Ryan McFarland

Palm is running a “best, worst, and funniest pick-up line” contest. According to the official rules you can get multiple entries by logging in often. The grand prize is a trip to Vegas for six people. There are three Caribbean cruises for two. And every day they are giving away a Palm Centro. The contest closes on May 17th.

It is hard to believe but i have had a new phone in the box for about a week now.  I still have not opened it and hope to send it back.  You see, the carrier i’m switching to just released the phone in a new color that wasn’t available when i placed my order.  The phone sitting in the box is the white Palm Centro which Cena also has.  The one i want is the black Centro.

Why am i changing phones?  I’m currently using a Palm Treo 680.  I used a Palm Treo 650 before that and a Treo 600 before that.  Obviously i like the palm line.  The only temptation about the iPhone is the wifi capabilities.  Otherwise my phones for the last three years have been able to do just about everything the iPhone can.  I’m switching to the newest Treo model because i can save money by doing so.  I have to pay for the phone but get a rebate making the new phone about $100.  I also have to enter a two year contract and i like the freedom of my current month-to-month arrangement.  But the savings comes with the rates.  I’m currently paying about $130 a month for my cellular service.  That’s $40 a month for unlimited data, $25 a month for unlimited text, and $55 a month for the nationwide 450 minute plan.  That’s $120 plus the fees and taxes.

Switching to AT&T does take money from a more local business which i’m a bit sad about.  But despite a few claims my current carrier has not been able to match the price and features that AT&T is offering.  Their nationwide 450 is $40 which saves me $15 a month.  Unlimited data is $35 (a $5 per month savings) and a text package that covers 1500 messages a month is $15 which saves me $10 a month.  (Even an unlimited text package is a $5 per month savings.) So i’ll be cutting my monthly cell phone bill by about $30 per month.  If i stayed with my current carrier for the next two years it would cost me $720 more than this change.  Subtract the cost of the phone and i still save more than $620 in the next two years.

If only i could get all of my regular bills to drop that much!