To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 23:55:03 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: cell phones
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

On Tue, 30 Jul 2002 12:56:41 -0400 "Barry L. Newton"
<bnewton at ashcomp.com> writes:
> For those of you into gadgetry. . .Amazon.com is running some *major*
>
> rebates on cell phones, if you also sign up for service.  But the
> service
> is the standard plans from AT&T, Verizon, Voicestream, Sprint &
> Nextel.
>

It has long been a common practice among cell phone service providers to
offer the phones themselves at substantial discounts to customers who
commit to a year or more of service.  Typically, there is a substantial
early termination penalty associated with such a deal, so that the
company will not lose should a customer drop the service or fail to pay
the bills early on (they then charge the penalty to the customer's credit
card).

Sprint PCS has distinguished itself from the other providers by offering
'no obligation' service plans where you buy the phone for a fair price,
and then pay monthly with no obligation to continue.  That appeals to
many people.  If you go in person to a Sprint store, and ask about
special deals on phones, you will probably find some pretty cheap prices,
especially if you ask about reconditioned phones.  If you buy a Sprint
phone, you will not be able to use it on any other system, and if you try
to sell the phone back to Sprint later, they may offer little or nothing
for it.  The same is probably true of most of the other providers.

In my opinion, the terms of service are considerably more important than
the price of the phone.  If one pays $3000 for the service over 5 years
($50 per month), it matters little in the big picture whether the phone
costs $10 or $200.  One should pick the provider and plan first, then the
phone.  Coverage area is a very important consideration - most
prospective users should try to make sure that the places where they
spend the most time - home, work, and in-between, and other places they
frequent, are well covered.  One should also be aware that the signal may
not make it into a basement or deep within a large building even in areas
which are nominally covered.

The average cell phone user probably keeps the phone less than two years
because the phone gets lost, or broken by being dropped on pavement, or
ruined by being dropped in water, or simply because the user decides to
change providers or get a new phone for any reason.  Battery performance
deteriorates after about a year of use, and many users decide to spend
the money they would otherwise spend on a new battery, on a new phone.
If you lose your phone, call it and you might find it by hearing it ring,
or someone might pick it up and answer it and help you find it.  Call it
before the battery goes dead.  Program the cell phone so your name and
_home_ phone number appears on the screen when the phone is turned on,
and/or label it with your name and home phone number, to maximize the
chance of getting it back if lost.

I think Voicestream is the cheapest in terms of cents per minute for
typical middle-priced plans, but Voicestream uses inferior GSM technology
and has poor coverage in some areas.  Sprint PCS uses CDMA technology
(better), but may have poor coverage in some urban and suburban areas.

Nextel is well worth looking at for heavy users, even though Nextel
phones are not cheap, because Nextel has very wide coverage and service
plans with unlimited free incoming minutes.  Nextel is particularly apt
for businesses with workers spread out over miles, or multiple member
families, who need to talk a lot with each other, because of Nextel's
unique 'walkie-talkie' feature which allows thousands of minutes per
month of half-duplex 'walkie-talk' among the group, minutes which do not
count as telephone use.  In 'walkie-talk' mode, you have to use the
'push-to-talk' button, and you cannot hear the other party while your own
'push-to-talk' button is pressed.  In cell phone mode, Nextel phones work
just like other cell phones.

Ron Kean

.

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