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.

The Wi-Fi Detector T-shirt that was on digg a week ago is finally up for sale.This t-shirt is actually no normal tshirt. Its a “Wi-Fi Detector Shirt” which actually displays the signal from 802.11b/g with glowing bars on the front.

(PopWireless: We are hopeless wireless geeks here at PopularWireless. I’m ordering mine how about you   Just in case you missed it we suggested this shirt to readers in a previous article. Apparently these are ready for sale! Be the first on your block!)

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Great little article which exposes the flaws on wireless security alarm systems. (PopularWireless comments: The issue boils down to what support will you get after the sale. After I paid a LARGE chunk of change for my wireless system the company was acquired by another company. The new company will not return a telephone call/voice mail on a simple question- like how to change a battery in a wireless device. Batteries in wireless devices appear to be welded to the connectors! Surprise the new company also monitors the business I manage. The business is a wired system. They are about to lose a monitored wired account. Ultimately it all boils down to whether or not your alarm company really cares about you and your on-going support. I know one big provider in Calvert County, Maryland could care less. Farewell Rampart Alarm or whatever you call yourself now. The sad thing is I KNOW the previous owner and his staff would have never treated his customers this way. Customer service makes all the difference no matter what the marketing and sales department says.)

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