This is Dave Ross with Chip Talk.
Decide.com is a comparison shopping service for cell phones. It compares plans by price and feature -- but it also includes one comparison is I haven't seen: audio samples of call quality.
Decide.com actually performs its own road testing, using vans that roam 50 major metropolitan areas placing cellular phone calls every 90 seconds. They then upload the samples to an online map that lets you click a location and compare call quality between any two services neighborhood by neighborhood.
Here is a Sprint PCS Digital call recorded on 16th Avenue SW in Seattle.
AUDIO: ("We saw a bad movie")
And here's the same call on AT&T Wireless Digital, recorded at the same location.
AUDIO: ("We saw a bad movie")
After comparing, you can buy the phone right on the site — and that's how decide.com makes money: it gets the commission the in-store salesman would get. Otherwise, the service is free.
This is Dave Ross.