Cricket in Denver
Written: Apr 22 '02
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Pros: Unlimited Local Calls, Good Denver-area Coverage
Cons: Fairly expensive long distance, lack-luster customer service
The Bottom Line: If you rarely leave your main coverage area and want a cellphone, or want to have local-call mobility without paying 2 bills, this is a great service.
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| mystica555's Full Review: General Reviews of Cricket Communications Wireless... |
While looking around for a decent deal in wireless phone service, I have come across many companies, too many to list here. However none offer unlimited local calls except (recently) Qwest. Problem is, their phone selection is very limited, (Only a single AudioVox model) and their offering is slightly more expensive than Cricket's base offering in my area. (This does however include all basic features such as call waiting, voice mail, 3 way calling and caller ID. With Cricket, these cost extra.) Seeing as how I don't use any of those features except caller ID and voice mail, Cricket still comes out cheaper by a few cents and having had horrible dealings with Qwest's land-line phone service, I wanted to get away from them. With the optional handset insurance and taxes/fees, my final bill comes out to around 45 a month.
Compared to Qwest's flat-rate offering, Cricket had more phone options to choose from. These included a Nokia 5100 series model, an AudioVox model (probably the same one Qwest has) and a Kyocera 2200 series model. I did a bit of research and found the Kyocera 2235 had the most features and supported the new CDMA2000 1X standard that Cricket implemented in Denver and Phoenix to allow for many more concurrent calls and better service. Extra features on this phone abound, including voice-activated dialing, built-in calculator/tip calculator, games and more. I was quite happy to see such an advanced phone offered by this company, and gladly paid the extra 50 dollars compared to the lower-end Nokia model offered.
I rarely leave the Denver metro area, maybe once in 5 months time, so roaming is not a consideration for phone coverage. I do however use a -lot- of local call minutes, and the unlimited usage sets Cricket apart from other providers in the area.
I have heard mixed reviews from different places, but I have not had any problems so far with my service coverage. To compare between my phone and my mother's Qwest wireless phone (both 1900mhz CDMA) hers gets worse signal in this house than mine does, and mine has never dropped a call, while hers drops calls every few days.
Customer support is a bit below par however, a few calls to them to setup my voicemail took longer than expected to get through their voice-prompt menu system, and the reps seemed tired and not especially wanting to be there when I called. This hopefully will change, but I doubt I'll need to call again, unless there are unforeseen problems with my service in the future.
If 8 cents a minute long distance is a problem, there are many pre-paid phone card companies out there, most of which have much lower per-minute rates, although some do have per-call connection fees. Research your options, and you will certainly find a good deal for long distance calling.
Overall it's been a positive experience. This is a new concept in the wireless industry, and I, being on the leading(bleeding?) edge of technology, expect and accept that all new things tend to have a few bugs.
Bottom line: I would recommend this service to a friend who wants a cell phone, but doesn't want to pay for 2 bills a month: one for Qwest local service, and one for a cellphone with limited monthly minutes.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 130 + 45/mo
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Epinions.com ID:
mystica555
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Reviews written: 1
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