Compre Cell Phone Services: Cricket Communications Inc.

Cricket Communications Inc. is a subsidiary of Leap Wireless International. Cricket offers wireless service in the United States by way of month-to-month contracts only. This service alone is one way that Cricket cell phone services compare high against other service providers. Cricket service does not require credit checks or long term service contracts as other service providers in the United States do. Many other service providers want to do this but are worried about the costs that are associated with the practice.

Cricket was founded in 1999 and launched its first market later in that year in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cricket provides service to more than 2.5 million customers. Cricket claims that it is able to make its services affordable and available without credit checks by cutting operation costs. For example, Cricket does not automatically provide paper statements to its customers; they charge customers a fee to receive them. There are several examples like this that Cricket uses to be cost effective.

Cricket’s growth has been relatively strong. The no contract and no credit check policies have opened them up to entire new markets. All of their plans consist of unlimited minutes, unlimited messaging is causing many consumers to take notice and leave there more traditional service providers.

Of course there are some weaknesses with Cricket just like any service provider. One major concern to many is the high cost of phones, and the lack of variety of phones. Without undertaking contracts Cricket is unable to do much in the way of promotion for free phones and what not, they generally must charge full price for each phone.

Key Strengths

Unlimited Minutes
No Contract
No Credit Check
Unlimited Messaging

Key Drawbacks

Poor Coverage
Expensive Phones
Lack of New Phones and Technologies
Customer Service

Overall Grade

C+

Compare Cell Phones: BlackBerry Bold

It seems to never end, every cell phone company is trying to make new cell phones that no one else can compare with. BlackBerry has announced its new all everything phone, the BlackBerry Bold. It seems as though BlackBerry has tried to take as much of the top notch technology that is available and combine it into one phone. From many of the news articles that are beginning to surface, the BlackBerry Bold was created to compare with the Apple iPhone cell phone category.

One of the main features that the BlackBerry Bold offers is the ability to support 3G networks worldwide. The Bold will beat the iPhone to the 3G market. Apple has announced that they are planning to release a 3G iPhone but it is not out yet. Many of you who read this may say, “What is a 3G network?” I know I did. 3G is the third generation of cell phone technologies and capabilities. “3G technologies enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephony, vedio calls, and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Additional features also include HSPA data transmission capabilities able to deliver speeds up to 14.4Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8Mbit/s on the uplink.” (Wikipedia) So in more laymen terms, 3G offers amazing high speed internet capabilities and video telephony. Video telephony is basically the same thing as videoconferencing but based on more of an individual basis.

Sounds pretty complicated right? There is no doubt it can be if you try and understand all the technology and why it works. All I know is I am glad that it does work and it makes for some new amazing cell phones to compare. The BlackBerry Bold is mainly targeted at businesses, for business use. The new keyboard has thin separators between each row of keys that helps prevent us with larger fingers from pushing the wrong keys. Small feature but pretty cool to me. Look for the BlackBerry Bold to be out later this summer. It will more than likely be released to AT&T first. I can’t wait until it is released to my carrier and I am able to compare it with other cell phones.

Key Features

G3 Network
GPS
WiFi Capabilities
New & Improved Keyboard

Key Drawbacks

Price
Not Offered on Every Network
No Touch Screen
Poor Camera

Overall Grade

A

Compare Cell Phones: Apple iPhone

How could anyone compare cell phones without taking a look at one of the most innovative technologies of our time, the Apple iPhone? I remember sitting in a group of people shortly after the iPhone was released and seeing one for the first time in real life. Even though I had seen the commercials for the release and was aware of the product. The very first glimpse of the iPhone provided the WOW factor. It was almost like, what is that. The iPhone was released in June 2007, amidst fan fare and buzz. Lines were literally miles long, jam packed with customers waiting to get their hands on one first.

Apple has been a frontrunner on new and innovative technology dealing with personal electronics in the last 20 years. So it was only fitting that after remaking the computer industry and also the MP3 world, Apple would integrate them both in creating a cell phone that was hard to compare against.

It is hard to go anywhere without seeing an iPod. You can go to the gym, the grocery store, or even just driving down the road, and you see people listening to their iPods. There are also many companies trying to put as much internet capabilities as they can on their new phones. Apple has teamed up with AT&T to try and create the all in one machine, a device that allows you to have full internet capabilities while doubling as a cell phone and an iPod. The memory is still rather small for being all those things, but supposedly Apple is coming out with newer more finely tuned versions of the Apple iPhone. It is going to be hard to compare any other cell phones to it.

Key Features

Wi-Fi connection
Ipod
Multitouch User Interface
Safari Browser

Key Drawbacks

AT&T Only
Price
Low Memory
Poor Phone Quality

Overall Grade

A-

Compare Cell Phones: Sony Ericsson K850i

There may not be a brand out there that is more trusted overall in the electronics industry than Sony. Since World War II they have been producing products that the world over has craved for. I can still remember the first Sony Walkman that I ever received. It was 1993 and I was in the fourth grade, it was the greatest piece of technology I had received to that point. Sony is known for TV’s and walkmans probably more than anything, but they are holding their own in the cell phone industry.

When comparing cell phones sound quality should be a key factor in choosing your phone. As mentioned before Sony has made a great part of their mark on the industry in music. Sound is very important in the music business as well as the cell phone sector. Because of the expertise that Sony brings to the table they are able to offer a pristine sounding cell phone.

Can you compare another cell phone maker that offers an FM transmitter in their cell phones? I can’t. Sony Ericson has gone with what works and added the same technology that my very first walkman had in 1993 to their very high tech up-to-date cell phones. The FM transmitter capabilities may seem old fashioned and old school in the Ipod world we live in, but they are added bonuses.

The K850i offers amazing picture quality and capabilities. It also offers great sound and music capabilities. To some the controls and keypad buttons are hard to use and navigate with. When you compare this cell phone with others the music and picture quality are above average.

Key Features

540 Minutes of Talktime
2 Digital Cameras
FM Radio
Sound Quality

Key Drawbacks

Small Keypad Buttons
Price
Video Lags at Times
Slow Interface

Overall Grade

B+

Compare the Samsung Glyde Cell Phone Now

A technology that I believe will continue to grown in popularity is touch screens. There is nothing more convenient than being able to touch your screen and get to where you need to go. Cameras and GPS units have adopted the touch screen technologies already. Touch screens may be the new way cell phones are compared. If your phone doesn’t offer it, you may be out of the loop.

Samsung is the maker of the new Glyde. Samsung brings reliability and trust to this new phone model. Samsung offers cell phones for many different service providers; they also produce many accessories for their phones. At the moment the new cell phone is only being offered by Verizon Wireless.

Along with the extra large touch screen the Glyde offers a built in QWERTY keyboard to make life even easier. For anyone who may not be aware the QERTY keyboard is the standard U.S. keyboard that makes messaging and composing much easier and natural. According to Wikipedia the name comes simply from the first six letters of the top row on the standard keyboard.

Many who compare cell phones worry about new technologies and so many moving parts that accompany cell phones today. Some worry about touch screens and there durability. The technologies have gotten better and better every year. Just remember to do your research and find what fits you and meets your needs. Many out there are innovators and must have the latest and greatest and that is great. Here is another innovative phone that will surely get lots of attention.

Key Features

Touch Screen
Full QWERTY Keyboard
150 MB Internal Memory
Internet Browsing

Key Drawbacks

Verizon Only
Many Moving Parts
Cost
Under 3 Hours of Talktime

Overall Grade

B

Compare Cell Phone Bling

What in the world do some people think about when accessorizing their phones? To be honest, I have no idea. Some of the most recent add-ons that I have seen being put on cell phones are little rhinestones or more commonly known as “Bling.” There is no end to the number of customizable kits you can get for nearly every cell phone.

As many web sites put it, “they are designed to accentuate your phone, and are the perfect gift for that fashion-conscious friend.” (http://www.wirelessemporium.com/) I don’t mean to sound biased against this new craze, maybe I am a bit old fashioned when it comes to things as flashy as this. Nonetheless there are a growing number of youngsters out there who cannot resist icing out there phones.

On the other hand it is pretty incredible the number of different ways you can bling out your phone. Your cell phone will not be compared to. There are colors of every kind that you can use to liven up your cell phone life. You can even get different sports teams and colors.

It is really quite simple to install the bling to your phone. Much of the bling is tiny glue on crystal like material. So all you have to do is peel the stones off and paste them all over your phone or wherever you want them. Some users are spelling things out of the bling, writing their initials or nicknames. Compare your cell phone with or without bling and see what you like best.

Key Features

Easy to Use
Hip
Colorful
No Messy Glue

Key Drawbacks

Looks Immature
Ruins Phone
Low Resale Value
Bling Doesn’t Stay on Phone

Overall Grade

C

Compare Cell Phone Service “Verizon Wireless”

To some people choosing a cell phone service provider can be a no brainer, to others it’s like looking down the buffet line. For me it was the no brainer. Where I am from there was only one cell phone provider, so the choice was pretty simple. So, I started out with Verizon Wireless from my earliest days as a cell phone user.

Until I moved from the rural community I was really unaware of what other service providers offered. Verizon has been real good to me. There plans are reasonably priced, there features are up to par, and their customer service is above average. Speaking of customer service, my birthday is coming up real soon and my wife was trying to be real sneaky and get me a present that would knock my socks off. There is a certain BlackBerry Curve that I have had my eye on. (I have mentioned BlackBerry twice in a row in my posts; sorry it just worked out this way.) She was in the process of purchasing the phone from a Verizon store when I suddenly get a text message from Verizon. The message said, “--- --- ---- (wives phone number) has registered for limited My Account access. If you feel that this is an error please call” then it gave the number to call. My sweet little wife trying to make me happy was busted by extraordinary customer service and security. Needless to say, I was very impressed.

Verizon cell phones compare well against other service providers. They seem to offer the latest technology and newest phones. They have also done a good job offering cell phones that are specific to there service. Verizon’s network is one of the best in the United States. They do a great job of marketing their services and products.

Key Features

Strong Customer Service
Accurate Billing
15 Day Trial Period
One of Oldest Providers

Key Drawbacks

Cripples Files and Media Transfers
Dropped Calls
Limited Phone Choice
Can You Hear Me Now Guy Lies

Overall Grade

A-