Re: CDMA or GSM

get an Iphone 4S. it can be used on CDMA and GSM

I need to update after my experience today.

Received my iPhone 4S from Sprint. At our home out east, where my fiancee gets two bars and constant service on her Sprint Blackberry, the iPhone is, as of now, dead in the water (in terms of phone _ wifi works fine). No service. Can't even activate. After an hour on the phone with Sprint technical support, they can't explain why it gets no service, but say it's not possible that the Blackberry would pick up a signal and the iPhone will not. I had the two devices sitting the table side-by-side.

They say I have to go to the store tomorrow, which is in town, where I suspect the phone will get a signal. When I get home, if the phone still does not have a signal, it's going back to Sprint and I am going to go with AT&T. I have to make this decision tomorrow, of course, because by Monday the 14-day period I have to tell them I am returning it will be up.

As an aside, Sprint technical support for the iPhone is absolutely abysmal. They clearly rushed through inadequate training. The woman on the phone was telling me to look for things that were not on the screen, insisted I could activate the cell phone service through iTunes on my computer, and so on.

I asked her supervisor if he really thought I was going to get better technical support from a Sprint store on St Croix then Sprint's central technical support, he said yes. We'll see, but I am NOT happy with Sprint thus far.

Once you get on the AT&T train, will you give us a little review of your new phone and siri?? 😉

Guaranteed!

Once you get on the AT&T train, will you give us a little review of your new phone and siri?? 😉

Ok, so it gets a bit more interesting ...

First off, Sprint store people near Sunny Isle were GREAT. Turns out, the Sprint service we get out here isn't Sprint! It's something else. Yep. We're "roaming" out east. But, if you have a plan that offers unlimited "America Roaming," you'd never know it by your bill.

The default setting on the iPhone for roaming is "off." The nice gal in the store turned it on for me.

Now, it's working great out here _ data and voice. 2 bars just like my fiancee at home. 5 bars on the road.

I heard on the coconut telegraph that one time Sprint contacted a customer who lived out here about the large volume of "America Roaming" minutes. I figure maybe they'll get the message and put in a repeater or tower or something like AT&T did out at Carambola.

So, I'm keeping it. About to polish it up and get it in its new protector. Review coming soon, East Ender!

Maybe you can get Siri to do the review! 😉

Ok, back with my review of Siri. No, I didn't get her to write the review, but if she knew how to type into this box, she could nail it. (Yes, I could email it to myself and copy, paste, but not necessary).

And, that is the best part of Siri. The quality of the voice recognition, a key element of any voice recognition system, is FAR better than anything I've ever used, and really often borders on amazing. Yes, you can use your regular conversational voice, in somewhat noisy environs, and it just works! She can even recognize websites and type them with .com at the end. Slang, no problem. Even proper names she's great with. It's pretty remarkable.

Also, you never have to look at the screen or even touch the phone. This is great for driving. You can hold down the button on the mic of the supplied earbuds for two seconds and she's there. You can say, "Send message to Joe. I am 5 minutes away. Order me a dark and diet." Then, she reads the message back to you and asks you if you want to send. Brilliant!

Another really cool part is the way she interfaces with the alarm. I can say before going to bed, "Wake me up at 6am," and it's done. 100-percent accuracy. Now, I'm the kind of person who always tends to wake up 5 minutes before the alarm goes off. I tell Siri, "I'm awake. Cancel the alarm," and it's done. 100-percent accuracy.

The BIG downside is you really do have to keep it simple. Calling someone, texting someone, emailing someone, setting alarms or appointments, she's great. But, more complex things she has trouble understanding and either kicks you to the web search or tries to find a place with one of the words in whatever phrase you just said. (And, the location services on STX are pretty much worthless. I asked her to find an ATM when I was near Five Corners and she said there were no ATMs even though there's a Banco and a First right down the road _ this has happened in multiple instances.)

Also, I can't figure out what to say to her to get her to read me new text messages. Again, would be especially useful in the car. I am sure there is a phrase, but I haven't hit on it, yet.

All in all, the quality of the voice recognition alone makes Siri revolutionary. I look forward to future updates and improvements.

Feel free to PM me with any questions about Siri or the iPhone 4S.

I am totally intrigued. I am on the fence about springing for it or waiting for the 5. I suspect the 5 will be awhile, though...*-) Thanks for your review.

"My current server is Verizon and all though I have NEVER had any roaming charges on the Alltel plan I am going to have to re-up with a new phone and new contract. "

DON'T DO IT! You were not charge roaming because Alltel had a roaming agreement with Sprint. Verizon does not. If you move here full time Verizon will hit you with a "Fair Use Agreement". They can end your service if you breach it. They won't charge a early termination fee but you will be stuck with a CDMA phone that is useless.

I didn't even think of this. I have a Verizon Droid phone. That is now useless?

Zigmo that is exactly my situation!!!! So is there a way I can get a GSM phone and apply it to my verizon contract with Alltel carrier? Can I ppurchase a used phone and put it on my acct? I know you can do that with lost i phones as my son did it. I have NEVER had roaming except when checking vm or calling local with my phone while visting STT, My BB 8830 is getting tired and does not have a SIM card. I want to stay with Verizon because ATT has horrible local service here in the midwest. Thanks for your help

I didn't even think of this. I have a Verizon Droid phone. That is now useless?

You can sell it to someone in the states. Then Buy an AT&T, Innovative or Sprint Phone. FYI Innovative Phones are unlocked. So you can use them on AT&Ts service if Innovative doesn't work out for you.

Zigmo that is exactly my situation!!!! So is there a way I can get a GSM phone and apply it to my verizon contract with Alltel carrier? Can I ppurchase a used phone and put it on my acct? I know you can do that with lost i phones as my son did it. I have NEVER had roaming except when checking vm or calling local with my phone while visting STT, My BB 8830 is getting tired and does not have a SIM card. I want to stay with Verizon because ATT has horrible local service here in the midwest. Thanks for your help

Verizon will not allow a non-CDMA phone on their network. The reason for this is because they use serial numbers on the phones to turn on or off your phone in their system call ESNs. If it is not a Verzion phone the ESN will not be in their database and can not be activated. That is why a Stolen CDMA phone is useless. If the previous owner calls in the ESN as stolen then the ESN is labeled in the database as stolen and can not be reactivated by anyone. GSM phones use a SIM serial numbers called IMSIs and nothing from the phone is officially involved in the activation of the account. That is why if you find a GSM phone you can put you SIM in it and it works, Provided the phone is not locked to a different carrier than your SIM.

thanks for the info you have been a wealth of info. Can you buy a SIM card from an ATT store and put it in a GSM phone you buy on ebay? Are there any rules regarding an unlocked blackberry? Hate to throw this in.......but could I get a new iphone 4S thru Verizon and have them unlock it and then put in a ATT sim card? Would that work? Since they are both GSM and CDMA? Thanks again for all your help.

If the Ebay phone is an Unlocked GSM phone it will work. Make sure its coming from the states and is 850/1900mhz not 900/1900mhz. If you get it and it turns out not to be unlocked there is a guy in Tutu mall (STT) that will unlock it for $30-$40. Blackberrys are not an issue.

The IPhone 4s question is a good one and I do not know for certain. I have heard roamers that the SIM is built in and you can not remove it. Most CDMA/GSM phones that are out there are for International roaming. Not to permanently switch your service to a GSM provider. Personally I wouldn't risk it. I would just get an AT&T I phone.

Thanks for all the info. I think plan is to just buy an unlocked GSM blackberry on craigslist and go to my local ATT for a sim card. If however the costs are too high....then go with the go phone plan for $50. The ATT option for an i phone is not a consideration. My home base has "lousy" ATT coverage. Thanks again for all your help........I am going to try to hold off signing any hew contracts with Verizon until my phone dies!! 🙂 By then maybe ATT coverage will have improved!

Raj: Wait and find out where you are going to be living. Some places have good AT&T and poor Sprint, and other areas, vice-versa.

This is great advice and I will definitely do what you suggest. Thank you.

That is good advice. And since you have an unlocked phone I would try Both AT&T and Innovatives (Both GSM) prepaid service. This way you aren't tied into a contract and you can get a taste of the service in the area you move to. Sprint would require that you buy a phone prepaid or postpaid so I would see if you can meet neighbors in the area that use sprint and ask them.

Thanks Zigmo. It is paramount that our cell phones are connected immediately, but I want to make sure I pick the right service. Neighbors!!! Great idea!!

Raj H.

After reading all this I have a lot to think about. Not just about which cell phone provider I'm going to use, but maybe even getting a new phone. If I got the iPhone 4 it would be for my wife as she is an iPhone junkie. I am a hardcore android fan and if I were to get a new phone it would be the new LG Optimus 3D!!!

Any ways, thanks for keeping me entertained all!!!

Raj H.

I've Played with the LG and its a cool phone. The only thing is the 3D gives me a headache if I play a game for over 20 minutes. I currently use and love a Galaxy S2.

I've Played with the LG and its a cool phone. The only thing is the 3D gives me a headache if I play a game for over 20 minutes. I currently use and love a Galaxy S2.

I didn't think about headaches from staring at the 3D image. I'll have to give it a test spin before buying one.

Hi, Fantastic read thanks for the informations