VoiceStream as Good as Jamie Lee Curtis' Legs!
Written: Mar 12 '01
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Pros: Nokia 8290 Service! - Cheap Plans - No annual contract required.
Cons: Cheaper plans have considerably less minutes than more expensive plans - "347" area code
The Bottom Line: If you want to use the Nokia 8290 in NYC(the hottest mobile phone available) and get digital service then you need VoiceStream.
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| RudySagastume's Full Review: T-Mobile Phone Service in New York |
The History
This is a quick story about my first cell phone. I am the last amongst all my friends to get a phone and was completely against another monthly bill. However, it's difficult to successfully meet up with people on the corner of 42nd and 6th after work, so I finally decided to take the plunge.
I asked everyone I could possibly think of and all signs either pointed to Sprint or Verizon. They pretty much have the lock on the industry in NYC. I mean come on, how many times have we seen these damn Samsung flip-phones from Sprint?
It turns out that people were upset with Sprint - they couldn't get coverage in buildings. Verizon was the perfect but way too expensive.
Then I remembered Jamie Lee Curtis jumpin' up an elevator shaft talkin' about VoiceStream. I looked here on epinions and didn't find a thing. I went to TheWiz on 5th Ave and the guy didn't really want to promote VoiceStream. He kept pushin' for Verizon/Sprint. I was about to go with Verizon when I thought about the reason I wanted to get a phone in the first place...
I needed a cell phone to coordinate with people where to meet and when. I didn't need it for long conversations. Just quick calls, "Meet me here in 2 minutes..." Also, I hated that my friends all had "mobile" phones but they all seemed HUGE! I mean, if it's supposed to be convenient to have a celly then why lug around these heavy phones? I needed something tiny so I could slip into my leather coat and forget about it at the club. (Know what I'm sayin'?)
I saw the Nokia 8290 and it turns out that VoiceStream is the only service in NYC that uses this phone. (Conversely ATT uses the 8260 but we all know ATT sux in NYC.) I was hooked. As long as the didn't mess up the service I was home free.
The Plans
The salesperson at VoiceStream was great. He didn't try to upsell me another plan at all. He answered ALL of my questions (and since it was my first phone I had a lot). The 1st/cheapest was $19.99/month at a yearly contract. 75 minutes and 500 minutes on weekends for 6 months. Sounded pretty bad. Especially for the yearly contract. Next was $39.99/month at a yearly contract. I think (not sure) it was 250 minutes and 500 on weekends. Better but more than I needed to pay. Suddenly, there came another option. $29.99/month. NO ANNUAL CONTRACT! 75 minutes and 500 on the weekends. That's exactly what I needed! I have the option to go either to the cheaper or higher plan (but then I would have to do yearly contract). But here's the clincher: You can purchase prepaid minutes that give you more bang for you buck! So let's summarize: No annual contract and as many minutes as you can buy on a monthly basis!
The Service
The whole network is DIGITAL! Fabulous! I receive no roaming fees along the NorthEast. I pretty much only am in NYC and Boston. Here we run into the first road block. The customer service is not so great. I had a quick question and it took a while for me to actually get a human on the phone. But that was a non-voicemail question. The actual voicemail service is perfect. It gets the job done consistently and with no problems.
Here's the one thing that kinda bothered me. My area code is "347" I think that VoiceStream only has access to "646" and "347" numbers and for some reason I got stuck with that. It takes a while to explain to people that it is a local NYC call, but after that you're cool. Also, I am in love with my phone (Nokia 8290) and the features on it are soooo cool. You can download ringtones right off the VoiceStream website (e.g. Godfather, Knight Rider, etc.)
Another thing, the VoiceStream website is extremely slow. The really need to work on that. The cool part (that is becoming standard) is that you can pay your bill online and send text messages for free. But you do get a free e-mail address with your phone. That means that anyone can e-mail you for free! No additional charges to your bill. You can respond but it costs .75 cents per message. The cool thing about the free e-mail is that you can set up your phone to receive e-mail alerts from your regular e-mail account (e.g. Hotmail alerts can be sent directly to the phone to avoid logging on randomly) Did I mention this is all FREE?!
The End
Well that's the end of the story. This is my first cell phone and provider. When I'm out with friends we are all on the same level as far as coverage (except for those poor Sprint and the occasional ATT people). VoiceStream is really holding its own and will continue to take NYC from those other guys. Thanks, peace!
-Rudy
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99/month
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Epinions.com ID:
RudySagastume
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Member: Rudy Sagastume
Location: Queens, NY
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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