[Discuss] [OT] VZ Wireless carrier alternatives

[sweetser at alum.mit.edu (Doug)]

Smart phones without data plans rock the house.  Wifi at home and work
is all they need to sync up.

My used apps, approximate order of utility: "Out of Milk" (grocery
list), MyFitnessPal (tracking what I eat), CoPilot Live (GPS device
that works without the Internet), Camera, GMail in the morning,
Twitter, Weather widget - info seen without opening, Calendar widget,
Sonos for home stereo, Stopwatch & Timer for cooking, Toddler Lock for
the 3 year old, News, Browser, ScoreCenter, ShakeCall to answer
without a finger swipe, OpenTable, flashlight - used at the last visit
to Cambridge Brewery.  Maybe we should have a separate discussion:
apps in use...

I do like the way I make calls now, very fast to find any number I
know with a picture if I have one, makes it seem more personal.

I like to pay for unlocked phones.  Phone carriers have an incentive
to not give you the best phone - it is their money you are spending.
Lots of phone choices.  I went with small form, long battery life,
good camera, and ended up at the Sony Ericsson XPeria Ray, $300 price
point.

The biggest challenge will be the unlimited text.  The market accepts
the pay $0.10/message which is way above the cost.  Otherwise I would
say T-Mobile prepaid.  My wife and I spend $400 every year for the
service, effectively for 4000 minutes.  We do not text often.

Doug