Razr Arrived

Yesterday after I posted to this blog I checked the UPS tracking information and saw that my package from T-Mobile had arrived in Beaumont and was out for delivery. I waited all day for it to arrive. At 7:30 I decided there was no hope of getting it on Tuesday. At 8:40 PM the doorbell rang. The UPS driver had dropped the package on the doorstep. They must really be working hard. I have never had a package delivered that late at night.

I opened the package and plugged the charger in to charge the battery. I called T-Mobile to activate the phone. They had an automated process, and I was supposed to enter some number that I did not understand. Bad start! I held on and finally a nice lady came on the line. I said I am so glad that a real live human being picked up the phone. She walked me through the activation process and then transferred me to another department to transfer my Sprint phone number to the new phone. This lady was very nice and efficient. She said it could take up to 72 hours for my old cell phone number to be transferred. In the meantime I have a temporary number to use with the new phone.

A few minutes after I hung up a text message arrived on the phone which welcomed me to T-Mobile and gave me the phone number. I made a call to my home phone, and it worked. The phone shows four bars of signal strength at my house. The Sprint service had five bars. I must live in a good cell phone location. Time will tell how the T-Mobile coverage compares to Sprint. I am supposed to receive a second text message when my old phone number is transferred.

There was no text message this morning and my Sprint phone is still working. I called the new phone from my home phone. The phone is set to a default T-Mobile ring which sounds like what I have heard in their television commercials. I have to learn how to set ring tones, wallpaper, screen savers etc. I also have to enter all of my phone numbers. That is not a pleasant chore. If I had got the Treo 650, I would have been able to transfer my address book from the computer. Anyway I will be busy reading the manual and learning how to use the features. The phone is about the same size as my old Motorola Timeport, but it is much thinner and lighter. It has a very pretty big screen, a flat keypad that lights up in a very attractive manner and a built-in camera that can even capture video.

The main advantage of this phone is that I am now free of the Sprint web of fees and contracts. There will be no more monthly bills. When I need additional minutes, I can order a 1,000 minute card for $99.99 from Amazon.com. These minutes will be good for 365 days. It includes nationwide long distance including Alaska and Hawaii, voice mail, etc. etc. If the coverage is decent, I do not see a downside.