Certain phone + pay-as-you-go

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-03 03:22am

Here's my situation. I'm looking to transition off of a monthly plan (too much) to a pay-as-you-go -- specifically, to the LG225 camera phone.

CompUSA doesn't say much here. However, LG Electronics' US site has nothing on it except for a mention on this March 2005 press release:

LG Electronics wrote:LG225: Integrated camera and a full list of advanced features make the LG-225 the latest "Must-Have" phone from LG. The LG-225's sleek internal antenna enhances its compact shape, and the phone's lightweight design integrates advanced features, including a CMOS VGA camera, speakerphone and mobile web.

Yet who's got the most data? None other than the network that made me notice, STi Mobile's LG225 pages.

I am intrigued! But can anyone find me informative links -- and why STi Mobile's pages are more informative than LG Electronics?

(LG Electronics does link to the PM225, but it seems to cost more.)

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-03 06:21pm

Now that I think about it, anyone know if it supports text messaging?

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2006-01-03 06:32pm

Edward Yee wrote:Now that I think about it, anyone know if it supports text messaging?

...?
Even the most ancient brick-style mobile phones had SMS capability. All mobile phones have it. That much is a given...

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2006-01-03 06:53pm

GSM ones at least. Remember that the US (and I assume Edward Yee is from there) had/has also the CDMA standard which I belive had text messaging as an advanced feature since its older (all of this is IIRC, quite possibly wrong). Also, text messaging never got as popular in the US as in Europe, so asking about it might not be as strange as hearing an European asking it.

Regardless, a new phone not having text messaging does sound impossible.
And reading the specs on the linked page, they mention
T9 Predictive Text Input, for which the main use would be text messaging...

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-03 06:54pm

Odd... can't send them on my Nokia 3585i, only receive (spam). (If it's any help, I'm looking at Plan 1 for the LG225, though my dad's suggesting not to buy that.)

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-01-04 01:14am

I'm in the industry...

That said, there's an awful lot of factors to consider when you look at a phone.

I'm in Australia, so I can't compare with our telcos, but the main things to look at are:

Phone features. Which will you really use? What's the point of a Motorola E1 if you've already got an iPod?

Call rates. Look at how much you use your current phone for voice calling, and then figure out if the new plan you'll be on will bone you. A few cents a minute can make a major difference over a month of use.

Contract. Usually the contract plan is the best choice - you'll need to pay to use the phone anyway. I picked up an Nokia N70 on an employee plan contract after looking very closely at the options available to me, including outright purchase of the handset.

Sim Lock. A lot of pre-paid phones will come sim locked so that you can't use the phone on a different network to the one that you've bought it from. These can be costly to get rid of, even after your prepaid contract is up.

Personally, I wouldn't get this phone. It doesn't have Truetones (MP3 ringtones). Those are uber chic.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-04 02:15am

mmar, I am indeed in the US.

Thanks for the heads-up, GuppyShark.

The situation is that I'm currently on a family plan, and the most recent bill for that was in the area of $80. However, the other member of the plan has moved to Verizon and pays her own bill, while my dad doesn't want to (and I reckon wouldn't) sign a new, personal 2-year contract for me.

Hence, the preferred option now is to move to a pay-as-you-go phone/plan, and STi Mobile seems the best ($0.12/minute weekdays, $0.10/minute nights and weekends -- free international calling isn't worth the 24/7 cost of $0.18/minute for Plan 2) option.

I wouldn't know about Sim Lock...

Personally, I wouldn't get this phone. It doesn't have Truetones (MP3 ringtones). Those are uber chic.

LOL, understood. Now that I think about it... since they offer the LG5225 "for free," anyone know how good the LG5225 (official LG page) is?

Btw, what the hell is an "access fee"/"daily charge"? Verizon INpulse talks about a "99¢ a day access fee," Virgin Mobile's Day2Day plan cites a "a daily charge of 35¢." Is that a 'deducted every day just for having the service' charge??

EDIT: The LG-225 is available for in-store pickup at a CompUSA... in Rego Park, NY. I'm in Brooklyn.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-01-04 02:37am

Edward Yee wrote:Thanks for the heads-up, GuppyShark. The situation is that I'm currently on a family plan, and the most recent bill for that was in the area of $80. However, the other member of the plan has moved to Verizon and pays her own bill, while my dad doesn't want to (and I reckon wouldn't) sign a new, personal 2-year contract for me.

Not paying it yourself then? Pre-paid is very popular in that scenario... I can't imagine why...

Hence, the preferred option now is to move to a pay-as-you-go phone/plan, and STi Mobile seems the best ($0.12/minute weekdays, $0.10/minute nights and weekends -- free international calling isn't worth the 24/7 cost of $0.18/minute for Plan 2) option.

Australian consumers are paying around four times that!

I wouldn't know about Sim Lock...

Check the Ts & Cs. I think it's highly likely that that phone is sim locked. But then, if you plan to stay with the carrier, it's a moot point.

Btw, what the hell is an "access fee"/"daily charge"? Verizon INpulse talks about a "99¢ a day access fee," Virgin Mobile's Day2Day plan cites a "a daily charge of 35¢." Is that a 'deducted every day just for having the service' charge??

Yep, looks like. Otherwise you can get people on your network just receiving calls forever at no charge. Here, we put a time limit on the recharge cards instead.

Thanks for making this thread. I got to post to SD.Net guilt free in the office 'cos I convinced myself it was work.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-04 03:44am

Not paying it yourself then? Pre-paid is very popular in that scenario... I can't imagine why...

Because "mah daaaddy"'s not made of money, unlike some.

(Not poking fun at you, but at those who might flaunt it.)

Australian consumers are paying around four times that!

Wait... as in, $0.40 to $0.48/minute?! I once paid that much for an hours-long call to Canada!

Check the Ts & Cs. I think it's highly likely that that phone is sim locked. But then, if you plan to stay with the carrier, it's a moot point.

It looks like I'll be staying. Dad happened to find it, specifically, bundled with the Samsung SPH-A660/VI660.

Yep, looks like. Otherwise you can get people on your network just receiving calls forever at no charge. Here, we put a time limit on the recharge cards instead.

... eww. Lemme guess, steer clear of INpulse and Day2Day as a result? Virgin Mobile's Minute2Minute plan has "25 cents for the first 10 minutes of the day, 10 cents for the rest of the day"... too bad that means you have to spend $2.50 a day and be on for 10 minutes just to get the $0.10/day .

Thanks for making this thread. I got to post to SD.Net guilt free in the office 'cos I convinced myself it was work.

It kinda is, Guppy Shark, it kinda is.

May buy the A225 tommorow night, the lack of MP3 doesn't bother me. What phones do have it?

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-01-04 04:10am

Yes, we're paying that. Current main plan at my telco is 22.7c/30 seconds. These are Australian cents.

Most of the current generation of phones have MP3 capability. I won't try listing them, we stock a lot of them... I like my N70 though, I just need to denoob the UI.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-04 04:21am

Eep re: the pricing. A quick check of ExchangeRate.com at 4:16am (GMT-5) puts that as almost 33.5¢/minute.

Most of the current generation of phones have MP3 capability. I won't try listing them, we stock a lot of them... I like my N70 though, I just need to denoob the UI.

Neato.

Any idea if the Samsung SPH-A660 has MP3 capability? Read: Of the download-MP3s-off-of-my-hard-drive-and-onto-the-phone sort.

Wondering since I can get it nearby for free, while STi's site said that the LG-225 has USB; I'm considering buying the latter, even though a Sony DSC-S90 (4.1 megapixels) should cover the pocket camera side of things and the SPH-A660 is available at complete rebate.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-01-04 06:38am

Sorry man, you just listed a bunch of handsets I don't stock.

Unfortunately I think that will be the exception rather than the rule as I sell GSM handsets and I don't think they're widely used in the US.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2006-01-04 09:32am

Edward Yee wrote: Btw, what the hell is an "access fee"/"daily charge"? Verizon INpulse talks about a "99¢ a day access fee," Virgin Mobile's Day2Day plan cites a "a daily charge of 35¢." Is that a 'deducted every day just for having the service' charge??

Yes. If you read the fine-print on the little brochures, you'll see that they charge that access fee every day that you're on the plan, whether or not you actually make a call. It's a bit of a rip-off, and it irritates me to no end that Verizon adopted it. I used to be able to recommend Verizon's pre-pay plan to people, and back in the hairy old days of 2004 they actually had a good one.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2006-01-04 12:47pm

GuppyShark wrote:Sorry man, you just listed a bunch of handsets I don't stock.

Unfortunately I think that will be the exception rather than the rule as I sell GSM handsets and I don't think they're widely used in the US.

GSM is used in the US mainly by T-Mobile and Cingular in the 850 & 1900Mhz bands. The 1800Mhz band isn't used in the US at all.
However of the carriers mentioned in the OP, STi says their provider is Sprint PCS and Verizon uses CDMA.
My Moto V551 is triband for worldwide use, but it's simlocked to Cingular so that's kinda worthless unless I want to pay the exorbiant fees Cingular charges for overseas access though their partner networks.

Edward Yee · Post by **Edward Yee** » 2006-01-04 01:53pm

GrandMasterTerwynn wrote:
Edward Yee wrote: Btw, what the hell is an "access fee"/"daily charge"? Verizon INpulse talks about a "99¢ a day access fee," Virgin Mobile's Day2Day plan cites a "a daily charge of 35¢." Is that a 'deducted every day just for having the service' charge??
Yes. If you read the fine-print on the little brochures, you'll see that they charge that access fee every day that you're on the plan, whether or not you actually make a call. It's a bit of a rip-off, and it irritates me to no end that Verizon adopted it. I used to be able to recommend Verizon's pre-pay plan to people, and back in the hairy old days of 2004 they actually had a good one.

Oh goddamn. Thanks for letting me know that my dad's suspicions were right, GrandMasterTerywynn! *stays the hell away from Verizon and Virgin Mobile*

Will have to look to be sure that STi doesn't have 'em hidden either, but it doesn't look like they have the daily...