Wireless Phones - Necessity or Nightmare?

So, now you have your new phone, you've re-upped your contract or changed providers. Congrats and good luck! Times are changing in the Cell Phone industry, now more than ever. Feature rich phones are replacing the bare basic phone, across the board. The days of the phone that's just a phone are nearly gone. Most providers are changing their networks to provide capability for all those new features, broadband for downloads, better plans for text and picture messages. It'll keep getting better as services spread out into the non-metro areas but for now, if you have/need/want the highest tech phones, you need metro level services.

Smaller, rural areas get data connections these days but it's slow data. Pretty close to the difference you were getting between that good old 56K modem and DSL or Cable now. It works but most of us aren't really very patient anymore are we? You can still download ringtones and get those baby pix from your sister but it will take a bit of time.

Most companies are trying to make that part better and they're doing a pretty good job of it but the shopping part can be confusing. If you want to you can even get a data card and separate account for your laptop or if you phone is capable, you can do a cable or bluetooth connect and use it for dial up. Be careful though, will it use your minutes up or just rack up some cash charges for your next bill?