Cell phones..an update and my decisions at present...

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oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Well my friends I knew I could count on ya'll for some thoughtful advice and I am most grateful. Now let me explain what I have found out so far. First and foremost I gratefully acknowledge all who went to great trouble to explain the "ins&outs" of cell-phone service. I read it all...couldn't comprehend some of it and went yonder asking questions of those who SHOULD know the answers..and they knew less than I did. Rest assured the folks at WalMart...don't know squat. (Even if you could get them cornered long enough to answer a simple question.) Ditto for K-Mart..and Sears...and Radio Shack seemed intent on selling me a mini-computor-phone that can do things God doesn't understand!! Best Buy...Circuit City???? Let me expain that conversation...."I want a phone that works everywhere..even if I fall off the toilet and bump my head and they need to use G.P.S. to find me..simple and easy to use...BIG numbers in case I lose my bi-focals...must work in N.W. Pa. in the middle of a blizzard when I'm screaming at the top of my lungs as the snow-plow is running over my van!!!" Silence.....quiet and befuddled silence....and then..."What you need is a $400 per yr. sattalite phone that cost gobs of money per second!!" Folks I've done decided...I'd rather the paramedics find me 2 weeks after I croak..curled up on the bathroom floor inn'a pile of maggots. Then, while they're hauling my bloated corpse out... they can debate whether I should'a had a Trac-Phone..'er a new gizmo-photo-texting-phone. Some day someone is going to come up with...simple, easy, pay for what ya use...anywhere service. Till then....I'm not impressed. Audie..the grumbling Oldfart....
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

Let's keep it super simple...here's a phone that's literally made for folks like you. :)

http://www.jitterbug.com/Phones.aspx

As you can see...these have BIG numbers, there is 24/7 assistance just a phone call away, and you can see if your area is covered by looking at this page...as you can tell, Jitterbug coverage is just about nationwide!

http://www.jitterbug.com/ServicesCoverageMap.aspx

This toll-free number is for existing customers, but maybe you can ask for the toll-free number advertised on TV for NEW customers: 1-800-733-6632.

Don't let a few lazy clerks dissuade you from getting something that could be a lifesaver. ;)
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Jim from Canada
Posts: 551
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:39 am

You are lucky in America for cell phones. Here in Canada we have 2 carriers (and thier subsiduaries), therefore, no competition. It costs an arm and a leg (and your first born, and any future inhieritance, etc.) to get service. Most go with pay as you go, but you have to buy more minutes at the end of the month, because what you paid for last month mysteriously disappears. I told one sales person that I lived 47 years without one, I think I can make another 47. Rogers and Bell are really sticking it to cell phone users, now they want to charge 15 cents for each INCOMING text message you get!

Jim
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

Jim from Canada wrote:You are lucky in America for cell phones. Here in Canada we have 2 carriers (and thier subsiduaries), therefore, no competition. It costs an arm and a leg (and your first born, and any future inhieritance, etc.) to get service. Most go with pay as you go, but you have to buy more minutes at the end of the month, because what you paid for last month mysteriously disappears.
Depending on your service, that happens here, too. The only time your minutes continue into the next pay period is if you have "rollover minutes" as an option. I've lost hundreds of dollars' worth of minutes (thanks for nothing, Cingular and AT&T!), just because I was a few HOURS late in adding more minutes. Even worse--with some plans--you can only have so many rollover minutes. So, even if you pay on time, you have to keep using up your minutes, or you'll lose the ones in excess of the amount you're allowed to have!
Jim from Canada wrote:I told one sales person that I lived 47 years without one, I think I can make another 47. Rogers and Bell are really sticking it to cell phone users, now they want to charge 15 cents for each INCOMING text message you get!
I don't remember if we're charged for incoming text messages (I'm with Alltel now), because I don't really receive any. I do know that now I'm charged to access my voice mail, even from a landline!

I'll tell you the REAL heaven-on-earth for cell phone users: Japan! (Korea's a close second.) LONG before such things were available here, they had internet access, phones with cameras, etc. They have incredible services, and even tons of software apps you can get for cell phones. 12-year-old girls have Hello Kitty cell phones that make the iPhone pale in comparison!

I hope this isn't going too off-topic...in any case, I hope Audie will consider the Jitterbug phone. It's a real lifesaver for so many seniors. :)
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Jim from Canada
Posts: 551
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:39 am

One mistake in my mssg. We have telus too, another rip off!

Jim
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

Jim from Canada wrote:One mistake in my mssg. We have telus too, another rip off!
Seems like it'd almost be worth it to have a friend in the USA get a cell phone and contract (that allows for international calls), then just use that phone in Canada. :(
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Jim from Canada
Posts: 551
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:39 am

that is pretty much what my in-laws do. They spend about 6-7 months in the USA where it is warmer.

Jim
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dandjbarrett
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:14 am

We have a family plan so we can stay in touch with the grandkids. I got unlimited texting (so I wouldn't go bankrupt) because the granddaughter can text thousands of times a month. I'm having a dickens of a time learning how to text. It took me over an hour to figure out how to space between words. Now I guess I'll get sore thumbs from texting. :) Just when I figured out how to just send/receive calls I had to learn how to send/receive text messages. It never ends. :)
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tnt17
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:43 pm
Location: Upstate S.C

I send over 4,000 texts out a month, and receive probably the same or more...i've gone from the traditional phone that flips regular to a palm type phone with qwerty keyboard to a phone now that flips open regular or sideways with the keyboard on it. Unlimited everything though....only way to go for $110 a month.
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dandjbarrett
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:14 am

My plan is $120/mo for 3 phones with unlimited txt, free nights/weekends, nationwide long distance and more minutes than we've ever been able to use. Texting is the preferred form of communication for most of the ppl we contact, so the only person who uses the talk time is my husband who refuses to text. When the contract is renewed we'll decide what phones to get the next time, but we'll never txt as much as you do.
mokehillannie

I guess it's just me, but I would much rather hear someones voice than see what they write. I also refuse to text.

I get enough of that with emails.

I have enough minutes to talk as much as I want and I love to talk.
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tnt17
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:43 pm
Location: Upstate S.C

mokehillannie wrote:I guess it's just me, but I would much rather hear someones voice than see what they write. I also refuse to text.

I get enough of that with emails.

I have enough minutes to talk as much as I want and I love to talk.
difference there, i'm not around email all day, on the road and such with work, then kids soccer coaching and practices most nights so it's late when i get to email.
i'd much rather get a text(away from email then) plus a ringing phone or a call where i have to talk while in a meeting with a customer or in a walmart back room (where being ON the phone is not allowed) i can text back or sit on the message until i have a minute.
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WildIrish
Posts: 144
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:00 pm

tnt17 wrote:
mokehillannie wrote:I guess it's just me, but I would much rather hear someones voice than see what they write. I also refuse to text.

I get enough of that with emails.

I have enough minutes to talk as much as I want and I love to talk.
difference there, i'm not around email all day, on the road and such with work, then kids soccer coaching and practices most nights so it's late when i get to email.
i'd much rather get a text(away from email then) plus a ringing phone or a call where i have to talk while in a meeting with a customer or in a walmart back room (where being ON the phone is not allowed) i can text back or sit on the message until i have a minute.
I think it's whatever works for one's individual needs. Personally, I don't text because I have carpal tunnel and other problems; I can't even write very long e-mails because of it.

The voice mail of cell phones is great; like an answering machine in your hand! Came in very handy when we were moving halfway across the country....

But more than $100/month for cell/text service? Way, way too rich for my blood. My pay-as-you-go plan is $10 every couple of months, and that suits us fine. :)
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mokehillannie

I agree, you can always let your calls go to voice mail. Then you can call back when you get the free time. If you are in a meeting, you don't need to be reading text messages anyway.
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DavidW
Posts: 56
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Upcountry, S.C.

I do not care for the microwave emissions of a cellphone right next to ones brain.

If I ever own one again, it will be the type that has head phones or earphones, something to keep the antenna away from the side of the head.

Also, for low usage, prepaid like TracPhone is the way to go, IMO.
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