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Actually -
My phones part of a family plan - so my wife an I share the 300 minutes. The additional cost for my phone is US$9.99, and after exorbitant taxes, ca.US$15. I'd looked into some pay-as-you-go plans - but, as this wouldn't work out with my wife's slowly-but-surely increasing usage, I may as well keep what I've got. Actual usage is a bit hard to gage, for if we call one another, it doesn't count. (cell-to-cell between is small).
A thought to consider:
AT&T (formerly Cingular) offers roll-over-minutes, which allows you to accumulate unused minutes from previous months for future usage. This is an ingenious sales gimmick. With some exceptions, there are two types of users: those who pretty much always use all of their minutes, and those who don't. For those who don't, we keep accumulating rollover minutes we'll never use. The plan is, for most people, offering them perceived value with no actual value. Absolutely ingenious. (Rollover minutes have no value and expire after 12 months).
At least we Luddies don't walk around with a ridiculous blue thing sticking out of our ear (resembling Mr. Spock on early Star Trek?).
Perhaps having their phone always-at-the-ready gives people a perception of self importance?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"It's a sad state of affairs, indeed, when you start reading my tag lines for some sort of enlightenment. Sadder still, if that's where you need to find it." - Balboos HaGadol
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Balboos wrote: my wife's slowly-but-surely increasing usage
This may actually drive me to getting a contract, it is a slow process but useage is gdefinately growing.
Rollover minutes, what a crock, some marketing weenie got innovator of the month for that one!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Balboos wrote: For the "unmarried" - on a date?
My phone tells me when I have a date.
Personally, I love the idea that Raymond spends his nights posting bad regexs to mailing lists under the pseudonym of Jane Smith. He'd be like a super hero, only more nerdy and less useful. [Trevel]
| FoldWithUs! | sighist | µLaunch - program launcher for server core and hyper-v server
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I've got you beat hands down - I don't even have a cell phone!!! Bah humbug on you all!
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Symbian holds around 75% of the mobile OS market and yet only a few would support it.
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Europe doesn't count for anything electronics related 
If you aren't from Asia or the americas, noone cares.
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. . . and your point?
(grin)
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"It's a sad state of affairs, indeed, when you start reading my tag lines for some sort of enlightenment. Sadder still, if that's where you need to find it." - Balboos HaGadol
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When I choose 'I would not write a smartphone application', I should not be allowed to select other options and vice-versa. Isn't it?
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep!
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Off topic
VDK,
Just wanted to let you know that I am a frequent reader of your Views and Reviews blog. Good stuff there man. 
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These systems will (probably) be the most successful smartphones. They are much easier to use then WM, which is what customers want. Unless Microsoft does not radically change its approach to mobile operating systems, they will loose market share in this tech area. At least, that is what I think. If I see the people around me and how easy it is for them to get familiar with Android an iPhone and how difficult they think WM is, then I would put my money on these systems and not on WM.
On the other side, if you look at the (planned) adoptation of Android, then I think that the future is Android. It could be even more successful then the iPhone as it is not limited to hardware. So my prefered system would be Android, especially looking at the future.
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Blue_Iced wrote: On the other side, if you look at the (planned) adoptation of Android
But what about the *actual* adoption of Android, since that's what really counts? I have only seen a few of them. And what few I have seen look cheap and clunky. Then there's the fact that it runs Java and that's what you're stuck with developing with, which makes it just double plus icky in my book.
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I agree on the Java part, I would like to have the ability to program with other languages as well. Currently Samsung and HTC are working on many new smartphones with Android and so are other manufacturers. Until now there were not many implementations of Android, but popularity is growing. I have HTC Magic and so far it is the best smartphone I had. Before this I used Windows Mobile, which is far more difficult to use. The iPhone works great, costs a bit too much in my opinion, but it certainly is popular. The only disadvantage of the iPhone is that you need a seperate computer to get OS updates. To get back to Android, it is still a young OS. The stability is great and you need no other computer to maintain it. There are 2 things I would like to see differently. And those are the integration of all the Google tools. But you can chose not to use them... The second thing that I actually miss is the multi-touch screen. If I understood well, there is no support for it yet.
I think that Android will become pretty big in a short time. In that case you better start now to develop for it, at least if you want your applications to be used by many people.
Anyway, I am a very happy Android user!
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I chose Iphone and Windows mobile.
I bought a LG Incite with WM on it because I wanted to write some apps and be famous or whatever. I just wanted to learn something new. ATT messed something up and gave me a new phone humber so I had to return the phone and they were going to give me different one.
So I only had this phone for a day and I wasn't too keen on it. It was a good phone, but you guessed it, I'm standing at the store playing with the Iphone and I just can't stop! So I got the Iphone to replace it instead.
Now I see the opportunities for business apps with the Iphone. Now I just need to buy a Mac, register as some kind of Apple developer, and I can be rich and famous with the Iphone as well.
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and a lousy one at that too!
--
Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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By 'lousy', you mean that you don't replace your mobile phone every 6-8 weeks like the manufacturers wish you would?
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary Wheeler wrote: replace your mobile phone every 6-8 weeks like the manufacturers wish
years. (FTFY, in a conservative perspective)
I had my Motorola T190 bought long back till about two years back when I chose to replace with a Nokia 6030.
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep!
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I've owned four phones. Each of them has lasted multiple years, and have only been replaced because I was changing providers and took the opportunity to upgrade my phone as part of the process.
My current phone is an LG VX5400 (stop laughing; it makes phone calls), which I've had for a little over a year. I'm eligible for a free replacement or discounted upgrade next spring. At that time, I may switch to a phone with a keyboard, since I'm using text messaging more and more often to keep track of my daughter.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Ive had each of my phones for exactly 2 years. This is because of the way they first lock you into a 2 year contract, and then they use that contract to subsidize the price of the phone.
I wouldn't even mind the phones being as expensive as they are, IF i wasn't being locked into 2 year contracts. I've wanted an Android for a long time now, but until my Verizon contracts up I have no choice. I think the consumer should be able to buy whatever phone they want and choose whatever carrier they want. Any business that traps you into staying doesn't seem like they'll be too interested in providing good service.
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Surely it is your choice to conform to their purchase plan. I have alway purchased the phone I want and I do not have a contract. I may pay more for each call and my phone actually cost me money but it is all my choice.
You make your decisions you live with them, you can't whine at Verizon if they make you an offer and you accept it.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Yeah, and using that logic we can't ever complain about anything. The gas prices are too high because the oil companies are price fixing? Ride a bike! Food prices are too high because factory farms are putting the small farms out of business? You don't HAVE to buy the food, grow your own! Your country is bombing the crap out of another country for no reason? You CHOOSE to live here, so if you don't like it go someplace else.
Besides, the point of the internet is for nerds like us to whine all day on message boards. That's obviously why we're here 
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Something like that.
--
Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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Eh... if applications for every phone could be developed in Visual Studio... 
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Predrag Tomasevic wrote: Eh... if applications for every phone could be developed in Visual Studio...
That would be great as long as the compiled application does not need to rely on the .NET Framework... Can we make a stand alone executable with VS???
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Short answer - no 
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