I’m very happy. Even for a skeptic I would have to say the service gave me what I wanted at an affordable price.

StraightTalk was recommended by a friend. During one of our visits I was going on and on about how expensive Verizon Wireless service was especially since I had been on a month-to-month with that provider for almost five years. When we had phone problems my spouse and I would purchase used handsets instead of diving into a new two or three year contract.  I’d always felt that customer loyalty should count for something and one of those somethings should be guaranteed month-to-month and no long contracts. The handset deals started coming with three, instead of two-year commitments even after we had been with VZW for over ten years.

StraightTalk had what we needed for thirty dollars a month. We were paying $69 per month (with taxes, fees, 411 charges almost $80 per month actual for two simple no-frills phones.)  The extra money every month didn’t buy us any additional consideration or convenience. All we ever seemed to get was more marketing and spend-more messages for services we did not want or need.

Then our nephews matured and got cellular phones. Texting became a problem for us. The kids had great plans but we were limited and at some point started paying on a per-text basis racking up $15 per month or more in texting charges. That and a few other petty complaints led us to check out the pay-as-you-go plans.

We needed to transport our existing numbers to the new service. We needed less than 400 minutes between us ion voice minutes and perhaps 500 text messages a month. Web access would be nice but we both had an iPod Touch we used at hotspots and cou;d not justify having anything more.

StraightTalk’s $30 per month plan fit perfectly. We are in our second month now and so far all is well.  Porting the numbers from VZW to StraightTalk did take some intervention by customer service at StraightTalk. I am convinced their porting system has a flaw and they need to do more testing.  When following instructions isn’t enough to make it work then a software engineer needs to make some quality control assesments.

I had to get in touch with their customer service first via FaceBook. Once I was able to find the correct link on that page to send a message I was finally able to get my phones activated after 24 hours.  The second phone went easier than the first.

The Samsung slider phones we purchased from Walmart’s website which access the Verizon Wireless system work better than our LG phones ever did. We actually get better service at home with these two new phones and I have no clue why.  Battery life is better now. Our Samsungs stay lit for quite awhile between charges. That said we are now considering abandoning our land-line which is costing us an outrageous $69 per month. (It’s either that or Vonage.)

The browser in the SCH-451 is not ready for prime time. I find it it useless. There are obvious software, speed, and security, and bandwidth limitations that make using web access to painful. We simply don’t bother.  Just as an example if you try to use the FourSquare social media service this browser will not allow a connection because of a certificate error of some type. I figure if the phone is incapable of using the popular services it should be DESIGNED to use then I probably shouldn’t bother to worry. Attempts to discuss it with StraightTalk were ignored or lost and FourSquare didn’t have an opinion either. I can only assume there are just too many subscribers and not enough time.

We have not come close to reaching any of our plan limits. The auto-pay option works well though I cannot get StraightTalk to adjust the date closer to the beginning of the month. The activation date sets the renewal date in stone. Hello! I’m a customer! I’ll pay you earlier! How come I can’t?! Ever begin to notice that satisfaction can almost always be measured by our reactions to service, billing, and payment issues?

The only tooth-grinding feature my spouse found was the 411 service. It’s free yes, but you must wait an inordinately long time between commercials and press opt-out requests ad nauseum. Now I had always disciplined myself never to use Verizon’s 411 service. It was ridiculously expensive and only contributed to my month’s end bill-paying headaches.  My spouse is making adjustments. That’s the way it is.

So I got what I always wanted:

No contract, cheaper service, text messaging I’ll never hit the high number on, enough voice minutes, and a phone that can send and receive pictures. That last feature came in handy at work.  Going into this we believed that customer service would be on a par or perhaps worse than Verizon’s. I’d have to say that even though StraightTalk’s is done mostly by e-nail and Facebook it gets done to my satisfaction most of the time.

I can recommend StraightTalk.

[MobilePRwire] – Are you frustrated by the small keyboard on your Android phone? Trying to hit those fiddly keys drove us mad, so we created Keyapt SMS which lets us use our PC to type text messages. Keyapt SMS is free from the Android Market.

Christmas and New Year is a peak time for SMS messaging. We all want to text our friends and relations with good tidings. This year for the first time Android phone users can send texts from the comfort of their PC using Keyapt SMS.

Keyapt SMS is the first app in the Keyapt range. Keyapt applications enable you to use the features of your phone from your PC. You benefit from the larger screen and keyboard of the PC and the ability to copy and paste content from other applications.

Key features and benefits:

* Works with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome
* It’s free (for now) and no registration is required
* Use a big keyboard for faster and more accurate typing
* Use a web browser for larger fonts and better accessibility
* The SMS messages are really sent from your phone, there is no additional charge
* “Quick Send” messages go instantly and are not logged on your phone (great for private messages)
* “Normal Send” messages appear in your phone’s conversation logs
* All communications are encrypted
* We never store your phone number, messages or contacts

Who should use Keyapt SMS?

* Anyone who is at their PC and wants to send an SMS. Why use a small keyboard when you can use a big one? Users who need to send several SMS messages. A task that used to take a few minutes can now be done in a few seconds

* People who benefit from the accessibility features of a PC and web browser. For example, the standard “CNTR” + “+” key combination (on a PC) will zoom the screen.

* Keyapt is the easiest to use desktop SMS product and the Keyapt team is dedicated to making it better.

Download Keyapt SMS free from the Android Market (http://bit.ly/urKhyC).

Keyapt publishes applications developed by Dr James Bayley and Dr Chris Saltmarsh. Between us we have over 50 years developing and deploying messaging applications.

Our first app is Keyapt SMS which is available free on the Android Market.

Read the full press release at MobilePRwire.com

A recent story in the New York Times exposes quite a bit about how wireless carriers transmit text messages (SMS). These articles (the NYT article in particular) are good reads for the terminally curious.

read more | digg story

Mobile Instant Messaging IM Solution from Mundu IM : Offers a wireless Mobile Instant Messaging (IM) application that unites your MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, Google Talk and Jabber Instant Messaging ( IM ) services into a single chat window.

read more | digg story

(via Drudgereport, originally from TheSmokingGun.com 021709)   FEBRUARY 17–A 14-year-old Wisconsin girl who refused to stop texting during a high school math class was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to police. The teenager was busted last Wednesday at Wauwatosa East High School after she ignored a teacher’s demand that she cease texting.

Click through to TheSmokingGun.com for the smoking details!