Switching Cell Phone Providers, pt 3 (Plan)

Before I started searching for a plan, I needed to know what type of usage I would need. I was abler to pull my last 6 months of usage records from my current Cingular account. A quick analysis showed that I used about 400 minutes a month and sent/received 110 SMS messages. Turns out I was buying a lot more then I was using.

I got signed up on the base "myFaves" plan with Tmobile. This plan offers unlimited (again, within context) calling to 5 numbers. For all other numbers, 300 minutes.

I now have a Tmobile plan with a temporary number. At least, that is what they called it. I had told them when signing up that I would either cancel the plan or roll my existing Cingular number over. I got the phone home and immediately removed the SIM card and plugged it into my existing phone. Ah, the beauty of GSM... I already own a SLVR which I really like. The free phone that came with the plan was a nice, pink Miami Ink RAZR. Needless to say, that's just not my style.

Anyway, 5 minutes after I got home, my existing SLVR was up and running on Tmobile's network. By the way, the perfect way to evaluate two services is to actually use the exact same device. The Mythbusters would be proud of me. I immediately phoned a friend and walked through the house to see what the service was like. First impression was good. I definitely have some dead spots in the house on Cingular's network. Now, does this alone mean that Tmobile is better then Cingular? Not really, it just means that there is likely a Tmobile tower closer to my house then a Cingular tower.

Over the next week, I continued to check the bars on my phone (which isn't foolproof) and called friends and family from different locations. Overall, in my area, I got just as good, if not better, service with Tmobile then with Cingular. That aspect of my evaluation is looking good.

Part 2, Coverage | Part 4, Website