<p>What is the most prevalent cell phone / wireless carrier used by students at Duke? Do students / professors use text messaging a lot? Is the IPhone 3G coupled with AT&T wireless a good combo with strong coverage on campus? Or do most kids prefere Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile? How can an international student sign up for wireless service on ariving on campus? Should / Can I get a landline in the dorm on arrival? What do most students do?</p>
<p>Ok, many questions… let’s take it one at a time.</p>
<p>The most prevalent cell phone carrier would have to be Verizon. Many people use it because it has the strongest coverage at Duke (and possibly at home). My first two years, I made the mistake of signing with T-Mobile. Do NOT make this mistake. T-Mobile does not exist in North Carolina, so you’ll be roaming off many different networks including a carrier called SunCom, which in my opinion, is the worst in the world. I would be standing outside and have no signal or being in my room pointing my cell at the window with no signal. AT&T is fairly decent, usually 2 bars so its definitely usable, but again I went go with Verizon because it has the best signal. That’s actually the reason I didn’t get the iPhone is because when all is said and done, it is a phone, so you have to take care of that first. By the way, I got the LG Dare, which is very comparable to the iPhone if you’re interested. </p>
<p>Most students use a lot of text messaging; I know I text more than I call. However, I’ve never heard of a professor texting students. Maybe its a new thing?</p>
<p>I’m not an international student, but I know there is no cell-phone fair at the beginning of Orientation like there is for the group of banks. What you would have to do is to go to the carrier’s store and sign a 1 or 2 year contract. Make sure you do your research for good deals if you choose to because you can save a lot of money this way. It might also be prudent to contact the carrier you want before you even get on campus if you’re international so you’ll already have a deal worked out and just go pick up the phone and pay.</p>
<p>Very few students have land lines in the dorm. Most (>95%) just use their cell phones as their main method of communication. If you wish, however, Duke does allow you to have a landline at an extra cost I believe; it’s charged with the same system as cable.</p>
<p>Hope that answered all or at least most of your questions.</p>
<p>I have Sprint, and it has been pretty good. I get service all over East Campus, and on most of West with the exception of many dorm interiors (just stand by a window…). I have a pretty good plan too…unlimited texts and internet and whatnot, although I think it’s a bit more costly than verizon. Just another option to look at though.</p>
<p>I used Verizon and was always very happy and always had service (I can cuont the times on one or two hands in four years where I didnt have service). There’s the most coverage on campus so its reliable, and there’s also a few Verizon stores close enough to campus, which is also a good thing. </p>
<p>As for text messaging, I only had one professor who said we could use text messaging and it was more to text him if we weren’t making it to class, but not to text us any updates. For my last year I had a blackberry, which definitely wasn’t necessary, but I liked having it because I had my texts/emails/blackberry messages in one place that was always with me. it was also especially handy for last minute emails from profs either canceling class or urging you to bring something or whatever. as for texting, it is by far my most preferred mode of communication (along w/ blackberry msg), and that’s the case with a lot of people (because a text is simple, direct, and you can answer it at your convenience which is handy when people are busy during the day at different points), and a lot of people have unlimited or close to it texting plans so they send texts without really thinking whether or not the person they’re texting has a plan to accommodate it. as for a landline, i had one first semester freshman year and only used it once or twice. it’s a waste of money if you have a cell phone. </p>
<p>As for the iphone, check first to see if the 3G coverage exists in the area, because although you can turn off the option apparently, it is an expense that may not be entirely necessary until the coverage gets added. if you’re looking for a smartphone that’s going to have email etc on it and you’re international, look into a blackberry. but as i’ve mentioned, a smartphone isn’t necessary by any means, i just found it handy but now i can’t really live without it.</p>
<p>oh i also think you can get phone plans on campus in oit, but i think the selections of phones and prices are better if you go to the company’s store off campus.</p>
<p>I have Verizon and I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve never had problems with coverage (even on an elevator in the basement of CIEMAS in the engineering quad which was impressive). AT&T also is decent though there might be some problem in dorms where you would need to stand by the window. I know that Duke has 3G coverage for the iPhone (according to AT&T’s coverage map) so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. </p>
<p>As for signing up for a carrier, Duke partners with Verizon (and Alltel before they got bought by VZW) to offer phones and plans. You can order those online through Duke and pick up the phones during Orientation. Phone selection is limited but still pretty decent. Prices are also comparable to what you’d get if you walked into a store and signed up for a plan. The website for more information is:</p>
<p>[Duke</a> OIT - Wireless Phones and Data Devices](<a href=“http://www.oit.duke.edu/phones-pagers/student/wireless/index.html]Duke”>http://www.oit.duke.edu/phones-pagers/student/wireless/index.html)</p>
<p>Text message very helpful. There will be times in class when your friends need to tell you something or you need to get a hold of someone with important info. It’d be really hard to pull out a phone, dial, and talk right in the middle of class so texting is definitely the way to go. </p>
<p>Lastly, landlines. Don’t do it. It’s expensive and it’s stationary. For the same amount of money you can get a decent cell phone plan that you can use anywhere, not just in your room. </p>
<p>Bluestar7: does the blackberry have IMAP support for emails? One of my friends just got one and told me it wasn’t supported and that figuring out a secure way to get email on the Blackberry without giving away account info is a pain in the A$$. Is that true?</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on Sprint coverage at Duke?</p>
<p>I have unlimited roaming, but roaming burns a lot of battery.</p>
<p>Not to mention I hear Sprint will terminate the contract of people who consistently roam more than half the time.</p>
<p>noobcake-</p>
<p>that’s exactly what I have and it’s worked fine. I would use roaming when I was it n my dorm room (because, if you see edens, it’s basically a giant concrete fortress) or in the bryan center (really though, hardly anyone gets service there except verizon) but other times I just turned it off. Verizon is probably the BEST option, but I liked Sprint’s features more and had a year left on my contract so I have just ended up keeping it for all 4 years.</p>
<p>If you CAN get a new phone, look into Verizon, but having Spring has worked fine for me. Like I said, the only places I didn’t get service (and by that I mean like, 1 bar) were many dorm rooms (which isn’t actually uncommon) and the Bryan Center.</p>
<p>I also don’t think they’ll terminate your contract. First semester I just about lived in my dorm room (stressful…homework…ahh) and probably just kept my phone on roaming 24/7 out of convenience, and it was no trouble.</p>
<p>Actually, Sprint ending contracts over roaming is pretty well known and somewhat unpopular. Although you’d need to roam a lot on a regular basis, according to this article, that means around 800 minutes a month.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.phonenews.com/sprint-follows-industry-to-terminate-customers-over-roaming-data-3468/[/url]”>http://www.phonenews.com/sprint-follows-industry-to-terminate-customers-over-roaming-data-3468/</a></p>
<p>Thx for the input… </p>
<p>So far it seems to me that while Verizon at Duke is probably the best for performance, the AT&T IPhone combo with unlimited Text Messaging and 900 Anytime Minutes is a decent option for me. The advantages of the IPhone (assuming one likes the interface like I do) is that there are numerous apps available/soon to be available and I can use the Duke’s WiFi access to the internet which will open up lots of web-based solutions for texting and perhaps sooner or later even skype’ing. The only downside I see is that most classmates will probably be on Verizon and I don’t know how to evaluate what that means in terms of monthly talk time costs since I am not very familiar with US wireless plans. </p>
<p>Does anyone have the AT&T IPhone combo but wish they didn’t for cost or performance or other (please specify) reasons?</p>
<p>Frankly, if the cost of the iPhone’s monthly service wasn’t so prohibitively expensive, I’d get one. But alas, I can’t really justify asking my folks to pay $75 a month for my phone when both of their cell plans combined only costs about $70 a month.</p>