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Nearing the end of a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless (read American Vodaphone for those outside of the US), things began to get a bit hairy with the company that is well known for its overall service quality. However the long-standing issue with Verizon has been their poor customer service particularly at their local-level stores, beyond that their inability to make an attractive offer for us to sign another two-year contract.
After considering our options in the Grand Rapids area, it pretty much had come down to NEXTEL and Cingular (AT&T) Wireless. At that point (early 2005), Cingular was without an established service record in our area, as the GSM companies (T-Mobile included) didn't have the coverage area we wanted around town. NEXTEL and Verizon had arguably the best coverage of the area, however, neither were spotless in that regard.
I must admit that my choice for NEXTEL was largely based on that of their purchase of the rights to the former Winston Cup for the NASCAR racing league, also upon that of my friend's experiences with the company that had been for the most part positive. A simple credit check and $90 later I was up and running with my brand-new i730 and NEXTEL coverage, and I had to admit that I was happy with my decision. NEXTEL went above and beyond my expectations with customer service, even calling me a few days into my plan to discuss options that I would need or don't need, and giving me several numbers to call should a problem ever arise.
After the initial excitement wore off, I must admit that my enthusiasm for the company had begun to ease off just a bit. The biggest problem from the start was the coverage issue, which was far worse than what I had expected. During my first year of service I was still in High School for a few more months, and thusly I was spending more time out near my Father's house, thusly out in the "boonies" where coverage is just a bit too thin. Dropped calls and no signal was far more common than it had ever been with Verizon, but after driving around for a while, you eventually figure out where calls can be made and where they can't.
Another nit-pick with the NEXTEL service is the weird interaction the cell phone signal has with electronic devices in my car and around my house. When in use, or searching for a signal, there is a clicking noise that will come through speakers be they on or off, and it is kinda creepy. To be honest, it still bothers me to this day. I'm not sure if it is my style of phone, but my Mom's and Brother's both do it (they have the i830s), and they have found it annoying too.
Speaking of phones, that is one pretty big disappointment over at the NEXTEL counter. Most of their phones are specialty-made versions of Motorola or Samsung products, maybe a Blackberry or two, but nothing really outstanding compared to the rest of the market. For a tech-fan, there is little to be desired. Most of the phones are targeted towards businesses and simplistic call/two-way folks, and thusly most phones are designed to do that. But for someone like me who wants more than just a phone on occasion, it is a bit disappointing. Beyond that, their replacement plans aren't all too great for those who have an established plan. Some prices get outrageous even for fairly basic phones, and the Sprint side of the equation doesn't get any better.
Perhaps the best quality of NEXTEL overall is their extremely low price. A pretty well-loaded plan with caller id, text messaging, unlimited push-to-talk, early nights and weekends, and 500 minutes runs me just short of $40 a month. Not a bad deal here in America, but really isn't a huge savings over the competition.
So what does it all come down to? NEXTEL will likely remain a favorite brand in America for cell phone service until the company is completely dissolved into Sprint in 2009 or 2010. Overall I can't complain too much about my service. It has largely been hassle-free from the folks at NEXTEL, their customer service has been pretty good if I've needed something. Coverage overall leaves something to be desired, beyond that any kind of "hip" phone to keep us Techies happy.
On the whole I would have to rate NEXTEL an 8 on a scale of 10. Things work out good, and other things do not. Now that NEXTEL is being slowly phased-out, I'd generally recommend the Sprint service if you are interested in the whole push-to-talk feature, however I found it to be overrated.
I probably will not be returning to NEXTEL when my contract is up. I will likely head to Cingular or Sprint, as I'm looking for phones that are a bit more attractive, fit my style a bit more, and go more for the call-only folks. I will probably look into Smart Phones, something that NEXTEL doesn't have a strong-suit in, and I will be happy to update as the weeks go on.
After considering our options in the Grand Rapids area, it pretty much had come down to NEXTEL and Cingular (AT&T) Wireless. At that point (early 2005), Cingular was without an established service record in our area, as the GSM companies (T-Mobile included) didn't have the coverage area we wanted around town. NEXTEL and Verizon had arguably the best coverage of the area, however, neither were spotless in that regard.
I must admit that my choice for NEXTEL was largely based on that of their purchase of the rights to the former Winston Cup for the NASCAR racing league, also upon that of my friend's experiences with the company that had been for the most part positive. A simple credit check and $90 later I was up and running with my brand-new i730 and NEXTEL coverage, and I had to admit that I was happy with my decision. NEXTEL went above and beyond my expectations with customer service, even calling me a few days into my plan to discuss options that I would need or don't need, and giving me several numbers to call should a problem ever arise.
After the initial excitement wore off, I must admit that my enthusiasm for the company had begun to ease off just a bit. The biggest problem from the start was the coverage issue, which was far worse than what I had expected. During my first year of service I was still in High School for a few more months, and thusly I was spending more time out near my Father's house, thusly out in the "boonies" where coverage is just a bit too thin. Dropped calls and no signal was far more common than it had ever been with Verizon, but after driving around for a while, you eventually figure out where calls can be made and where they can't.
Another nit-pick with the NEXTEL service is the weird interaction the cell phone signal has with electronic devices in my car and around my house. When in use, or searching for a signal, there is a clicking noise that will come through speakers be they on or off, and it is kinda creepy. To be honest, it still bothers me to this day. I'm not sure if it is my style of phone, but my Mom's and Brother's both do it (they have the i830s), and they have found it annoying too.
Speaking of phones, that is one pretty big disappointment over at the NEXTEL counter. Most of their phones are specialty-made versions of Motorola or Samsung products, maybe a Blackberry or two, but nothing really outstanding compared to the rest of the market. For a tech-fan, there is little to be desired. Most of the phones are targeted towards businesses and simplistic call/two-way folks, and thusly most phones are designed to do that. But for someone like me who wants more than just a phone on occasion, it is a bit disappointing. Beyond that, their replacement plans aren't all too great for those who have an established plan. Some prices get outrageous even for fairly basic phones, and the Sprint side of the equation doesn't get any better.
Perhaps the best quality of NEXTEL overall is their extremely low price. A pretty well-loaded plan with caller id, text messaging, unlimited push-to-talk, early nights and weekends, and 500 minutes runs me just short of $40 a month. Not a bad deal here in America, but really isn't a huge savings over the competition.
So what does it all come down to? NEXTEL will likely remain a favorite brand in America for cell phone service until the company is completely dissolved into Sprint in 2009 or 2010. Overall I can't complain too much about my service. It has largely been hassle-free from the folks at NEXTEL, their customer service has been pretty good if I've needed something. Coverage overall leaves something to be desired, beyond that any kind of "hip" phone to keep us Techies happy.
On the whole I would have to rate NEXTEL an 8 on a scale of 10. Things work out good, and other things do not. Now that NEXTEL is being slowly phased-out, I'd generally recommend the Sprint service if you are interested in the whole push-to-talk feature, however I found it to be overrated.
I probably will not be returning to NEXTEL when my contract is up. I will likely head to Cingular or Sprint, as I'm looking for phones that are a bit more attractive, fit my style a bit more, and go more for the call-only folks. I will probably look into Smart Phones, something that NEXTEL doesn't have a strong-suit in, and I will be happy to update as the weeks go on.
