*Forgot to mention TMobile is German based so as far as outsourcing goes..Plus good luck finding that, even Verizon has call centers in Canada.
Did you check out the political affiliation of T-Mobile?I always go to BuyBlue.org for that stuff. They appear to donate to both parties, but in the past and currently they appear to be strong Democratic supporters.
Donor info~~~~~>
http://www.buyblue.org/node/1956/view/summaryAlso note the article ~~~>
http://www.buyblue.org/node/6238How do their fees compare to Verizon?Well I was on the family plan at 700 minutes and Tmobile charges $10 less a month with all the same features that Verizon offers. I would say at a glance overall it seems like TMobile is equal or cheaper to Verizon's fees
INSURANCE.
Most companies' insurance plans charge a pretty hefty premium for phones like the Razr or Treo (I have two Razrs) Verizon for example charged me $8 per month per phone and to boot your "coverage" meant that if your phone was lost or damaged they'd give you some refurbished phone of "equal" value.
With TMobile I had the choice to pay $4 a month or just a flat rate of $40 for the whole year per phone (which is what I chose) and it's in writing that your phone replacement is brand new same model or updated model of the one you lost/broke. Tie this in with a dedutible of $35 vs $50 from Verizon.
I want something very simple. I'm not exactly sure what all you might mean by personalizing it - I just want simple stuff. I do want clarity. I don't want or need music and images. In addition, I tend to block out tech talk when I'm not in need so I become ignorant fast.That will all depend on the phone itself not really the service so much. For what it's worth though Verizon puts these incredibly ugly red bars on the top and bottom of your screen which you cannot remove-EVER. It's another way Verizon assume full control of your phone and what goes in and out of it. TMobile has a very nice interface which you can change to your liking at will, and even if you're not into personalizing it's still nice to be able to simply say "That color hurts my eyes" ::a couple keystrokes later:: "Ahh much better!"
You can't do that with Verizon, if you go with them you better like staring at red bars at the bottom and top of your screen.
Can you comment about politics, service, and any other reason for choosing them over the non-NSA and known NSA participating corporations. It's obvious that our options have narrowed considerably. My readings currently suggest that they are not cooperating with the NSA. Others may dig up something else that proves otherwise but untill then... As you said as well, it's hard to find a cell company or ANY corporation that doesn't in some way fuck the people or the workers over. Unless the company's mission is based on gaining profit through socially responsible ethics (i.e. Ben and Jerry's, Bath and Bodyworks, ect) you're just looking for the lesser of all the evils.
Thus far I am high satisifed with TMoble, though it's only been a couple days since I've had it. The fact that I can personalize my own phone is a big deal to me and to tell you the truth I shamefully admit that that was the last straw..right before I found out about the NSA thing. Also TMobile did for me in 5 hours what Verizon couldn't do in less than 3 weeks-they ported my service over, made their contracts very clear and unlike Verizon they did not bullshit me-it was clear cut plain and simple here it is in writing, overnight I already had my numbers transferred and I had access to all my information concerning my account online.
It took Verizon over 3 weeks to do this and on top of that still charged me for a full month's use when I didn't even start using the phone until the final week of the month.
I would advise you to shop around, as I said they want to play the Free Market game my favorite lesson in one of my Economics classes was when we studied game theory and ultimately the lesson was this"
"If you can't win the game you're playing then change the game"
Go out there and make these companies bow for you and insist on getting any deals you can get-they are always willing to negotiate ALWAYS they want your business. You wouldn't believe how a salesperson might charge a customer for their new phone with contract, and how with the next customer they'll just throw in the phone for free after the customer just did 5 minutes of wheeling and dealing.
At the bare minimum they should help you out with any termination fees, or if they can't do that then ask for a discount on equipment, insurance, rates anything you think you'd like. Also compare what you've been told right to their faces i.e. "Well Cingular told me they'd help me with 40% of my termination fees...how much will YOU help?"
Like I've always said the company is in the business of making profit-well so should the consumer be
~N~
OH! PS I just found this coverage map from TMobile. Just gave me another reason to like them. They outright tell you where you're going to get good or shitty service. Pop the address of your digs in and find out if your signal would be in any good with them.
http://compass.t-mobile.com/default.aspx