I don’t like cell phones, but I like technology and gadgets. For the last 5 years or so, I have been without a cell phone. I remember clearly my last one. When my contract ended, I called the service provider (alltel) and told them that due to the crappy coverage, bad signal, dropped calls, and general nightmare of dealing with their customer service… that I was canceling my service and will not renew my contract. During this call, the signal was crappy and the voice was cutting in and out… So I threw the phone. It skipped across the water about 12 times, which is the best that phone ever performed.
Nightcrawler is insistent that I get cell phone. In fact, he’s so insistent that he gave me a cell phone that is ruggedized and he insures is “Ogrish enough” for me. It’s Casio Brigand, that opens up into a like a mini netbook. It’s very cool. Thank you, NC.
When he said that he was giving me this cell phone, I said “Your dragging me into the 21st Century.”
He said, “Man, I’m dragging you into 1990.”
Not having a cell phone has been a huge problem, at SHOT Show, on Training Days. I’m tired of being out of touch and so are my friends. The people closest to me need to get a hold of me. For example, NC slid off the road and went into a field and got stuck. If I wasn’t right by a phone – I would not have been able to send someone to yank him out. He was lucky that his incident wasn’t worse, and I was lucky that I was near a phone.
Now here’s problem, Verison Wireless has a lot of different plans. I have to pick one… But before I do, I have to figure out how much I’m actually going to use the phone. And it’s not like they are making the plan selection easy. I think I’m just going to do a month to month plan. Then if I decided I want to go up or down in service, I don’t have a contract to tie me to a plan that doesn’t fit.
Why can’t they just offer “The Plan”? A one flat rate, unlimited talk, text, data… and quit jerking around with “Minutes”.
Verizon probably does offer a plan like that. It’ll cost you over a hundred bucks a month though.
And the phone is the Casio G’Z’One Brigade. I got a good chuckle when you called it the “Brigand”. I think that suits you better. ^^
How’s the battery life, in real usage? I’ve been looking at getting one, but I’ve heard bad things about the battery…
I currently have a Samsung Rugby (now supplanted by the Convoy), which isn’t quite as rugged as the Casio, but I can go days without a charge.
I don’t know yet… but reports say it’s very long lasting.
Brigade… Yeah, I like Brigand better. That’s what I’ll name it.
Get the plan with the least minutes – 450, I think – and watch your total carefully since going over is VERY expensive. Verizon will let you upgrade to more minutes/more$ in a heartbeat. They only give you a problem if you try to go the other way. If you are not a big user of the cell phone than 450 minutes should be plenty.
Also pay for some TXT messages up front – like $5/100, the cost per TXT is stupid and everyone loves to TXT so you will pay on receipt whether you want to or not. Again, if you find yourself using a lot then upgrade. It is easier to add than to take away.
Otherwise – drop the $100/month on the “unlimited everything” plan and never look back.
You hit the nail on the head… this was exactly what I was thinking.
I suspect that since my wife is a texting fiend… I better buy some of that stuff.
You can block text:) I gotta admit that I really don’t like text, my wife and I rarely use it. I normally get around 10-20 texts a month and a good part of those are severe weather warning’s. Generally if someone texts me a question I hit the green button and call them back, if they don’t respond then I leave a message on their VM that they can go check. I really have something against 160 char. limits that force you to sound like your 12 years old. I also hate paying for something that should certainly be free based on the airtime used compared to voice. So when I need to type something out I’ll just email someone from the phone for free rather than text.
I do however think you need a cell, I was ready to give you either mine or Sarah’s at SHOT just to keep up with ya;)
Luke
$100 a month will get you a weeks in Hawaii including airfare every year – that’s just freakin’ nuts. Besides not having the job/money thing going on right now and maybe ever again… I do have a T-Mobile pay-as-you go Sony/Ericsson stupid-phone that I buy minutes totaling maybe $100 each year. If that.
I’d rather spend a week in Hawaii than talk on a cell phone, forget about ‘tard-texting.
You can get unlimited text from Verizon for a few bucks a month. It’s a must, given that texting has become a mainstream form of communication.
George, where you live, Verizon is likely the only really reliable cell phone carrier. I was on the “extended network” for most of my trip out there (meaning the data features of my fancy-pants iPhone didn’t work), but I had bars the whole time. Verizon has the best coverage in Utah.
I was going to go out to Provo Tuesday, that got switched because of work… now I have Friday and Saturday Off, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get out there Friday. MAYBE Saturday. Is a Verizon store even open on Saturday?
Verizon has excellent coverage in most of the country. Customer service… not so much. Fortunately, I haven’t needed them very often. And I agree with a previous gentleman, start with the 450 minute plan and upgrade. You can track your usage online.
Have you thought about a pre-paid? It’s a bit ghetto but the bill is the same every month. Also, as you know, I still work for a cell phone company. I have an extra phone sitting here with service. I would be curious to see if it works where you live. Maybe we should meet 1/2 way and get some lunch this weekend.