We are looking to purchase new cell phones to replace our Moto Razr's.We currently have Verizon pre-paid. We are some what neutral about keeping Verizon. In general, we don't use our phones a whole heck of a lot. It takes me about 3 mos. to go through 1,000 mins. It takes my wife about 5 mos. to go through 1,000.We talk and text (would be nice to have a keyboard or voice recognition)Also, We are open to paying for data to access the net on occasions.So what we are looking at is a reliable carrier across the USA and a easy to use reliable phone with a good battery life.

I absolutely rely on my smart phone as the wi-fi at almost all rv parks is abysmal. If it wasn't for my phone I wouldn't have internet on the road. I've been a customer of Verizon for a very long time and find them to be a very good company.

There are several good ones. I have an iPhone with ATT. Works good. I use the map function a lot.

verizon seems to be the best for usa coverage.as for a phone, probably any of the smartphones would cover what you want. we have a razar and it has what you want.

I was just reading on the WS Journal about a company called Republic. Unlimited phone, text and 3G for $25 a month. 4G is $40 a month.

DD has a semi smart phone. The keyboard flips up to text and has a regular number pad for dialing. It works just fine if all you want is talk/text functions. Besides no paying for a data plan you wont use.

What is your opinion on cell/smart phones for travling?

tahiti16
Explorer
Jan 15, 2014
Me and most of my peers at work, have cell phone on either AT&T or Verizon and a MIFI/data service on the opposite one. The theory is it will be very rare that NEITHER has a signal and if they BOTH don't have a signal than most likely no one has a signal.

Since I work from the MH when we travel I added a Wilson external antennae, amp and internal antennae to up how many places I can get signal. That setup has warnings even before you buy it that you must have a signal in order for it to amplify it. If you have no signal at all in an area then the amp won't help.
:B
Bob___Ann
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
We still use the "Verizon dumb phone" but we also have Verizon MiFi which we use for our laptop. It acts as a wireless router for laptop, printer etc.We can be on the internet and still use the dumb phone for reservations etc. Works for us and has excellent coverage
MickeyBrennan
Explorer
Jan 14, 2014
After your phone receives the route, cellular reception is not necessary. GPS does the rest.
pawatt
Explorer
Dec 01, 2013
I find Verizon to be the best for us. There are some great apps for locating campgrounds, RVPARKY.com & Allstays camp & RV. I also access RV.NET and RVparkreviews.com by smartphone.
bobsbbq
Explorer
Dec 01, 2013
This is a very interesting subject, and one I'm very experienced in. The cell phone business itself has been changing and evolving every year. For us cell phones are more than just internet or a phone it is the major reason we are able to full time in our RV. You see about 1 year and 4 mos ago I was tired of all the big 4 greedy carriers and I sought out to take control of my wireless. While searching I was trying T-Mobile Prepaid, Simple Mobile, Straight Talk etc. Then we found this new company which had a great offering and we switched. To our total surprise this turned out to be the best thing ever and we now have a 3,000/mo income and free cell service from this carrier. No other cell phone company ever paid me for telling other people about their service. So as life would have it I got disabled and lost my Engineering job. While this was hard and required a big adjustment it was this extra income which suddenly became our only income (at least for a while). Now that I have my disability income we have decided to full time at least for a while, health permitting. So as you can see phones and cell service can mean so much more to some of us than others. For us it is our life.

Now I will agree with others that Verizon has the best overall coverage, definitely better 4G, LTE in rural areas. AT&T is a close second. T-Mobile while great in Metro areas does lack in rural areas. This being said they are making huge improvements to their network. Sprint Don't even bother IMHO.

What we use: For internet Only we use a Verizon Hot Spot.
Our Cell Service: 3 Lines on Solavei @ 29.00 unlimited Talk and Text. Of course they are all Free now.

We personally don't like contracts and being locked in to one option. But this is just us. What ever you choose you might look in to a prepaid option for a month or two to see if it works for you.
GrumpyGator
Explorer
Dec 01, 2013
I'm in TN and travel a lot in the East. I find that Verizon has the best coverage of the major carriers.

I have a 3 year old plan that gives me unlimited text, data, and phone. Included in the unlimited data is the use of my phone as a Hot Spot. I can stream unlimited movies, etc in 4G all day long. I pay right at $110 a month.

No matter what WiFi is available in any RV park I always have Internet available.

Couldn't be without my SmartPhone and Verizon.
wbwood
Explorer
Dec 01, 2013
eZAK wrote:
So I'm looking into a Samsung Galaxy, unlocked, & comes with a T-mobile simm card on a GSM network. Alternatively I could get an unlocked, CDMA phone which will get me Verizon & Sprint.

Decisions decisions.........

Any Thoughts?

Sounds like a pain n the butt. Why not just go with the service provider you want and get the phone from them. Jail breaking and unlocking a phone voids the warranty of the phone and you can not rely on the service providers to help you with any problems.
Altern
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
eZAK wrote:
Altern wrote:
eZAK wrote:
Does anyone know about unlocked phones?
Not to hi-jack the thread but what did you want to know?
Feel free to PM me if necessary.

Any info you have.

Can one hijack their own thread??????
Any info? I wouldn't know where to begin. It might be more productive for you to just google the subject.
eZAK
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
Altern wrote:
eZAK wrote:
Does anyone know about unlocked phones?
Not to hi-jack the thread but what did you want to know?
Feel free to PM me if necessary.

Any info you have.

Can one hijack their own thread??????
eZAK
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
So I'm looking into a Samsung Galaxy, unlocked, & comes with a T-mobile simm card on a GSM network. Alternatively I could get an unlocked, CDMA phone which will get me Verizon & Sprint.

Decisions decisions.........

Any Thoughts?