Still Clickin

Because they can be used to call for help, cell phones often provide senior citizens with a sense of security and independence. Although I currently don’t choose to have one, my wife does, but it is old and has started to fade. To give me a project, she placed the search for a replacement into my hands. This is what I found in June 2009.

To make the best selection, I narrowed the search by first answering some key questions, i.e.
1. How is the phone going to be used? That choice determines both -

• the kind of phone you should pick as well as
• the type of billing plan you should select.

2. Of the major networks (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile), which provides the best signal in your immediate area?
3. Of the many service providers, which combines the best answers to the prior questions with stability, service, and price?

First, you need to pick your network. Despite all the ads, cell phone signals travel in a straight line between your phone and the nearest tower for your network. Hills and valleys matter. Don’t listen to the commercials; listen to your neighbors. Ask them which network they are using and how well it works for them. On the major highways, all of the major networks work well. However, at our last home, AT&T worked well and Verizon did not. Now, at our new home, the reverse is true. You can try this web site to assess the local terrain, but asking your neighbors is the best.

One improvement over the past year is that the networks in the USA have become more “open” as they are in the rest of the world. That means that you often don’t have to buy a new phone if it already has the technology (GSM or CDMA) that the network supports. CDMA is used by Verizon and Sprint / Nextel. GSM is used by AT&T and T-Mobile.

But if you don’t own a phone or have a “tired” one, how you answer the questions on usage can determine which model of telephone device you should select. Are there other things you want to do with this phone beyond telephone access? Today’s cell phones come in three major flavors, and there many additional features that you can pick to suit your taste. While their prices may vary from nothing to over $500, they allow you to do a lot more than just dial a friend. Listed by increasing cost, the categories are -

• Basic - allows you to talk and listen,
• Media - also lets you take pictures or video, play music or games, and
• Smart - acts like a mini PC for email, texting, and Internet access.

Next, you need to decide what your usage patterns will be, e.g.

• How many calls will you make per month, and how long will they last? Remember, you are charged for every minute that you are connected to the network whether you made the call or simply received it.
• What time of the day/night will you use your phone the most? Night and weekend calls are typically charged at lower rates.
• From what geographic area will you make/receive most of your calls? This choice can affect both the quality of the service as well as the cost.

The challenge is to pick the billing plans that best fit your actual usage because that will usually offer you the best value. There are two major types of billing plans -

• Contract - provides a year or two of service at a fixed monthly fee for a certain number of anytime minutes as well as a much higher number of night and weekend minutes, and
• Pre-pay - requires payment up-front for a fixed time period, and charges either by-the-minute or with a combination of daily (or monthly) access charges coupled with a lower by-the-minute fee. There is no contract. For many seniors whose usage is less than 200 minutes per month, a pre-pay usually offers the best value.

Once you have an idea of your network, phone, and billing plan, start searching for service providers. You can deal directly with the major networks or you can choose an alternate network (MVNO’s), who buy bulk time on the major networks and resell it to their customers. Often, these outfits offer more creative billing plans and solid customer service. Names you may have heard of in this group include Page Plus, Jitterbug, Consumer Cellular, TracFone, and Virgin Mobile.

My search ended with a pre-paid billing plan from the service provider, Page Plus Cellular, which uses Verizon’s network. The LG VX5200 media phone offered more features than we really needed, but at $15, the price was right.

The very next thing we need to do is enter the phone number into the Do Not Call Directory. I don’t want our minutes to be used for some tele-marketer’s solicitations.

Some links that may be helpful for your search are -

• WirelessInfo.com - provides reviews of many devices
• WirelessGuide.org - a buying guide for phones and services
• PrepaidReviews.com - extensive reviews of the prepaid plan
• CellGuru.net - nice comparison chart of the prepaid plans
• National Do Not Call Registry - critical for cell phones

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Sometimes I feel that I am committing a capital offense in today’s society. But I feel I must confess it outright and post it here today.

I do NOT have a Cell Phone! I do NOT Text! I am NOT on Facebook! I do NOT even Instant Message!

It is not that I am adverse to the technology. It neither confuses nor intimidates me. It is simply that I choose NOT to participate. I once used to pay for a cell plan that had more minutes than towers but did not provide a compelling solution to any real problem. In fact, by ringing in the midst of meetings and mealtimes, it often created a few.

When people know that they can access you directly, they seem to feel a sense of entitlement to your time. It is as if you have given them control over your priorities. You either accept their call, and risk the diversion from your priorities, or screen it out, and risk insulting them. If an issue is truly that critical, should you really rely on today’s cell phone technology?

Have you ever listened to the trivial conversations that people carry on over their cell phones? In fact, it is hard to avoid them since they frequently can invade your space in many trains, buses, or store aisles. Unfortunately, this increase in instant access seems to have become inversely proportional to the thoughtfulness of people’s answers. Is this technology really providing an enhancement?

I fully realize that my perspective is not popular. Today’s society seems to thrive on urgency, a fair amount of tension, and a high level of background noise. But does that lead to achievement? Does it lead to excellence? I think not.

It is difficult to escape the noise. People have devices plugged into their ears whenever they walk, ride, or fly. It is as if they are afraid of their own thoughts, of silence. It is as if they fear that they will be diminished if they are not constantly connected. As a result, our society seems to have lost the refinement in our thoughts that is the gift of reflection. The ‘urgent’ has superseded the ‘important’ to the point where the ‘important’ seems to get watered down to the point that it can blend with the ‘urgent’.

For example, compare two newspapers, USA Today and the New York Times. The former presents the news in sound bites, the latter with background and some perspective. Ironically, even USA Today is losing readership to the Web, which offers even briefer bullets.

My career was focused upon selecting and implementing technologies that would enable organizations to leapfrog, i.e. to do more with less. Technologies that did not provide extensive leverage were ignored or discarded.

Today, we seem to have become so enamored with what technology can do that we ignore the vital question of, “Should it?” The right answer, of course, will require some reflection . . . if anybody has the time.

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When we were all younger, our “big purchases” made a social statement. It could be a house, a car, or a boat, but it qualified as “big”. It typically required a loan, and with that loan people often would reach a bit beyond their means assuming that their earnings would not only catch-up but surpass any financial requirements.

One of the delights of our senior years is that people are no longer impressed by such social statements. What now impresses our contemporaries are our health status and our attitudes toward living. The house is now a roof and the car is transportation. “Smart” means less maintenance, not styling.

Last year, we bought a roof on the other side of the country from our last roof. Since we took the downsize challenge very seriously, our new roof is only half the size of our old roof which sheltered our family when it was growing. Sometimes, it can seem a bit tight, but that is an emotional response. In truth, we have plenty of space. But it is more of a roof than a statement.

Now, I’m considering replacing a car. The only car I ever connected with emotionally was a ’66 Mustang. (That love affair ended when it was stolen.) The car I’m thinking of replacing is the original ’95 Aurora, one of the few American cars designed by engineers rather than accountants. This car still runs, but at fifteen years of age, I know its reliability (It’s been outstanding.) will start to diminish. So I’m starting to look at cars again.

The last car we purchased was a Prius, which I viewed as the only intelligent choice at that time. I still feel that way, but I don’t want to get one more of the same. I’m looking for more innovations. I’d love to see a bit more storage topped by a roof with solar cells. I’d insist on a household current converter so that I could charge the car from the house, or visa-versa.

In short, I’m not trying to make a statement. I’m after safe, reliable, and green. Prius is the best right now. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this GM Company that we now own could produce such a green car? That would be my hope. My suspicion is that two or three years from now my only choice will be a Prius-III, which I’ll buy by then if I have no other choice. It’s not a statement, it’s transportation.