AT&T is bringing out multiple vehicles to bolster cell service at Coachella 2013. (AT&T/Contributed Image)
Cell phones coverage was better…and worse
When The Press-Enterprise staff descends onto the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, we know we’re up against a lot connection-wise with 90,000 or so of our closest friends.
And everyone who has been to Coachella in the past knows how hard it is at a certain point to get in touch.
This year, we brought a bunch of different solutions to try to get as many photos and stories out there as possible.
RELATED: Complete Coachella Festival coverage
Here’s what we found out (Carriers are listed in alphabetical order).
AT&T
WHAT WE USED: iPhone 4
SUCCESSES: Was able to text colleagues, send emails, shoot and post on Instagram.
PROBLEMS: Occasionally a Tweet to go through (especially during Major Lazer’s set), but had no problems texting.
Sprint
WHAT WE USED: A mobile hotspot, a USB aircard
SUCCESSES: Our MiFi was what saved us and got photos shipped to the main office last Saturday.
PROBLEMS: MiFi was slow, USB aircard claimed to be connected and reading data, but actually wouldn’t load anything.
T-Mobile
WHAT WE USED: Two newer Android phones, one ancient BlackBerry.
SUCCESSES: The BlackBerry was the most reliable texting device any of us had.
PROBLEMS: The Androids didn’t work great in the field. Tweeting and shooting and shipping photos weren’t happening. One of the Android phones, which was also a mobile hotspot, wouldn’t work as one.
Verizon
WHAT WE USED: Two iPad3s
SUCCESSES: Able to blog through browser, send Tweets, emails.
PROBLEMS: Tweets with photos were much more difficult to send out. Attaching photos to blog entries was also difficult and crashed sometimes.
Among our staff, the devices that used AT&T and Verizon did the best. I’m giving the edge to the AT&T iPhone because it was able to send photos and texts. Our iPads using Verizon emailed and posted blogs just fine, but had more trouble with photos. Sprint was a little slower, but did work with our mobile hotspot and T-Mobile left us dead in the water.
I have a hunch the extra units AT&T and Verizon brought in are the reason why we had more success with them.
Anyone else who was at week one want to share their experiences?
As we get ready to cover the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year, we’ll be using the #PECoachella hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. If you want to send us photos, musings and more, we’ll give you some love here in the Audio File blog. Just use the hashtag!
For more Coachella news, photos, interviews and information, visit the iGuide Coachella page. If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.