It is absolutely amazing and somewhat overwhelming all the cell phone plan choices. As I was watching the Olympic Curling Event, I noted an advertisement by Wal*Mart that was offering 1,000 minutes and 1,000 text messages for the low price of "X" amount of dollars per month - "Straight Talk" program.
Apparently, they've hooked up with a major carrier of cell phone technology such as AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, and although I didn't get the sense of which carrier they are partnering with, I sure see the synergy. And that is a pretty good deal if you consider your current cell phone plan.
Indeed, I suppose there are several phones to choose from with rebates on each, or even a free-phone with a sign-up and activation fee if you do not need a tricky smart phone with maximum features.
Consider if you will that Wal-Mart has an unbelievable amount of customers coming in and out of their stores, the sheer number and volume of their present customer base is enough to make them the largest cell phone company with the most subscribers on the planet, it would only take them a few years to catch up to the leaders and then pass them. After all, they are already the largest corporation and they hire more people than any single company, or government in the world.
All too often we are so concerned with what is happening in Silicon Valley, and we watch the stock market in the personal tech sector for companies like Research in Motion, Apple, and Google. We watch companies like Nokia, Motorola, and others show off their latest devices. But consider if you will a large retailer with that type of power that Wal-Mart has, they will revolutionize the low cost end of the cell phone industry. This in turn will drive down prices, create a great amount of competition, and in the end it will be very good for consumers.
Companies like Apple, Google, and Research in Motion will have to offer their iPhones, Androids, Google Phones, and Blackberries must compete on price too or miss out on this large clientele. But you can hardly go anywhere, or pick up any newspaper including the Wall Street Journal without seeing lots of ads for new smart phones hooked to special promotional programs from various wireless companies.
In a recent ad in our newspaper locally, I noted that a small wireless reseller was offering the Blackberry Curve model 8530 smart phone for only $49, which included $100 rebate, if you sign up for a two-year service agreement, and the total price been only $149.99 total. I am sure you've seen similar offers in your local paper in your area too.
This same company offered an LG LX 370 smart phone for free with a two-year service agreement, and they also offered the new Sanyo Incognito for only $49.99 after the two-year service agreement and mail-in rebate. All these offers including the one at Wal-Mart have early termination fee fines, some of which are up to $200. Nevertheless, it is fairly obvious to see that there is competition in the marketplace and a lot more to follow.
If you've ever wanted to get a cell phone, or change your service plan, now would be the time to start shopping around.
Consumers and business owners alike are now taking advantage of these smart phones. In fact, in the Wall Street Journal there is a full page ad which seems to be running nearly every day that hooks up with Sprint. It is a full page ad and offers discounts on the Samsung Moment, Palm Pixi, or the Blackberry Curve model 8530 smart cell phone. It includes a testimonial from PC World, and explains that you can go into any Best Buy or RadioShack and get the same deal.
It appears that the industry plans to push forward this as Google and Apple advances with their own recent technology offers. Are we seeing a saturation in the marketplace, is everyone getting into the cell phone business, doesn't everyone already have a cell phone, isn't everyone already locked into a contract?
The answer is yes and no, it might even be worth paying the penalty fee and jumping out of your current contract to save money and get a new phone. If you are like me perhaps your one year, 18 month, or two year contract is now up, and you'd like to move up in the world with a new smart phone.
Most of these cell phones include navigational GPS software, digital camera with video capture, and data feed features, which allow you to surf the Internet. Some of them have keyboards and the technology today was unheard of just a few years ago. You see, it's not just Apple's new iPad, Barnes & Noble's new Nook, or Amazon.com's new Kindle that is changing the landscape of personal technology. In fact, these new smart cell phones are getting so robust in technology that even Palm is noting that its PDAs are not selling any more.
If you think that the earthquake in Chile, or the devastating earthquake and Haiti is significant, then I think you need to check out the rumblings in the personal technology in the marketplace. It appears that the CES show in Las Vegas, along with Comdex in 2010 were merely the tip of the iceberg, and the global demand is melting it faster than the producers can bring them to market. The US electronic consumers and first adopter technology lovers haven't seen anything yet.
Motorola's new projection cell phones technology will soon be hitting the scenes as well. Nokia promises to roll out some incredible new personal tech hardware and smart cell phone technology in the near future. The sky is the limit and it's hard to say what comes next. As we look back it's almost hard to say which came first the chicken or the egg - that is to say the 3G or 4G wireless technology schemes, or the new high-tech devices which will run on them.
The reality is that this technology is evolving at an incredible pace. And everyone is getting in on it including Intel with their new smart phone chips. Recently, I listen to the CEO of Intel on a conference call to investors and Wall Street explain how their new smart phone chip was going to be a huge moneymaker for the company, and how they were charging ahead. Perhaps, you will please consider all this, and e-mail me and tell me what you think.
Lance Winslow is a Cell Phone Technology Writer, and specializes in Futuristic Topics and Personal Technologies such as smart phones, cell phones, and mobile technologies. Learn more about your options with various Cell Phone Plans. Please visit http://www.calling-plans.com.
Note: All of Lance Winslow's articles are written by him, not by Automated Software, any Computer Program, or Artificially Intelligent Software. None of his articles are outsourced, PLR Content or written by ghost writers.
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