Category: phone saga

Die. Die die die die die.

Rogers ‘new’ E-mail to SMS ‘service’ is the biggest piece of utter garbage I have ever seen. I’m going to say it. Fuck Rogers. There. I said it. Right before Christmas and all.

Well, after 10 minutes of Google searching and an hour or so of coding, I worked around their idiocy so I can now send the GO Train updates to my phone without having to bloody send an SMS. I think I will do the same for CBC Headlines because they cut that off too. Bastards!

It’s that time again… time to bitch about cell phone plans!

Our contract with Rogers is up at the end of August, and Sandy is adamant about shopping around. I’m always up for getting a better deal, and for technology-related shopping, so I’ve already started looking at the companies again (Rogers, Telus, Bell, and Fido) to see what they’re offering.

However, they’re all still out to gouge you in mostly the same ways:

• Long Distance – Rogers and Telus charge 25¢ per minute for Canada/USA long distance. Bell charges 30¢ per minute! Fido’s got everyone beat here: only 10¢ per minute. This is a big deal for us, because our most common calls are between Whitby, Cannington, and Toronto, all of which are long distance calls from each other.
• Most common features not included – No one bundles call display into any plan. Rogers just started charging an extra dollar for it. I personally hate voicemail. I don’t have it because it’s a waste of time. Call Display means that if I miss a call, my phone knows who called and 99% of the time I know who it is based on the number. Seriously, everyone wants call display. The first company to bundle it gets my business. At least Telus includes basic voicemail with some of its plans. Seriously though, why not let people choose one feature out of voicemail, call display, or call waiting? Fido and Bell bundle call display with their prepaid service. Hrm.
• Only two out of four have multiple phone plans for personal accounts – Rogers and Telus let you have a second (or more) phone on the same account, sharing the airtime, for a low fee. We’ve got Rogers Family Plan right now and I’m loathe to bill two phones any other way.
• Connection Fees. Actually, Bell doesn’t charge a connection fee anymore. Sometimes you can get it waived if you’re a new subscriber.
• Continuously redefining “evenings and weekends” – The definition of “evening” and “weekend” varys from plan to plan on Telus Mobility’s site. What garbage!

Wireless: Canadians pay more – gee whiz, we’re getting hosed for wireless hardware prices? Well whaddya know?

For the first time, umm, ever, I finally have a cell phone with the features that I want instead of the best thing I could get for $0.

On the left: my crappy old Motorola V101. Goodbye, sweet stupid bulky box with a full keyboard. Why didn’t you have a WAP browser? On the right, my brand new and now fully unlocked Sony Ericsson T310. Most importantly the new phone has easy connectivity to my PC and anything else (like, say, my Newton) via its IrDA port. All I wanted was a phone with a flippin’ IrDA port. Yay. Thanks dad.