The Ringtone Zone

AT&T claims to be “raising the bar” with the fewest dropped calls of any provider. This is a bold claim but supposedly they have the research to back it up. After merging with AT&T, Cingular now has over 56 million subscribers. Their overall ringtone compatibilty is average.

AT&T/Cingular’s slogan of “Raising the Bar” is certainly an accurate statement, as the amount of reception in major cities is very good. We have had experiences in multiple major cities such as San Francisco, and we can say that we received 3 to 5 bars in almost every area that we went. However, the disappointing aspect of AT&T’s plan is that their roaming charges tend to be very high, so this would discourage a lot of people from using their phone when they are on the road in an area where AT&T coverage is not supported. When traveling outside of the United States, we experienced one of the highest roaming charges compared to other competitors. However, if you were to look at the AT&T network performance outside from a monetary perspective, we can definitely say that the reception quality is very good. This makes AT&T an ideal choice for business professionals and travelers who are in need of this capability.

Aside from the voice services that AT&T offers, their data network performance is also excellent. If you are a business professional who needs to access the internet from virtually anywhere, AT&T provides a fast and reliable data service that is difficult for many competitors to match. A great thing about the AT&T network too is that many of their phones can support data transfer, which means that you can connect your computer to a AT&T phone via USB and use the internet as if your cell phone was a cable or DSL modem. The speeds are not quite as quick, but definitely a great substitute if you don’t readily have access to a phone line or wireless network.

These are the current phone models offered by AT&T Wireless:

3125, 8525, 8125 Pocket PC, 8125 Pocket PC, BlackBerry 7130c, BlackBerry 7290, BlackBerry 8700c, BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry Pearl, Ericsson Z525a, Firefly, LG CG225, LG CG300, LG CU400, LG CU500, MOTORAZR V3i, MOTORAZR V3xx, Motorola C139, Motorola KRZR, Motorola L2, Motorola L6, Motorola RAZR V3,Motorola RAZR V3r, Motorola RZAR V3xx, Motorola SLVR L7, Motorola V235, Motorola V365, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6102i, Nokia 6126, Nokia E62, Palm Treo 680, Palm Treo 750, Pantech C120, Pantech C3, Pantech C300, Samsung BlackJack, Samsung C417, Samsung D807, Samsung SYNC, Samsung W300i, Samsung X507, Samsung ZX20, Sony Ericsson J220a, Sony Ericsson W300i, Sony Ericsson W810i, Sony Ericsson Z300a

Filed under: Software, Palm, Sprint, Palm OS

It’s that most exciting time of the year for owners of Palm’s Treo 755p on Sprint — firmware update time! Unfortunately, Palm’s being extraordinarily vague about the goodies contained deep within this particular binary; they simply call it a “tune-up” that improves “audio, stability, software quality and device usability.” Sounds good to us. Palm warns users to set aside a mind-boggling 45 minutes of their lives that they’ll never get back for the pleasure of updating, so be warned, and make sure you have a block of time where you really don’t care if anyone is trying to call you.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

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Another cellphone giant, Sprint PCS expanded their giant network by acquiring Nextel. They have possibly the best phone selection of any network. With a wide selection of phones, Sprint definitely has what you need for ringers, games and wallpapers. Their overall ring tone compatibilty is excellent.

Sprint’s network is above average in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you purchase a GSM-equipped phone, leaving Sprint’s standard network area won’t incur roaming charges. I used to have a business account with Sprint last year before I ended that contract. Now I am using them for my personal phone. I used to travel 50 miles a day for my part-time real estate job and would constantly be on the phone talking to associates and customers. I would say about once every week I would have signal problems, but otherwise things were working as they should have. Now I am getting the same good reception and clarity that I have gotten in the past. Overall, I am a satisfied customer of Sprint.

The following is a list of the cell phone models currently available from Sprint PCS:

BlackBerry 7130e, CDM-120, LG Fusic, LG LX150, Motorla MOTO Q, Motorola c290, Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m, Motorola MOTORAZR V3m, Palm Treo 700p, Palm Treo 700wx, PPC-6700, Samsung A640, Samsung IP-830W, Samsung M500, Samsung M610, Samsung PM-A840, Samsung UpStage, Sanyo KATANA, Sanyo M1, Sanyo SCP-2400, Sanyo SCP-3100, Sanyo SCP-7000, Sanyo SCP-7050, Sanyo SCP-8400

Verizon is one of the top wireless providers in the country, in addition to its internet, local & long distance phone, TV and entertainment services. Boasting what is considered to be the most robust and reliable network in the country, Verizon has positioned itself as a top player in the mobile industry. Since 2000, Verizon Wireless has claimed to have spent upwards of $30 billion in testing and expanding their network, which reaches 53 million customers.

In light of the billions of dollars spent on its network, Verizon’s cellular coverage in the greater metro area of San Francisco is quite good. We did our own testing throughout the Bay Area and found that more often than not, reception was excellent with good clarity on our BlackBerry 7250, which we got online for $99.99. User opinion of the Verizon network seems to mirror our own findings.

Users of Verizon’s services can benefit from a reliable network, especially here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also, users have the option of upgrading their phone along with a contract renewal every two years-an enticing option. Also, Verizon-exclusive phones and deals help to sweeten Verizon’s already promising deal of a reliable network.

Verizon’s homepage is fairly straightforward, with good deals right at the beginning to help you get started. Both single-line plans and multiple-line family plans are available, each category including standard, bundled and special plan types to match your needs. You can also set up your account to monitor your own minutes usage, a very convenient feature that should be standard for all carriers.

Verizon’s Get It Now enables rich multimedia content for your Verizon phone. Some of the features Get It Now brings to the table includes: music & ringtones, video, gaming, instant messaging, wallpapers and VCasts (streaming multimedia content). VCast technology utilizes broadband connections to transfer data at 400-700 Kbps. With all these features, Verizon brings a lot to the table for those consumers considering a new mobile phone service.

Before choosing a mobile phone carrier it is important to assess the differences in each provider. The main differences between carriers aren’t just customer service and service quality, but also their compatibility factors with downloadable media such as ring tones and ringers. For example, the more popular carriers such as Sprint, Verizon, Cingular/AT&T, and T-Mobile support more ringtones than the lesser known carriers, which include Alltel, CellularOne, Boost Mobile, and others as well. Therefore, it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of going with one carrier versus another so that you may fully experience all of the enjoyment downloadable cell phone media providers.

Below we will provide you with an abundant amount of information regarding each carrier, and the important factors to consider when choosing a cell phone carrier. Since you may be a music fan and would like to download ring tones to your cell phone, this should also be an influencing factor in your decision of a cell phone carrier. On one hand, you have the larger cell phone carriers such as Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile that offer a slew of ringtones, but tend to be more expensive. This is opposed to the smaller cell phone carriers such as CellularOne, Boost Mobile, and Alltel that may offer more competitive prices with higher minutes than the competition, but have less compatibility for ringtones. Certain networks may offer cheaper plans, but higher rates for things like ring tones, wallpapers and games, and somehave free ringtones. Although you may not know it now, ringtone compatibility issues are very real, and will affect you if you do not do your research beforehand. If you are especially interested in the more trendy tones, as such as the Mosquito Tone, it may be in your best interest to go with the larger carrier since the potential for them providing support for these kinds of ring tones are much higher. However, in the end, much of this depends on your carrier preference and also consideration to other factors such as availability in your area. Luckily we have provided you with links to ringtone providers compatible with any type of phone. If you have already you’re your decision on a cell phone provider, the select the icon of your provider from the chart above.

Other, even smaller carriers include Nextel and Dobson Cellular Systems.