iPhone - AT&T/Cingular or T-Mobile (USA) ?

November 15, 2007 8:07 AM

iPhone - AT&T/Cingular or T-Mobile (USA) ? I'm in NYC, peak minutes usage < 300, 50% of minutes to same 4 numbers, data usage likely to be high. Criteria: minimize the following, in order of priority: cost, dropped calls/network weirdness, customer service craziness, crap-tastic contracts. I'm obviously fine with hacking/unlocking my iphone.
posted by joshwa to technology (15 comments total)

s/300/400/
posted by joshwa at 9:03 AM on November 15, 2007

I don't have a problem with at&t or Cingular, but I know a lot of people do. But I've heard problems with t-mobile too.

I think t-mobile will be a little cheaper but less of a hassle than using an unsupported carrier.
posted by jragon at 9:13 AM on November 15, 2007

Er, *more of a hassle.
posted by jragon at 9:14 AM on November 15, 2007

You're looking for a basic cell phone plan comparison, adding an iPhone to the equation is superfluous, and will confuse a lot of people.

You might want to start with some of the websites designed specifically for this.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:27 AM on November 15, 2007

Clarifications:

a) does myFaves work on iPhone? (google says yes).
b) The $19.99 unlimited data + HotSpot: works on iPhone?
b1) include laptop access?
c) T-Mobile EDGE network quality in NYC vs. ATT?
d) T-Mobile customer service? vs. ATT?
e) T-Mobile OK with mid-contract rate plan changes? ATT?

Rate plan websites are useless; they don't take into account calling patterns (e.g. in-network, myfaves, etc) or data usage, nor do they take into account the qualitative (which is really what I'm looking for here).
posted by joshwa at 9:40 AM on November 15, 2007

If you use an iPhone on an unsupported provider (eg T-Mobile USA), you lose visual voicemail, which is a very nice feature to have.
posted by andrewraff at 9:42 AM on November 15, 2007

T-Mobile, T-Mobile, T-Mobile. This is a NO-BRAINER. You clearly live in a civilized place, where there is plenty of cell coverage no matter the provider. (In theory, anyway.) As a former Brooklynite, and one who still goes to NYC often (like this evening!), I can tell you I've never had any problem with my T-Mobile coverage there. Riding the corridor up and down from NYC to Baltimore and DC I've also had great coverage. And at least based on my personal experience, their customer service is the best. (Admittedly, this isn't saying much when you look at the competition.)

But my #1 reason for using my unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile is because AT&T daily redefines what a scummy corporation is. The warrantless wiretapping, the TOC's sleight-of-hand, the active opposition to net neutrality . . . fuck them with a flaming broomstick.

T-Mobile is cheaper, actually has BETTER coverage (for the places I go), better customer service (it's actually 24/7), doesn't MIND supporting "unsupported" phones, and their $19.99 unlimited data also throws in free access to all their WiFi hotspots. And so far, it hasn't been determined whether they participated in the NSA wiretapping. (I realize they may have, but at least so far, nobody's uncovered anything.)

The jailbreaks/unlocks always come soon after new iPhone firmware, and this time around (for 1.1.2), it came near immediately. No need to live in fear about that, either.

FYI, I can unlock for you in NYC for a perfectly reasonable fee. :-)
posted by CommonSense at 9:44 AM on November 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh, just saw that you added some questions. Here's my responses. I only had AT&T for a couple of months when I first got my iPhone, up until the point that the first free unlocks came out, at which point I fled. So admittedly my AT&T experience isn't too extensive.

a) Yes; I use myFaves on my iPhone.
b) Yep.
b1) I assume you mean the WiFi portion? Yes, I've used the T-Mobile HotSpots with both my iPhone and MacBook Pro. You can't use them both simultaneously on the same login (it'll reject the second device's login), but otherwise, yes. (I get around this problem by using my GF's login/password, since she also has an unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile with the same data plan.)
c) I find them to be the same. That is to say that EDGE sucks equally, regardless. Actual bitrate seems to be about the same; maybe a teeny bit faster on AT&T, but not enough to matter.
d) Much better with T-Mobile. You get a human faster. And did I mention they're 24/7, unlike AT&T's?
e) Yes, though you may have to reset the clock on your contract, depending what change you make. But every provider pulls this same shit.

Oh, nice added bonus: Where AT&T has Wi-Fi hotspots, iPhones automatically are allowed on for free, without needing to log in. Even when the iPhone in question is unlocked and on another network.
posted by CommonSense at 9:50 AM on November 15, 2007

BTW, I thought I'd miss Visual Voicemail a lot more than I actually do. I really don't mind not having it, actually. YMMV.
posted by CommonSense at 9:50 AM on November 15, 2007

I'll go anti-T-mobile here. I have a T-mobile plan with the hotspot service now. Despite living in Manhattan, less than 70 feet from the nearest cell tower, I can't get a good signal on any T-mobile device.

Customer service, in my experience, is inefficient--every time you call, each person you speak with wants to hear the ENTIRE story of your problem OVER and OVER again. Callbacks don't happen when they are supposed to happen (time zone differences seem to be baffling to the helpdesk staff).
posted by yellowcandy at 11:42 AM on November 15, 2007

If you're going to be making heavy use of data, that EDGE slowness is going to suck. Try a Nokia N95(running Symbian, the most hackable phone UI currently shipping units), or if you want to go cheaper a HTC Tilt or Pantech Duo. Full QWERTY, 3G, Wifi, GPS, you name it.

BTW, my CS experience with ATT hasn't been bad, and technically the mobile division isn't the ones responsible for the wiretapping nonsense.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 1:07 PM on November 15, 2007

you lose visual voicemail, which is a very nice feature to have.

Use Google's GrandCentral for Visual Voicemail (it's free and works on any carrier and with any phone with a browser or that can receive SMS), or if you want more integrated VV, you can pay for CallWave or similar.
posted by meehawl at 1:29 PM on November 15, 2007

I left AT&T a few years back for T-Mobile, and I have yet to regret the decision. And while my old T610 always had signal issues, since switching to an HTC smartphone I get 5 bars pretty much everywhere and crystal clear phone reception most places.

Can't comment on the iPhone as I'm waiting to pull the trigger until someone develops apps to replace some of those I use on my HTC (and I presume the forthcoming SDK will make that happen soon).
posted by JaredSeth at 2:00 PM on November 15, 2007

If you use an iPhone on an unsupported provider (eg T-Mobile USA), you lose visual voicemail, which is a very nice feature to have.

You lose it on a supported provider, AT&T, if you're hacked and using a pre-existing SIM in order not to be under contract. *ahem* Or so I am guessing.

When I had T-Mobile about 5 years ago it was fine in the city but sucked balls even slightly out in the suburbs. And they supposedly had good peering agreements with Cingular at the time. On the other hand, my friends in Boston have no trouble at all, so YMMV.

If you don't already have service with T-Mo or AT&T, however, are you planning on a pay as you go plan? Because for an ongoing plan you're going to have to sign up and be contractually obligated. In which case I'd suggest you take the path of least resistance and just go AT&T if you want an iPhone.
posted by phearlez at 8:20 AM on November 16, 2007

I ended up going with T-Mobile for one big reason-- wifi hotspot access.

Unlocking my phone as I type this... wheee!
posted by joshwa at 10:34 AM on November 16, 2007