At least you won't get a busy tone
Written: Dec 01 '99 (Updated Dec 03 '99)
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Pros: Flexible contracts, clear voices, good off peak hours, no busy tones
Cons: Limited coverage, occasional dropped calls, customer service always busy
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| garypai's Full Review: Sprint Mobile Phone Service in New York |
I don't know where epinions got their numbers, but this $29.99 plan gives you 180 anytime minutes, not 100 as stated in the product description. As someone who works during the entire peak period as defined by Sprint (M-Th 7-8, and 7-7 on Fri) I was more interested in a plan that provided a great deal of free off-peak minutes. So, after I had selected Sprint, I chose this plan because it was the minimum priced plan that offered a special promotion of 500 free off peak minutes.
THE PROS OF BEING ON THE SPRINT PCS NETWORK
First of all, it ain't AT&T. My friends and family never have any trouble getting through to my phone, as long as I am on the Sprint PCS network. I have tried on both my cell phone and on land line phones to contact my friends on their AT&T phones, and lo and behold, 3 times out of 4, I get a busy tone. In fact, most of them have to try 3 or 4 times before being able to call other people or access their voicemail. The voice quality with Sprint is also very clear, though every now and then (5% of the time), you get a messed up call where you can't make anything out. For New York wireless carriers, Sprint PCS also has the most generous definition of off-peak times for those of you with off-peak minutes to burn. As long as you are in Metropolitan New York, the coverage is pretty strong. Perhaps the best feature of all is that there are no contracts. You can change your contract ANYTIME, and there are no penalties or anything!
THE CONS OF BEING ON THE SPRINT PCS NETWORK
The coverage area is EXTREMELY limited. If you leave Metropolitan New York, the chances are great that you will get off the Sprint PCS network and pay roaming charges. There are even some dead spots within Metropolitan New York. (Take a look at their coverage map, and it looks like you have a wide coverage area. But upon closer inspection, you'll see too different shades of yellow: one for current coverage, and the other for future coverage. I called them once and asked when these areas were going to be complete, and the customer service rep said in a month. That was six months ago. Chances are in four months the coverage map won't change, because for me, it's still the same as I saw it four months ago.) Also, I wish you good luck and enormous patience when you try to contact customer service as lines are almost always busy. However, once you get through, you'll find that customer service is very attentive to your needs. Perhaps my biggest peeve with Sprint PCS is that I get a tremendous number of dropped calls. Early on, it was a fairly chronic problem; around 15% of my calls would be dropped midway through. However, as of late it seems to have gotten better and the dropped calls are much less frequent (probably between 2-5%).
CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATION
However, in all fairness to Sprint, for my uses, it has served more than adequately for me. If you are in the Metro NYC area, I think Sprint would serve you well too. It is certainly a more reliable alternative to AT&T. The service is clear, and you get some nice features such as great voicemail, caller ID, and numeric paging. I never intended this phone to be used for long distance, so I did not sign on to Free and Clear, which is what you should use if you do intend on making many long distance calls. In retrospect, I probably would be more pleased with my service had I selected Bell Atlantic. However, given that I am mainly in NYC, and I have taken advantage of the lack of contract (and not yearly ones) by changing my plans often, Sprint PCS was the best choice for me. Furthermore, I am a technology geek, and given that Sprint PCS is the latest in wireless technology (1900 MHz PCS), and Bell Atlantic was only 800 MHz, I went with Sprint PCS.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99
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Epinions.com ID:
garypai
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 43
Trusted by: 119 members
About Me:
I enjoy dining out, going to shows, and enjoying all the city has to offer.
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