I bought an Android phone

[William Park]

I'm currently paying Rogers $50/month for cell phone, so I'm looking for a 
cheaper alternative, either cheaper monthly or pay-as-you-go.

If you add Caller-ID, how much would the price be?
-- 
William



----- Original Message ----
> From: D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org>
> To: Toronto Linux Users Group <tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org>
> Sent: Wed, March 23, 2011 1:10:00 PM
> Subject: [TLUG]: I bought an Android phone
> 
> Why is this news?  Because I'm a phone Luddite.
> 
> Why did I buy  it?  Curiosity combined with bargain hunting.
> 
> Why is this TLUG  news?  Because Android is built on top of the Linux 
> kernel so there are  opportunities for Linux hacking (maybe).  And learning 
> about Android is  of interest to us.
> 
> This deal looks extraordinarily good:
><http://forums.redflagdeals.com/koodo-lg-optimus-one-150-starting-friday-1016684/>
>>
> (but  note that I'm not an expert cellphone consumer.)
> 
> - From Koodo, the Telus  flanker brand
> 
> - LG Optimus One handset (LG-P500h)
>   + Android  2.2; I heard rumours of an update being promised
>   + WiFi, bluetooth,  GPS, ...
>   + uses a SIM so I would have called it GSM but it has some  other
>     name
>   + comes with an internal (replaceable) 2G  MicroSD card
>   + screen resolution only 320x480
> 
> - $150 for the  handset, all of which can be put on "tab".
>   Putting it on the Tab has  some advantages.
> 
> - If you buy online or from a Koodo store (but not from  Future Shop
>   etc.) you get $100 in a one-time-VISA card (you can spend  it like
>   a VISA card)
> 
> - the tab can be either paid off OR it  will be reduced by 10% of any
>   phone bills you pay.  So it  declines over time.  If you quit Koodo,
>   you have to pay it all  off (but it evaporates if you have a
>   credit.)
> 
> - KOODO DOESN'T  LOCK YOU INTO A CONTRACT.
> 
> - Koodo doesn't have "System Access  Fees".
> 
> - I bought their cheapest plan, $15 a month for not much  service.  Not
>   even caller-id!
> 
> - I chose flexible data  plan: free if it isn't used, expensive
>   if it is.  For the first  10 days data is free.  WiFi is free, of
>   course.
> 
> - Since  you can cancel very quickly, this is a very inexpensive phone:
>   $150 -  $100 (I don't know how tax works).
> 
> - bonus: if you ask a Koodo customer  for a "referral" before you buy
>   the phone, you can use that to give  each of you a $25 tab credit.
>   The credit appears after 4-6 weeks so it  is probably useless if you
>   are going to cancel quickly.  Tab  credits are good for (1) reducing
>   the debit you have from buying the  handset, and (2) using for future
>   handset purchases, but not for  actual phone service.
> 
> - Deal ends at the end of March
> 
> - apparently  the phone can be unlocked and work with "normal"
>   GSM/whatever  frequencies (Bell, Telus, Roger and relabeled versions
>   but not Wind  etc.).  Apparently unlocking can be had for $8 from
>   ebay vendors  (why not free?).  Some say it can be used with Telus
>   without  unlocking.
> 
> Now I will look around to see if other providers have a better  plan
> that would work for this phone.
> --
> The Toronto Linux Users  Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
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> 


--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists