new phone shopping

[dizzyCA]

I need a new phone and since I'm not bound (under contract) to any cellular provider I've been looking at all of them. I recently demo'd an iPhone 3G (at AT&T store) and was impressed: it seemed well engineered and constructed.

My needs are simple: voice accounts for 75% of use with all the rest (texting, web, etc.) being split over the remaining 25%. I'm certain the capabilities of the 3G vastly exceeds my needs but based on the phones I'd tried at the other providers the iPhone 3G seemed like the best $100 phone out there!

My concern is AT&T. I've heard a lot about their network problems (dropped calls, dead zones, etc.) and their poor customer service. I'm not too concerned about their customer service as I think all the cellular providers suck at that! My biggest concern is having reliable, trouble-free voice service. I live in So. CA but am not in a metro area so coverage (and signal quality) is a concern.

I'd have no reservations about buying an iPhone but signing on with AT&T for 2 years is worrying me. I'd appreciate hearing from other So. CA AT&T/iPhone users: what kinds of problems have you had? Are you satisfied with the voice coverage? Data coverage? Thanks.

[macgirl]

We used to live in NorCal but have family in SoCal that we visit from time to time. In LA, coverage is not that great and I've seen lots of complaints about AT&T's service in that area and experienced problems there myself. We've spent time in the San Diego area as well and I've found AT&T's coverage to be quite good there overall, without the issues seen in LA.

For what it's worth, I found AT&T coverage in the East Bay in the SF area all the way to Sacramento and the Lake Tahoe area to be quite good in case you ever travel there. Downtown SF is another story entirely, though, with lots of dropped calls and slow 3G from what I've read online (I didn't go into the city all that much to have a cogent opinion on coverage).

If you're really concerned, would you think of giving it a try at first? Perhaps buy a prepaid AT&T SIM card and use it with any existing GSM phone you might already have? Otherwise, I think AT&T has a 30-day trial period during which you can cancel the contract without any penalties and return the iPhone (though a re-stocking fee might apply) if it doesn't work as well as you need it to.

[dizzyCA]

macgirl:
Thanks for the response; it was full of good info and suggestions! I hadn't considered the 30-day trial that AT&T offers but will look into the restock fees, etc.

I found your No. CA comments interesting in that you experienced good coverage around SF but we've heard so many horror stories about coverage in downtown SF ... you'd think it would be just the opposite since SF is surrounded by hilly terrain.

I live north-east of SD and don't go into the larger cities (SD, LA, etc.) unless I absolutely have to! There are small mountains and canyons all around me, so coverage (with any carrier) can be an issue due to geographic problems.

Thanks again for your response.

[danipoak]

AT&T is a living hell.

[glsda]

I have been with AT&T or their predecessors for 25 + years living approximately 45 miles south of Sacramento, CA in Stockton and the service is fine. We travel to the City, San Francisco and to the major cities on the west coast, to AZ, NM and Texas and have had no problems. JMO