What is the deal with services on cell phones? Everything seems to cost $2.99 a month. Everything. Contrast that with everything being free on the Internet. These two worlds stand in stark contrast to me. There has to be balance somewhere, but to be perfectly honest, I feel nickel and dimed to death by cell carriers. Every time that phone manufacturer’s come up with a new feature, I get charged for it.

“Hey Murray, your phone is now an MP3 player!”
“Far Out…having one device that both calls people and plays music… sounds perfect.”
“Great, well in order to load music on your phone, you must either buy it from us for $2.99 per song, or you can load your MP3s using this $29.95 dollar program.”

“Hey Murray, you can send text messages to your friends!”
“Groovy, I like friends… and talking to them.”
“Great, each time your phone beeps with a new message, you owe us $0.10 and the person who receives that message also owes us $0.10…Now you can avoid this if you agree to pay us in advance for text messages that you may or may not use.”

“Hey Murray, you can access the Internet from your phone!”
“SNAP, I needs some of that. I like the Internet. It is fun and useful in everyday life.”
“Great, since you have a snazzy new smart phone, you are going to have to upgrade to a full internet plan. It is more expensive, but in return, you can’t send text messages. You are a valued customer who is dropping serious bank to use your phone, and you have been loyal to us for years and years, but under no circumstance would we give you ANYTHING. ”

I like my phone and for the most part I like Cingular. I get service everywhere I go. But, I am so tired of being nickel and dimed to death. Throw in something for free. Why should I pay $2.99 for every little new feature. Have I not earned a free gift or two.

Or, roll out some faster internet now….NOW. Either give me good return on the money that I plunk down month after month, or stop charging me for absolutely everything. (Texting should be one low cost for unlimited usage.)
(Texting should be thrown in with the unlimited internet…How much blood do you need?)