Deals:

• DT_Josh Gotta give @VerizonWireless some love too: They have all of their online promos online including free phones.
• DT_Josh An @ATT customer and Android fan would do good with the HTC Inspire, it’s what I would get.
• DT_Josh @ATT is having a Penny Promotion. Several phones just $0.01 w/ contract

Tips & Other Talk:

AT&T/T-Mobile

• DT_Josh So, do you the consumer stand to benefit from the @ATT takeover of T-mobile? Or will having less choices detriment the consumer?
• DT_Josh I think that the service will substantially improve, but less competition in wireless services can’t be good in the long term.
• shane_walker I think the best thing that can come from the merger is additional coverage and phenomenal @TMobile customer service.

3rd Party Cell Phone merchants

• DT_Josh But with those sites (Wirefly, Let’s Talk) you MUST read fine print. A lot of people complain b/c they didn’t read conditions
• DT_Josh Yeah, with Wirefly though, once you activate phone, you aren’t allowed to deactivate or change features for 6 months
• DT_Josh You can’t even switch phone to another line in your same account or you’ll be hit with full price of phone!
• DT_Josh Yep, in my experience the smartphone prices on sites @Wirefly or @LetsTalk are better ahead of time of the providers
• shane_walker I picked up my last phone from @Wirefly. They usually run some pretty good specials.
• DT_Josh I got an HTC Incredible for $79.99 from @Wirefly while they were still going for $200 at Verizon.

iPhone 5

• DT_Josh iPhone 5 rumors: NFC technology (so you can make instant purchases at stores’ POS), delayed release later than summer (Japan)?
• DT_Josh iPhone 5 rumors: metal back for external antenna, better specs (maybe a dual-core processor?), bigger display, better camera
• shane_walker I think the best thing to do if you really want a Verizon iPhone is to wait for v5.

Misc.

• DT_Josh I have a friend who works for @VerizonWireless. He loves iPhone but he’s more impressed with this new phone.
• DT_Josh Yeah my bud at Verizon said the Thunderbolt is “jaw-droppingly fast”
• shane_walker Motorola is trying with the new Atrix 4G. It has a dock w/ a larger screen & keyboard.
• DT_Lennon i have htc hero. like it. had a blackberry pearl & liked it too. much smaller & lighter than my hero & i could type on it better
• DT_Lennon i like the barcode scanner on my phone. helps me to decide to buy then or wait and get online
• DT_Josh Gotta love HTC Evo and @Sprint for putting out the first 4G phone. Full speed ahead on faster mobile internet for all!
• LisaD35 Not sure if I would do much composing with a phone (email, fb, etc). I’ve heard autospell horror stories (funny ones)
• DT_Josh If you’re one of those people who can go days without checking email or Facebook – I’d say maybe you don’t even need a smartphone.
• DT_Josh If you have an Android phone (especially older one), I LOVE this guide on how to speed it up.

Recently my family and I went on a trip with some old friends to the beach, kids and all. One of my friends daughters’ came along, and it was astounding for me to see a third grader obsessing over my cell phone and how cool it was. “Oh Jeni you have a blackberry, that’s so cool! Can I use it?”

My daughter made the mistake of letting her use her phone for a few short minutes, and that’s when all hell broke loose. She took the phone away, and every five minutes, Karsyn, the little girl, was asking to use it again. Every time my daughter would say no, (per Karsyns mom) it got to the point where she had to hide her phone or the little girl WOULD find a way to take it, no matter what the consequences.

We went out to dinner the first night we got there, and the whole time she talked about cell phones. After we wouldn’t give in and let her use ours, she got out her little Disney digital camera and pretended like she was texting on it. Except, it wasn’t like pretending, she honestly thought it was real. Every day for the rest of the trip when my daughter was away she would say to me, “Why is KD texting me so much, gosh!”

It was actually quite funny to watch KD get paranoid about her nice cell phone that she saved up for herself to the point that she switched back to her old phone every time she was around the little girl. But that sparked yet another problem. Karsyn noticed KD had TWO phones, and from there it was always “Miss Jeni, why cant I have KD’s other phone?”
Honestly now, it would be a huge problem for some of us if we didn’t have our cell phones. They connect us to everything. But third graders? C’mon now, that’s just trouble. I felt so terrible for the little girls mom, because she kept stealing her moms phone as well, and we watched the phone bill rise (surprisingly fast for a child).

Honestly now, whatever happened to the childhood we all know and remember? The one with the genuine fun times and no material possessions holding us back from seeing what life is really about. Even my daughter (who’s only 16) thinks its crazy how fast little kids think they have to grow up now.

We’ve officially decided that for Karsyns birthday we’ll get her the nicest tin cups our budget will allow and some fine string so she can have her super cool cell phone once and for all.