[UFO Chicago] Cell phones

[Brian Sobolak]

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005, Jesse Becker wrote:

> --- Brian Sobolak <brian at planetshwoop.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, 20 Aug 2005, Jesse Becker wrote:

>> I hate them all.  I've had Sprint, AT&T, Cingular, and
>> reseller Sprint, and I find the phone to be burden.  If
>> you feel like supporting liberal causes, I've gotten
>> decent service from Working Assets
> (www.workingassets.com)
>> and at least some of their corporate stuff goes to causes
>
>> I like.
>
> I've resisted getting a phone for many years.  I've lately
> found that not having a phone is becoming more of a hassle
> than lugging one around.  Especially since I don't plan on
> having it on all the time...(it's primarily  *me* to call
> *you*, not the other way around).

Your requirement about "free" long distance affects things somewhat.  But 
if you're looking for shorter conversations of the "you're at the train 
station?  Ok, I'll come getcha" variety, which seem to be 75% of all cell 
phone calls, you might try looking at a pre-paid plan.  I haven't tried 
them yet, but for people who don't plan on spending a lot of time on the 
phone, it looks a lot cheaper than even a minimal plan from The Usual 
Suspects.

I get 300 regular minutes a month and unlimited nights and weekends. 
Since taxes are high and I do use SMS, my bill works out to be $45 month. 
If I did the same with say, Virgin, based on current usage, my bill would 
be closer to $20 - $25.  YMMV, depends on what you think you'll use it 
for.

brian