How do you like Wind? - Shaw Purchases Wind

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

I just called in and said cancel. No whining/bitching/complaining happened. I just informed them of a better deal and I was leaving for it.

It's like buying a car, you can pay the sticker or you can shop around and let the dealership know of other deals.

On a side note wind will also change their prices when you mention to them competitor pricing, so I guess they are bullcrap too.

I think they are the least stinky of the bunch. Telcoms in Canada are pretty much akin to organized crime sanctioned by the government.

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by SeoulFire

Telcoms in Canada are pretty much akin to organized crime sanctioned by the government.

I 100% agree with this

[billybob123]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanStrandedInEDM

Wind's coverage in Calgary is decent if you spend much of your time well within the city limits, when you're "Wind Home" it is very affordable with decent service. However, Wind's zone only extends as North as Country Hills Blvd consistantly. Cross Iron Mills mall, is outside of the Wind Zone which makes it very annoying if you're a fringe calgarian. However, when you're somewhere within the city that is "Wind Away" aka places that have rough cell reception in the first place, Wind can get EXPENSIVE! I had problems getting coverage inside the Saddledome, some malls,rec centre's (Westside Rec Centre) costcos, superstores etc.

What handset did you use? I think a lot of issues with reception have to do with the antenna on the handset.

I agree that outside Calgary it's touch and go for signal. I've had roaming signal only at Cross Iron, but two bars at the Lowe's past CIM.

I work at the Foothills complex, and have signal in places others don't, but my wife gets signal in places I don't.

It's definitely not for everyone, but they are getting better. The website has a network builder where you can tell them about signal problems. Whether they do anything about it is another matter...

[TurnedTheCorner]

Looking at this again - what's the $8 "Voicemail +" add-on? Is it enhanced voicemail? Is there basic voicemail included with the monthly plans?

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Originally Posted by billybob123

What handset did you use? I think a lot of issues with reception have to do with the antenna on the handset.

I agree that outside Calgary it's touch and go for signal. I've had roaming signal only at Cross Iron, but two bars at the Lowe's past CIM.

I work at the Foothills complex, and have signal in places others don't, but my wife gets signal in places I don't.

It's definitely not for everyone, but they are getting better. The website has a network builder where you can tell them about signal problems. Whether they do anything about it is another matter...

I've had issues with the blackberry curve and the blackberry bold.

For cut throat cell coverage, I'd recommend Koodo

[billybob123]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanStrandedInEDM

I've had issues with the blackberry curve and the blackberry bold.

Interesting! The geeks on howard forums swear Blackberries are the solution to all reception problems on Wind. I guess they are not necessarily correct.

For cut throat cell coverage, I'd recommend Koodo

Agreed. Canada-wide calling on a reliable network is great. If I can't convince my wife to go with Wind, then I'm going to steer her towards Koodo. Reliability is key.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by billybob123

Interesting! The geeks on howard forums swear Blackberries are the solution to all reception problems on Wind. I guess they are not necessarily correct..

Really?

My reception improved when I went from a BB Curve to a Nexus S

[billybob123]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Really?

My reception improved when I went from a BB Curve to a Nexus S

Good to know. I have an HTC Amaze so I have no experience. It's what all the guys over on Howardforums quote verbatim when someone says they get poor signal.

My father is in Ottawa with the cheap Huawei phone they had and his signal was the same as mine.

[SeoulFire]

Wind has a $29 per month unlimited data, text, and local calls at the moment.

http://www.windmobile.ca/en/Pages/ta...ta-holics.aspx

Do what I did with the unlimited US and Canada Skype subscription for $2.99 per month and you have a heck of a deal.

[secol]

if you want VM though you might as well go with the $40 since VM is $8 add-on....only reason why i'm on the $40 instead of the $30

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by FlamesFanStrandedInEDM

Wind looks good "on paper" however, was brutal!

I've experience Wind in Calgary and Edmonton,

Wind's coverage in Calgary is decent if you spend much of your time well within the city limits, when you're "Wind Home" it is very affordable with decent service. However, Wind's zone only extends as North as Country Hills Blvd consistantly. Cross Iron Mills mall, is outside of the Wind Zone which makes it very annoying if you're a fringe calgarian. However, when you're somewhere within the city that is "Wind Away" aka places that have rough cell reception in the first place, Wind can get EXPENSIVE! I had problems getting coverage inside the Saddledome, some malls,rec centre's (Westside Rec Centre) costcos, superstores etc.

I have since switched to Koodo and now Bell (because of their great version of the 6GB plan Rogers had)

I've tried wind and can confirm that i've had next to no reception issues. In country hills i get full bars so i'm not sure why you had issues. If i had issues with wind i wouldn't hesitate to say so.

It had to be your phone. I had a nexus originally and it always had a weaker signal for some reason. I switched to a htc amaze and it's been very good.

If you take a quick look at the "LTE in Calgary, Rogers or Telus" thread you'll notice a lot of posts about reception issues IN the city with rogers especially.

[FlamesFanStrandedInEDM]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

I've tried wind and can confirm that i've had next to no reception issues. In country hills i get full bars so i'm not sure why you had issues. If i had issues with wind i wouldn't hesitate to say so.

It had to be your phone. I had a nexus originally and it always had a weaker signal for some reason. I switched to a htc amaze and it's been very good.

If you take a quick look at the "LTE in Calgary, Rogers or Telus" thread you'll notice a lot of posts about reception issues IN the city with rogers especially.

I said that it was reliable consistanly at country hills blvd(airport end of country hills), anywhere north of that me and my family started having issues.

[4X4]

So I'm about to jump ship as well and I have a couple questions for you guys who know...

Can anyone tell me how service is on the far south end of the city? I am in the urban sprawl industry, and I'm always on the outskirts. I do have a company phone, so I won't really cry if I don't get service, but I prefer if my personal phone works as well. I'll be working in the Chapparel/Walden area for the foreseeable future, so can anyone tell me how Wind is performing down there?

Second, should I get one of those nice new phones on a WindTab or should I just pay for it? I'm deciding between the Samsung Nexus and the HTC Amaze.
http://www.windmobile.ca/en/pages/windtab-plus.aspx
I have an HTC Incredible right now, and it's a good phone, but I always like trying something new.

As for my reasons for switching, I'm just so sick of paying $170/month for two phones from Fido, and then seeing this thread bumped all the time with insane new offers. I called Fido to find out my cancellation fee and it's going to be $900, but it'll only take 6-7 months of being with Wind for that to evaporate.

I can't believe I've been paying this stupid amount of money, just because "I'm too busy" to go and switch. #### that. I'm going to Wind on Wednesday and Fido can go suck a bone.

tl;dr

How is coverage in Chapparel/Walden?
Which phone is better: Samsung Galaxy Nexus or HTC Amaze?

[secol]

i'd go on a tab....http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...s-of-a-WindTab

i used the nexus while i was trying out their service and it was really nice. never tried amaze so can't compare for you unfortunately

[billybob123]

How is coverage in Chapparel/Walden?
Which phone is better: Samsung Galaxy Nexus or HTC Amaze?

Check Coveragemapper to see if someone has checked out your neighborhood.

As for the phone, I have an Amaze and I am happy with it. Benefit of the Nexus is that it is stock android, updated as soon as releases come out. You would probably have an easier time with the HTC because you're used to the Sense UI on the phone.

Wind will sometimes let you try a loaner phone to see if the signal is right for you. Its worth a try. I think corporate stores have them.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by 4X4

So I'm about to jump ship as well and I have a couple questions for you guys who know...

Can anyone tell me how service is on the far south end of the city? I am in the urban sprawl industry, and I'm always on the outskirts. I do have a company phone, so I won't really cry if I don't get service, but I prefer if my personal phone works as well. I'll be working in the Chapparel/Walden area for the foreseeable future, so can anyone tell me how Wind is performing down there?

Second, should I get one of those nice new phones on a WindTab or should I just pay for it? I'm deciding between the Samsung Nexus and the HTC Amaze.
http://www.windmobile.ca/en/pages/windtab-plus.aspx
I have an HTC Incredible right now, and it's a good phone, but I always like trying something new.

As for my reasons for switching, I'm just so sick of paying $170/month for two phones from Fido, and then seeing this thread bumped all the time with insane new offers. I called Fido to find out my cancellation fee and it's going to be $900, but it'll only take 6-7 months of being with Wind for that to evaporate.

I can't believe I've been paying this stupid amount of money, just because "I'm too busy" to go and switch. #### that. I'm going to Wind on Wednesday and Fido can go suck a bone.

tl;dr

How is coverage in Chapparel/Walden?
Which phone is better: Samsung Galaxy Nexus or HTC Amaze?

Definitely the Nexus if only for the ease of software updates alone.

[secol]

i've phoned pretty much all the calgary locations and they've never heard of loaner phones....but they have a similar thing where you can go in and register a new line + tab, etc and as long as you use less than 30 minutes of talk time and return it within 14 days (in near perfect condition of course), then you get completely refunded (one store said the monthly can't be refunded while others said everything including the fee).

[TurnedTheCorner]

Switched yesterday - my reception is always flaky here in Royal Oak (has been on multiple providers), but I see my BB now wants to drop my flaky Wind Network connection for the flaky Wind Away Rogers connection. Gotta be careful when I'm using the phone at home.

I also had an issue where the data with the $29 plan wasn't configured for BB data, so none of the apps, emails, BBM, etc. were working. A quick call to Wind C/S got that fixed within minutes though.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by 4X4

tl;dr

How is coverage in Chapparel/Walden?
Which phone is better: Samsung Galaxy Nexus or HTC Amaze?

1. Most of my friends live in that area (south of 22x), specifically Chaparral. It won't be an issue, period. PLENTY of experience to base that assessment on.

2. Samsung. Sorry to the HTC fans, but the combination of Samsung-Google simply cannot be beat. I can elaborate, but don't feel like it, haha.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Just thought I'd update some numbers for everyone.

I consider myself a "Typical" user, although I'm pretty heavy on the data (~3.5GB/mth) due to streaming audio and tethering for my laptop or tablet. These should be pretty good comparables for average people.

I call long-distance (Canada and some UK), and don't hesitate to use the phone in "Wind Away" zones. Essentially, I just use the phone however/whenever/wherever I want and gladly pay the bill when it comes in. So far, the bills have tallied.....

12-Months Total Cost: $378.79
Average Monthly Cost: $31.57

Wind is one of the few consumer choices I've made that gets better with time. I'm even happier today than I was 3, 6, 9, 12 months ago. There's NO reason for fence sitting.