2g phone rant

[GEuser]

Rick , that must be happening all around the world regarding the old folks , I have met a few out here in the same boat , got the lot they have and all they do is check to see if the kids have sent a email once in a while .

I actually called the provider after one of the oldie pair had renewed the contract and told me what had happened and on their own personnel phone and got told "what's it got to do with you" as I was not family , it was something like $100 a month compared to the original $40 or so , in the end (months) they managed to cancel but that also included a cancellation fee .

Imagine all those out there {the oldies} that are getting completely taken and assume its just a normal thing , its sickening imo . but i'll be fair and type it must be worse over there I gather with all the spying/surveillance going on free of charge?.

[edy]

It wouldn't be so bad if I can get a 3g/4g phone that has a real physical key pad and just do voice and text.

It's called a BlackBerry. You can pick up used BB's for nothing. I have at least half dozen of them, I keep them as they are wonderful devices even just for WiFi browsing, typing, music streaming, taking photos, etc (no need for cellular service).

Get an old unlocked BlackBerry OS7 physical keyboard device (the Torch 9810 is my favourite as it combines large screen and slide-out keyboard - see photo below) or a Curve or Bold. Register it to a local carrier. The apps on there are fairly basic, you will get basic Voice and Text service on it. They may come in a few flavours... I know for sure there is a 3G version out there, I was using it on Rogers network in Canada. Not sure about USA but Newegg lists one here, I'm sure a cheaper version is available on eBay:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8X036X2032

Removable battery, ability to add SD memory, durable, easy to charge (micro USB). I have always been BlackBerry and even develop apps for BB10.... I have 1 Pearl, 1 Curve, 2 Torches, 1 Storm, 1 Dev Alpha C (Q10 Prototype) and 2 Red Developer Z10's and I still find them all useful and carry 2 BB's on me all the time. The way BlackBerry is heading with the Priv has left me shaking my head, but that is the topic for another post. 

[GreyWoolfe]

At first I was going to gouge my eyes out after reading that eevblog members use 2G and flip phones from 15 years ago; but then I remembered that AT&T is so bad my phone falls back to edge in many places. That is, if I'm lucky enough to get a signal at all.

That's why we bailed on AT&T after over 10 years of being with them.  Customer service was always good but mostly the service itself was terrible in the house (wood frame).  I had a bad habit of leaving my phone in my pants pocket only to find the phone in the dryer after going through the washer|O  Another $20 Go-Phone later and I was back in business.  We ended up switching to Walmart's StraightTalk plan on the Verizon network and haven't looked back.  Much more for our money and cheaper to boot.  So far, my $150 phone has lasted me 2 years and still works fine for my purposes even though the OS is Android 4.1.

[matseng]

In related news... Apparently there are 400 000 "remaining" 2G customers.

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s Central Administrative Court has given Advanced Info Service (AIS) one month to migrate its remaining 2G subscribers to other operators or services.

AIS released a statement late on Tuesday night confirming the court had extended an injunction which gives the company until midnight April 14 to end its 2G service. The statement said the injunction should be sufficient time to allow AIS subscribers to upgrade to either its 3G or 4G services.

AIS has been trying to migrate nearly 13 million 2G customers to 3G or 4G services ever since it lost the 900MHz spectrum auction to True Move in December.