OT Re: Cell phone opinions/options

[Rich Braun]

Mike Gorse <mgorse at mgorse.dhs.org> asked:
>> I carry a
>> stripped-down GSM phone on a $29.99 month-to-month Cingular plan.
>
> Interesting.  When did you sign up for your plan?  Do you know if
> they are still offering it?

The general rule with American-based cellular companies is...to get service in
the first place, you have to buy a 2-year contract (which usually comes with a
phone so hideous you'll junk it before 24 months).  Once the contract expires,
they will try to entice you with offers of a "free" replacement phone so long
as you sign up for another 2 years.

Skip the contracts and go onto eBay.  Read all the reviews, choose your model
carefully (look for Linux-compatible software to support the features you want
;-), and you'll spend $20 to $100 or so on the phone you want without signing
a silly contract.  I've had much better luck with used cell phones than with
LCD monitors.

You get to keep your old service plan for as long as the provider keeps
printing the bills (basically, until the company gets merged and some
high-falutin' manager wants to dump unprofitable customers like me).  I've
been month-to-month on the Cingular Nation 250 plan for some uncounted number
of years.

-rich