Phones, phones every where but what a call to make

With all the phones available on the market today which one do you choose? The first question to answer is do I want dumb or do I want smart? I bet you said smart. Well, that may be all well and good but there are so many Android handsets out there (nearly 4000 at the most recent count) that app developers cannot possibly support all of them.

Google created the Android operating system as free and open source. This enables it to be run on almost every phone on the planet but also enables app developers to create Android apps that are only limited by their imaginations and coding budgets.

However, with the plethora of Android handsets available (3997 according to research firm Open Signal Maps), the problem of fragmentation rears its head whereby each handset may offer a different implementation of Android and alter the availability of apps and the user experience.

If after all this you want to go with a “dumb” phone, I don’t blame you. You can go to Joe Blow’s phone shop pick up last year’s flip-top phone for $30 and a $30 voucher and be calling and texting for a lot cheaper than the “smart” carriers can offer. Good luck!

Problem of the Week

Last month I had one of those phone company moments that only happens to other people because they didn’t read the fine print, I said to myself. Well, mea culpa, I too am now in the same class.

Half way through my billing cycle I noticed my data usage had gone over its limit. I received the usual warning email/sms from my carrier a day before, but it coincided with my bill due day plus one. Next day an SMS came from the carrier saying my service had been temporarily suspended because I went over my data limit and service would resume on payment of outstanding charges. To be without my phone, for calling and texting, was not an option for personal and business reasons.

I promptly paid the outstanding bill. After a call or two the carrier restored my service, however I was still chewing through data in the current billing cycle. Day after day and calls to the phone company I saw the charges rising $400, $700, $900 until finally by month end it stopped at $1442.52. The company did nothing to advise me on how to turn this off. Officially, I’m on a $49 plan.

So I raised an official complaint with the carrier and the telecommunications ombudsman. The carrier soon knocked $1000 off the bill. The last voice mail I had from them was they would forgive another $280 leaving me to pay about $140 for last months horror phone month.

Lessons

Don’t use your phone as a modem (personal hotspot) unless you have plenty of data in your plan (minimum 3 Gig).

Purchase extra data as part of your plan. Virgin sell 1 Gig for $10 per month prior or charge you $200 per Gig if it isn’t on your plan.

My phone is an Apple iPhone 4S and my carrier is (still) Virgin Mobile.

Your issues

Each week I will answer readers questions about technology or gadgets and the best questions will be published here for the benefit of all. If you need any help with your technology needs, just email me at peterbitecomputing@gmail.com