Amika Mobile Blog

Had an interesting experience yesterday upgrading mobile phones and adding a second mobile line despite the deluge of snow in the East! Here are a few takeaways:

 1) Read the fine print very carefully! Unlimited SMS or text messaging does not mean infinite! With some carriers, it means monthly 100 SMS, others 500 SMS and others 2500 SMS. If you pick 100 SMS for $5/month, then every other one after that may cost 0 to 15 cents! Thus, 100 more may cost nothing or $15, 200 more $30 and 300 more $40 and so on! One of our friends had a big shock recently when he received a $200 SMS bill because his ‘unlimited SMS’ topped out at 500 SMS!

2) Not all carrier plans are created equal! Many carriers are trying to get as many subs onboard as possible before Xmas. As such, they are giving you the hardware free - Blackberry, Nokia phone, you name it (!) - as long as you subscribe to a 3 year service plan that is $30 for voice and $15 for ‘unlimited’ Email/Texting. That amounts to $540 a year for 3 years or $1620 lock in contract that if broken has to be paid out! There may be nothing wrong with this if you plan to love your carrier enough to not want to switch for 3 yrs! The carriers are doing this to reduce churn! Your other choice is to go for no contract but pay the $300 to $600 for the phone and the higher monthly fees! These are likly to be closer to $200 for unlimited Email/Text and pay as you go voice as most carriers will not give you a bundle of voice/email without a contract to reduce churn!

 So, the bottom line is be very aware of what plan you sign up to and make sure you review your bill occasionally as you never know when that ‘unlimited’ email or text plan becomes very limited!

 Cheers one and all for a safe holiday!….Sue