Access Atlanta > The Newcomer > Archives > 2008 > October > 09
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Phones for geography or gadgetry?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I didn’t buy a phone because it would browse the Web, tell me where to go, play music while I get there, tell all my friends about it, shoot a photo, post a video and make my dinner. I use it because it works, you know, like a phone.
Oh, with news like this, it’s so tempting to think that way. But whenever you move, the first real techno-question is this: will my phone even work there? Having lived a few places where the balcony was the best place to get a call and AAA was useless if you traveled too far out of town on a weak tire, I know the realities of bad service. I remember driving for hours to get to my brother’s old house, then standing outside, holding the phone as I high as I could, hoping it would send a text message that said, “I arrived OK!”
My service is fine here so far, and that has to be good enough — now that I’m a 13 hour drive from my family, I’m wedded to Verizon as long as they are. The alternatives: a gluttonous plan, a bill full of overages or a blackout on phone calls home.
So what cell phone services work well in Atlanta, in metro Atlanta and once you get into other regions of the state? Have you ever had to changed services because you needed a better signal or service to match your out-of-town friends and family?
Or do you just ignore all that and go for the cool gadget?
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