New Cell Phone

So I decided yesterday that I needed to get a new cell phone. The Nokia 3595 that I had, while still functioning, had started to show some serious signs of decay. It was dropping calls, rebooting itself and the Java engine was refusing to load about 50% of the time.

Since I don't really need a fancy phone, and I didn't want to pay a lot I started looking at the Cingular (doesn't work in Firefox!) website for free or near free options. Since my contract with them was up, I figured I would be able to talk my way into at least some basic free phone. I noticed that the Motorola V220 was being offered as a free phone for new contracts. So I did a little research (CNet V220 Review and others) and decided that if I could wing it, I would try to get a new V220 for me and my wife.

I was very surprised at how easy it turned out to be. I walked into my local Cingular store, expecting a fight, and within 15 minutes of being there, I was signed the new contract with 2 new free V220's. Of course, after setup, car charger, protective case, and hands-free ear-bud, I still spent over $100. But none the less, that is the first time a cell phone company hasn't been a total pain to deal with when it came to upgrading - good job Cingular!

As for the phone, it is exactly what I expected after reading the CNet review. Though I think perhaps that CNet was a bit rough on it. The camera is decent, the sound quality is way better than CNet suggested and so far battery life is great. All-in-all, a good basic phone.