Best cell phone carrier for "wandering"?

Might have to look for camping apps.

Campwhere seems to be a good app.
Hmmm....when is Camping-USA going to have/be a smartphone app?
huh.gif

For Android, anyway -- don't care about the other one.
 
I use Walmart's Straight Talk $45/month unlimited with one of their cheap phones- uses what ever carrier is strongest- also know that the Android thats available with that plan DOESNT have the same coverages as the cheap flip phone from there.. *upgraded- found that out, now have 2 phones one for internet in town- and the other for everywhere else..
 
I use Walmart's Straight Talk $45/month unlimited with one of their cheap phones- uses what ever carrier is strongest- also know that the Android thats available with that plan DOESNT have the same coverages as the cheap flip phone from there.. *upgraded- found that out, now have 2 phones one for internet in town- and the other for everywhere else..



I believe that Straight Talk only uses Verizon, at least that is everything I have been able to find. It is a subsidiary of Tracfone. There are times I can't get a cell signal on my Straight Talk phone but at the same time am getting signal from AT&T on the Ipad.
 
I believe that Straight Talk only uses Verizon, at least that is everything I have been able to find. It is a subsidiary of Tracfone. There are times I can't get a cell signal on my Straight Talk phone but at the same time am getting signal from AT&T on the Ipad.



From what I was told when I talked to a rep was " It the phone ends in a "C" it is CDMA and runs on Verizon. Phones that end in "G" or the Smart phones run on at&t's GSM/UMTS network. " the coverages are here http://www.straighttalk.com/Coverage there is a big difference in Coverage between the two kinds of phones..
 
I've noticed my new smartphone doesn't get, or seem to get, going by bars, as good reception as my old phone. I need to do further testing.
 
From what I was told when I talked to a rep was " It the phone ends in a "C" it is CDMA and runs on Verizon. Phones that end in "G" or the Smart phones run on at&t's GSM/UMTS network. " the coverages are here http://www.straighttalk.com/Coverage there is a big difference in Coverage between the two kinds of phones..



:eek: That is a big difference, mine is CDMA, therefore Verizon. They don't even market the others down here in S. NM. For $30 a month it's a good deal for me, no friggin contracts and roaming, etc. I had a Verizon contract before and they would always find a way to put it to me.
 
We have both. AT&T for me and my wife and she also has a Verizon phone for her business. We enjoy going out in the Owyhee Desert. Sometimes it's AT&T with service or sometimes it's Verizon. What is really strange is that sometimes I have service with my free cheapo AT&T phone while my wife does not with her AT&T smart phone!!!

Up at the snowmobile cabin near Cascade ID Verizon works good and no AT&T.

Lovecock rents a satellite phone for their outings.

I carry a SPOT for emergencies.
 
Most of my travels are on the east side of the Sierra, and Verizon is much better than AT&T.
 
I admit I have limited experience with cell phones but when we travel in the southwest during the winter, we use TracFone. The local cost is a bit high but the international rates are the same. Its cheap when we call back to Canada. We have never had a problem with connection right from Arizona through to North Dakota. My brother hasn't had any problem us the west coast either. Don't know about the east. Of course, as soon as we hit the Canadian border, service stops.

The problem for Americans visiting Canada and Canadians visiting the US is lack of cellular cooperation (whatever happened to Free Trade!). Once you cross the border, the cost gets pretty high if you get service from your provider at all. I saw one poor American couple in an electronics store in Alberta trying to figure out why their service didn't work when they had been 'guaranteed' it would. Our border my be long and friendly but it seems to be largely a cellular wall.


I've had issues when in Birch Bay, WA (mile or two from the boarder) of my phone grabbing Canada towers and getting hit with international roaming charges while in the US before too. :cautious:
 
I've had issues when in Birch Bay, WA (mile or two from the boarder) of my phone grabbing Canada towers and getting hit with international roaming charges while in the US before too. :cautious:


This is Canada's great plot to take over the US economy, 'roaming-charging' you poor folks into bankruptcy. ;)
 
In NV Verizon is the way to go. I have an older trimode phone and a free roaming plan. I can still get analog signals almost anywhere in the state from a ridge or mountain top. In towns or along major highways I get a good digital signal.
 
There is a company called RootMetrics which has created smartphone apps for both Android and iOS for people to test their actual signal conditions.

These tests are uploaded to their servers and the data compiled.

You can see the results here:

Root Metrics map

You can also download the app yourself and run tests to help fill in the map. They have several cities that they have actually blanketed themselves with test rigs that are set up for real extensive testing. The rest of the data comes from users like us. It is real addictive to try and "fill in the holes" in the test data.

Data for all four national carriers.

The more people test, the more accurate and helpful their results become. I have no affiliation with them other than I am completely addicted to trying to run tests where no one else has. :)
 
There is a company called RootMetrics which has created smartphone apps for both Android and iOS for people to test their actual signal conditions.


Cool deal -- thanks. I'll check it out. :)
 
Pretty cool, thanks.

Here's a note from their FAQ...

I have a limited data plan...How much data is used per test or report?

Root Support Team
Running a test or reporting a problem and uploading your results to our servers averages at about 150-185 KB. We estimate an average interaction with the map, including some zooming and panning, will run about 2MB.
 
There is a company called RootMetrics which has created smartphone apps for both Android and iOS for people to test their actual signal conditions.

These tests are uploaded to their servers and the data compiled.

In reviews on the Android Market for this app, those who didn't like this one recommended a different one that apparently has the same function, called "Sensorly".
Sensorly has the same overall user-rating as the Rootmetric app (3.9/5), so I downloaded/installed both.

I haven't tried either yet, but I will. I live in the relative boonies, so plenty of opportunity to contribute new data!
 
In reviews on the Android Market for this app, those who didn't like this one recommended a different one that apparently has the same function, called "Sensorly".
Sensorly has the same overall user-rating as the Rootmetric app (3.9/5), so I downloaded/installed both.

I haven't tried either yet, but I will. I live in the relative boonies, so plenty of opportunity to contribute new data!


I would think the bet one to use I the one that is most used, as the value is not the app but rather the cloud-sorced data.

I will look to see which one is more widely used... :)

For RootMetrics:

As far as data use, this month I have been running the continuous testing mode with data and my wife and I both hit 3GB. :)

If the signal is good it will suck up about 300MB an hour. If the signal is not good - much less. I was out in the smokey mountains for a couple hours where signal was poor and barely hit 10MB in an hour...

Also - you don't have to run it in continuous mode - single tests don't suck a ton of data, and there is also a a "signal test only" mode which doesn't consume data.
 
In reviews on the Android Market for this app, those who didn't like this one recommended a different one that apparently has the same function, called "Sensorly".
Sensorly has the same overall user-rating as the Rootmetric app (3.9/5), so I downloaded/installed both.

I haven't tried either yet, but I will. I live in the relative boonies, so plenty of opportunity to contribute new data!


Sensorly doesn't support the iPhone, while RootMetrics supports Android and iOS, so RootMetrics has a larger potential user base.

The maps in the areas I frequent had Sensorly data but not a lot. It also looks like Sensorly focuses mainly on signal only where RootMetrics also has a data-speed component.

If Sensorly adds iOS support I might give it a try. I support anything that shows carriers *true* coverage as opposed to what they "say".

In the RootMetrics app or on the RootMetrics site - check out Memphis TN on AT&T. Look southeast from Memphis to Oxford,MS and Sardis reservoir. All of those tests between Memphis and down to Oxford are mine. When I started, Oxford had no test run, and none of the roads in the area had been tested. This past weekend on a road trip across TN to the Smokeys we also ran tests in a ton of places... :)

If you look at Portland, OR on the Sprint results, almost the entire west side has been covered by my budy since he got his iPhone around the new year. He has a job where he drives around all day so he just let's tests run and he has mostly filled in the whole west side. Haha...

Whichever you use - they get addictive in some ways...
 
I was looking at Verizon's coverage map...wondering where they've added 4G/LTE coverage (which doesn't include Bend, OR), and I noticed a little spot of 4G-color in an out-of-the-way Sierra Nevada spot, pointed to by my arrow:

gallery_2431_332_15929.jpg


Hmmm...what's there that deserves such special treatment? So I zoomed in to see where it was:

gallery_2431_332_27358.jpg

And I saw that the small zone of 4G/LTE coverage surrounds the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center at Pickel Meadow.
ohmy.gif


I guess they must do a lot of uploading videos to YouTube and Vimeo...sharing their amusing antics and such with the world.
tongue.gif
 
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