Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Phone replaced, phone lost, NEW phone

I've had T-Mobile since about 2001, with a cute little Motorola V66 phone. No frills, but I'm told it's the smallest phone ever made. Finally I got tired of the way my original phone (a) seemed to be losing volume, so I could barely hear callers, and (b) could not work with a hands-free setup. So I ordered a refurbished V66 from Overstock.com. Except for the fact that a promised FM radio headset was not provided (and Overstock was willing to give me $10 gift cert for my next purchase, but NOT willing to offer a $10 refund; PLUS the incorrect information was STILL on their website the last I looked), the new phone worked great. Of course, all my numbers were in my old phone, but after I moved the SIM card to the new phone, the old phone wouldn't recognize it.

I only had the new phone a few weeks before I lost it during my commute home at the end of September. It never appeared again, so I went online and ordered a new phone. It finally arrived Monday night -- without a SIM card. And the only East Bay store that could provide me with a SIM card was closed.

So yesterday at lunch, my friend Brandi and I went up to the T-Mobile store on Market in San Francisco and got a SIM card; now I have a working picture phone. But it appears that every single new feature that my new phone has, will cost me additional service fees to utilize. California gives me 30 days to return the phone, so I may not keep it. What I liked about T-Mobile was a predictable, small bill. If the new phone's capabilities make my phone bill balloon, T-Mobile has not done me any favors. I hope I can block the features I don't want to pay for.

-- Rachel Holmen

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