AT&T vs. Verizon
I was in the market for a new cell phone and service provider over the weekend and I had narrowed my options down to Verizon or Cingular AT&T. I’ve had both services in the past and haven’t really had any complaints about either. I was looking for a pretty basic plan, nothing too fancy. I am a little bit of a gadget junkie so a cool phone was mildly important. Here’s what I found.
AT&T
- Plans - Plans in my range were very similar to Verizon, no difference there
- Phones - Had their ups and downs, much larger selection online. I came in the day after the iPhone release and they were obviously sold out. I wasn’t looking to spend quite that much but after playing with the model in the store, I probably would’ve caved if one was in stock.
- Customer Service - CRAP. I go to the same AT&T store every time and its always busy so there was no surprise there. I meandered (yes, meandered) around the store for at least 15 minutes but it was so busy, I wasn’t able to speak to an AT&T representative. From my previous experience, the in-store folks are as helpful as AT&T will let them be. Unfortunately, AT&T makes you direct any further problems, questions, etc. through their phone system which is horrific.
Verizon
- Plans - The plan at Verizon with the same price was very similar. The only difference was instead of 5000 night and weekend minutes at AT&T (which I’ll never use), I get unlimited night and weekend minutes at Verizon.
- Phones - No iPhone here but thats probably a good thing for my wallet. Verizon offers some interesting features like mobile TV and navigation which is available for a fee. Verizon’s phone are similar to AT&T’s but offer some of these extra services if you subscribe.
- Customer Service - MUCH better than AT&T. First of all, we were greeted at the door. The Verizon store was equally as busy as AT&T but they must have had atleast 10 people working compared to the 4 or 5 at AT&T the day after the biggest event in the history of that company. Seriously…how do you only have 5 people working the day after you released the iPhone? I worked with the same Verizon representative the whole time. It sounded like they aren’t allowed to help other customers until you are done with them. I did notice afterwards that if they didn’t have any employees available to help you, they put your name on a list so they can help people in order which is something very irritating over at AT&T. In the back of the Verizon store, they also had a tech support desk which I had never heard of. You can actually bring your phone into the store, and they attempt to fix it there. I’ve probably sent 5 AT&T phones back to get fixed or trade for a refurbished phone. My sister-in-law who was with us, was having problems with her keypad. She took it in with us and came out with a refurbished phone right on the spot. That would be nice.
You can probably guess I went with Verizon and got a new phone and a 2 year chain contract. It’s only been a couple days but I am pretty pleased so far and would recommend my local Verizon store over the local AT&T store. Maybe they vary from city to city but the customer service and tech support at the store I visited was far superior to anything I have received from AT&T.
Want to give your 2 cents? Leave a comment below or submit a more thorough review to reviews@cellphonebattles.com!
January 15th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
[...] AT&T vs. Verizon [...]
August 18th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Since Sprint and Verizon are both CDMA networks and share towers, I’m using Sprint and roam on Verizon whenever I choose.
Not to mention I have 3000 minutes and unlimited web/txt for $44.99 a month.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
What about T-Mobile? I’ve used them for years and love everything about them…plans, phones, contracts (shorter), and customer service.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I can get service with Verizon just about anywhere, and they have way cooler phones than AT&T. Verizon has really great customer service, while AT&T has awful customer service.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
You people might be the only ones ever to have a good experience with Verizon’s customer service. Look up some cases online. I’m dumping Verizon as soon as my contract expires - you may think their phones are “way cooler”, but look carefully at the operating systems, and take note of how they’re all the same. I could renew my contract and get a new phone with a huge rebate, but there are exactly zero Verizon phones that do more than the phone I currently have for under $200, and I got my phone five years ago.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Maybe you guys didn’t know that employees at Verizon stores work on COMMISSION! You think you’re getting good customer service, and in fact you might be…but not because they care about you, they care that you can bring them commission. Personally, I have Verizon and have had terrible experience with their customer service AFTER signing up. Try giving their Customer Service number a try when your bill isn’t turning out the way you “signed up” for. I’m going back to AT&T.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Who cares if they are working for commission? If that makes the customer service better then so be it. Maybe AT&T should do the same thing.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Verizon LIED to me when I wanted to increase my minutes. The phone rep said that if I increaed my minutes it wouldn’t extend my contract. Well it did… for another two years. That two years is almost over and I’m done with Verizon. Verizon nickle and dimes ya on everything. And Verizon phones use BREW not JAVA for apps so I can’t use any free stuff from Google Mobile or anywhere. I can only use Verizon apps (that they charge for). Verizon is ugh horrible.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Pretty much everything said above is true. I really have only one comment, which is that i do have an iPhone and all the features are great while everything is covered in one bill, BUT my reception and service on the sucker is terrible. I get 5 bars in places i will never need it and no service in places i am desperate. I bought this phone to obtain awesome features, but only the camera has been reliable. Whenever i see the at&t commercials with the “more bars in more places” slogan i laugh and then get pissed. (p.s. i live in arizona so if it works better in other areas don’t mind this comment)
August 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I hate at&t so much. The service with them is crap! Verizons service is so much better and I love how they have CDMA/GSM cells now. AT&T is made up of crap! AT&T lies when they say “The Best Service”! Its fake! They will cut off ur service for Roaming to long!! Its called “Partner Usage”
August 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
If At&t would fix there CRAPY customer service I would recommend highly. Business laptop owners look to the 3g service its by far better than verizon hands down, although sprints isn’t bad.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I like AT&T, i get good service just about anywhere (98.999)OF THE TIME. i had(in order) metroPcs,verizon,nextel and now AT&T. For me att is taking over.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
AT&T RULES!!!!!!!! YOU CAN’T SPELL “EVIL” WITHOUT TAKING LETTERS FROM “VERIZON WIRELESS”.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
verizon has way cooler phones thant att
can verizon phones be used on cingular networks
August 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I meant to say att networks
August 18th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I have Verizon for 3 phones and I now despise Verizon. They do have better service than ATT where I live but its not worth it. I have had Verizon now for a little over three years and no kidding in the past year my bills vary and have not been the same like they should be. We dont use any fancy features, just call and text and one month my bill goes from 140 to 180. Try reasoning with VZW about it and get nowhere.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Verizon sucks ass! We had three lines for over 4years and for the last couple of years the bill was never less then $130 dollars!! The only thing we did was call and only two phones were used for most calls, with $5 a month texting on only one phone. How the hell did the bill end up $130 and up, try asking them. When I called to ask if we can terminate the service because our two years were up I was asked why was I terminating it. I answered because I get overcharged for minutes that I don’t even use and i only get 50 texts to other networks a month! I was told to “downgrade” my minutes- bullshit! The phones r ALL the same, they have no “cool” features and are overpriced. Plus if you want to switch phones you gotta wait till you two year contract expires because there are no SIM cards and you can’t just put your SIM card into another phone when it breaks. When you get Verizon you are pretty much screwed for two years and you will get charged for everything. It even costs $10 to get your contacts transfered from an old phone to a new one! We got ATT and more then happy with our roll over plan with unlimited texting and most of all with the 15% discount that we got because of where one of us works! ATT is better, more flexible and has awesome phones. And since you have a SIM card you can actually get any phone you want, like those cool phone from Europe or China no one has even heard about here
August 18th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I’ve had verizon for over 5 years now and have never had any problems. I just got the LG voyager (better than iphone imo though not as flashy) for under $100, so those saying they have no good phones fo runder $200 and all the phones are exactly the same .. stop the lies. they even have the blackberry 8230 for $50.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Oh and the person saying it costs $10 to transfer contacts, biggest lie ever. Create an online account and you can back up your contacts online for FREE and transfer them to ANY phone for FREE. Wow people, why lie?
August 18th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I had Verizon for 2 years and i recently switched to ATT. I switched because verizon nickel and dimes you for everything. Customer service has been pretty good with them over the 2 years, although I would say I had to call in at least 10 times wondering why my bills is much different without changes in usage. They have mostly always taken care of me, but They cripple their PDA devices.
While some on you may use phones like the Voyager and stuff like that, I use blackberries and other smartphones. On these devices, you have to pay more to use extra features (like GPS in which VZW disables and you would have to use VZ navigator which is not free for Blackberrie) that’s already included on the same phone for TMO or ATT. I mean I am already paying 44.99 x 2 for blackberry data and I still have to pay another 20 bucks for GPS??? On Att I pay 30 bucks for blackberry service and the GPS is unlocked. It just seems like for anything I wanted to do, it would cost and extra 10 bucks per month (for 2 lines) to do it. It got too frustrating. Now I switched and coverage is about the same in my area, I have a plan with unlimited feature that include some of the stuff that would have costed an extra 30 bucks more a month with VZW. So for now, ATT works best for myself…. maybe in 2 years when my contract is about up, VZW has made some changes regarding these “extra” features that you are being nickeled and dimed for and stop crippling their PDA devices.
September 7th, 2008 at 4:22 am
who cares if the phone is cooler? a phone is great to me as long as it gets good reception and the sound quality is good. I have at&t and i get great reception almost everywhere i go and in the places i dont, verizon dosent either.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I looked at switching to Verizon but found out that I would be paying almost $120 a year for the same plan I have with AT&T. Their coverage map for my area gives me the same number of bars I already get. Their excuse for the price difference is that theirs is the best coverage and service in the country and they do not have to compete with the other companies in terms of price. Based on their attitude and coverage map I think I’ll stay with AT&T for now.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I have now had Verizon, Nextel, and At&t, At&t is by far the best of the three at least in Michigan and Florida
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I really cannot agree with the writer about AT&T. I have had a great experience in the APPLE Store in Towson, Md. It was really packed with customers and I thought it was going to be a disaster but they had lots of employees and got to me within 5 minutes. I already owned an i-Phone that I bought at the Belair Road AT&T Store in Perry Hall, Md in July of 2008. I lOVE
i-Phone. Use the Internet on it everyday and write lots of e-mails from it too! This AT&T store also treated me well. I went to the APPLE Store and bought the MOBILE ME plan that I added and all I can say is I have no complaints.
i-Phone and all I can say is I have no complaints.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Additional information about i-Phone.
I use i-Phone a lot. Maybe more than the average person. All day I use the Internet and e-mail. I love my i-Phone so much so the fact that you cannot download from some Internet sites if you are using the Safari browser is fine with me because I like the Safari browser also.
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I just recalled the name I was trying to think of and that name is SPLASH PLAYER. Does not work with i-Phone. So if you want to download using SPLASH PLAYER, then the i-Phone is not for you. I was disappointed at first but got over it. I called Apple Tech Support and was told they are working on it.
I like i-Phone regardless of not being able to use SPLASH PLAYER with it. Everything else is A-OKAY!
October 29th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Just switched from a BlackBerry with Verizon to and iPhone with AT&T.
The service with AT&T is horrible. Numerous drops, no 3G even though I live in a 3G area. Horrible service. I would never have switched if work didnt force the change.
Had Verizon for 7 years with no problems.
October 31st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I phone is the best phone on the market I just recently swithched from Verizon to ATT. I phone is truly amazing. ATT service availablity SUCKS!!! I am in the process of going back to VERIZON. So many dropped calls I phone HAS NO GPS!!! to bad I -phone did not go with verizon, if u think about to going to anyone from verizon. DO NOT DO IT!!Verizon credited me back my cancelation fee and I have 30 days to return the i phone. And u can use verizon phones like modems.
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
My husband just switched our verizon wireless service to ATT, which he works for, we had verizon for 9 years, no problems always helpful and polite, we have 4 separate cell numbers, switching has so far been a mistake 3 days out, my husband and I both got 2 free cells online and we were told we would have to go in store for the 2 iphones are kids wanted, they did a credit check online and we were informed no deposit required and then my husband went in the store and purchased the 2 iphones of which he activated in the store, setting my phone up I see I have a bill, what? they charged 150.00 deposit and ran another credit check when he picked up iphones even though we had already set up service on phone for family plan with 4 phones, they said store runs its own credit checks, so we basically switched services being told no deposit then they slip it in without saying anything? I am so mad at my husband the service in the phone mart sucks, you just stand around like a dumb ass, which I already feel like for switching, very unprofessional, trying to explain the problem to them is like talking to a wall, whah!! I want Verizon back, but will the kids hate me for taking back Iphones, they pretty much love them so far, but then its only been 3 days, by the way was on phone for 1 1/2 hours and still deposit issue not resolved, maybe after they run another 4 credit checks, they will figure it out and ruin my credit in the time being. You would think we would get better service since he works there, no such luck, we get 20% discount off the family plan thats it, so 20 bucks a month. we aren’t saving any money because we have to pay 30.00 for iphone service on each iphone.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I have at&t it works best at my high school in the halls when verizon is searching I usally have a few bars at&t customer service so far has always been nice verizon is equal to at&t I heard I like gsm better
November 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I still cant understand why anyone would leave Verizon for crappy ATT service… the iphone isn’t even all that great… try sending a picture message…OOPS! can’t do it… how about video capture??? SORRY! and if you wanted to get insurance for your phone … guess what?? you can’t even insure an iphone!! you will have to pay FULL RETAIL FOR A REPLACEMENT.. YOU CAN’T EVEN CHANGE OUT THE BATTERY! I won’t even go into its awfully S L O W download speeds, and the fact you cannot download from other than itunes… you cannot even have a mp3 tone for a ringtone. As for cell service and customer service, Verizon wins hands down… Plus with Verizon, you can change your calling plan and features ANY TIME for FREE and WITHOUT getting into a new contract, and they will even backdate calling plans AND credit the prior bill if you go to a new plan and have billed overages… Lets see ATT do THAT Plus their etf fees are variable, and get lower each month that you have service… Also their insurance will replace your phone for any reason- including physical and water damage… who else does that???
November 14th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
By the way — Verizon is coming out with the Blackberry Storm on 11-21-08, which will blow away other phones… it is a 3g touch screen phone with a 3.2 mp camera, video capture and removable memory (and battery! ha ha) and it is a BLACKBERRY! it’sonly 199.99 after the 50.00 mail in rebate… order online and rebates are INSTANT- and you don’t have to deal with ATT’s service…..
November 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
My 2 cents–coverage with Verizon has been outstanding; customer service totally sucks. Most recent experience was out of the country with a “world phone” (Blackberry 8830) Couldn’t dial out, the “global support number” didn’t work and it took FIVE DAYS to get a response from an email. I’d chalk it up to my ignorance if I hadn’t made 2 calls to Verizon (30 minutes on the line) to be sure all was good to go. Turned out after 5 days they decided to reboot my global option and it began working. Store service–never plan on less than 45 minutes. On the phone? Put it on speaker and read a novel. I’m at least going to explore AT&T and if they’ll let me test a phone to see how the coverage is in my most common use areas I’ll give it a serious look. If the coverage is there I’ll gladly pay my early out fees to Verizon
November 16th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Stay away from verizon. They are so greety and they prey on customers. Early next year, I will be switching to At&t because of the IPhone or TMobile for the Google Phone and also for the service.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:59 am
i am absolutely done with verizon! i have the family share plan that they do not offer to anyone anymore. my 2 year upgrade is up and i really wanted the Dare! but they won’t let me get it becuase i don’t have an upgraded plan! not only can i not have the Dare, but i can also not have the Voyager, the Glyde, or any new touch screen phones unless we pay MORE money to upgrade our plan! it’s ridiculous! my older sister is on the AT&T plan with rollover minutes, (which i love considering i don’t really ever do anything but text). and there is this phone called Samsung Eternity. it’s just like the Dare but better! so i’m hoping my mom lets me switch over. yes, i love the works of verizon, but they are ridiculous with trying to get more money out of their customers! AT&T IS BETTER THAN VERIZON!
November 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
The days where it was worth it to go to one provider over another is gone. The big three (Sprint, Verizon, and At&t) all have simlar plans and cost ends up being the same.
Sprint is losing customers anyway. Right now..it all depends not the phone. Sprint and At&t have the better phones (especially now that At&t stepped up their game for texting-based phones).
Time will tell what happens.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:52 pm
okey I work for Verizon in the call center there is no nickle and dimes there is no contract extention when you change your calling plan (i change my calling plan every two months). I used to have T-mobile, Sprint, AT&T and now I have Verizon there is no better company then them check this out you go over your minutes you go change you calling plan and you get credit for all of the overages this company has a peace of mind Tech support is awesome network is the best the biggest 3g network in the nation
November 25th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
From my point of view VERIZON like to force people in plan they don’t need. I wanted to upgrade my phone with Verizon and extend my contract. I choose there HTC touch pro, i was told by rep. that, i will have to add DATA plan on my monthly plan. They said all Smart phone/BB need to have data plan in order for customer to have them. I was baffle by that. I my self being a programmer and Engineer. I know there no way that’s right. Simple code can block the phone, so i don’t use there data network and still be able to use wi-fi. Offcourse Verizon cant do that how else they will make people cough up money for things they dont need. The HTC have wi-fi; so i should be able to use my wireless router or hot spot. But according to Verizon, they cant let me have the phone without the data plan. To me that just another way to extortion.
So i called: AT&T
For one they have huge selection of great phone that have Wi-fi compare to Verizon who have only 3 or 4 wi-fi based phone. I ask AT&T rep that if i get there HTC touch pro (FUZE), will they be forcing me in some data plan, there answer: NO. I can simply have AT&T have a block, so i cant use there data network, and just be able to use my wi-fi worry free.
That was the moment i switch to AT&T. And i used to be a loyal customer of Verizon for over 8 years.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’ve long been an AT&T customer(first Cingular, then AT&T, then Cingular… yet now AT&T again) I’ve had contracts with both Verizon and Cingular, but due to some credit flaws and unemployment was forced to resort to pre-paid phones.
The past six years I’ve been using the Go-Phone. I recently cleared up some credit issues to get my credit back in working order and went shopping for some phone plans. After about 90 minutes at the local AT&T Corporate store I was surprised with the words: “You’ve been approved!” …..
Followed by the phrase: “With only SEVEN-HUNDRED-AND-FIFTY-DOLLARS per line… which is a good deal because after one year you’ll get that money back.”….. I left immediately.
Later I went 2 blocks from my house walked into Verizon and was approved with ZERO down per line a family plan, three new phones and the rebate papers filled out and even stuffed in envelopes ready for a stamp….
Just my experience… take it or leave it.
November 27th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I have At&t right now and I didn’t have a problem with them until I went to North Dakota. I had GREAT service in Fargo when we got in but then drove 20 miles out toward the country and had no service what so ever for a month. (Lisbon area)Didn’t like that. Then back in Hawaii I had great service until just recently. Out of no where I have really poor reception to none at all and At&t wont do anything about it. They said it was my sim card so I bought a new one, nothing changed. They said it was my phone so I got a new one, nothing changed. They have no more suggestions but still want me to pay the cancellation fee. I wouldn’t mind so much if I wasn’t waiting on phone calls from Iraq, but I am and I can’t miss those.
November 27th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Hmm, got the AT&T tilt. Love it. Got an AT&T 3G laptop connect card. Very fast. Go to Europe, still got service. Go anywhere outside the us…still got service. So anyways about your soon to be outdated CDMA technology (which is switching to GSM based LTE which AT&T will be using also) has no service really anywhere i go. (Yes i know about GSM Vodafone). Sorry Verizon, still trailing behind AT&T.
Verizon Wireless: 70.8 million U.S. subscribers
AT&T Mobility: 72.9 million U.S. subscribers
Anyways, about 3G standard. I will say coverage is BAD. HOWEVER, i do enjoy using the internet and getting EMAILS while talking to my BOSS at the same time. Yup, thanks to HSDPA (you should like it) which is faster than CDMA (and is capable of being 2 times faster), i can hardcore multi-task.
But hey, its my opinion and i travel for work a lot…and i mean A LOT. So i love att’s smart phone selection and for me their service is awesome. Customer service is OK, although the only time i had to deal with them is to add stuff to my plan.
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
actually, if you switch a phone over in a store, they do charge you $10 dollars to transfer your contacts. not a lie. ive done it before. they just dont mention the backup assistant to you.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I am pretty sure verizon’s 3G network ISN’T the best in the nation since they don’t even carry the blackberry BOLD because they don’t have what’s necessary for that phone.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I feel the same way you do. ATT customer service is horrible, your always on hold for simple questions. Verizon has a wonderful team and has excellent customer service. I switch from ATT to Verizon.
December 20th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
i had verizon for years and had no problem. i wanted an iphone so i changed to at&t recently. no problems so far.
your phone is only as good as your location. if you live in an area dominated by verizon towers and change to another carrier with less, OBVIOUSLY you will not be happy. at&t has excellent coverage in my area and so far i am able to make/receive calls in areas i could not do with verizon.
so, for me, at&t is a better choice based on my area. that, and i love the iphone.
someone in the at&t store was rude to me when i tried to add a line so i called customer service and at&t gave my wife a $300 phone free.
so, it really comes down to what your needs are and to choose your carrier based on your location.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:00 am
I am a Verizon customer for the past 4 years in Arizona ; was with sprint before. I am a heavy pda/phone user.
Here is my experience so far
Pros;
- Works well in most places i have been and at work; many people have similar experiences
Cons;
- They truly nickle and dime you; 3$ for back up assistant on non pda phones; 10$ for their vz navigator; $1.99 for ring back tone service and then you buy ring tones separately
- Sheer Arrogance; they cripple pda phones when compared to same or similar phones on att, sprint, etc. example go to cnet.com and check out HTC touch pro; they disable gps so you cant use google maps [you have to pay 10$ a month for vz navigator above the data plan which is mandatory on pda phones]. They have put in 192 RAM versus 288 RAM of sprint. They also disable you tube player and fm radio. Then they have the temerity to charge you 50$ more for the same phone compared to att and sprint
- no I phone; I know i-phone is not all that great for business use; hey but let me have a choice of network. I understand Steve Jobs first took iphone to Verizon. Verizon told him the customers belong to them while Apple maintained they bring in the customers and verizon would only provide the service; Steve jobs basically told them to f*** off and went to att instead; what a shame!!
- they disable wi-fi on most of their phones; comnpared to similar phones on other networks. But why? - so they can charge you
This I believe:
People should change and check out the networks every so often. Dont be tied down mentally to your contract. Explore if the early termination fee is a lot cheaper than sticking with a nickle-and-dime plan you have.
I wish in this country people should be allowed to buy the phones they want and go to the network they want just like in Europe and Asia.
For now, i am looking to switch to either ATT or Sprint
December 24th, 2008 at 6:13 am
In July 2008, Verizon Wireless agreed to pay $21 million to settle a lawsuit filed by customers who claimed the company’s early termination fees are excessive and unfair.
Later that month, a judge in Alameda County, Calif., ruled that the fees Sprint charges customers for ditching service early were illegal. Sprint is appealing the decision. But the company has joined the three other major wireless operators in the U.S. that already prorate early termination fees.
source; cnet
December 24th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I have had AT&T for 10 years and have an iPhone. I’ve been pretty happy with my service as I travel all over the country and I’ve never really had service problems. I was considering switching to Verizon but after spending some time in a Verizon store I wasn’t really impressed. I looked at the Blackberry Storm and noticed the disabled the GPS and only allow you access to the feature if you pay $10, plus not to mention the charges for visual voicemail, detailed billing. I also looked at Sprint’s service and their coverage map is horrible, so I didn’t even consider them.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I use AT&T, and I got a Sony Ericsson (oh look, something verizon DOESN’T have) and for around $100, my family gets 4 lines, with unlimited nights & weekends, and unlimited texting.
And because AT&T is a GSM provider, my dad got to trade in his old LG for a Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.
Also, Verizon’s phones stink. I’m sorry, but they cripple their phones. They do, and AT&T has a wider selection of phones to choose from, and their customer service (i choose to avoid the calls and skip to their online chat support system) My phone had a problem with its microphone and AT&T shipped me a new replacement phone the next day, for free. And I used my friend’s Verizon phone (the Rumor, i think) and I was disapointed because it didn’t even let me transfer a file via bluetooth. Verizon cripples their phones, and i’ve had verizon for almost 3 years and i wanted to leave the first second i got my phone. Atleast with at&t you could change phones whenever you want…
December 26th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
hey pppl i hav verizon rite now and my family has lost so much money since we swithched 2 verizon . ATT are so so so much better ! sure verizon gets service n more spots where i live but the bills are out ragious! w/ ATT our bills were low and we were happy w/ alot more money and my whole family cood hav a fone. ATT is better!
December 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I have had both ATT and Verizon. I ahve also had Alltel…I travel all throughout the US…the coverage quality is better for ATT in most areas, Verizon is better in a few areas mostly in the northeast. As far as customer service, I have had much better luck with ATT. My suggestion is that the two are so similar that I wold figure out which phone I wanted most and go with the provider that carried the phone I wanted. BTW, you could throw Alltel in the mix as well, there is not enough difference between any of them to make a difference…just do NOT get Sprint…they are horrible
December 28th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I work for A=at&t and I have to say that they are the best imo (not just because I work for them). I used to have verizon and I could not get any signal where I lived. I switched to at&t and I got around 3-4 bars. And with at&t you CAN change your rate plan or features without affecting your contract. Another thing that was mentioned is the PDA service. With at&t you do not have to have a data plan in order to use a PDA, unlike verizon. There is a simple code we can add to your account that will block your phone from recieving data signals, so if you dont want data you dont have to have it. At&t doesnt cripple their phones like verizon does either. Customer service is much better too imo.
December 31st, 2008 at 9:16 am
I have had Verizon for 5 years and it’s been mostly good up till recent. I work in a large city and I get more dropped calls then you can shake a stick at. My service is constantly dropping from a full strength signal to nothing. Since my contract is about to end I am planning to head to AT&T and pick up the iPhone. Much like other people here my bills from Verizon are outrageous. We have 4 lines and it supposedly costs $10 to add a line. So why is it the bill seems to jump astronomically? I also think Verizon sales staff are smug sons of bitches.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Okay people, so this is what I see:
I used to have Cingular back in 2001, before it went with AT&T. I had absolutely no reception in my house unless I went inside a closet or near a fireplace, and even then, calls would get dropped. If you can’t have reception where you live, what’s the point of a phone? Many of my friends were experiencing the same problems with then Cingular. We all switched to Verizon. I have been with Verizon since 2002. I am not saying I am a loyal customer. But I have had nothing but good experience with Verizon’s customer service over the phone, and also in their stores (not the kiosks in the mall…those are worthless pretty much IMO because they can’t do many things that the actual store can do). I had to change my number several times or switch phones, and I never had any hassles…they were very friendly with me.
The service with Verizon is good everywhere I go. I have some friends who live up in the mountains, and AT&T does not work there at all…only Verizon (even with one bar). Reception also depends on the phone you have as well so don’t blame the wireless companies. Phone making companies like Motorola, LG, and Sprint are also to blame for how they make the phone and the antennas.
However, I have noticed lately in this year that the reception where I live has been going up and down….I have missed so many phone calls while sitting next to the phone! I called Verizon about it and they checked out my area, but told me that the towers are good where I live. It could be the electrical wires and sattellite we have installed as well that can cause interference with my reception….but to miss like 10 phone calls in one day???? There has to be something going on with Verizon’s towers nearby.
I also have to agree with some of you who complain about Verizon’s phones. In the last couple of years, they have started to get some nice phones. But in the last couple of years, well, since 2005, they started adding in their own Verizon UI interface, which is boring….this takes away from the phone’s own individuality, that other phones have with other companies. I asked Verizon why did they make the Verizon UI Interface the same on every phone model, and their response was…so it would be easier for the tech people to assist customers if they had problems with their phones. Well, how about getting the Tech people to learn all the features of all the new phones. There are tech people who know features of every single computer no matter who built it. So please. Before this, all the phones had their own built in features, that made it all the worth while to get a new phone, and test out those new features that were never in our previous phones, and were not close to being similar. And I do hate that Verizon cripples phones….I used to go on Myxer to download ringtones, but now Verizon crippled it so we can’t even receive their text messages to our phones for ringtones….I have to make my own ringtones and save them in my micro SD chip so I don’t have to buy ringtones for 3 bucks a pop….plus they don’t have the ringtones I want.
I’m considering getting a blackberry or a palm and am looking into different networks. AT&T seems to have better reception now then it did when it was Cingular. However, friends who do have AT&T and the iPhone which I tried last night and actually do like a lot, have said that the reception is scratchy but they’re keeping AT&T for the reason that they travel around the globe sometimes and need the GSM features and the sim card to use their phone internationally as well. Verizon is barely coming out with GSM and CDMA phones together, calling them global phones.
Also, in regards to Verizon, the contract does not extend if you change it…I have done it myself and have not extended the contract….and our fees have not gone up or down drastically unless we add new features or pay for data. So therefore, Verizon does not make their customers pay more unless customers buy all those extra features. Otherwise, you can easily have 5 lines for up to $180 bucks with all the features of unlimited text, unlimited night and weekend and free mobile minutes along with 700 peak minutes, etc. The premium plan has a lot of good features included that you don’t have to pay extra for.
Choose which service will work for you where you live, work and play.
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
We’ve had Sprint for 7 years and I’m sick of their service and quality. I’m now looking at Verizon & AT&T.
Consumer Guide has best cell phone plans & phones in their current issue. It’s worth checking out. Needless to say, Sprint is at the bottom in any city.
Regarding ATT & Verizon, they list their quality major cities. It’s worth checking out.
January 4th, 2009 at 8:39 am
I have t-mobile and where i live its horrible. there is bad service and the old phone i have can hold no like memory and just randomly shuts down. my 2 year plan with them ends january 14th thank god! and i will probably be getting verizon and a functional phone.
thank you for your info my mom wanted to check out AT&T but i like verizon better.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Looking into family plan with 4 phones and 700 minutes. Verizon will cost me $90 versus $160 for AT&T. The only difference is that AT&T provides rollover minutes that I won’t need.
This is a 78% difference in this plan. I would guess AT&T is more expensive in other plans as well.
January 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
The minute plans for AT&T and Verizon are identical. The add a line costs are identical. AT&T offers rollover minutes, Verizon does not. With AT&T I can get data anywhere I can get voice; with Verizon you cannot. AT&T by far has the best devices and gets top pick from all the device manufacturers. Ex. iPhone, BlackBerry Bold, Samsung Rugby, etc., etc. Both companies have very good voice service with others being better in areas where the opposite is not as strong. Data plans are less @ AT&T. Customer service will always vary between companies; it depends on the customer, what there situation was, etc. etc. Both are good companies; I choose AT&T.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I have both Verizon and AT&T but as soon as my contract with Verizon ended I cut them loose.
I use my cellphone for long business conference calls and sometime I have alot of minutes left over other times I am hit with bill of $300 or more. I travel alot and have no issues with AT&T coverage. I continue to stay with AT&T for just the rollover minutes. If you SOMETIMES use the phone excessively, the only choice is AT&T and that is just the plans only. The Iphone is a truly amazing product that is also another big reason to choose AT&T.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
i,ve been with verizon for the last eight years
i did not have a problem until last year igot ripped of twice for unexplainable unverifiable phone bill.
tryed to solve it with full faith unfortunately failed.
my contract expires in may 09 but will not wait
any suggestion you folks out there, appreciate your feed back thank you.
January 15th, 2009 at 6:43 am
i am in love with verizon. they are much better than at&t becuase the people in the store are very nice, compared to at&t, who suck hairy balls
January 15th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
ok just to clear this up at&t sales reps also make commission! Anyways, I have had Verizon for about four years now and could not be happier with the service. I switched over from at&t/cingular at the time I wanted a different phone but now I realize how much superior Verizons coverage is. Verizon works in areas that I Didnt have coverage before. The plans are very comparable but the customer service and coverage is what makes the service outstanding. I have had one issue with my text messaging plan and when I called in they made the experience easy by backdating my texting plan to cover the overage. The reps I have came in contact with are very informative and they do have a ton of “cool” features such as there vcast service, mobile tv,vz nav with audible turn by turn direction, chaperone feature, push to talk..and so on. Verizon does offer phones with sim cards, like my blackberry storm for instance and I can use features like backup assistant for my families phones fo FREE!
January 17th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I was a Verizon customer for 10 years. I kept having dropped call problems in my house, might have been my phone, I am not sure.. but I was frustrated.. I switched to Cingular and was extremely happy.. only dropped calls on this 1 road where I had a deadzone, wasn’t commonly traveled and was literaly a 10 foot stretch.. if I went fast enough I’d keep the call :)… I have recently switched back to verizon (paying 175 termination fee to att).. things haven’t been the same to me since ATT came back. The phones worked great.. the service (phone) is better then verizon in alot of ways imo.. but the fact is more people use verizon, and the free in calling is where its at. If all things were equal, and all of my friends were on att, I think I would be 10x happier.. but what people say in this thread is true. Verizon service is kinder, and more helpful.. att people are just complete dicks to me. But being honest, I only care about the quality of service not the people. I have a bb storm now, im on my 3rd device (defects).. I’ve grown to love the device.. after initially hating it. My girlfriend switched back w/ me and she has problems in her house which is supposed to be 110% covered by the verizon map we looked up, so we have to assume its her phone or an issue we can report. I think alot of people hit it on the head.. it comes down to your needs. Try verizon because you have 30 days to do so w/ no fee’s if you cancel (If you use data you will pay ~$1/day prorated data plan) but.. just get a normal phone from verizon w/ a new number.. take it home and give it 5 days.. check out att.. see if it works for you. then find out what your most commonly talked to people use and let that help you
January 18th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I couldn’t agree with the last guy more.. If your going to bad mouth verizon look into all their products, features and customer service a little bit more. I have a ATT phone that’s in my dads business acount so I dont have to pay for it. We previously had verizon for years, he switched carriers because it was cheaper at the time. Verizon and Att are around the same prices now and he’s def. switching back asap. Anyway I have noticed the diference between the service between the two. There are a lot of places in San Diego that I had service when I had a verizon phone that I dont get now with ATT. On top of it all has anyone looked at the official consumer reports for the past 7 years, verizon has, “has the best cell phone deal.” Also the customer service is a lot friendlier and they seem to try as hard as possible to resolve any problems at verizon.
January 18th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Customer service is going to somewhat suck no matter which one you go with. My two cents: AT&T is way better not only because of the iPhone which is awesome but also the fact that you have rollover minutes and literally unlimited apps available for free for the iphone. Plus, with GSM phones (AT&T) you have the ability to take out your SIM card from a broken phone, throw it in another random AT&T phone and start making calls against instantly. EXCELLENT feature if you travel a lot. I damaged my phone in the water on vacation one time, took out the SIM, went to WalMart at 10pm, bought a cheap $30 AT&T prepaid phone, threw in my SIM card and I was good to go until I got home and bought the phone I wanted. Try doing that with Verizon! Also, with SIM card companies like AT&T, you can use phones that aren’t even carried by AT&T just by unlocking it and putting in your SIM card. Kind of a no brainer on which one to choose. LOL
January 18th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Oh ya and also, I live in San Jose, California and get EXCELLENT service. No dropped calls and 3G service literally EVERYWHERE. My friend who has Verizon is sooooo jealous now that I got the iPhone which spanks just about every other phone out there (it’s the #1 best selling phone for a reason.) Also, the iPhone has an actual GPS receiver built in so you’re getting ACCURATE GPS service, unlike other cell companies who use cell towers to triangulate your location. BlackBerry’s are cool though and Verizon has the new one I think. Nothing bad to say about BlackBerrys, I love them. But now that I got the iPhone, I’m WAYYYYYY happier.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Just an FYI, Verizon’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO is a 3G network and their network has been around since October 2003. I have Verizon. I am happy with them but, the phones they offer are propietary and very controlled by Verizon. Meaning many features the phone manufacturer may advertise on a certain phone may not be unlocked or available through Verizon. I had an LG phone with an MP3 player in it that never played 1 song in 2 years since I would have had to purchase the songs from Verizon. Also Verizon does not and never has offered SIMM cards. Good for anti-theft, bad for trading or trying other phones. My advice, go with the company that has the phone you like and if you don’t like them change in 2 years. It goes by quick and you get new customer deals that loyal customers get screwed out of!
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
I’ve had Verizon since 2003. I have been happy with my service up until recently. The whole reason I’m on this site is because I was trying to compare my options between Verizon and AT&T.
In my experience, Verizon has great customer service. I did have 1 billing problem, and it was when I called over the phone. They took off my texting when I went on vacation instead of adding it like I wanted. I believe that problem happened because I was talking to someone who probably lived in India or something. That was the only bill that was excessive, and as soon as I went into a store, it was taken care of immediately. I have never had a problem like that after that, and always made sure to go in to a store. I’ve gone to several different stores and figured out which was most helpful.
Come on people do your homework. Research the plans and the extras, costs of phones, insurance, internet etc. Walk in there and say this is what I want. That is what I did and I got the phone I wanted and the plan I wanted. No surprises. I got a phone when my new every two was up and it was after the 30-day trial to return it if you didn’t like it. The voyager came out and I wanted to switch. They let me switch even though it was after the 30 day policy - no questions asked. I dropped one of my phones before that and it short circuited, I had insurance on the phone, and they replaced it no questions.
The reason I’m contemplating switching now is mainly because fewer of my friends and boyfriend in particular have Verizon. For the first time since 2003, for the past 2 months, I have come close or gone over my minutes. The thing is I wouldn’t use as many minutes as the next plan up offers, and don’t have the money to waste. I also was told I had to buy an extended battery for my phone. They acted so surprised at how often I use my phone. My thought is - you create these phones to be used like ipods with music players, can go on the web, and even watch tv. All I’m doing is making phone calls and texting and the battery can’t handle that?? I think that is a little ridiculous.
Anyway, after looking at the actual plans and reading the reviews, I’m still not sure what to do. I’ve been happy with Verizon for a long time, but dating someone without it is costing me more money! But if I switch, then I may have the same problem with those who I do talk to with Verizon. If the customer service at AT&T sucks that bad, and that’s the main difference (p.s. I’m anti i-phone and wouldn’t get it even if I switch, I like that my voyager is basically the same AND has a keyboard, and I don’t use the internet or anything)then is it worth it?
I have until November to decide, I’m certainly not disappointed enough to switch before my contracts up. In the meantime I’ll be trying to get my boyfriend to switch to Verizon (or pay for my minutes that I go over!). For how much I have promoted Verizon in the past they should be paying me! This is honestly the only time I’ve ever even entertained the thought of switching and everyone who knows me would be shocked to hear it - so I think that’s saying something.
January 31st, 2009 at 7:11 am
I was with Qwest and they switched to Verizon recently. I am trying the Blackberry Storm and it’s amazing. But I am tempted by the touch feature and user-friendly aspect of the IPhone. I have about another week before I need to make my final decision. Bottom line, which gives best service and plans and which phone is best? I’m reading a lot of complaints about V nickle and diming, and ATT giving horrible service. It’s all over the map! I live in Oregon where both services give great coverage. Any suggestions?
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 am
AT&T my way or the highway attitude.
After spending two days at AT&T stores here in Jacksonville, Florida trying to get a 6650 for my wife… we gave up.
We were willing to extend my contract and pay for the phone, yet the highly trained personnel of three different stores could not get it right. Every single one of them had a different angle of understanding.
For one employee extending my contract meant giving my wife a new contract and transferring her number of my contract to her new one. In this process my phone microchip got shut of for several hours killing the rest of my work day.. We came back Monday to a totally different explanation and deal. Attempted calling customer service, there we met another unwilling able attitude.
We now know that AT&T is doing so well that does not care about us as their customers or the service provided. My way or the highway attitude ran us of. We have decided to move everything to Verizon.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I am traveling and working in the Caribbean and that was the reasons for me to transfer from Sprint to AT&T. And it was a total mess just the first week after I left here to go to work in St Lucia Island. AT&T did not activated my emails or disconnect my telephone so I could not make call from the Island as I was promised the day I got the Black Berry. After a month with out phone In may way back I found a funny Bill showing calls from places that I never when specially when my service was down and no call made. They forced me to pay half of the call to be able to use the service(POOR Management) After a while a make a trip again and this time I make arrangement to make payments the day 5 of the month, and the telephone was interrupt the day 4 and after some discussion of my agreement which I did keep to pay by the 5 they reconnect the phone again. I make the payment as per my agreement. They don’t deliver what they promise.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I have been with Verizon for 7+ years and I am facing a decision whether to switch to AT&T from Verizon when my contract is up in June. I have never really had a major problem or complaint with Verizon but that’s due to them doing their job. I live in a major metropolitan area (Baltimore) and the majority of my travels are on the “beaten path” (i.e not SW Idaho or Northern Canada). Therefore, I am not too worried about not having coverage in the majority of areas I go to with either provider. Both plans are identical in costs for my uses, so that’s not a factor. Verizon seems to have better coverage “off the beaten path” but how often will I find myself there - but if I am there it would be nice to be covered? Most of my family/friends are on AT&T so that is a factor to consider. But AT&T offers the rollover minutes, which to my utter amazement Verizon does not. That’s my quandary… To rollover or not…..You listening Verizon?? Get you head outta your rectum before you lose me…..
February 7th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I’m a Best Buy Mobile employee who sells all of the major Texas carriers, sans T-mobile. The switch I see the MOST of are customers who are fed up with Verizon and go to AT&T, or Sprint going to AT&T. Their customer service has improved greatly over the years, and their rollover minute deal is a huge draw for new customers. If you can’t stand AT&T though, Sprint really isn’t a bad choice, as they have freaking AMAZING data rate plans. That’s the one place AT&T will get you is on their data pricing. It costs over $1000 a year to own an iPhone, Blackberry, or any Smart Phone with an unlimited texting package and data package. Ouch.
That said, I’m a longtime AT&T customer, and I’ve never really had any substancial problems with them.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
To compare AT&T and Verizon Wireless. I mean everybody will have thier differences about customer service expr. Working for cust. service, you try to do your best to make the customer happy, but if an issue arises that goes against company policy, what is there to do? The cust. is going to be angry, we feel really bad, but can’t help it. Well to wrap it up, ATT tries it best, verizon is our biggest competition. Rivals if you must. Let the best man win.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
by the way, to a few coments above on the page, you can use ATT phones as modems as well buddy! I guess you just have to test the 2 companies out and see which one works for you, what will you be using the phone for? When, and where? I guess thats why theres more than 2 cell phone companies eh? So you have more choices depending on your life-style? For me, att hands down! plus i work for att cust. service
February 8th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
AT&T is the worst company ever and has been since the early days of Unix. As soon as they touched Cingular every thing went south. Anything but AT&T.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:18 am
I’ve read through this entire thread and realize that the jury is still out about the two providers…
I currently have Verizon and been a customer for ~8 yrs. I’ve decided to look into ATT because VZW did not work up in Vermont on my ski trips - quite frustrating - and I want to be able to access the web and email on the road. The best data phone out there seems to be the iphone so, in order to give ATT a fair chance, I decided to try the GOPHONE and test out the service (voice only obviously) myself. So far, my order has been delayed by 3 days because the order wasn’t put in the system correctly. I was on the phone with 3 different reps in a span of 45 mins and the issue was finally resolved. So far, not a pleasant experience. I must say that VZW does have very good customer service. Phone should arrive in a few days (they couldnt expedite the order) so I am looking forward to testing out the new service. Wish me luck.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
verizon PWNS att!
February 13th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Hey thanks all
I am trying the Storm. ALL new devices have bugs period. So my advice is dont wait for a new phone to come out as waiting ano extra year will make that new phone better (Iphone is a great example)
I am asking for advice: I like the Storm but had an LG dinosaur for years (Verizon) Personally, I have a medical issue with pressing with fingertips, so I like the Storm but the pressing may hurt over time(BTW - even Verizon employees prefer the speed of the BB Curve) For me, I may need a true touch screen (no pressing)
ANY Advice?
1. there seem to be these cool VERIZON phones like voyager etc… that IDU - they dont do email/internet? or is it limited email? or in order to get email (even basic) I should go with BB, Omnia or switch for Iphone?
Looks like the At&t vs. Verizon debate is based on location?
If At&t is so bad how can so many peolpe be using it?
I may just go back to month to month with a simple phone(w/ 99 speed dialing numbers!!) and wait for a better phone to develop -
The Iphone just seems to be the best phone - but the switch is quite a commitment.
Thanks all the comments were helpful!
Any advice for a touch screen with some email would be appreciated.
BTW - if I didnt have the issue of pressing buttons I’d probably keep the Storm its pretty cool! (or downgrade to Curve)
February 13th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
At&t has greatly increased their customer service in the past 5 years. VZW sports “their” 3G network, in reality it doesnt have a prayer against At&t’s 3G network. WHY do you ask? The Japaneese (they MADE the concept of the mobile phone) is making 4G tech? They use 3G GSM/UMTS/HSDPA. IT IS FASTER. So for you data surfing freaks… ATT WILL BEAT ANY OTHER NETWORK hands down. At&t is in with DOCOMO, which is the world LEADER (in Japan) of the newest of new tech in the WORLD. Its a fact At&t’s 3G is NOT everywhere, they are working on it… and its not as vast in coverage. BUT 95% of the time, ATT’S 3G is way faster than any of VZW or Sprints CDMA/TDMA. At&t doesnt even have that ANCIENT tech, they stopped using that stuff years ago. Get with the times people, At&t is better.
SIM CARDS PEOPLE, switch in and out of multiple phones BY YOURSELF. You dont have to go into the store to switch out… do it yourself in seconds! All of Europe and Asia have GSM, USA is so behind in the world of TECH. Its sad, if you want you can go over seas into Europe or Asia and buy mind-bobbling phones (that you can put your sim with ATT into) that would put any VZW, At&t, Sprint, or T-Mobile phone to shame. Iphone and Non-Iphone alike. All the carriers mirror eachothers prices, atts customer service is great, Ive never had a problem, and they are JUST BETTER.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
I am always amazed to read people’s comments to the effect that CDMA is inferior to GSM, is older then GSM, etc.. That is simply not true. CDMA can actually handle more data, faster, and more calls than GSM. In emerging markets like India, China, and Indonesia, they are putting up new CDMA networks precisely because CDMA is superior for broadband data transmission and that is where the money in wireless is. GSM took off because the EU stipulated that it would be the only standard there. That is a big market and it gave GSM an edge, but that does not mean it is better.
Verizon is so much better than at&t in my experience, there is no comparison. VZW’s 3G network is basically nationwide at this point, at&t’s is only in big cities. For example: VZW has 3G in my little PA hometown of 10,000 people. at&t did not even have coverage there until a year ago. Here in Boston where I live now, at&t is a nightmare of dropped calls, interference, and static. And they cost exactly the same. Also, you will discover that VZW no longer disables Bluetooth for things like file transfer in their new phones. They also will provide customers with good credit free loaners up to 30 days for trips to Europe (you have to pay the roaming airtime, of course) and their CDMA phones work in CHina, Japan, India, Canada, Korea, Mexico, the Caribbean, and several countries in S. America. But best of all VZW WORKS HERE in the USA, all over, loud and clear. I know at&t cannot say that. Finally, any new VZW phone with 3G (which means nearly all of them) can be used as a high-speed modem. Can at&t say that? VZW is a communication company, not just a mobile phone company: voice, data, broadband. It’s the better choice.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I have been debating over ATT vs. VZW for quite some time. As a former owner of a multi-carrier cell-phone store, I can say that VZW has been superior vs. ALL carriers when it comes to Broadband & Call coverage. I changed from Sprint, which I was neither happy nor dissatisfied with, to VZW about 3 years ago when VZW launched their high-speed wireless network. I bought the Treo700w and have since upgraded to the 700wx - due to me breaking my 700w. Customer service has been excellent. When I replaced the phone, it only cost me $50 for this $600 phone…so that was cool.
I have since constantly struggled with getting the next BETTER thing. The blackberry Bold at ATT seems great…but then I went to an ATT store and found out that their broadband is still only getting 700K downloads and 300K uploads. As a frequent user of the wireless internet feature, that is not good enough for me. I tether my laptop to my Treo and surf and work from almost anywhere nationwide. The speed and coverage hase been perfectly acceptable.
My ONLY complaints are: 1. The Treo is just not that great of a phone. I have been in a car with my Father, who also has VZW but on a flip-phone, and he will have full bars and I have 1 or none. So I know the coverage is good, it just sometimes sucks because of the TREO 700.
2. I really don’t like the windows operating system. it freezes up, it has quirks, the .pdf viewer sucks, etc…
BUT, I have yet to find a phone or carrier that is better than what I have. I use the camera, the memory expansion with a 4GB card as my MP3 player, I synch with MS Exchange, I love the keyboard and constantly surf from the phone as well as tether to my laptop nationwide. WHAT phone and carrier is better???
February 20th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I Have been with Verizon for over 7 yrs now when the nights and weekends came out. I Have had good service with them or as good as u can get (They all have there dropped calls area) and I Have always lived in the roaming/extended network area. I had promblems with my bill the first six months but they always took the extra off my bill @finally gave me the weekends for free till my contract was up. I Have had sprint,alltel and US cellular mostly had 1 of them at the same time as verizon for work phone so could compare them at the same time as I drive truck from Nth-Sth from PA to CO area in the midwest.
I compare plans a couple times a yr on all the networks and they all have there ups and downs for what they offer the one that nickel and dimes u is Us cellular for everthing u want. AS far as ATT goes up till the last yr and its still very spotty in where u stand at in my area u have no service here.
Disslikes with verizon till now. They never went back to 7pm for nights and all the rest did.
would be nice but they Now offer the family and freinds feature now that they have all of alltel customers can call 5 or 10 off network for free. which to me is better then rollover mins. They have already changed most of the towers that alltel had over to there service with EV/1X service but still says extended network for now.
I change my plan all the time. specially my text package. Its very easy to go in online and see where u are at.if u need to upgrade for the month u can and they go back to first of month never any prob.
One other thing with verizon– never pay for insurance on phone. its not worth it. u have first yr free from manf of phone unless u actually loose phone it will get replaced. If u have insurance u still pay $35 bucks for it in most cases. Say if u break the screen u just go back in and for 50 bucks get the same phone and go on. first year it wont extend phone contract but after it will.
Only good with ATT is rollover. But nothn now with family and friends FROM THE BEST NETWORK
February 25th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I have Verizon… They have TERRIBLE customer service after you sign up. PLUS, they add stuff to your bill for ALOT of money. I am switching to AT&T. Verizon Wireless Doesn’t Work In Canada! EVEN WITH CANADA SERVICE PLAN!!!! At&T Works in Canada. So AT&T Wins!
February 25th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
i currently have verizon as a service. but am about to get out of it. its really getting old of how the bill varies and will not stay cheap. no matter what. i am apart of a family plan, and just the other day i had to help out and pay the bill. well we were behind, so of course it’ll cost extra. but 3x the normal bill. come on. i will admitt, i like the cool stuff that verizon has, and they do have cool phones, but if you want the cool things that come with the cool phone you have to pay for all of it, every month. and that is enough to kill you. its a little rediculous. i have made the descision to transfer to att asap. my girlfriend has it and loves it, and there family plan never varies. also, about the customer service, where i live, both att and verizon have amazing customer service. i went to att with questions, and come out with everything i needed to know. also, my area is a lot better with att service, compared to verizon. but the biggest thing that hooked me, other than the better service than verizon, is that i can get the iphone 3g and not pay so much extra for every little detail on the phone. i can do everything with that phone for one cost where as verizon would charge you seperatly for music, broadband access, email, tv, etc… and thats what kept racking up our bill. ya i know, y not get the plan, ha what one. i dont think i have to pay for things i barely use. thats the main reason i am switching to att.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I luv the iphone from at&t!!! The phones from verizon are too pricey, and there not even good phones. There ugly and bulky. At&t has a bunch of really nice free phone. A free phone at at&t would be like 49.99 at verizon
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Wow! learned alot about cell phones and services. And in the same breath kind of could not believe what i was hearing. The biggest users of ATT was the people who want the Iphone. Whoopie! touch screen in your pants all the time piece of technology which some people cant seperate from there hands. BUY A PSP if you want to goof with a handheld piece of bells and whistles. CDMA is the newer technology based on the licensing from Qualcomm. GSM is the first tech for cell phones. The new 3G from ATT might be better since Verizon has had 3G for years (ev-do). With that said i have had Nextel, Sprint, Tmobile. None compare with the coverage of Verizon. Bars dont mean alot with CDMA as they do with GSM. You can have zero bars and still make a call with CDMA. On the other hand the 100 dropped calls with GSM usually occur with full bars. So to be fair it is absolutley what you are after, a signal when u need it or a fancy touch screen phone thats vogue that you spend alot of time with redialing.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I had T-Mobile, then AT&T, and finally made the switch to Verizon. I love the service, and the customer service – I can’t lie about that. My mistake however, was making the switch to a blackberry storm – literally the worst phone ever. If anyone is debating on whether or not to get it – don’t! I waited for it, and made fun of my husband who lost service on the iPhone (don’t mark me as knocking the iPhone – I think it’s the best phone that ever existed, but AT&T isn’t Verizon), claiming that once the Storm came out, it would be better and faster. WRONG! This week alone it has shut down on me at least 5 times. And it takes at least 10 minutes to restart. My only issue with Verizon is that they don’t accept returned phones that are faulty. I’ve already exchanged the phone once, and I’m on the second release now. However, all I asked for was a downgrade to the curve. Nope – not happening with Verizon. They argue that I’m out of my 30 day period. I told them I would even return the rebate (which is now a debit card – no longer issuing checks), and not ask for a price adjustment. Not even the slightest chance, even though the curve is way cheaper than the storm.
If you value service over the phones and don’t care about the newest piece of technology, go with Verizon. If you want to have a great phone with dropped calls here and there (I counted 19 times since my husband got the phone back in September of 08, and that’s just when talking to me), go with AT&T.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I hate us cellular its so stupid. they charged me 300 bucks 4 300 minutes dont ever go there
March 6th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
To the person that said AT&T slipped 2 150 dollar deposits by them is mistakiing. Deposits have to be payed for in the store. They are not billed just like any other company. To the point who is better AT&T or verizon..i guess it depends where you live. They both have great coverage. They both would have their pro’s and con’s. To the idiots who complained about the dropped calls with I-Phones..You should be smart enough to know whenever something new comes out, its going to have its bugs..no way to stop that..Use common sense.
March 8th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I Currently have Verizon for my personal use and Nextel for my Business use, I need a phone with a loud speaker and tried the Verizon V750,after 2 days of use i returned the V750 due to the poor speaker this phone has,I then tried a couple of other Verizon phones and they all have poor speakers. I use the nextel I335 for work and the speaker in this phone is awesome. I recommend Nextel providing you get the coverage needed.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Bought the “more bars” hype and swticed to at&t. Couldn’t get a signal in freaking DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE at the LARGEST HOSPITAL IN THE CITY!!
Paid the stupid tax and cancelled, returned to VZ.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
If you guys have any problemsand want to cancel
contact the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (look it up on google)
That organization has helped me cancel Tmobile without paying, get free internet because of cut-outs, etc.
give it a try
March 10th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
if you guys have ever any problems with any service, try contacting better business bureau
March 19th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I wrote above about switching - I tried the Storm which isnt bad for a phone that just came out - no wifi, its a tank and the browser is embarassing compared to iphone - Has no person (Ive researched this stuff a fair amount) ever thought of using a simple phone for verizon and also the iphone. Frankly, using an iphone for email, txt, internet, finding places, music and so many apps for a ~230 plus 75/mth is worth it without a great phone - I use an ipod and a simple phone nowon verizon - why not keep a simple phone for VZ - the iphone woyuld still be worth the money - for those that say an iphone is a phone with some fancy features - you really have not used it - I dont have it yet - but even without the phone calls the iphone is a life-changing wxperience - essentially it is a new for m of technology and equipment with noparallels–I see the Palm-Pre is coming out but I have no doubt it is no iphone and wont be for some time - If the Vz plan is ~45 and gthe at&t is around 75 for 125 BB users pay this much already!!) you can have the iphone plus extra coverage - I HAVE never heard of anyone doing this! I guess its crazy - But trust me: the iphone is NOT a phone that is one its minor features - it is worth it even if you never make a call (Itouch sounds just silly)
March 19th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Again the only people who say anything good about ATT is the Iphone people who play with the damn thing without talking with it. Did not hear any response from the GSM camp!! If you want to get a new phone with Verizon call 18009220204 and bitch like a woman!! I used to get all my cell phone probs solved cause my girl can b*tch herself silly and get me free minutes or new phone!!! Like i said buy a Sony PSP for finger excersizes or buy a Verizon phone and make a call!!!
March 19th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
for the person who uses Nextel i believe that tech is called “iden” but once again on a CDMA (sprint) network. If it works then it works. i just want to know other than the gadget people with the Iphone does the damn thing work???? Can you make a call or just palm the damn thing. That means the GSM (old ass tech). Other than the 3g. All of you still using GSM are still there because you have a much bigger database. Does not mean it it is better. Guess the rest of the world should wake up to newer tech. CDMA!!
March 25th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
We had AT&T prepay for many years, then converted to monthly, then lived through the AT&T Cingular merger with no problems. Spent the past 7 years or so with AT&T/Cingular. Like many, struggled with dropped calls, a LOT, up until about 2 years ago. Then that issue seemed to get better. Was extremely happy with AT&T/Cingular and LOVED their roll over minutes! Had 2 phones on family share plan. Great plan, great price!
Spring of ‘08, bought the Pantech DUO because of the keyboard. Liked it for texting. Was well past any contract and didn’t want to be in another 2 year stint, so paid cash for it at the AT&T store. Less than a month later, the AT&T Tilt PDA Smartphone came out. Returned the DUO for the Tilt the day they hit the shelf. Paid an extra $200+ to trade, but wanted the convenience of Windows Mobile. Within a month bumped my phone plan to include unlimited texting for $20 extra with AT&T. Found texting to be much better than in the past, on my older Samsung 427, so was texting a LOT. Funny, I’m an old woman, never thought I’d enjoy texting so much!
Anywho, that went well, but I realized I was beginning to see a lot of data useage on my bill and AT&T came out with their unlimited data useage, including texting, for $50/month, added to my 450 mins @ $39.99. Still not a bad deal, so I switched to the unlimited data plan, just in case I got crazy with surfing the net or something. All went well for several months, then I realized I wasn’t transferring enough data to make that $50/month plan worth it after all, so I switched back to the $20/mo unlimited texting. I hadn’t used more than 500kb in any one of those $50 months, so why bother.
Funny thing…the very next month, after I dropped my unlimited data plan, I had TWO days with HUGE data charges on my bill. I was aghast to say the least! Even when I was covered for that kind of data transfer/internet access, I didn’t even come close to what AT&T was billing me for! I was, and still am livid! This all occurred on my Sept 08 bill. I haven’t paid it yet and I don’t plan to. I’m contesting it.
When I called AT&T about this obvious error, and spent over an hour on the phone with a customer service rep, they finally conceded that they’d waive those extra charges ($376!) IF I was willing to go back on their $50/mo plan. I didn’t want to, but they told me they couldn’t guarantee that this kind of data useage wouldn’t happen again unless I was willing to take on the unlimited data plan. That would be my best insurance against it. What I tried to tell them was that if I didn’t have that kind of useage when I had the $50 plan, why would I knowingly have that kind of useage when I knew I didn’t have that plan any longer!? I wanted, and still want, those charges dropped. I didn’t make those data transfers! And NO one else uses my phone! Anyway, I agreed, the tech agreed to waive the charges and we went our seperate ways. Or so I thought. Within 2 days, I got an email from ’some other tech person’ presumably a supervisor. They told me they would NOT waive those charges. I called them again, asked them to even look back at my past billings, they could see that I was never in the habit of downloading or using that much internet data transfers. But no go. So, that’s the day, I switched to Verizon!
Verizon has been great! I’ve got my family share plan, including Friends & Family, and the cost is about the same. With the F&F I don’t really need the roll over minutes. Also got 2 new phones. An LG Voyager 10000 for me and an LG ENV2 for the daughter. Although I’m stuck in a 2 year contract again, which I was well out of on AT&T, I’ll survive. I’ve got unlimited texting, pic messaging, vid messaging, VZ Nav, MobiTV, email and whatever else the premium plan gives me, including TWICE the minutes for just $50/mo more than I was paying AT&T. Verizon has been excellent to deal with. No deposit required. AND, I get service EVERYWHERE I’ve been since. That was one issue I had with AT&T. There were a lot of places where I didn’t have service with them. Those AT&T deadzones are history now with VZ.
I’m still pissed about this. I’m contesting the charges. I didn’t ‘do the deed’ and I’m not going to pay for it! AT&T says the two transfers in question originated from my phone. I’m telling them they’re absolutely incorrect. They won’t budge, nor will I.
I miss some of the options/apps that I had with my AT&T Tilt but I don’t miss their attitude about this issue. Like many here, I was a very loyal customer for many many years. Then they screw up my billing or someone somehow managed to steal data time off my phone and I’m stuck. Too bad so sad. Hey, AT&T…how many loyal customers do you have to piss off before you figure out that yes, even AT&T can make mistakes.
Anybody out there wanna’ buy a nearly new AT&T Tilt Smartphone? Got one for sale, back in it’s original box and ready to go!
Thanks for letting me vent!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:37 am
grass is always greener…
March 29th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Well just left Verizon after about 5 years of the same ole crap..They are rude,and give u junk phones,,not sure how I’am gonna like AT&T,,but right now anything looked better then Verizon,,sooo burnt out with not getting good customer service..They don’t care about the people its all about what they can stick in there pocket..Really Praying AT&T is deffernt..Only one day in to the into AT&T..
March 31st, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I work for Sears in the electronics. I have used sprint’s, verizon’s, and at&t’s. So far verizon’s is the best. I get coverage wherever. I am currently looking into getting my own line and it was in between at&t and verizon. My girlfriend has at&t and she had problems with it all the time. I never once had a problem with my verizon phone when I had it. As for the customer service, I work off of commission. It is not always about what you pocket. Grant it with some people it is. The verizon store in my area I get great customer service and the at&t store I get semi good customer service. Not all of verizon’s customer service is bad and not all of at&t’s service is bad. They both have decent phones but I think verizon has more of a variety of great quality phones whereas at&t has a variety of phones that are not as good in the quality department. So before all you guys start downing one network, read reviews and start studying about them. And the plans are also the same. I have compared most of the plans on both networks and they come out to the same prices. Also the charges that verizon charges you, you get with at&t. It is because you start using features that you do not have and you get charged for them. So think about what you do instead of getting all mad about the price of the bill. Pay more attention to what you are doing
April 4th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Verizons 3g coverage overall is better. Their service is better. And their plans cost less. 550 minutes for verizon costs just as much as 450 minutes for at&t a month.The unlimited text costs 10 dollars less for verizon a month. They also have a wider variety of phones.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I have both an iPhone (AT&T) and a Samsung sch-u620 (Verizon). I got the AT&T service just for the iPhone, but now that I get to compare the two services side by side, I prefer Verizon. At this point the plans are almost exactly alike, features and prices all considered. And even though the CSRs in Verizon work off commission, you get better service in the stores (usually because there’re more people working at once). Also, you have to keep in mind that each phone manufacturer has different reception quality: I’ve found my 620 usually has one bar better than the iPhone in most places, but my boyfriend has a Nokia and beats me in signal strength almost every time. I’m a gadget junkie, so that’s another point in Verizon’s favor; they have the newest and coolest phones available right off the bat and have all their Blackberries on the 3G network, whereas on AT&T only the Bold is on the 3G.
Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that Verizon vs. AT&T is just like Pepsi vs. Coke. Neither one is outrageously better than the other, but each one works better for different people when it comes to what you want, whether it’s gadgets, packages, etc. etc.
April 12th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
for the next couple who actually read these post when i say please believe me i mean it. i was with Verizon for 4 years. and i was counting down the last contract to get out. i had made several complaints over the years with verizon. and it tiped it off with an activation of a data plan i didnt authorize. And bombarding calls after swith to a new number (obviously they didnt check to see if it was bad number to recycle). they offered to pamper me to no end after this issue. but to make a long story short i told them this is no phone or any type of bargin they could give me to make me stay with them. i happy switched over. The battle is unending between the end but it comes down to that some people have better experences then others. 1 THING! i am sure of is the basic people with the low activity no data etc. are the people who give the best feed back because they dont use the darn network/service as it should. but are very basic. AT&Ts plans vs Verizon are cheaper IMO and the Data plan is just not ever an issue AT&T takes it. all you have to do is just open your eyes DO YOUR HOMEWORK beofore decideing dont just take people opinons.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:03 am
you all suck!!!!!!!!!!!
April 13th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I had Verizon for almost 10 years and had absolutely NO problems with them, my phones or customer service.
I’ve had AT&T for about 2 years now and have had nothing BUT problems from billing problems to phone problems and especially with customer service! They are the most uneducated in the industry!! And if they don’t know an answer, they just make something up(misinform) instead of just admitting they don’t know and find someone who does.
I am VERY dissatisfied with AT&T and as soon as my contract is up… it’s back to Verizon (or Cricket if they have better coverage and phones by then).
Just my two cents worth.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Why did At&t change to Cingular and then back to At&t. Sounds like what Prince did. hmmmmm.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Cricket is on the Better Cdma tech!!! Probably using Verizon towers and now Alltel towers as well. Better building penetration and with soft handoff instead of the call dropping hard handoff. Possibly even using Sprint network as well (dont know but cricket is so new that i cant imaging them building towers that quick).
April 21st, 2009 at 8:50 am
I have had both services and would love an iphone but AT&T coverage sucks. Verizon has the best cell phone coverage in the country it is not even close.Rural areas, big cities,even Hawaii you get your calls it’s a great company.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:27 am
well, I have friends and family members that have att. they’ve had no probems whatsoever with att coverage, or the extra minutes or customer service.
Verizon, in Oregon, is a different story; they don’t know what they’re doing. they have floating prices. and many times it’s your word against theirs.
You have to be somewhat assertive with them.
I ordered a new ring tone for my phone. according to the info on the phone, there was no charge except for 1.99 ring tone that I wanted.
I got my bill and it was over by $10. I called them and they said there were charges for accessing the ringer online catalog, for browsing, and the two-way setup that I chose. $6.00. I had to wheel and deal with them to get the price down to where it should be.
I’ve had enough with them.
April 26th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I don’t know about you guys but I had nextel terrible got tired of no reception so I decided to shop around Tried AT&T for 2 weeks Tried T-mobile For an other two Ans Sprint as well but once I got to verizon I got hooked And I can tell you that verizon is better than anybody else all round by far just the quality of the calls its the greatest by far the best
April 27th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I have the iPhone and I bought it before I had even switched to AT&T. But AT&T, you gotta step your game up. I mean wow. Serveice has been terrible and it is just upsetting. I was waiting since January 08 (When i bought my iPhone) to switch to AT&T and just recently switched in December. There is to much hype about AT&T: More bars in more places. Hopefully with the new update of the AT&T service it will finally be good. Also if Verizon does get the iPhone next year, I’m tapping that. Customer Service I haven’t had any problems with them. Everytime I call them I have a 3 min hold and I’m on. Then they solve my problem quickly. BUT I do have to say that the AT&T people in store are mentally disabled. AT&T STEP YOUR GAME UP!!!
April 28th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
AT&T IS BY FAR THE BEST COMPANY WITH THE BEST DEVICES ON THE MARKET. IPHONE,BLACKBERRY BOLD, HTC FUZE ETC THE LIST KEEPS ON GOING. THE RECEPTION IS GREAT ALWAYS HAVE GOOD RECEPTION EVER WHERE I GO. VERIZON SUCKS THE HAVE CRAPY DEVICES AND THERE RECEPTION STINKS. AT&T IS TAKING OVER THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY. NO DOUBT
April 29th, 2009 at 7:25 am
I will say at&t has some call quality issues with the iphone 3g, but I’ve been with them for 4 years and I’ve had a few issues with going over my minutes and they have credited my account several times so they are just as good as verizon.
April 30th, 2009 at 12:00 am
From what I know from my friends that have Verizon, and myself w/ AT&T, coverage is hit or miss anyway. I have fine enough coverage just about everywhere I go (pretty much large cities) and only minor inconveniences. A dropped call here and there but nothing a quick redial doesn’t fix. Yet my girlfriend will come over to my house (she’s Verizon) and almost completely lose coverage. I’ve been w/ AT&T since before it was Cingular before it was AT&T again (’bout 8 years give or take) and nary a problem. And from the horror stories I’ve heard about Verizons on-the-phone customer service, AT&T is faaaar better, I’ve never had a problem with them over the phone dealing w/ bill problems, phone problems, whatever. Always fixed orderly and on time with no hassle. I’ve heard Verizon’s coverage is better, but so far I’ve yet to see how/why, I have great reception in the same places my Verizon friends have great reception, and crappy where they have crappy. I’ve never really been in a position where they have good and I have bad. Just some thoughts.
May 1st, 2009 at 5:25 am
Been back and forth between AT&T (Cingular) & Verizon over the past 5 years. Actually found AT&T a little better for customer service, much faster response time. I used my own unlocked phone on AT&T, and was allowed to do whatever I want with it (WiFi, etc), and had the cheapo plan ($10/month less than Verizon). I think they BOTH try to nickle and dime you (AT&T charges you an extra $1.99/month for ‘detailed’ billing!). Coverage was better for me (North Florida) with AT&T, and call quality was about the same (a little better with AT&T’s GSM).
You really need to check out how well the service works in your area. Remember, the number one thing your phone should do is make and receive phone calls (where you can actually hear the person on the other side). Everything else is gravy.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
No phone AT&T has can ever make up for the fact that once they get you past the 30 day test period, AT&T’s mission is to nickel and dime you to death with features and processes designed to generate extra fees here and there. After years with Verizon, I decided to switch my family to AT&T because of the roll-over minutes come-on. The Samsung phones we selected on-line turned out cheap feeling and one failed, but the more irritating thing was how AT&T had set up the logic to put internet access immovably in the middle of the display - when what we wanted were phones. Long story short, I ended up getting the defective phone replaced, but phone logic and operation were user unfriendly and AT&T customer support attitudes made you feel like your call was an imposition. Customers at AT&T are unpleasant necessities to be taken advantage of and screwed in little ways rather than treasures that are the reason for your paycheck. The couple times I’d been late on a Verizon payment, they texted and called me so I could pay without penalty. Verizon had always responded well when I called in with issues (even “What can I do to save money?”). The people in their service centers are pleasant and well-informed. I was just getting used to the replaced AT&T phone but I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to stand AT&T as a service provider, so I hadn’t paid my bill on the due date. AT&T sent one piece of snail mail notifying me of the late payment. No call. No text. No attempt to use the technology they sold me! They just shut off all our phones! That was the last straw. I called Verizon and reactivated with them. Returned the phones to AT&T with an explanatory letter saying why I chose not to have a 2 year relationship with a company that behaved as they do. I sent in a check for $230.57 for activation and two months of service (quite a big penalty for a short experiment with a different provider) with a copy of the letter. They called and when I said I was unhappy with how they treated me as a customer, they turned me over to collection for $1,084 and have entered an unfavorable data point on my credit report. I hate AT&T with the light of a thousand torches. I am so happy to be back with Verizon where hardware, operational logic and service all are directed to treating the customer like someone they want to keep. Be warned. AT&T still thinks like a monopoly after all these years. They are an ugly, ugly company.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Without a doubt Verizon is the best and definitely will get the contract for the 4G iPhone. Just think, who did Apple got to first when the iPhone came out of development… Verizon. AT&T is big but that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to customer retention. Plus they are the worst in caring for their current customers, you will get shit on more with AT&T than a washed car. Verizon has always and will continue to be the best in service. I have had service with all carriers and there is no reason why you shouldn’t stay with or switch to Verizon.
VERIZON IS THE BEST!!!
P.S. Anyone that says otherwise should be bitch slapped with a shovel and topped of with a mudhole stomp. Thanks for reading.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:28 am
You have to scratch your head and wonder about the writer when reading this article. He expected great service at AT&T when going to the store the day of the I-phone release. Armchair QBing the staffing problem is easier than fixing it. Was that really a level playing field? I have recently had horrible customer service experiences at Verizon every time I go in to there stores, different locations, different days, etc. They both think and do business like a monopoly(think Seinfield Soup Nazi service) I wish I could do without a cell phone, until then I will try to minimize any contact with customer service and switch when I feel I have to.
May 9th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
att’s phones have the operating systems each manufactuer intendedthem to have i.e. lg, samsung motorola,nokia, pantech, blackberry ect. Verizons phones are EXATALY THE SAME each operation system is identical weather it be samsung or sony or lg how is that possible??? Verizon guts the phones and makes them cookie cutter , so the answer to the question whos phones are cooler . ATT clear winner because each one is different and nokia phones have a reprogramable open ended operating system called symbian does verizon?? no!!! do your research. ATT is a GSM company all digital can you use a verizon phone in germany or china without doing anything ??? NOO!! att clear winner in technology. now the customer service sucks at att but it sucks at all places. and the plans at both companies are3 a rip off , so ATT wins by default better technology
May 9th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Take it from someone that has all the providers. VERIZON IS THE BEST WITHOUT ANY QUESTION!! It is the only provider that you can go into a store and get your phone looked at by a tech, talk to a customer service rep, and purchase a phone. Verizon offers the largest employee discounts and has the best coverage of any provider. Before verizon I had sprint and I couldn’t get service anywhere and got charged roaming when I was suppose to and had to call cust. service everytime to get a credit which I basically had to beg for. As for ATT the customer service is horrible and if you have an issue with the phone you have to call and they try to troubleshoot the phone over the phone. Then IF they deem the phone is having issues then they send you out a phone. At verizon you can walk into the store and get a phone right there no waiting. As for the SIM card issue…Verizon is coming out with a newer better than 3G network. That does provide a sim card with the phone. There is no getting over that VERIZON IS BY FAR THE BEST!
May 15th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I went cell phone shopping today and decided to look into a new service provider. I stopped by ATT first because all my friends have ATT and said it was pretty good. I walked in and it was like pulling teeth to get help. The manager and security guard had to finally yell at one of the employees to help me…I was NOT impressed. Then, I went to Verizon…and this was a TOTALLY different story! They did not jump on me like car salesmen but, even though they had MANY customers waiting I got noticed after a few seconds and was asked to sign in and told someone would be with me shortly. The manager kept coming by to check on me and kept asking if I was ok, needed help or anything. The salesman that ended up helping me was FANTASTIC! I knew which phone I wanted because I had already looked at their LARGE selection online and picked it out. He helped me and made the process easy and painless…needless to say I chose Verizon!
May 16th, 2009 at 8:06 am
ALRITE VERIZON HAS THE BEST COVERAGE AND AWSOME PHONES BUT THEY DONT HAVE THE I PHONE WHAT SUCKS ITS REALY EXPENSIVE FOR ME AND IM NOT THE POOREST PERSON. IF U MAKE BANK UR GOOD BUT IF U DONT HAVE A HUGE INCOME THEN U SHOULD BE BITCHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE ONE AT&T IS NICE I PHONE HAS INTERNET AND TXTING EVERYTHING FOR JUST 90 BUCKS IF YOU GET VERIZON INTERNET ON A BLACKBERRY IS 30 DOLLARS EXTRA AND ITS REQUIRED AND ALSO U HAVE TO PAY INSURANCE SERVICE AND IF YOU WANT ALOT IN THE END UR BILL WOULD COME OUT TO BE ABOUT 140 DOLLARS!! SUCKS! I RATHER GET AN I PHONE
May 18th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I have been with Verizon for 8 years and swear by the company in every aspect… tech service, personal customer service, phone quality, no dropped calls, service where no one else’s phone seems to work. I have been with a few other companies since the wireless phone made its debut and will never leave Verizon.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Sounds like the people who have owned all services prefer Verizon!!! As do I. No contest on coverage, customer service (even though as all big companies you do have to listen to the damn computer for awhile), and phones. Cdma is the better tech than old school GSM. Sprint is also CDMA but with far fewer towers since they run on pcs 1900 mghz. Remember Verizon just purchased Alltel. Means more towers on the already best network!!!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I just recently switched from ATT to Verizon…. just to let you all know: It’s a pain to get back the rebate they offer for the phone. I bought my phone last December. It’s end of May now and the rebate is still not in sight! It is really frustrating to talk to them too. You have to make sure you keep contacting them about the rebate otherwise they conveniently forget! I never had that kind of trouble with Verizon!!!
I bought my new phone over the phone. They sent it to me fast but the rebate was not included. They ended up telling me that I threw it out myself without noticing the form. Haha, there wasn’t even a receipt in there, the store clerk must have really screwed it up. So, anyway, I guess they didn’t believe me but still told me they would put in a new rebate…6 months later: nothing. After contacting them, they figured out, it was never put it and they promised again to process is…. 6 weeks later! still nothing… I am on my third attempt now.. finger crossed! Unbelievable!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:07 am
I meant to say I switched from Verizon to ATT!!!!!!!!! (for the family plan)
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 am
Get a smartphone and you can do whatever you want (free apps, etc.) I’ve been using Verizon for 5 years and they’ve always been great. One time after lowering my minutes they accidentally removed my unlimited texting plan and i got hit with a $600 bill. They refunded me the entire thing and even compensated me for the problem. They don’t have the latest and greatest phones out there but I’ve never had that much of a problem with them.
In fact I used to have AT&T until they ripped me off. I was one day late on a payment and they turned off my cell (my only phone). The thing was the bank said the check cleared and AT&T swears it didn’t One post void later they were gone. I switched to VZW and have no problems. I wish they’d switch to GSM though….
June 8th, 2009 at 6:28 am
i bought a company that had verizon service already.they made us responsible for the contract that had already been in place, but when they transfered the ownership they started a new two year contract that we didn’t catch right away.the billing was so mixed up,they kept billing with the old owner and the new owners names,and even for an extra phone that belonged seperately to the exowners wife.after three months of arguing and not being able to get it straightened out I canceled the service and went back to alltel(whom is now verizon)I was told that I had to pay $600.00 for the cancelation of the three lines we carried.I told them it was worth it to be free of them,but told them the early termination fee was going to be paid at $50.00 per month until paid off(and it was and was never late).did it end there, no,since they didn’t receive all $600.00 termination fee at once, they hounded me weekly for the remaining amount and also put it against my credit(I had an 800 rating)as a non payment.
Oh and fyi, verizon is mostly owned by saudi arabia.
now look whose taking over our telecomunications,scary huh!
June 9th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
All VZW customer service reps are in the u.s.
Please do not get it twisted. VZW thus far best network over AT&T. Friends and Family beats everything.. Hint.. read your contracts. know your plan, know your phone, check your minutes,
know your contract expiration date.. you will have no problem.. 83 million
June 9th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I have been a Verizon customer for a number of years, and aside from them having the most expensive service, I really did not notice anything outstanding. I live in the northeast (NY metropolitan area) and for all the years and through all the different phones that I had with Verizon, my phone reception was always intermittent at work (middle of Manhattan, no less) and home. After my contract expired and I didn’t like any Verizon phones (a crippled Storm with no WiFi? No, thanks), I bought an unlocked one and switched to AT&T. I am very happy with my phone and reception now. I guess it’s all opinions and personal experiences, but in my case Verizon is not better than AT&T.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:49 am
I have been with At&t/Cingular for about 10 years now and would never think of going anywhere else. Currently the have the best selection on quality phones. The only thing I can hold against At&t is that they are not the cheapest in the market but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. A cell phone is something I depend on in a daily basis so I want to get great quality. Their customer service is always friendly and willing to do whats in their power to help me out financially. Overall I can’t say At&t is better then any one else and that is because I like the service to much to leave.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I had Verizon Wireless for the past 4 months and I recently dropped out because I was able to get out of my contract for free. I switched due to lack of service in my home. I know switched too ATT and I couldn’t be happier. I know get full service in my home which I never had with any other providers that I have tried in the past (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile) Another thing that bugged me with Verizon was the fact that they locked everything on there phones. I had a blackberry and they locked simple things like GPS!!! And they would charge you another $20 to use there Gps program. I never really hated Verizon I just didn’t get service in my home. And the prices are relatively the same, ATT is just cheaper for me because I get a 15% discount. I really think you just need to test out and see what works best for you at your home.
June 15th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Well I am about to have an interview with verizon. I checked out this site for some intel. I was suprised by the comments that seem to lean towards Verizon as the better of the two big dogs. I see verizon as a Safeway and maybe Att as a Wal-Mart. Especially in regards to customer service. Prices are a toss up and coverage goes to Verizon by a long shot. Now for many of these folks that commented, they were held to att mainly due to the Iphone. And that sounds like that might be changing here soon as Verizon might aquire Iphones as well. From the looks of this site I would say that from these two giants, Verizon has beat Att by a fairly decent margin. It has gone to the score cards and verizon has one 2 to 1 for this battle. There will be more battles ahead and it will be interesting to see what companies just get it with this new economy. Peace!!
June 16th, 2009 at 9:36 am
My at&t phone (Blackjack 2) works fine my cousin has verizon while his phone is searching for a signal i have full bars running on a 3G network…..the service is great even when i an out of the city…there customer service is great…
June 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I’ve been AT&T customer for over 5 years now. Their coverage and customer service have been improved a lot in past 5 years in my area (NJ). I’ve been thinking to switch to Verizon because their phones are cooler than ATT’s. I want a family plan with unlimited data and messaging features. It turns out that verizon is 10 dollars more per month as compared to ATT. However, the price are same from both carriers if you want a family plan with only unlimited messaging feature. I don’t care so much about other cool features so can’t give my opinion on those perspectives. But having a phone with SIM card is indeed convenient when you want to use SIM on another phone.
Verizon offer 65 up plan for seniors. oh, it’s totally a rip-off. This 65 up plan is more expensive than the cheapest family plan from ATT. Check Verizon and ATT’s websites if you don’t believe me.
Personally i think ATT is better off for people who travels a lot and for those who love iphones.
If ATT has the phone i want, i will not consider switching to verizon for sure.
Thanks for reading.
June 18th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Ok all kidding aside - I live in bethlehem, pa and commute mostly into NJ morris plains etc. So I take rt 78 corridor. What is the coverage situation on that route there for ATT. I have Vz today but am sick of it as I can’t do much with my motorola Q and it looks so archaic compared to the new iphone 3G S. Coverage on Vz is great but am I so love the new iphone 3g s. Thanks.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I have ATT but i miss Verizon, especially now that Verizon has better deals. If you are an iPhone lover, then stay with ATT. But for the rest of the people that need it to call, check email once in a while and text, Verizon is a better deal. ex. data $2/mb Verizon or $10/mb ATT, Verizon does not have rollover but most plans you can call 5 people unlimited.
As for the coverage, I had better coverage with Verizon than ATT but i think it all depends where you live and what kind of phone you carry.
Customer service has been good with me for both companies.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:45 am
If you plan to do any traveling by car or otherwise spend time outside of major cities, check the coverage areas. Verizon covers much more of the country according to the maps.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I’ve been reading all this info for more than an hour while my husband is now entering hour 2 of being on the phone with AT&T customer service. We have been traveling the US for the past 9 years and have had US Cell, Sprint, Nextel, Verizon and now AT&T. We have the worst service with AT&T everywhere we go. Customer service is always nice, they listen, say that they are sorry we are having trouble and nothing is ever better. We have done everything for 6 months that they have asked of us but since we are in the middle of 4, yes that’s right 4 3G towers they insist that we have great coverage however we never get better than a low signal on the computer and very low frequently (which means for us it will not even bring up Google). When we are on the road it is not uncommon to not be able to get on line or make a call going N on the interstate but coming back S we can do both, What kind of sense does that make. Many people in Oklahoma City just think it is normal to have dropped calls in the metro area so put up with it. Just because the coverage map shows the service is good here we get no help. We had Verizon before AT&T and had better service here with no Verizon in the area. Verizon may be a little more money, but what good are roll over minutes if calls don’t go out or in? Our computer wireless is also terrible!! I can’t wait for Verizon to come to this area, and it is coming soon! We had no problems with Verizon customer service but only had to call them 2-3 times in 5 years. By brother in Little Rock has trouble with his AT&T has to go outside to talk, but stays as his wife is retired from AT&T and gets an excellent deal. Our daughter here has trouble with calls, too. So I definitely don’t think I’m special.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Verizon sucks their phones suck too ,but with att u can use any unlocked phone you want so AT&T IS the best ,i didnt have any problems with my service ,i use a Nokia n95 with att i dont think that u could use the n95 with verizon.
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I HAVE AT&T AND ITS FREAKIN AWESOME. VERIZON SUCKS ASS! AT&T IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER. LIKE NOT SO LONG AGO I WAS USING MY BROTHERS VERIZON FONE AND EVERYTIME I TRIED CALLING MY MOM OR DAD I WOULD ALWAYS GET DROPPED CALLS. ITS SO STUPID. AND VERIZON DOES NICKEL AND DIME YOU FOR EVERYTHING. VERIZON PROBABLY CHARGES YOU WHENEVER YOU FLIP OR SLIDE YOUR FONE OPEN. STUPID…. AT&T IS THE BEST CELL PHONE COMPANY EVER! AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS GREAT! UNLIKE VERIZON! MY BROTHER EVEN HATES IT AND WHEN HIS STUPID CONTRACT IS OVER WITH VERIZON HES COMING BACK TO AT&T! FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK OR CONFUSED ON WHICH PHONE COMPANY TO GO WITH.. CHOSE AT&T. IT WILL BE LIKE YOUR SMARTEST DECISION EVER. SURE VERIZON MAY HAVE ALITTLE BIT COOLER PHONE BUT AT&T HAS WAY BETTER PHONES. WHY WOULD YOU HAVE A COOL PHONE AND NOT BE ABLE TO CALL OR SEND SOMEONE A TXT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A SHITTY NETWORK! AND WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS?! AND YOU CAN IMPRESS EVERYONE WITH AT&T PHONES! LIKE THE iPHONE! iPHONE MADE AT&T COME OUT OF THE GUTTER ADN NOW THE BEST PHONE COMPANY EVER!! AT&T ROCKS!!!!!!