...eh...we just renewed our plan and got new phones. Somehow the old phones (which were Motorola) are supposed to be screwing up Cingular's system and they were happy to have us retire them and waived the fees for the new phones...nice.

I read somewhere recently that everything is negotiable with these phone companies...don't recall where I read this article, wish I could...and that the clerks actually have major discretion to exchange phones, waive fees and replace damaged phones for free or cheap. Sounds like you have a great case on the previous phone since it was lost in the line of duty, so to speak. So if you're going back, I'd try to get around the guy who gave you all of the misinformation and talk to the head honcho...failing that, I'd get on the phone with the company and see if you can get a better deal.

I understand the blackberry/pda thing but I personally feel that folks who have these wonderful things spend more time at work than they do at work as a result...my wife won't get one because she figures that when whe's through for the day, she's through and doesn't want emergency e-mails cutting into her personal time and family life. Your situation is different, I guess, and there are several phones that I've seen that aren't blackberries but are made to facilitate text messaging (qwerty keyboards instead of trying to message with the regular phone buttons). The really nice and smart and helpful young woman that I dealt with at Cingular informed me that there was a thirty day trial period on the phones that I took and they'd take them back no questions asked and do a deal for anything else that I felt might serve me better...I would think that your company would have the same deal and if they don't I would point out that their competitor DOES and how do they plan to compete with that?

What's interesting right now is "unlocked phones" that you can buy and put the phone company's SIM card in and it runs.

My advice is: haggle!

Best

AA