Monday, January 30, 2006
Free411...BLOCKED!
As much as I love STi, I found one thing to ahte about it. Actually it's a Sprint problem, but the old standby Fre411 (1-800-FREE411) which does what it says and does it well is now simply a fast busy on my STi phone. On a friend's Sprint PCS phone it gets a "call cannot be completed at this time" error. Verizon still works fine, but Sprint (and thus STi) has joined the anti-free411 bandwagon first pioneered by Allel. :( If you do a lot of 411 calling bring a PagePlus phone with you.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Good Deal Again!
Just to let you guys know Tracfone has the Motorola v170 deal I mentioned awhile ago again. Gotta go but I think I'll get it :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
U Prepaid!
Really quickly, this is the Alltel prepaid that we've been waiting for for a few days but have yearned for forever. Granted, the entry price ($15 for the Kyocara SoHo plus $35 to activate plus $20 for the minimum initial airtime = $70) is on the steep side but get this: for the first time on a name brand prepaid you have unlimited expiration. If you don't use a minute every thirty days you get charged $4 which is no fun, but if you remember to call someone (or yourself) once a month you've just found the third cheapest-per-month prepaid service EVER (1st and 2nd are Beyond Wireless and STi, which are in basically a deadlock) at 15 cents a month and the furthermore it has more non-roaming service than the combined home areas of STi and Beyond combined, even if just the square miles were added up for both and no overlap was assumed! Now that's what I call good: a $70 prepaid package that can last up to 130 months...not that the phone itself would last that long but anyway...
Oh and by the way you can get internet access on U Prepaid for $20 a month. Granted, it's steeper than STi or Boost but again its coverage area dwarfs that of both combined and it has the speed of STi and costs less than a month of 'net access from Virgin Mobile or Verizon (INPulse and EasyPay now have web at 99 cens a day), or 2 MB from Cingular (1 cent per KB).
What are you going to use the internet for? To download spiffy apps for your new $305 ($250 plus activation and airtime) Alltel CDMA Razr of course! Or your $70 SoHo. Or a huge number (for prepaid) of phones in between.
As an unrelated sidenote, I received a Boost i450 as the object of a trade (for my i415) today. I'll tell more later, but my first impressions are small screen, wierdly slow processor, good reception for both cellular and GPS and a form factor small enough to actually be mistaken for one of the larger "normal" (CDMA\TDMA\GSM) modern phones! As another sidenote, even more unrelated, my 15th birthday is the day of the SAT, as in this Saturday the 28th. Yes I'm that age and no I don't need anyone to wish lottery luck on my venture into SAT land; last time I made a 1390. Wish me a good one if you want...and again click those ads like your phone would go dead without them ;).
Oh and by the way you can get internet access on U Prepaid for $20 a month. Granted, it's steeper than STi or Boost but again its coverage area dwarfs that of both combined and it has the speed of STi and costs less than a month of 'net access from Virgin Mobile or Verizon (INPulse and EasyPay now have web at 99 cens a day), or 2 MB from Cingular (1 cent per KB).
What are you going to use the internet for? To download spiffy apps for your new $305 ($250 plus activation and airtime) Alltel CDMA Razr of course! Or your $70 SoHo. Or a huge number (for prepaid) of phones in between.
As an unrelated sidenote, I received a Boost i450 as the object of a trade (for my i415) today. I'll tell more later, but my first impressions are small screen, wierdly slow processor, good reception for both cellular and GPS and a form factor small enough to actually be mistaken for one of the larger "normal" (CDMA\TDMA\GSM) modern phones! As another sidenote, even more unrelated, my 15th birthday is the day of the SAT, as in this Saturday the 28th. Yes I'm that age and no I don't need anyone to wish lottery luck on my venture into SAT land; last time I made a 1390. Wish me a good one if you want...and again click those ads like your phone would go dead without them ;).
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
STi & ReadyLink!
Contrary to popular (well OK, just my) knowledge STi's first walkie-talkie capable phone isn't the excellent Sanyo VI-2300. But life's still good...
If you're wondering what the hotlink in the title is, that's the phone that will very soon be on STi's website. No clue as to how much it will cost there but I know it's coming and that it supports ReadyLink and STi does too.
You're probably wanting to know how much ReadyLink is per day. Surprise! Not as much as I had heard well over a month ago. Though the upcoming ReadyLink fee doesn't include web access (it can be added though) or picture messaging (a nonissue as the current capable phone doesn't have a camera), it's also really cheap comapred to, say, Boost Mobile ($1.50 per day that an outgoing walkie call is made) or the previously-supposed price (79 cents a day including web). Ready? It's 49 cents a day!
Granted, ReadyLink doesn't have nearly as many subscribers as there are Nextel and Boost Mobile customers, nor is it as fast as iDEN walkie talkie usually is (there are exceptions where iDEN connection times unexplicable soar to more than a second, or even two, but anyway...) but the voice quality is better, your walkie number is your phone number, and the price is dirt cheap for prepaid. True, contract subscribers get this feature for $10 a month, but with STi you can turn it on and off and on contract plans the $10 gets another $2 or so of taxes and fees added. Oh, and if you wanted to compare apples to apples, a 30-day month of STi walkie service is $14.70.
Now to the phone, the Samsung A820. This is one of the larger flip phones in the Sprint lineup, but not obnoxiously so (referencing any iDEN phone besides the i830, i833 or i835). In design one could almost mistake it for a Sanyo, with a prominent speakerphone grill on the front of the phone complemented by a gargantuan, though black-and-white, external display that has more resolution than the display on a Nokia 6010 or 2126. Inside, the phone looks very good as well. Oh, and did I mention that this phone is so recent that the Sprint version had the new logo exclusively on it? Battery life is average to good, voice dialing is good, and the speakerphone is good. Anything else to want in a midrange phone with walkie talkie and no camera? Again, I don't know the price as of right now but I will know soon and if it's cheap enough with rebate I'm getting it, since if I turn walkie talkie service off the maitenance cost is near nil.
By the way, STi customer service (aka 611) is a lot faster now. At one point I was waiting 15 to 20 minutes for a representative. Now the wait is generally less than a minute. Thanks for hiring more reps STi!
Another by the way, I hope CheapPhoneCards gets this phone. In fact, I think I'll only buy it if they get it. Anyway, I'm glad this hunk of push-to-talk plastic is coming out, giving prepaid some competition in that area.
If you're wondering what the hotlink in the title is, that's the phone that will very soon be on STi's website. No clue as to how much it will cost there but I know it's coming and that it supports ReadyLink and STi does too.
You're probably wanting to know how much ReadyLink is per day. Surprise! Not as much as I had heard well over a month ago. Though the upcoming ReadyLink fee doesn't include web access (it can be added though) or picture messaging (a nonissue as the current capable phone doesn't have a camera), it's also really cheap comapred to, say, Boost Mobile ($1.50 per day that an outgoing walkie call is made) or the previously-supposed price (79 cents a day including web). Ready? It's 49 cents a day!
Granted, ReadyLink doesn't have nearly as many subscribers as there are Nextel and Boost Mobile customers, nor is it as fast as iDEN walkie talkie usually is (there are exceptions where iDEN connection times unexplicable soar to more than a second, or even two, but anyway...) but the voice quality is better, your walkie number is your phone number, and the price is dirt cheap for prepaid. True, contract subscribers get this feature for $10 a month, but with STi you can turn it on and off and on contract plans the $10 gets another $2 or so of taxes and fees added. Oh, and if you wanted to compare apples to apples, a 30-day month of STi walkie service is $14.70.
Now to the phone, the Samsung A820. This is one of the larger flip phones in the Sprint lineup, but not obnoxiously so (referencing any iDEN phone besides the i830, i833 or i835). In design one could almost mistake it for a Sanyo, with a prominent speakerphone grill on the front of the phone complemented by a gargantuan, though black-and-white, external display that has more resolution than the display on a Nokia 6010 or 2126. Inside, the phone looks very good as well. Oh, and did I mention that this phone is so recent that the Sprint version had the new logo exclusively on it? Battery life is average to good, voice dialing is good, and the speakerphone is good. Anything else to want in a midrange phone with walkie talkie and no camera? Again, I don't know the price as of right now but I will know soon and if it's cheap enough with rebate I'm getting it, since if I turn walkie talkie service off the maitenance cost is near nil.
By the way, STi customer service (aka 611) is a lot faster now. At one point I was waiting 15 to 20 minutes for a representative. Now the wait is generally less than a minute. Thanks for hiring more reps STi!
Another by the way, I hope CheapPhoneCards gets this phone. In fact, I think I'll only buy it if they get it. Anyway, I'm glad this hunk of push-to-talk plastic is coming out, giving prepaid some competition in that area.
Monday, January 23, 2006
More Corrections...
The Tracfone I was talking about is actually the Motorola c343a. The c353t is the color TDMA version, and the c331t is the black-and-white version.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Correction, Your Honor
On the TDMA post, I neglected to mention the Nokia 8260\8265. These are both OK phones though not overly notable. If you can get one for as cheap as the 3360 get it. If not, don't.
On the Cingular post, the Nokia 6010 for $30 is a refurbished version, though cell phone companies usually do an excellent job of making refurbs like new. Also, you can get the Motorola v173, the Cingular version of the Tracfone v170, for $40 refurbished. New versions of these phones are $70 and $80 I believe.
Another thing on TDMA: the other model I was forgetting on Panasonic was the Versio. Nothing incredibly great here. The ProMax, as I just found out, is actually quite small, sort of like a dignified little home phone in its look.
Guess that's it. If anyone has any comments or anything like tht please email me, and click an ad or two while you're at it. :)
On the Cingular post, the Nokia 6010 for $30 is a refurbished version, though cell phone companies usually do an excellent job of making refurbs like new. Also, you can get the Motorola v173, the Cingular version of the Tracfone v170, for $40 refurbished. New versions of these phones are $70 and $80 I believe.
Another thing on TDMA: the other model I was forgetting on Panasonic was the Versio. Nothing incredibly great here. The ProMax, as I just found out, is actually quite small, sort of like a dignified little home phone in its look.
Guess that's it. If anyone has any comments or anything like tht please email me, and click an ad or two while you're at it. :)
TDMA Phones
Most of us know that Beyond Wireless is cutting off TDMA activations on the 31st of this month. So those of us who want their prized service have precious little time to get it. But what phone do you want? First of all, you'll need a phone that's either AT&T or not SOC-locked (US Cellualr TDMA works fine, as do most phones that say Digital on them or have no branding). You may also be able to use Cingular TDMA phones. Second, here's a guide to what phones are how good, for the phones most on the market (I'm not going to talk about eh old extendable-antenna Nokias that weighted half a pound)...
NOKIA
I'm pretty sure these guys made the most TDMA phones. Made is the usual verb here, as TDMA phone production has, as far as I know, ceased. They also made the most feature-rich TDMA phone, though, as is the typical Nokia style until about 2005, it's a bar phone.
5165 - This is possibly the most "out there" TDMA phone. It has all the functionality (voice and text) that Beyond Wireless TDMA allows and reception is good. If you don't mind a small yellow-backlit screen and a bricklike from factor (as in near-unpocketably large) you should be very happy with this very cheap ($5-$10 is the usual price) phone, which has scads of accessories available.
5160 - If you just talk this phone is fine. It's the older brother to the 5165 and sports a boxier faceplate (for best looks change with a 5165 faceplate) and a lack of outgoing text messaging. I reccommend this less especially since it's a little rarer and probably is just as expensive as the 5165.
5125 - This is the dual-band cousin of the 5165. It should work just as well since most 1900 band coverage on TDMA is supplemented by reception on the 850 band or is dead already. But it is rarer I think so probably not a great deal.
5120 - This is the dual-band version of the 5160. Read the comments on the 5160, than the differences between the 5165 and the 5125 and that's about what this phone is.
1260\1261 - If you want modern and basic, this is it. It has a pretty large black-and-white screen and I think a calculator and works pretty well overall, though not excpetionally well. I'd pass this up though unless you can get it for less than maybe $15 as phones that are a good bit better aren't much more expensive. Also this is not a terribly well-known phone so it may be a little more expensive that way.
1220 - Again, the dual-band cousin of its xx60 model. Haven't seen any though.
2260 - If you want a refreshing blue backlight and vibrating alert with once again a more modern phone, here you go. Beware though that it's pretty expensive and reception has been termed less than great. I'd personally pass this up for (once again) a better-featured model.
3560 - One of the four color TDMA phones, this is the older brother to the Nokia 6010\3595 still seen today on GSM networks. As such you can expect modern features, though some things, due to the nature of the TDMA network (such as web access) just aren't there. You can probably find this phone for below $40. I got mine (now traded) for $21.99 shipped. I heartily reccommend this phone if voice and text are your thing and you live in an area covered by the TDMA network. Talk is nice and cheap with Beyond so I'd say consider this phone if that's most of what you'll be doing even with CDMA and GSM carriers as options. Oh, and you can trade faceplates with a 6010 or 3595 for a look near-indistinguishable from a nice modern phone.
6560 - This is the Ferrari of TDMA phones. It's small, light, and can do everything TDMA can't as of now (TDMA could do web once; this could too). It's priced pretty high (as much as $90 and usually around $60-$70) but if TDMA is your thing nobody will know you have a TDMA phone with this as your Nokia of choice.
3360\3361 - These aren't particularly pretty or advanced or any such thing, but they once again do the job of making and receiving phone calls and text messages well. They're cheap too ($20 I think is the usual).
6360 - If you don't need a color screen and want advanced features welcome to TDMA's version of heaven. This longish but thin handset has infrared and plenty of other nice features, though I don't think web is one of them (you couldn't use it anyway). But as a warning this phone tends to get expensive ($40-$50 the last time I looked).
6160/7160 - These phones are similar in that they're pretty advanced but also pretty old, on the level of a souped up Nokia 5165. The 7160 has a slider form factor. The 6160 is a brick. I almost forgot to talk about these since they're prety rare.
I guess that's it for Nokia. Now to
MOTOROLA
These guys didn't make as many TDMA phones, but here they are:
v120 - This phone, which is poor in its CDMA incarnation, has been surprisingly well-reviewed for TDMA. If you want a $30 card on Beyond Wireless and will pay $6.95 for shipping, you can just by this phone flat out and easy.
v60 - Sure it's one of the two TDMA flips, but it's as bad on TDMA as the v120 is on CDMA. I'd make this a phone to pass up, in favor of...
v60 color - This is a phone that's pretty good at doing phone calls and text messages and has the distinction of being the only TDMA color flip. It's not that expensive either, at maybe $50.
c353 - This is the fourth color phone on TDMA and arguably the most basic. It has a $60 CDMA counterpart on TracFone but you should be able to get it for maybe $40 on eBay. It's an OK phone but keep in mind that it may not have the modern interface of the Tracfone version, and if it does it will have the same wierd shorcomings discussed two posts ago.
c343 - Take the c353 and give it a black-and-white screen. I think it's a little cheaper. If ou want a nice-looking prety darn basic TDMA phone here's your chance, though I'd go for the c353 or better a Nokia model.
StarTAC - Do you want to be retro? If the answer is yes welcome to the TDMA ersion of this phone. I think it's only dual-band but if you want retro and a pretty good phone to boot here it is. Just don't think too cheap.
Now for
PANASONIC
I don't know much about these phones but they're basically the same except that some have speakerphones or ruggedized chassis while others don't. Battery life is generally not too great, but the phones aren't too bad and tbey are customizeable in such wierd ways as backlight color. The DuraMax is the durable phone (hence the name), the ProMax has a speakerphone, the Allure may also have the speakerphone and then there's one more model whose name slips my mind right now...thay're all not too expensive but not too plentiful either.
SONY\ERICSSON
These guys generally made some good TDMA phones, though there aren't a whole bunch of them and the interface is certainly different than usual. Some of these phones have small (heightwise) screens so kep that in mind while looking around in this area. One notable phone is the T60LX or T60D (not to be confused witht he rotten T62u GAIT phone) which has plenty of nice features (though no color screen or infrared) and an interesting "egg" shape. Not too expensive either...
MITSUBISHI
One of the least-known phone manufacturers, these guys made good, though very, very few, phones. You'll probably have to look for a long while to find one.
With that ends my somewhat in-depth look at TDMA phones. I'll probably post eBay closed auction prices later but hope this helped people who want to go Beyond.
NOKIA
I'm pretty sure these guys made the most TDMA phones. Made is the usual verb here, as TDMA phone production has, as far as I know, ceased. They also made the most feature-rich TDMA phone, though, as is the typical Nokia style until about 2005, it's a bar phone.
5165 - This is possibly the most "out there" TDMA phone. It has all the functionality (voice and text) that Beyond Wireless TDMA allows and reception is good. If you don't mind a small yellow-backlit screen and a bricklike from factor (as in near-unpocketably large) you should be very happy with this very cheap ($5-$10 is the usual price) phone, which has scads of accessories available.
5160 - If you just talk this phone is fine. It's the older brother to the 5165 and sports a boxier faceplate (for best looks change with a 5165 faceplate) and a lack of outgoing text messaging. I reccommend this less especially since it's a little rarer and probably is just as expensive as the 5165.
5125 - This is the dual-band cousin of the 5165. It should work just as well since most 1900 band coverage on TDMA is supplemented by reception on the 850 band or is dead already. But it is rarer I think so probably not a great deal.
5120 - This is the dual-band version of the 5160. Read the comments on the 5160, than the differences between the 5165 and the 5125 and that's about what this phone is.
1260\1261 - If you want modern and basic, this is it. It has a pretty large black-and-white screen and I think a calculator and works pretty well overall, though not excpetionally well. I'd pass this up though unless you can get it for less than maybe $15 as phones that are a good bit better aren't much more expensive. Also this is not a terribly well-known phone so it may be a little more expensive that way.
1220 - Again, the dual-band cousin of its xx60 model. Haven't seen any though.
2260 - If you want a refreshing blue backlight and vibrating alert with once again a more modern phone, here you go. Beware though that it's pretty expensive and reception has been termed less than great. I'd personally pass this up for (once again) a better-featured model.
3560 - One of the four color TDMA phones, this is the older brother to the Nokia 6010\3595 still seen today on GSM networks. As such you can expect modern features, though some things, due to the nature of the TDMA network (such as web access) just aren't there. You can probably find this phone for below $40. I got mine (now traded) for $21.99 shipped. I heartily reccommend this phone if voice and text are your thing and you live in an area covered by the TDMA network. Talk is nice and cheap with Beyond so I'd say consider this phone if that's most of what you'll be doing even with CDMA and GSM carriers as options. Oh, and you can trade faceplates with a 6010 or 3595 for a look near-indistinguishable from a nice modern phone.
6560 - This is the Ferrari of TDMA phones. It's small, light, and can do everything TDMA can't as of now (TDMA could do web once; this could too). It's priced pretty high (as much as $90 and usually around $60-$70) but if TDMA is your thing nobody will know you have a TDMA phone with this as your Nokia of choice.
3360\3361 - These aren't particularly pretty or advanced or any such thing, but they once again do the job of making and receiving phone calls and text messages well. They're cheap too ($20 I think is the usual).
6360 - If you don't need a color screen and want advanced features welcome to TDMA's version of heaven. This longish but thin handset has infrared and plenty of other nice features, though I don't think web is one of them (you couldn't use it anyway). But as a warning this phone tends to get expensive ($40-$50 the last time I looked).
6160/7160 - These phones are similar in that they're pretty advanced but also pretty old, on the level of a souped up Nokia 5165. The 7160 has a slider form factor. The 6160 is a brick. I almost forgot to talk about these since they're prety rare.
I guess that's it for Nokia. Now to
MOTOROLA
These guys didn't make as many TDMA phones, but here they are:
v120 - This phone, which is poor in its CDMA incarnation, has been surprisingly well-reviewed for TDMA. If you want a $30 card on Beyond Wireless and will pay $6.95 for shipping, you can just by this phone flat out and easy.
v60 - Sure it's one of the two TDMA flips, but it's as bad on TDMA as the v120 is on CDMA. I'd make this a phone to pass up, in favor of...
v60 color - This is a phone that's pretty good at doing phone calls and text messages and has the distinction of being the only TDMA color flip. It's not that expensive either, at maybe $50.
c353 - This is the fourth color phone on TDMA and arguably the most basic. It has a $60 CDMA counterpart on TracFone but you should be able to get it for maybe $40 on eBay. It's an OK phone but keep in mind that it may not have the modern interface of the Tracfone version, and if it does it will have the same wierd shorcomings discussed two posts ago.
c343 - Take the c353 and give it a black-and-white screen. I think it's a little cheaper. If ou want a nice-looking prety darn basic TDMA phone here's your chance, though I'd go for the c353 or better a Nokia model.
StarTAC - Do you want to be retro? If the answer is yes welcome to the TDMA ersion of this phone. I think it's only dual-band but if you want retro and a pretty good phone to boot here it is. Just don't think too cheap.
Now for
PANASONIC
I don't know much about these phones but they're basically the same except that some have speakerphones or ruggedized chassis while others don't. Battery life is generally not too great, but the phones aren't too bad and tbey are customizeable in such wierd ways as backlight color. The DuraMax is the durable phone (hence the name), the ProMax has a speakerphone, the Allure may also have the speakerphone and then there's one more model whose name slips my mind right now...thay're all not too expensive but not too plentiful either.
SONY\ERICSSON
These guys generally made some good TDMA phones, though there aren't a whole bunch of them and the interface is certainly different than usual. Some of these phones have small (heightwise) screens so kep that in mind while looking around in this area. One notable phone is the T60LX or T60D (not to be confused witht he rotten T62u GAIT phone) which has plenty of nice features (though no color screen or infrared) and an interesting "egg" shape. Not too expensive either...
MITSUBISHI
One of the least-known phone manufacturers, these guys made good, though very, very few, phones. You'll probably have to look for a long while to find one.
With that ends my somewhat in-depth look at TDMA phones. I'll probably post eBay closed auction prices later but hope this helped people who want to go Beyond.
GoPhone: Go For It!
Right now Cingular is offering two phones, one of which comes in two varieties. The Nokia 6010, the old stanby of GSM that is a great basic phone, if basic can be termed to a phone capable of web access, MMS, text messaging and voice calls (probably can), is $30. Surprise, so is the Samsung c207, a phone more likely to stay on Cingular (not as easily unlockable) but small and neat enough that you might just have to get the cable and unlock it for T-Mobile as well.
If you want the c207 you have two choices: buy it new for $30 or buy it refirbished for $30. What's the difference? The new one had a $30 mail-in rebate that you need to redeem to get that price. The Nokia is new.
Nice thing about all GoPhones is that if you go to DealKing (I think DealKing.com) and follow the directions somewhere there you can get $30 back from them for getting a GoPhone, or that's the last I heard. So you can give it a try and if it works you've just become the proud owner of a free prepaid phone, a comcept pioneered by STi Mobile ;).
If you want the c207 you have two choices: buy it new for $30 or buy it refirbished for $30. What's the difference? The new one had a $30 mail-in rebate that you need to redeem to get that price. The Nokia is new.
Nice thing about all GoPhones is that if you go to DealKing (I think DealKing.com) and follow the directions somewhere there you can get $30 back from them for getting a GoPhone, or that's the last I heard. So you can give it a try and if it works you've just become the proud owner of a free prepaid phone, a comcept pioneered by STi Mobile ;).
Of Shorties and Tracfones
First, the Nokia Shorty is now back up to $29.98 at my local Wal-Mart, upping it back into ripoff status. I would've posted a photo of it Saturday morning when I was in the store but STi's picture messaging is strangely defunt of late. Watch this phone not sell ;). Amazon has it for a penny more...until you figure out they don't charge tax or shipping and Wal-Mart does charge tax :). I'd go for the Tracfone 2126 right now since it's $10 cheaper and in color.
And about Tracfone, as it turns out if you have those lovely promo code booklets you can still use them with the new beefed-up airtime rates. I know this because some people walked up at Wal-Mart wanting to add airtime to their Motorola c353 (more on that later) or is it c343 (can't remember). Anyway, without a promo code (added airtime over the phone and the prompt didn't let me do another promo code after the first failed; didn't get there fast enough) there were 250 minutes added to the phone. One of those famously huge codes (there were three of 'em) that I typed into the phone enabled that nice little feature called Rapid Refill so that time I was able to put in the promo code easily (for 30 minutes) and tada we had 280 more minutes. Not bad for $50 plus tax (about 19.1 cents a minute all told).
Now about the Motorola c3?3, it's that $60 phone that few people buy. I actually found it to be relatively useable though it has the flaw of REVERSED SEND AND END KEYS AAAAAAAH!!!! Anyway besides that and a slightly wierd menu scheme the phone was very useable and seemed to hold a signal well. It seemed to have the exact same screen (and a similar menu layout) as the Motorola v170 GSM Tracfone flip (now seen with cingular branding as well) which means it had a screen medium-sized for a bar phone (slightly larger and higher-resolution than the Nokia 2126's but the 2126 makes better use of the screen) but abysmally small for a flip (I mean wouldn't you expect a larger screen on a flip phone...come on). Enough with the screen and menu system ranting: the phone seemed a bit cheap but certainly useable, a feeling you get with the v170 except to a lesser extent, mostly because the buttons aren't placed or responding ultra-correctly relative to the surface of the phone.
Anyway, not on to Rapid Refill. For the few, the proud, the people who have it turned on in their local areas (some zips seem to have it, some do not) and have a modern enough phone (anything from the Nokia 1100 or 2285 on) welcome to, upon your next code-punching frenzy, something that makes adding airtime refreshingly easier: a menu option that lets you put the airtime code, with the promo code right after it, into the phone. You get the appropriate number of minutes a little later via a free text message. Genius...why so late Tracfone? Oh yeah, it's because the phone keeps track of airtime. ;)
And about Tracfone, as it turns out if you have those lovely promo code booklets you can still use them with the new beefed-up airtime rates. I know this because some people walked up at Wal-Mart wanting to add airtime to their Motorola c353 (more on that later) or is it c343 (can't remember). Anyway, without a promo code (added airtime over the phone and the prompt didn't let me do another promo code after the first failed; didn't get there fast enough) there were 250 minutes added to the phone. One of those famously huge codes (there were three of 'em) that I typed into the phone enabled that nice little feature called Rapid Refill so that time I was able to put in the promo code easily (for 30 minutes) and tada we had 280 more minutes. Not bad for $50 plus tax (about 19.1 cents a minute all told).
Now about the Motorola c3?3, it's that $60 phone that few people buy. I actually found it to be relatively useable though it has the flaw of REVERSED SEND AND END KEYS AAAAAAAH!!!! Anyway besides that and a slightly wierd menu scheme the phone was very useable and seemed to hold a signal well. It seemed to have the exact same screen (and a similar menu layout) as the Motorola v170 GSM Tracfone flip (now seen with cingular branding as well) which means it had a screen medium-sized for a bar phone (slightly larger and higher-resolution than the Nokia 2126's but the 2126 makes better use of the screen) but abysmally small for a flip (I mean wouldn't you expect a larger screen on a flip phone...come on). Enough with the screen and menu system ranting: the phone seemed a bit cheap but certainly useable, a feeling you get with the v170 except to a lesser extent, mostly because the buttons aren't placed or responding ultra-correctly relative to the surface of the phone.
Anyway, not on to Rapid Refill. For the few, the proud, the people who have it turned on in their local areas (some zips seem to have it, some do not) and have a modern enough phone (anything from the Nokia 1100 or 2285 on) welcome to, upon your next code-punching frenzy, something that makes adding airtime refreshingly easier: a menu option that lets you put the airtime code, with the promo code right after it, into the phone. You get the appropriate number of minutes a little later via a free text message. Genius...why so late Tracfone? Oh yeah, it's because the phone keeps track of airtime. ;)
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Simple Freedom - Changing?
I've heard many things. First, it seems as though Alltel will be changing its Simple Freedom service into the super prepaid plan I mentioned a post or two ago. Second, I've heard that Simple Freedom is being pulled out of stores where the Verizon network is the network the phones are being activated on. Third, I've heard that the pull-out is just for rebranding and it will be released again.
I'm inclined toward the tird option. Simple Freedom's footprint is the same as the new prepaid plan's, and my store for one (I'm in a Verizon-only area, but Alltel isn't too far away) still has several Simple Freedom phones in stock. Granted, roaming is more expensive, but the large home area is just as much cheaper (actually more, 10 cents cheaper vs. 9 cents more expensive) so I'm not too sad. I'm rooting for Alltel...and yes I have more to say about my adventures in cellular land but that must wait...
I'm inclined toward the tird option. Simple Freedom's footprint is the same as the new prepaid plan's, and my store for one (I'm in a Verizon-only area, but Alltel isn't too far away) still has several Simple Freedom phones in stock. Granted, roaming is more expensive, but the large home area is just as much cheaper (actually more, 10 cents cheaper vs. 9 cents more expensive) so I'm not too sad. I'm rooting for Alltel...and yes I have more to say about my adventures in cellular land but that must wait...
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Tracfone, Alltel Prepaid, Virgin Text
Well, a couple of things here.
As to Tracfone, they've dropped the super deal with the Motorola v170 and $50 card for the price of the card plus tax. They still have the Nokia 1100 deal (the one with the $20 card) as well as one with a $130 card and a new phone ratehr than a refurbished one (doesn't really make a difference as refurb units are excellent quality). As to their CDMA selection, it is still pitiful online, with only the Motorola v120 available (in a promotion similar to that of the Nokia 1100 on GSM). If anyone wants the Nokia 2126, I'll send 'em for $30 activated or unactivated but in either case rid of the large packaging, as my local Wal-Mart has them in stock.
Tracfone's TDMA selection is looking up however, though it is still ailing. They now offer the Motorola v60 flip, though just in areas that offer TDMA service only (zip 26121 is a way to get the phone). The new phone alone is $60 plus tax, though the promo code 80041 may take 15% off the price. The new phone with a double-minute card is $140 so if you can sell the double-minute card for $100 you have a reasonable priced flip phone. One small problem: the v60's TDMA version has been badly reviewed, as has the v120's CDMA version, though it will probably still work to some extent.
Now, about Virgin Mobile's SMS. I've been informed that as of March 15th the pricing will change from 10 cents to send\free to receive to 5 cents both ways, the same as STi. If you send more texts than you receive this is a turn for the better but if you use SMS search functions, most of which generate several results messages, or use an SMS alerts service, here's an advance warning to look elsewhere, to either Beyond Wireless or T-Mobile, depending on what is in your area.
And for the final topic: Alltel's upcoming prepaid plan. Scheduled to arrive on the 25th (and relying on information someone else posted so don't kill me if this doesn't happen as I want it to be as well :) ) is something similar to Virgin Mobile except better. First off, it uses the "Simple Freedom" combined Verizon\Alltel home network, which covers a lot of ground, as home territory, with roaming at a bearable 59 cents a minute. Second, the plans are competitive and the Most Called Number option leaves a nice loophole for a cheap long distance card. :) Text messaging, if not included in your plan, is five cents both ways, better than the previous 8 cents. One con: I don't know phone prices yet, but I do know that activation is $35, though that might get you a 99 cent phone.
The traditional perpaid option is 15 cents a minute. You refill with at least $10 and activate with at least $20 beyond the activation fee. The pay-by-day option lets you pick either nights\weekends, M2M (with other Alltel users), text messaging, or a single Most Called Number as unlimited for 75 cents a day for two, plus 25 cents a day per other service, so $1.25 for everything. Maybe a long-distance calling card would be a nice candidate for the Most Called Number; 10 cents a minute for calls not covered in one of your "free" categories is cheap for prepaid but still not as good as a normal calling card, which can be 2.5 cents a minute fairly easily (www.phoneshark.com is where I get mine). I might as well just copy the hybrid plan options:
***** Pay per month
• Customers must pay in advance for the monthly recurring charges for this rate plan type.
•$29.99 – 200 peak, 1,000 Night & Weekend minutes, $.35 post-package rate
•$39.99 – 400 peak, 2,000 Night & Weekend minutes, $.35 post-package rate
•$69.99 – 700 peak, Unlimited Night & Weekend minutes, Unlimited M2M, and Unlimited Text messaging, $.10 post-package rate
•M2M can’t be purchased for the $29.99 or the $39.99 plans
•The $29.99 or $39.99 plans also have the option of purchasing the $5.99 or $9.99 SMS packages.
•One Most Often Called (MOC) number can be purchased for $5 per month on any package plan. This number can be any landline or wireless number, anywhere in the US.
Is it just me or does that sound pretty good for prepaid? I hope it comes through.
Speaking of pretty good for prepaid, I'm also wondering whether there will be a 14-day free trial on the upcoming ReadyLink+Web bundle on STi. If there is, what a nice way to try out alternative means of walkie-talkie :)
As to Tracfone, they've dropped the super deal with the Motorola v170 and $50 card for the price of the card plus tax. They still have the Nokia 1100 deal (the one with the $20 card) as well as one with a $130 card and a new phone ratehr than a refurbished one (doesn't really make a difference as refurb units are excellent quality). As to their CDMA selection, it is still pitiful online, with only the Motorola v120 available (in a promotion similar to that of the Nokia 1100 on GSM). If anyone wants the Nokia 2126, I'll send 'em for $30 activated or unactivated but in either case rid of the large packaging, as my local Wal-Mart has them in stock.
Tracfone's TDMA selection is looking up however, though it is still ailing. They now offer the Motorola v60 flip, though just in areas that offer TDMA service only (zip 26121 is a way to get the phone). The new phone alone is $60 plus tax, though the promo code 80041 may take 15% off the price. The new phone with a double-minute card is $140 so if you can sell the double-minute card for $100 you have a reasonable priced flip phone. One small problem: the v60's TDMA version has been badly reviewed, as has the v120's CDMA version, though it will probably still work to some extent.
Now, about Virgin Mobile's SMS. I've been informed that as of March 15th the pricing will change from 10 cents to send\free to receive to 5 cents both ways, the same as STi. If you send more texts than you receive this is a turn for the better but if you use SMS search functions, most of which generate several results messages, or use an SMS alerts service, here's an advance warning to look elsewhere, to either Beyond Wireless or T-Mobile, depending on what is in your area.
And for the final topic: Alltel's upcoming prepaid plan. Scheduled to arrive on the 25th (and relying on information someone else posted so don't kill me if this doesn't happen as I want it to be as well :) ) is something similar to Virgin Mobile except better. First off, it uses the "Simple Freedom" combined Verizon\Alltel home network, which covers a lot of ground, as home territory, with roaming at a bearable 59 cents a minute. Second, the plans are competitive and the Most Called Number option leaves a nice loophole for a cheap long distance card. :) Text messaging, if not included in your plan, is five cents both ways, better than the previous 8 cents. One con: I don't know phone prices yet, but I do know that activation is $35, though that might get you a 99 cent phone.
The traditional perpaid option is 15 cents a minute. You refill with at least $10 and activate with at least $20 beyond the activation fee. The pay-by-day option lets you pick either nights\weekends, M2M (with other Alltel users), text messaging, or a single Most Called Number as unlimited for 75 cents a day for two, plus 25 cents a day per other service, so $1.25 for everything. Maybe a long-distance calling card would be a nice candidate for the Most Called Number; 10 cents a minute for calls not covered in one of your "free" categories is cheap for prepaid but still not as good as a normal calling card, which can be 2.5 cents a minute fairly easily (www.phoneshark.com is where I get mine). I might as well just copy the hybrid plan options:
***** Pay per month
• Customers must pay in advance for the monthly recurring charges for this rate plan type.
•$29.99 – 200 peak, 1,000 Night & Weekend minutes, $.35 post-package rate
•$39.99 – 400 peak, 2,000 Night & Weekend minutes, $.35 post-package rate
•$69.99 – 700 peak, Unlimited Night & Weekend minutes, Unlimited M2M, and Unlimited Text messaging, $.10 post-package rate
•M2M can’t be purchased for the $29.99 or the $39.99 plans
•The $29.99 or $39.99 plans also have the option of purchasing the $5.99 or $9.99 SMS packages.
•One Most Often Called (MOC) number can be purchased for $5 per month on any package plan. This number can be any landline or wireless number, anywhere in the US.
Is it just me or does that sound pretty good for prepaid? I hope it comes through.
Speaking of pretty good for prepaid, I'm also wondering whether there will be a 14-day free trial on the upcoming ReadyLink+Web bundle on STi. If there is, what a nice way to try out alternative means of walkie-talkie :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Quick Announcements: Virgin. Boost & Beyond
On Virgin Mobile, the Audiovox V7 Flasher is now $80 direct from their site. If you are dying for a camera phone and don't want to deal with STi rebates and\or want to port your number in (invalidates the STi rebate I've heard, maybe I'm wrong though) here's something, though it's a pretty junky phone. The Audiovox 8610 is now $60...finally it's priced out of the insanity range.
On Boost, the "chirp change" $25 extra promo is until 1\31\06. Enjoy it while you can, then wait for some other promo; Boost phones are too expensive to come with only $10 in airtime IMO.
On Beyond, though the TDMA activation cutoff date is still 1\31\06, the rollout date for GSM is now in mid-February. I really don't want to see these guys die out, but with two weeks of no new activations it could happen...then again it may still be OK...but if they push GSM back again things are going to start getting iffy.
On Boost, the "chirp change" $25 extra promo is until 1\31\06. Enjoy it while you can, then wait for some other promo; Boost phones are too expensive to come with only $10 in airtime IMO.
On Beyond, though the TDMA activation cutoff date is still 1\31\06, the rollout date for GSM is now in mid-February. I really don't want to see these guys die out, but with two weeks of no new activations it could happen...then again it may still be OK...but if they push GSM back again things are going to start getting iffy.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Side Comparison #2
Here is another size comparison, this time between the relatively small iDEN flip the i450 and the Virgin mobile Snapper. As you ben see, while the 450 is still large it not obnoxiously so like some other nextel phones. I will put another photo up soon.
Friday, January 06, 2006
i285 Info and More Stuff For Sale (trade actually)
First off, I found that the i285 seems to connect to the network a tad faster than my i415. Second, the i285 gets a bar or two better reception than my i415, picking up a signal maybe 100 yards, maybe even more than that, away from where my i415 dropped out in hilly country near my house, which gets a full signal dince it's about 100 yards from US 290. Interestingly, if I sat down on the road shoulder with my i285 it would lose a signal but standing it would get it.
Of course, the big con of the i285 is that its battery life is way, way below average, as in analog battery life. But when you consider that the reason is the battery is small because the whole phone is as close to a Motorola SLVR (for the uninitiated the bar version of the RAZR, coming soon) as iDEN is ever going to get, you can fogive it somewhat.
OK, now about the trade\sale part of this item. I want to drop a line of Boost service, as two lines at a minimum of $6.66 a month is a bit much. I also want the i450, basically the flip version of the i415 but with other improvements as well. So I'm willing to trade both my Boost phones (i415 and i285) for an i450, all three without sim cards inside. Or I'll trade my i415 with the i285 sim inside (since they're both 64k phones everything will work fine) for an i450 without a sim. If I do the two-phones-for-one trade I'll also want to sell my i285 sim (with around $20 on it and its expiration on April Fool's Day) for the amount on it plus $1 or so for shipping (snail mail) and PayPal fees (I'll take a check in the mail too).
I've posted this info on Howard Forums as well, here:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=815513
Of course, the big con of the i285 is that its battery life is way, way below average, as in analog battery life. But when you consider that the reason is the battery is small because the whole phone is as close to a Motorola SLVR (for the uninitiated the bar version of the RAZR, coming soon) as iDEN is ever going to get, you can fogive it somewhat.
OK, now about the trade\sale part of this item. I want to drop a line of Boost service, as two lines at a minimum of $6.66 a month is a bit much. I also want the i450, basically the flip version of the i415 but with other improvements as well. So I'm willing to trade both my Boost phones (i415 and i285) for an i450, all three without sim cards inside. Or I'll trade my i415 with the i285 sim inside (since they're both 64k phones everything will work fine) for an i450 without a sim. If I do the two-phones-for-one trade I'll also want to sell my i285 sim (with around $20 on it and its expiration on April Fool's Day) for the amount on it plus $1 or so for shipping (snail mail) and PayPal fees (I'll take a check in the mail too).
I've posted this info on Howard Forums as well, here:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=815513
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Motorola i285
I traded my Nokia 3560 on Beyond Wireless for a shiny little Boost i285. I'm thinking of making it my primary Boost phone. Though it has less features than my i415 is is much, much smaller, small enough to keep it from being immediately shown to be an iDEN phone, as they tend to be on the large side. As a size comparison, it is shorter and maybe a little thinner than my Nokia 6010 on T-Mobile To Go. If you want a candy bar phone this is about as candy-bar-ish as you're going to get :) with its rounded frame and stubby proportions.
OK, now for the bad stuff. First, the text messaging system is web-based, versus the i415's phone-based system. Ech. Not like I'd use Nextel's horrible text system anyway though. Second, the screen is small and pixelated, a result of the phone's being smaller and a little older. Both items are liveable though; the screen is no more pixelated than that of a Nokia 6010 or 2126, and has about the same screen area as the 6010. I'm just picky.
So if you're in the market for a smaller iDEN phone, the i285 is OK. A few warnings though: the battery life seems to suffer due to the size of the phone, so keep a charger at hand. Also, look for this phone used on eBay or something like that. Its smallness doesn't make it quite worth the $50 boostmobile.com is asking for it. Oh, and as with all other iDEN phones the ringtone selection outside of the monophonic bleeps is very slim.
And a few warnings about Boost service:
1. The i285 does not come with TeleNav. The program is $5 to download, plus the per-trip fees. The "unlimited usage" moniker is incorrect.
2. DO NOT download the "music" or "voice" ringtones. They are $3 and are about 10 seconds long. If you want to trick out your phone, either buy a data cable and put normal-sized ringtones on your phone or get an LG 225 on STi, which allows you to either download tones from 3gforfree or even record your own.
Well I guess that's it. By the way, anyone who is in the market for a Boost sim card contact me. I may want to sell the sim card that came with the i285 for a dollar or two plus the balance on it. I can't afford to have more than two or so expiration-based prepaids where there is basically a monthly minimum, unless it's really small.
OK, now for the bad stuff. First, the text messaging system is web-based, versus the i415's phone-based system. Ech. Not like I'd use Nextel's horrible text system anyway though. Second, the screen is small and pixelated, a result of the phone's being smaller and a little older. Both items are liveable though; the screen is no more pixelated than that of a Nokia 6010 or 2126, and has about the same screen area as the 6010. I'm just picky.
So if you're in the market for a smaller iDEN phone, the i285 is OK. A few warnings though: the battery life seems to suffer due to the size of the phone, so keep a charger at hand. Also, look for this phone used on eBay or something like that. Its smallness doesn't make it quite worth the $50 boostmobile.com is asking for it. Oh, and as with all other iDEN phones the ringtone selection outside of the monophonic bleeps is very slim.
And a few warnings about Boost service:
1. The i285 does not come with TeleNav. The program is $5 to download, plus the per-trip fees. The "unlimited usage" moniker is incorrect.
2. DO NOT download the "music" or "voice" ringtones. They are $3 and are about 10 seconds long. If you want to trick out your phone, either buy a data cable and put normal-sized ringtones on your phone or get an LG 225 on STi, which allows you to either download tones from 3gforfree or even record your own.
Well I guess that's it. By the way, anyone who is in the market for a Boost sim card contact me. I may want to sell the sim card that came with the i285 for a dollar or two plus the balance on it. I can't afford to have more than two or so expiration-based prepaids where there is basically a monthly minimum, unless it's really small.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Wait...It's Better!
I posted the first rendition of this from my STi phone. Now I'm goi g over with something better. Basically that cingular10 code seems to work EVERYWHERE on CheapPhoneCards.com! This means you can not only use it on Cingular refills, but also on such cards as those from T-Mobile To Go, Tracfone and STi. The added bonus is you can use the code on hardware (STi phones) and accessories as well. Payme25 gets better deals on most of the items sold, but as it doesn't work on the LG 225 cameraphone cingular10 is a worthy substitute, bringing the STi $149 package down to $140.05 shipped. Interestingly, this is only 23 cents cheaper than the price of my own 225, purchased with refill8, but I seem to remember some other wierd discount coming out of nowhere that helped me a bit...
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Cingular Refills for even cheaper!
I found another coupon code for CheapPhoneCards: cingular10. As you might figure out from its contents, this code takes 10% off GoPhone refills, which are 5% off as it is. So you get around 15% off total. If you have GoPhone this is a good deal...
Size Comparison, Part I
This is a size comparison between my Boost i415 and a Nokia 5165. As you can see, both are not small phones by any stretch of the imagination.
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