Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:48:15 -0400, HK wrote:


You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.

How it worked was first year got about 1200 minutes off the bat for
about $160 which included a Motorola flip phone still in use.
There was a 200 min bonus deal.
Second year I did $100 which gave us a total of 1600 mins because we
still had 600 left. You don't lose old minutes if you re-up.
Last year still has 800 left.
So we use about 600 a year - most talking to the kids when we're on
vacation.
They all have different stuff, including U.S Cellular and T-Mobile
family plan - my daughter and her best friend.
Some of my kids have the T-Mobile family with my ex.
The thing about the T-Mobile is there are no roaming charges.
One son - the proverbial yakker - has a US Cellular that runs $60-80
month and just showed up this morning back from Tennessee unannounced
because the roaming charges are so high.
Forget to give him *MY* T-Mobile prepaid that the wife gave me for my
birthday and I have never used and usually forget to carry.
Waste of money.
No, I don't like cell phones. Can't see the buttons.
But they are nice to have for the road so we have them.

--Vic


I don't like them much either when they ring. But I like the convenience
of having a phone when I want it and where I want it so I can dial out.
I use mine a lot when out fishing...it's a much better way than VHF
radio to reach the "captains" of other boats to hear them lie about the
fish they are catching where they are. Out on the Bay these days, cell
coverage is damned good if you are out a bit from the cliffs and woods
on the western shore.