll give you the run down.

The phone cost let's say $300. When you activate there is a commission given for let's say $200 for a 1 year and an extra $50 for a 2 year deal. So doing the math a $300 phone will cost the company with a 2 year deal $50. So they need to sell it for more than $50 to make some money.

These numbers are kind pulled out of the air but it all kind works that way. You service no matter who you buy it from is still Cingular.


Hoep this helps

GO NEXTEL

We have both Cingular and Verizon phone service at the office,and my advice is to avoid Cingular at all costs!

There were three extended Cingular service outages last year at critical times...none at
Verizon.

Recently, with contracts up, I checked out both companies. Verizon offered two free phones and no activation fee. When one of the Cingular phones began to malfunction I visited a local office (not a reseller). They wanted $100.00 for two phones and $36.00 ($18.00 per line) for activation. When I told them about te Verizon offer, they said "You'd better go to them". Then, they suggested I call Cingular Marketing and try to negotiate a better deal. I was running, didn't have time to play around and needed the line, so I paid the $100.00 for the phones. The activation fee (it takes about a minute to switch out the chips) was to be included on my next bill. When that bill came, it was 16 pages for $169.00. It was normally $90.00. I had purchased a $59.00
plan instead of the $69.00 plan I was on, because I was unsatisfied with the purchasing experince. There was no balance forward, so the maximum the bill could have been was $90.00 (the old plan, including all fees and taxes), plus the $36.00 activation fee. I went back to the store, and after looking at te bill, no-one could make any sense of it. After disapearing for 1/2 hour, the salesperon came out with a hand-written total of $135.00. It was still more than it should have been, but I was late for a meeting, so I offered to pay it right then. I was told there would be a $2.00 fee if I paid it then instead of mailing it in.

The Cingular culture seems to involve deceptive marketing practices, confusing billing, marginal service and an extremely combative attitude.

When the time comes, I'll switch the two Cingular lines to Verizon. Over two a two year contract, that will cost Cingular
$2200, and I am adding two additional Verizon lines next week. I'll then have 6 lines...eventually, none of them Cingular.

My advice...RUN AWAY!

Russ

I recently spent a few days in the beautiful Berkshire mountains in western MA ... I have a new (company issued) BlackBerry with T-Mobile Service. While in western MA I had a lot of difficulty getting a signal ... so did folks with other service ... the only people who had service were Verizon users... On the trip home there was a billboard advertizing Verizon .. It said "For coverage worldwide ... including western MA ..."
They weren't kidding ...
t.

I have Cingular and the good part is that there is no charge when talking to any other Cingular customer. Since all my family and most of my friends are on Cingular, we use very little air time.
It does seem I had better continuity of service before Cingular and ATT merged. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, but I always research the others each time the contract is due.
Scott, I had no problem getting free phones from Cingular with 2-year aggreement.
DonM

Just replace the word phone with arranger and you'll know the way the game goes.

Scott,

Here in Phoenix (and I guess in most other places), Verizon has a better service (coverage, signal strength). They are also more expensive. I use Cingular (former ATT Wireless), and must say that their service, while not as good as Verizon's, is really quite good (never had any outages of the type Captain Russ was mentioning). If you are getting a good deal from them, go ahead and sign up.

Another advantage is that you will be able to chat for free with all the members here who are using Cingular - Don Mason, Frank Ventresca, myself, ...

As to the price of the phones, I don't follow the current pricing, but when i was signing up a little over a year ago, I managed to get a pair of really fancy phones (at the time) - Nokia 3620s for free, while they were usually priced at $250. I would not be afraid to purchase a phone from a small shop, just make sure it is covered under warranty.

A note of caution, though - typically the phones have warranty of 1 year. When you sign up for 2 years of service, the second year you are still bound by your agreement, but your phone is not protected. Should it break, you will be forced to buy the phone at a "regular" price without service - those are very high (check for yourself).


Good Luck,
Alex

Scott just called me on Cingular. I was on #16 tee box, and it was if he were there with me.
The BAD one in these parts is Nextel. Service is awful and customer service even worse.
I travel around the state quite a bit with my friend Dean Mathis. I can't tell you how many times he can't get a signal and uses my phone from the same place and gets right through.
Just a close hand observation.
DonM

$3.99 a month for full replacement insurance coverage for anything that happens at all

Here its the oposite T mobile & Cingular sux....But NEXTEL is awesome, They have tough phones plus the walkie talkie feature which I love, to talk between other Nextel users free...Diferent areas have different signals.....
dont go by others ask around in YOUR AREA!

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback. Capt Russ, sorry to hear about your bad experiences w/Cingular.

Ok, after performing cell reception signal strength tests, both INSIDE my house and the surrounding neighborhood, with different friend's phones, and on differing cell provider carriers: Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, Cingular's cell reception looks to be the strongest, at least in my house, with Cingular, so I went ahead and signed on with them. I got a Nokia 3010 phone with it, but have the option of swapping it for another fancier model or even a different brand with no penalty if done within 30 days. As a longtime Nokia phone enthusiast primarily because I'm most familar with its OS navigation, I'm considering switching (upgrading) to a Nokia 6620, or possibly going to a thin flip phone like the Motorola V3 Razr now. There is also a new Nokia model 6682 due out any day. Do any of you have a decided preference for: 'flip' or 'candybar stick' style phones'? Curious to hear what phones others of you are using and which brand/model are your favorite(s). Feed back appreciated as usual. - Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 09-01-2005).]

Scott,

I was looking for specific features (e.g. PDA capabilities + bluetooth + ...) and at the timey my "candybar" was the only one. Given a choice, I'd go for a flip phone - it provides physical protection for the screen and against accidentally pressing buttons and dialing. Most candybars have a keypad lock, but it is more cumbersome to use.

Regards,
Alex

Just to let you guys know that I was (luckily) able to pull out of my 2 day old contract thru the Cingular Store and get refunded back my complete phone activation fees as well. I was candidly honest with the Cingular Salesman telling him that I'm able to get the exact same phone I want thru 'Amazon.com' for FREE (with rebate), or thru 'Best Buy' at 1/2 the price Cingular charges, and get the exact same Cingular service contract as well.

I've since learned that purchasing a phones with service contract directly thru the cell phone service provider (Cingular (Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc) will typically cost substantially more than going thru a 3rd party (yet authorized by the cell provider) dealer. Apparently, 3rd party dealers make their $ on the commission (paid to them by the cell service provider) for every customer they bring to the provider, in this case Cingular. As a result, 3rd party dealers can offer the same phones offered thru Cingular at a substantially lower (often free) prices, via special rebate incentive deals. Anybody here purchase their cell phone service + cell telephone thru a 3rd party authorized dealer like Best Buy, Costco, or Amazon.Com?

In addition, here are a couple other online dealers. Anyone used or heard of, or recommend any of these?:

Let's Talk

WireFly

Cellular Choices


Thanks in advance again for feedback & recommendations. - Scott


[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 09-01-2005).]