Tri-mode cell phone still necessary?

[ki-speed]

I've had Verizon Wireless for several years here in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area.  Over the last 3 years and 40,000 miles of moto trips (Texas to California and in between) I have been impressed with their service.  I have a Tri-mode LG phone (have had great luck with LG phones).  When we are out in the middle of nowhere, I'm usually the only one that has service on our rides (the guys with me have Cingular, Alltel, and Sprint).  I'm staying with Verizon and with a Tri-mode phone for as long as possible.

Mark

[bsd43]

I had multiple cellphones, at least one for business and one for personal (right now I have a Blackberry, a Treo, and a Razr). Last year, I dropped Verizon after being a loyal customer of many, many years. Why?

1) They cripple their phones. You want the vibe-then-ring feature? Sorry! Verizon somehow disabled that feature via software. Laptop connect via bluetooth? Sorry! Must buy their PCMCIA-based card. All these features exist in the phone, but they were disabled on purpose. If you want them back, you can hack them, but what a PITA!
2) They force you to use their $$$ data services. Want a ring tone? Download it via the GetItNow(tm) network for $2.99! Want the picture you took with the camera phone? $0.25 per picture over their SMS network. Again, features that exist on the phones, but Verizon thought they could get a few more bucks out of me.
3) Want to change anything on the rate plan? 1 year extension on the contract.

I eventually ate the $200 early termination fee and went to Cingular on my personal phone, too. Their network has gotten a LOT better in the past 2 years, since the ATTWS/Cingular merger. And, it's awesome having real Bluetooth dial-up and file transfer support natively.

I loved CDMA in terms of its network capacity and technology, but always hated Verizon's (and Sprint's) execution. Blech.

As far as analog mode, I still carry my old v60p as a backup phone on my bike. You can use old phones to call 911, even if they're not activated.