Common Sense for the Biochemist

So after two weeks using my new phone and calling plan, I thought I'd give an update just in case there are anymore biochemists out there who are looking for a prepaid cell-phone service. So lets begin: RAZR phone: Battery life - decent, I can get 3 or 4 days without a recharge. The camera drains the battery life quickly. Coverage - I don't know if this is the phones fault or the fault of T-Mobile but I have found that may signal reception has been poor to fair at best. I had much better coverage with Cingular. Coverage has been fair in town and around the campus, also it was acceptable along the interstates I used to travel home for Christmas. It seems that once you hit the edge of town, your reception is gone. T-Mobile service: When I changed plans, I wanted to keep my old number. No problem they said, it will take about 24 hours. If not, call this number. Of course, Cingular wanted more information before they would release my number to T-Mobile, so I had to call the number provided to see why the switchover hadn't taken place. After waiting on the line for 45, yes 45 minutes, I finally got to talk to a human. I provided the info needed and in a few hours I had my old number again. Thank goodness I wasn't using my cell phone to make that call. I guess that's one way T-Mobile can make a buck on their prepay service. My plan does not include internet access on the phone but I can get T-Mobile's T-Zones, which includes stories from CNN, ABC, ESPN, etc. If this was the only way to get your news, you would be in trouble but if you have time to kill, this is a good way to kill it. My biggest peeve is that Google SMS (if you don't know what Google SMS is I suggest you check it out, it is really nifty) is blocked. The only reason I can see for this is that T-Zones has a 411 service that charges $1.25 per use. From what I understand, you can get a lot more information from Google SMS than T-Zone's 411. I am really dissapointed that they have blocked this service. All-in-all, being a prepay customer anywhere is like being a second-class citizen. I think the cell phone companies think the only way they can retain customers and make money is by locking them in a contract. Oh well, for the price, T-Mobile is acceptable for now.