Is anyone using a Verizon iPhone on the southern Chesapeake?

[M. R. Bober]

We just bought a pair of iPhones and the reception is marginal here at the house. I need to decide--quickly--if they will be returned to Verizon during the grace period.

My major concern is telephone coverage when I am out on the Bay. Does anyone have any first hand experience?


Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where I can't always hear you now.) VA

[Ralph H]

Hi Mitch,
We had marginal coverage in Kinsale until we got a tower near-by ... but we always had good reception out in the Potomac and in the Bay. I don't know about 3G - 4G reception per se, but voice has been better than other carriers out here in the sticks.

...of course, your mileage ...etc

Ralph

[Jim Evans]

Hi Mitch,

Just 3 weeks ago I made a trip from Herring Bay down the Chesapeake to Elizabeth City, NC and back, with my Verizon iPhone 4. We had no coverage problems at all, except during our stop at Tangier Island where neither ATT or Verizon worked well. I've been very happy with my coverage out into the Bay east of Herring Bay.

[M. R. Bober]

We have always had decent service with our Motorola "flip phones" when on the Bay. However the iPhone is not the equal to the flip phone in our area in terms of reception.

I may go to another smart phone, but wanted to give the iPhone a fair test.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Home of at least one Verzion retailer.) VA

[Joe Myerson]

Mitch,

I don't know if this is relevant to your problem, but a few years ago, when I was new-products editor for a now-defunct magazine (owned by Chesapeake Bay Magazine), I received something called a cell-phone signal booster for evaluation.

Since I didn't need it on the water (I don't have a smart phone), I brought it with me into the Catskills, where we were visiting friends who claimed they had no cell phone service at all.

Using this little device, I was able to send and receive mobile phone signals from an area that was considered a "dead zone."

I don't know if these devices work with the high bandwidth required for iPhones and Droids. Has anybody else had experience with them?

--Joe

[jerryaxler]

I have not had any problems with either my Iphone 1 or Iphone 4. There are weak signals in different locations, but I have always been able to receive and send on the Bay.

[M. R. Bober]

We are swapping the iPhones for Motorola Droids. The local Verizon store suggested that it is the best alternative for our area.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (Where I will soon be able--I hope--to hear the calls from the wild.) VA

[tartansailor]

The overwhelming consensus on Chesapeake bay's preeminent fishing board
"http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/forum.php"

is that Verizon has the best coverage.

Dick