I would like the collective wisdom of the readers of this forum. I have a desire to buy an iPhone. I have a Blackberry (running Edge now which makes it very sloooow) now and it is limited in some respects. I am on Cincinnati Bell at the moment and I have no complaints about their service. They have been fair and accommodating to me in all ways. They will never offer the iPhone, though, and probably will be making deals to offer Android phones and Blackberries in the future. They do have 3G but are coy about offering 4G, and I am sure that they are using AT&T towers with their cell phones.

 

But, I want an iPhone. There is a persistent rumor that a new 4G iPhone will be coming out in June. It is only sold by AT&T in Cincinnati, and I am not sure if they are going to have 4G support for the 4G phone. I know they do have 3G now.

 

So, please tell me how you like AT&T from your own experience. How about iPhone users, is it worth the hassle to have the phone? Anyone switched from Cincinnati Bell to AT&T and have an opinion?

 

I was planning to change my bundle at Cincinnati Bell to Zoomtown and a home phone only, then take up the plan with AT&T for 2 iPhones (one for me and one for the husband). It looks like it will be a little bit more expensive when all is said and done, but not much.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

I use an iPhone 3G with AT&T in Cincinnati, and so far I haven't had any issues with dropped calls. My only real complaint is that much of the UC West Campus (and particularly the DAAP building) seems like a black hole in AT&T's coverage. If Cincinnati Bell is already using AT&T's infrastructure, then I'm guessing you wouldn't notice much of a difference.

My husband and I are in the same boat.  We both have Blackberries with CBW, and we are talking about buying iPhones later this year.  The price of the monthly service plan with AT&T vs. what we pay now is one reason why we haven't done this sooner.  It's also been 10+ years since I've signed a contract for mobile phone service, so I do dread that part.  We're waiting until the new phones are released.  Even then, we might wait until after our baby is born.  There is a rumor that only CBW phones work in the hospital where I'll deliver.  It doesn't make any sense to me, so I'm trying to look into that further.

 

Several of my coworkers have iPhones, and they seem very happy with them. 

AT&T is locked into 3G and must fix the problems with the 3G network before deploying 4G.

 

Also, is id necessary to have an iphone?

Hmmmm, MyTwoSense, what do you mean by "locked into 3G"? Do they have the power to deploy 4G? I am curious. As to an ID to get a phone, do you mean a driver's license to prove who you are? I don't recall anyone asking me that particular question. I guess I just look like me (ha ha) and so no one asked. I do have a well worn debit card and I am over 21 so I might have been trusted by them. I have not gotten the iPhone yet but I didn't get the feeling that they would be questioning my identity.

 

As for xumelanie, have you talked to the hospital about your cell phone and if it will work there after the baby. I am sure you want to tell the world about it all and maybe even send out photos in glorious color. Videos? :) But I am sure the hospital will tell you. Good luck.

Hmmmm, MyTwoSense, what do you mean by "locked into 3G"? Do they have the power to deploy 4G? I am curious. As to an ID to get a phone, do you mean a driver's license to prove who you are? I don't recall anyone asking me that particular question. I guess I just look like me (ha ha) and so no one asked. I do have a well worn debit card and I am over 21 so I might have been trusted by them. I have not gotten the iPhone yet but I didn't get the feeling that they would be questioning my identity.

 

As for xumelanie, have you talked to the hospital about your cell phone and if it will work there after the baby. I am sure you want to tell the world about it all and maybe even send out photos in glorious color. Videos? :) But I am sure the hospital will tell you. Good luck.

 

From my source inside, they are "locked" into the 3G until it's LTE network can be built

 

I meant "is" instead of "id"  :P ;)

No, I don't have to have an iPhone, but it will be about time for a new phone and I was considering one which did everything. My Blackberry does some things well, and other things, well... Such as getting on the internet, it is slooooow because it's using Edge, so I seldom use it for that (which is a shame because that was part of the appeal). Then there are the apps. They do exist but they are more expensive and not as good as the iPhone apps. Alas. So, I thought I would try the iPhone but ask around before I committed.

As for xumelanie, have you talked to the hospital about your cell phone and if it will work there after the baby. I am sure you want to tell the world about it all and maybe even send out photos in glorious color. Videos? :) But I am sure the hospital will tell you. Good luck.

 

When we went on a tour of the maternity wing, we were told that we are allowed to use cell phones in labor and delivery rooms as well as the recovery rooms.  After we went on the tour, my mom went to the same hospital for some radiation treatments.  Her friend's phone did not work there (not sure what carrier), but her own phone from CBW did.  Someone at the hospital told her that only CBW phones work there.  It really makes no sense, especially since CBW rents from AT&T's towers.  Finding this out for sure will make a different when we buy iPhones.  Too bad the tour wasn't after my mom received radiation.  Then I could have just asked then.

I always heard that CBW has their own local towers, and just uses AT&T's for roaming.  I'm not sure if that is true, though.  I have an iPhone that I managed to get on to Cincinnati Bell's network (which I wouldn't recommend unless you're a computer geek like me).  I took one look at AT&T's monthly rates for voice+text+data and said no thanks.  It would have nearly doubled my wireless bill.  Android phones didn't really exist yet, or I would have just gotten one of those because it would have been less hassle.  Anyway, I'd take a look at the Android phones CBW is offering before you decide to switch.  They have one called the Blaze now that looks decent enough and is only $99.  I like my iPhone, but the Android phones seem to be pretty comparable.

Wow, oh oh oh! I just got through finding out all about using an iPhone on CBW and it is a MAJOR HASSLE. I even purchased one and then found out that it would run at the speed of Edge because it was not the right frequency for CBW (sold it again and got my money back but still it was a waste of time). Not to mention the jailbreak, the SHSH backup, the unlock (or maybe you can't). Argh. That is why I have nixed the thought of buying a cheaper iPhone 3GS after the 4G comes out and go get the 4G or something else. I am so sick of the troubles involved with using iPhone on CBW. I am exhausted just thinking about it.

 

When I talked to AT&T they told me that the plan would be $39.99 for the plan, $30 for the data package, and if I wanted to send and receive images (or text) that would be a separate charge ($.30 ea if you pay per, or $5 if you want the smallest package), bringing the total up to $75/month.

 

What do you think of the Sprint Evo idea? They don't have Evo in cincinnati yet but I am sure that they will have soon (that was in the paper and on air). Theirs looks like $70 (not a huge savings but...) and the price of the phone.

Yeah, it's a pain.  Once you get it working it's fine, if you don't mind not having 3G.  Personally, I don't care, because I'm almost always near wifi anyway. 

 

I haven't heard anything about Sprint in Cincinnati in years (kind of like T-mobile).  I'd either stick with CBW or go with Verizon, unless you really want an iPhone specifically, in which case your choice is already made.  Just wait until June for the new model.

Hmmmm, MyTwoSense, what do you mean by "locked into 3G"? Do they have the power to deploy 4G? I am curious. As to an ID to get a phone, do you mean a driver's license to prove who you are? I don't recall anyone asking me that particular question. I guess I just look like me (ha ha) and so no one asked. I do have a well worn debit card and I am over 21 so I might have been trusted by them. I have not gotten the iPhone yet but I didn't get the feeling that they would be questioning my identity.

 

As for xumelanie, have you talked to the hospital about your cell phone and if it will work there after the baby. I am sure you want to tell the world about it all and maybe even send out photos in glorious color. Videos? :) But I am sure the hospital will tell you. Good luck.

 

From my source inside, they are "locked" into the 3G until it's LTE network can be built

 

 

I have heard this as well, but also heard that AT&T's 3g network has the abaility to be boosted to near 4g levels.  Rumors at least.

Hmmmm, MyTwoSense, what do you mean by "locked into 3G"? Do they have the power to deploy 4G? I am curious. As to an ID to get a phone, do you mean a driver's license to prove who you are? I don't recall anyone asking me that particular question. I guess I just look like me (ha ha) and so no one asked. I do have a well worn debit card and I am over 21 so I might have been trusted by them. I have not gotten the iPhone yet but I didn't get the feeling that they would be questioning my identity.

 

As for xumelanie, have you talked to the hospital about your cell phone and if it will work there after the baby. I am sure you want to tell the world about it all and maybe even send out photos in glorious color. Videos? :) But I am sure the hospital will tell you. Good luck.

 

From my source inside, they are "locked" into the 3G until it's LTE network can be built

 

 

I have heard this as well, but also heard that AT&T's 3g network has the abaility to be boosted to near 4g levels.  Rumors at least.

 

I asked about that, but their towers are scrambled and it would only slightly increase the data speed.

Hmmmm, how about this? Sprint with EVO? What do you think? I have my heart set on an iPhone, but it isn't even out yet and I am not sure that AT&T is going to have the 4G to run it. I am sure that Sprint has 4G coming (big news article about that recently) and a lot of people have been really talking nicely about the EVO. But, I am not convinced that the EVO is the phone that the iPhone is. There is always the option to wait until March when my committment to CBW is over and then act because by that time the 4G iPhone will be out and the shake down period will have occurred BUT then the 5G will be looming on the horizon and ...What do you think?

^You have a contract with CBW?  I didn't think they even had contracts.  If you do leave CBW, I'd go with either the Motorola Droid on Verizon (best cell coverage around, except maybe for CBW in the area) or the new iPhone on AT&T.  Those are the best 2 phones I've seen.

I said "contract" and you are right, there is no contract. I should have said "Bundle" and the phone I have, the Blackberry Curve 8320, has a two year "service agreement" which means I have to buy the data plan to run the phone and pledge to use it for 2 yrs. Strictly speaking, that isn't a contract, but actually...it is. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...

 

My service agreement is up March 2011 for the Blackberry.

 

I just saw  the "Blaze" made by we don't know who, and it's 3G and is running Android. I am sure there will be more. Funny that the Nexus is not being pushed any more.

 

I have a very nice bundle with CBW right now. I really hate to mess that up but I am so tired of avoiding going on the internet with by Blackberry because it is as slow as molasses in January. But it's great for e-mail.

 

You haven't actually seen a 4G iPhone, right? Are you just talking about the iPhone? How do you like the one you are using on CBW? Is it a lot slower, does it have features which outweigh any slow down if you have a slow down? Just curious. Thanks for your time.

Hit that button twice. Sorry!

Go with the Android phone if your current provider offers it and you are happy with them.  I like my Android phone better than the iPhone.

Yes, Cincinnati Bell NOW uses their own network locally and only roams on At&t nationally. An easy way to tell when the phone is roaming is the network ID will read "CinBellUSA."

 

As everyone else is mentioning ... do yourself a favor and go with Android. As far as technology goes - it has already passed up the iPhone OS.

 

Recommended phones:

 

Cincy Bell - Nexus One

Sprint - EVO 4G

T-Mobile - HD2/Cliq or Cliq XT

Verizon - Incredible/Droid or Pre

At&t - Pre or Backflip

 

 

Cincinnati Bell now offers "equipment contracts" same thing as everyone else ... phone's is subsidized by contract.

 

RE: Homephone and internet ... just get an unltd. plan or cable broadband and digital phone through TW. Less than 20% of the U.S. now uses hard-lined landlines. TW's standard Road Runner is faster than Cincy Bell's Zoomtown "max."

 

Hmmm hmmm hmmm. Interesting. What had surpassed the iPhone on the Android? I have heard great things about EVO and people are passionate about their phones now. I would really like to hear what you have to say about the Android Phones. So please elaborate. Own one? Know someone who does and they are happy? Very curious. Also noted, there doesn't seem to be much Blackberry love here. Any reason?

 

For me, the edge Blackberry makes being on the 'net a trial. That's one of my problems with it. But please tell me what you think.

Hmmm hmmm hmmm. Interesting. What had surpassed the iPhone on the Android? I have heard great things about EVO and people are passionate about their phones now. I would really like to hear what you have to say about the Android Phones. So please elaborate. Own one? Know someone who does and they are happy? Very curious. Also noted, there doesn't seem to be much Blackberry love here. Any reason?

 

For me, the edge Blackberry makes being on the 'net a trial. That's one of my problems with it. But please tell me what you think.

 

I have many friends with iPhones and own an iPod Touch.  I also own an Android phone.  The multitasking alone is a reason I would choose it over the iPhone (I can't imagine not being able to leave Pandora and be logged in to Google Talk while browsing or playing a game).

 

I also like the fact that I can install any app I want, not just those from the official store, and access the file system directly.

 

AT&T does not allow tethering with the iPhone.  I regularly tether laptop while traveling so I can be online anywhere.

 

And then of course there is Flash.  Flash will not be supported on the iPhone.  Supposedly, we will be seeing a beta for Android in a few days, and an official release in June.

 

The screen (both brightness and resolution) on the Android phones is far superior to that on the iPhone.

 

And last but not least, I love having the physical keyboard available.  The onscreen keyboard works just as well as the iPhone's and I do use it for shorter texts and sometimes entering URLs (or parts of URLs), but especially for emails or forum posts, I can't imagine not having the keyboard to type on.

 

That's not to say I don't see any things on the iPhone (mainly the smoothness and aesthetics of the UI, although Android isn't far behind) which are better, but the advantages of the Droid (and Android phones in general) outweigh those of the iPhone in my opinion.

 

Also, I have friends with (and they have let me try out) Blackberry phones (Pearl and Storm).  I really don't like the OS or apps available, and the browser is terrible.  If you have used and like the iPhone's web browser, you know that it blows away the Blackberry browser.  Android's web browser is on par with the iPhone browser, especially now that they implemented pinch-to-zoom.

^ I got to play with the new MyTouch 2 with the keypad and the Flash was amazing ... even on our subpar 3G. You should check it out.

 

Blackberry is kind of struggling right now. No one is taking them out anytime soon, but when you have to hire a 3rd party Co. to develop your browser - it's kind of embarrassing. A move like this shows they know they're losing ground.

 

Fabienne, I don't want to get into it too much because we've already covered enough of this in the iPad/iPhone thread in Current Events and UrbanBar ...

 

Fabienne, I've owned them all and I see Android as a long-term clear winner. It'll be interesting to see what happens with WebOS, MeeMo, Moblin, and Samsung's new smartphone OS. I'm all for competition, it just makes the toys more fun! ;)

 

 

Ah...so there is another thread going somewhere else on this forum? Great. I didn't know that and I will certainly find it and read what was said.

 

I often joke that if I duct taped my iTouch to my Blackberry I would have a real good smartphone. At the moment I am in the learning mode. I have mainly been dwelling in the land of CBW because I have been content with what they were offering. But things certainly have changed here of late. :)

You haven't actually seen a 4G iPhone, right? Are you just talking about the iPhone? How do you like the one you are using on CBW? Is it a lot slower, does it have features which outweigh any slow down if you have a slow down? Just curious. Thanks for your time.

 

Just the pictures posted on the internet.  I just have an iPhone 3G.  It does everything I need pretty well.  I wish the 3G worked, but it hasn't been a major problem for me.  I know that apple is releasing the 4G version in the summer, but I'm not sure if AT&T is 4G ready yet or not.  Honestly, I haven't heard much about 4G on any provider at this point.  I think that between the iPhone and Android phones, you really can't go wrong.  Choosing the right provider is more important, in my opinion.

 

Fabienne, I've owned them all and I see Android as a long-term clear winner. It'll be interesting to see what happens with WebOS, MeeMo, Moblin, and Samsung's new smartphone OS. I'm all for competition, it just makes the toys more fun! ;)

 

Actually, with Palm's financial woes,  I keep expecting RIM (BlackBerry) to acquire Palm, just to get WebOS.  That operating system is pretty slick, but without cash, it's not going anywhere.  BlackBerries are becoming increasingly less relevant, so hopefully they have some kind of strategy to get their software up to date.  The BlackBerry Storm just isn't cutting it.

With the clunky GUI and awful OS, Blackberry is not my fav right now (though I have to say the device I have is old and only works on edge so...it's bad from the definition. I suppose I am delighted with the options coming out now or that I think are going to appear. There were a lot of chats about AT&T losing their exclusive iPhone rights, but I am thinking that just isn't going to happen. I am very much thinking that CBW is going to be offering the EVO or something as nice. They are not stupid there, you know.

 

What are your favorite forums of news on the iPhone and Androids?

I get most of my tech news from arstechnica.com, engadget.com, and gizmodo.com.  There are other places like macrumors.com and macnn.com, where you will see the occasional cell phone news, especially when big announcements are looming, but I find that the first three are all I usually need.

Actually, with Palm's financial woes, I keep expecting RIM (BlackBerry) to acquire Palm, just to get WebOS. That operating system is pretty slick, but without cash, it's not going anywhere. BlackBerries are becoming increasingly less relevant, so hopefully they have some kind of strategy to get their software up to date. The BlackBerry Storm just isn't cutting it.

 

Waaaay late to the game, JJ ... HP has acquired Palm and is already working on a tablet PC with WebOS integrated.

 

Cincinnati Bell is notorious for exclusive phone agreements and also being extremely late to the game at the same time.

 

It seems like they're always getting TMO's leftovers and at the the same time surprising us with the Nexus One and E71 as well.

 

Ha! It turned out that surprising us with Nexus One was like getting a lifetime supply of Microsoft VISTA! *balloon drop*

Waaaay late to the game, JJ ... HP has acquired Palm and is already working on a tablet PC with WebOS integrated.

 

Oh wow!  That must have been announced right before finals, when I was avoiding everything but my books.  It looks like I have some catching up to do!

I have an iPhone 3G. I live in Clifton and go to UC. I have tons, tons, tons of dropped calls. Other people around Clifton with iPhone report the same issue. Also, 3G is very slow around Clifton in my opinion, probably due to the popularity of the iPhone and and other 3G devices amongst college students and YPs.

 

I would really advise you to look at some Android devices. I love the iPhone, but I do think Google offers a really enticing product. I still like AT&T, but I am very frustrated with the service quality in the Uptown area.

Just for fun, I decided to go to Cincinnati Bell's Phone Store and ask what the penalties were for getting out of their 2 year service agreement early. I had tried to find it out on their website (with no luck at all) and the thought of calling them up (the are a Phone Company, how dare I think to call them up) I went there to ask. I was told that it is pro rated and that if I want to cancel with 11 months left that would be about $70. The fees start from $150 and go down from there.