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General discussion

Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT

Sep 28, 2004 8:50AM PDT

My ATT contract is up and I'm thinking of switching to Verizon. I live in the LA Costal area and have not heard good things about ATT's GSM Network or Cingular who recently purchased ATT Wireless, but everyone seems to like Verizon. My problem is that ATT has some Bluetooth phones, but Verizon doesn't really offer phones with Bluetooth, only 1 to my knowledge.

Does anyone know if Verizon will offer more Bluetooth phones in the near future?

Do people agree that Bluetooth will soon be the norm in terms of wireless ear pieces, PC conectivity, car conectivity, etc?

Discussion is locked

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Sep 28, 2004 5:06PM PDT

I live in the LA coastal area, (Redondo) I went from Verizon (CDMA) to AT&T (GSM) because mostly for the one phone I really wanted, the Nokia 6820. It has Bluetooth and a few other goodies I really wanted.

The service is better than what I was getting with Verizon, and phone does not disappoint. The last I heard, Verizon still does not have a Bluetooth phone, nor a phone that does not have an antenna "nub" (hate those).

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Sep 29, 2004 4:08AM PDT

I don't know if Verizon plans to offer any other bluetooth phones, but I hear the Motorola V710 misses a software program to let people take full advantage of what bluetooth has to offer. It's in one of the other posts buried in the line of threads. I'm personally not a fan of the current bluetooth accessories that's out there.
Verizon Wireless seems to have a reliable netowrk in most areas they serve. Their phone selection however isn't up to par with the other wireless carriers. They're one of the last to get the latest technology and that's because they have a strict criteria for their phones. I don't need all the bells and whistles, but there are those who want it. I only wished Verizon offered a better selection, but the criteria they have (and I don't know what it is since I don't work for Verizon Wireless) has caused some companies to not make phones for Verizon Wireless. If you absolutely must have bluetooth, you won't get bluetooth at the same level with Verizon Wireless. AT&T will likely be your only choice. Whether Cingular embraces it now, or when they merge AT&T into their service (where they can merge AT&T markets) into theirs is unknown.

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Sep 30, 2004 4:50AM PDT

I live in San Diego and I recently moved over to Verizon from AT&T after being with them for over 3 years. I kept getting dropped calls and bad reception with AT&T and it may just depends on the area you live in, but I was tired of it. Verizon is so much better in my area by far, with regards to reception. My wife has had Verizon for more than two years and she is very happy with their service. I have the Motorola V710 and so far I'm happy with it. Bluetooth isn't as robust as I think it should be but it was the best phone they had by far with regards to features. Yeah, it's pricey but it suited my needs and that's fine with me.

It's a tough call but if you are really interested in Bluetooth then maybe AT&T may be best for you since they have a larger variety of phones with Bluetooth.

If you want to wait, you don't have to renew your contract with AT&T, you'll just be month to month, but you cannot change your plan if you do then you'll have to start another contract. But if you just stay month to month you can cancel or move your phone number over anytime. This way you don't feel rushed and you can to more research to help you with your decision.

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Oct 6, 2004 4:11AM PDT

SWITCH OVER TO VERIZON! I WORK FOR THEM AND I GURANTEE YOU, YOU'LL LIKE IT.. IVE SWITCH FROM ATT AND CINGULAR TO VERIZON AND ITS WORTH THE PRICE.. I DONT ABOUT THE PRICING AS LONG AS THE RECEPTION, PRODUCTS AND SERVICE WORKS GOOD

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Oct 16, 2004 2:12AM PDT

Joester,
since you seem to have an inside track on Verizon info, do you see other Bluetooth phones being offered in the near future? the V710 didn't work so well for me, due to a balky system, and my wish for smartphone capability.

greghad

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Oct 16, 2004 5:42AM PDT

well the thing is that verizon is really good, personally i have t-mobile but I do strongly believe verizon service is great and definately on top of the game. However the thing i like about T-Mobile, AT&T and the other GSM phones is that you can get any GSM phone from several companies and basically pick and choose which phone you want and dont have to worry about activating a new phone, just throw in your sim card in another phone and bam no activation fee or upgrade fee. For instance, I'm on the T-Mobile network but recently purchased off ebay the unlocked motorola mpx200 which was strictly an AT&T phone. So in other words staying on a GSM network gives you the opportunity to hunt around for a phone whenever you want, and in your case you may hunt around for a bluetooth phone practically anywhere! Like me I have 6 different phones (phones originally from t-mobile, cingular, and AT&T) to use with my T-mobile service. this makes it easy in case my phone breaks and I need a replacement.
So for phone options I say either stay on AT&T with GSM or switch to another company (hey you can even unlock and keep your same phone to save money until you get somthing you reaaaaaallly want) OR go ahead with verizon because they have really great service, and I'm sure they'll have many bluetooth phones in the near future since its still a new technology.
The thing you have to remember is GSM is found in many phone companies around the world giving you WAY more options on purchasing phones. All you have to do is get an unlocked phone or unlock it yourself. T-Mobile unlocks their phones for free, AT&T lies and tells you its not possible in order to keep you with them. But its possible still, they just hide the fact that you could. If you would like to get out of AT&T then try to ask your friends on how service is for other GSM networks that they might have.

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Re: Bluetooth Verizon vs ATT
Oct 16, 2004 12:37PM PDT

You forgot to mention that Verizon Wireless uses CDMA, so you must get a phone from Verizon Wireless in order to use their phone, unless you get a phone from another source, like EBay, that's made to work with Verizon Wireless. Who knows how long it'll be before bluetooth catches up with Verizon Wireless. They're the only carrier to my knowledge that takes longer to bring phones to the market due to strict criteria that phones must meet.