OK guys this is your last chance to stop me or to confirm that I making the right move. Tomorrow I am going to Cingular to purchase a Motorola V551 pictured below:





1. The phone is a quad band world phone with video capabilities and bluetooth. It is going to cost me $150 up front, and I get a $50 rebate which makes it $50. This could be crappy as hell and it will still be better than my current Samsung N400 which brings crap and unreliability to new levels.

2. I am gonna go with Cingular and their 450 Anytime/5000 Nights and weekends plan for $40. I am also gonna pay $7 a month to have my Nights and Weekends start at 7pm, and $8 for the Media Basic package (1MB net access/month and 250 text messages). So total it's $55, after taxes $63-$65. It should be right about the $62.57 I pay Sprint right now.

Now first let say i am completely satisfied with Sprint and I would be staying with them if it weren't for the fact that i want a world phone capable of working on the cell networks in Jamaica. Only Cingular and T-Mobile afford me that possibility. IMO Sprint has better plans, and a better wireless web philosophy than Cingular but alas no GSM. T-Mobile is also better planwise but I kinda want a phone with video capability and T-Mobile's phones with that feature are too expensive. And T-Mobile's best regular camera phone (the V300) cost the same as the video capable V551 from Cingular.

Furthermore I know I could go to Amazon and get any of these top phones for "free". But I would rather pay $150 to Cingular now and get $50 back by March-April, than pay $150 now and get that $150 back in like August if I am lucky. Furthermore Cingular does not allow you to bring your number with you when you buy a phone off Amazon, the other carriers do it but not Cingular.

Cliff Notes:
Leaving Sprint and buying a Motorola V551 for $150 ($100 after rebate) from Cingular because I want a world phone, and i want to keep my phone number. T-Mobile is the only other U.S. company with world phones but the ones with video are too expensive, and the regular camera phones cost the same as Cingular's video capable V551.

Am I making a sound purchase? Anything to say about the V551? Anything to say about Cingular? Any comments at all?

 

551 is a good phone, if you need me to post up a cingular coverage area of your home let me know

 

I switched to Cingular from Verizon last month. Bought v551 from Best Buy for $50 and ported my # to Cingular with no problems. If you look around you can find v551 for free.

 

GOT IT!

Just got back from Best Buy, I got it for $86 with a one year contract, sweet!

I got 450 anytime/5000 night-weekends starting at 7pm with rollover and insurance. $51/month plus tax.

 

Just got the V551 for my wife last week...so far so cool....

Have had cingular for about 7 years and I think they are just fine. Rarely have service issues. Just don't go over your minutes!

 

Sorry you had to leave Sprint. I was hoping that you got a chance to read some of the other thread about CDMA and GSM. Nearly every Sprint phone will work in Montego Bay or Kingston (has been for a few years now), you don't need a worldphone or a GSM phone to make phone calls from Jamaica. The Samsung N400 is pretty old so I can see how it might have been giving you trouble (but it would have worked on the island, too). If you ever decide to come back, checkout the newest phones from Sprint (any of the last 10 or 20 updated models are great) and yes they all will work all over the Caribbean and South America (no GSM conversion required).

 

Yeah Ken, some other folks told me about Sprint working in Jamaica too, but it was after the fact. There are 3 cell companies in Jamaica and the third one is actually CDMA (MiPhone). But either way I got a cool phone for cheaper than i would have gotten a similar phone if I stayed with Sprint.

I am already missing Sprint's unlimited web access and text messaging though, I have to count my kilobytes over here with Cingular. And the reception in my apartment sucks, but I can now use my Cingular phone in my office and in elevators, couldn't do that with my Sprint so I guess it's a trade-off. I am moving in 2 months so hopefully my reception will be better at the new place.

 

I'm a fan of the V551... a smart no-nonsense rugged phone with the killer Moto blue front-display sounds like you got a killer deal on it too.

 

Anyone know where to get the driver software for the V55x?

 

microsoft usb modem drivers? i got them.