Regional and smaller carriers are jumping on the Android train left and right it seems, and Cincinnati Bell is no exception, as it is now offering the venerable Samsung Behold II for $129.99 after rebate and with two-year agreement. While the fact that the Behold II is possibly outdated and not nearly as desirable as it once was can't be ignored, Cinci Bell offering a selection of Android devices like the Behold II and the Blaze is a good thing indeed. [Cincinnati Bell via Android Central forums]
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9 Comments
The nice thing about this improved availability is that many of the smaller carriers don't bother to carrier lock the phones.
You can take them to other carriers when you move
why dont they just offer the G1 while there at it! lol at lest US cellular has the Acclaim but I guess it best cause aleast it android.
I'm definitely impressed with Cincinnati Bell. I hope their Android options continue to grow. They claim to have the fastest 3G network. Not sure how they can say that, but if true, I might consider switching back to them and using my Nexus on their network. Would be nice to get a bundle discount on my wireless, internet and cable.
@Duffin,
You may want to visit a local CBW store. CBW offered a great bundle if you had their residential phone service and their DSL (Zoomtown) Internet access you could get your data services on your mobile phone for free. It was called "Why Pay for Two". My wife has a BlackBerry with them and her data services were $29/month for the data services BEFORE the bundle and is currently $0/month for data services now. Price and service wise CBW is hard to beat in the Cincinnati area.
I'm here in Cincinnati and CB's phone selection is garbage...everything is way old and outdated. The only exception might be their Blackberry models, but that's not saying much (they all look the same!). They were advertising the heck out of the Blaze, a Chinese Android 1.6 phone with just icky specs, so I expect they'll start offering something with a Snapdragon proc about 2012 or so.
welcome to prepaid/local carriers.
Duplicate post...my apologies.
Underwhelmed and too late. I was with Cincinnati Bell for 10 yrs. It is a good regional boutique wireless carrier for our area but they are DREADFULLY slow, late and behind with the phones in general and their smartphone offerings is nil save for the BlackBerry. They now have an Android 1.6 phone and this is news???? I don't think so.
CBW should immediately drop the special Cincinnati Bell branding and CBW-OS and offer services for ANY unlocked GSM phone that fits within specifications they dictate, i.e. any BlackBerry device running BBOS 4+ , any device running Android 1.6+, any device running IOS 3+, etc. This way people can buy their own devices or get contract subsidized devices from CBW and come get great service from their friends and neighbors who work at CBW (Cincinnati Bell Wireless). #thatisall
Cincinnati Bell does let you use any (SIM-unlocked) GSM phone on their network, but you're right @craigf - their phone selection is pitiful.
I got kind of excited for a second when I saw the Behold II on their site, as my wife is looking for a new phone and I'm trying to convert her from Blackberry to Android. When I saw it was Android 1.6 (with no hope of a 2.x upgrade), that killed any chance of me buying a phone from them.
Before I bought my Nexus One, I tried a Blaze and it is, quite frankly, crap. It felt cheap, slow and unresponsive. It made my Cliq feel like a brand new phone.
However, their 3G service is shockingly fast, mostly because nobody is using it (3G only rolled out earlier this year). I've seen speeds close to 2000 kbps, which is approaching the speeds I get using WiFi at home.
I'm actually fairly happy with CinBell - no contract, decent prices and no problems if you bring your own phone. I signed up and they handed me a SIM card no questions asked.
If they get a Galaxy S variant (fingers crossed), I'm all over that puppy.