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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Fri May 04 2001 - 20:27:23 EDT
Jan an I are preparing to begin our voyage north and one of the major
projects was to change our cell phone service.
Due to several recommendations from people on the list (and really horrid
service from ATT and Bell South (now called Cingular)), both Jan and I now
have our cell phone service with Verizon.
We have both my and Jan's phone on the same $35/250min account sharing the
same minutes for an additional $10. Included is caller ID, voice mail, call
waiting, call waiting ID, call log, call forwarding, 3-way calling, and if I
dial #225 they send me a little text message telling me where my billable
minutes stand at the moment. We get 500 minutes nights and weekends free now
but could get 2000 weekend minutes per month free instead if we chose to. My
phone is insured ($35 deductible) for $3.95 for now and we have detailed
billing for $1.50. Our home area is the entire East Coast of the U.S. with
no roaming and no long distance. When we are in Florida we can get unlimited
Verizon phone to Verizon phone for $10/mo.
We each have a data cable ($70 and $60) for our new phones that plugs into
the serial port of our computers. The modems are in the phones. I connect
to the Internet using Windows 98 Dial Up Networking. I then activate
Internet Explorer or AOL using AOL's ISP/LAN connection choice. It connects
at 19.2. The first time I did my email in the store my jaw just dropped. It
was just like being plugged into a landline. Visiting a web site was quick
and easy. I almost cried. The last time I had done email on the boat with
the old setup it took an hour and a half to get a connection solid enough to
pass email. Verizon told me they are working on 56K which will be available
in the near future.
My $150 TM-510 folding pocket phone is a wonder. I say "Jan" and her phone
rings. Everyone in my phone book can have a different ring when they call
me. There is an answering machine inside the phone (in addition to included
voice mail). The drop-in charger hooks up to my 12 volt house line.
It took eight hours over three days in the Verizon store until the technician
finally contacted the real expert who walked us through the setup for data
communication. I have it written down if anyone needs it.
We were positively impressed by the Verizon staff.
We will report to the list any problems we might have on our trip north, but
for now we are delighted.
We especially wish to thank all those people on the list who generously
shared their experiences and insight into their own cell phone/email
experiences.
Norm
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