Login : Register Home : Tags

KPN

Sony Ericsson K800i

Software

(Note to self: rename Software category to Technology some day.)

I want the Sony Ericsson K800i. I'm extremely happy with my K750i but this new model has a bigger screen, better camera (3.2 megapixels!) and appears to fix my biggest annoyance: the joystick looks more robust and seems less prone to break down after extensive use. The phone also has tri-band support (so I could use it in the US next summer), UMTS and Bluetooth Stereo (finally, MP3s through a Bluetooth headset, I miss that so much in my current phone).

Unfortunately my KPN subscriptions lasts a while longer, so I'll have to keep using my K750i for a while. On the good side, by the time I have to renew I expect the first 5 megapixel camera phones.. maybe even with Ogg Vorbis support.

Why I love America

Anglosphere

I text a lot of UK numbers and I'm very disappointed by the costs involved.

Three years ago, I could send SMS messages to any mobile in the world for $0.05 (less than 3p) with the Cingular pre-paid card I used in California. According to their web site, that price is still accurate.

Well, forget about that in Europe. Last week, I got a T-Mobile pre-paid card in the UK. Within the UK, texts cost me 10p to UK numbers (or as cheap as 5p with a bundle) and 20p to foreign numbers. My Dutch subscription plan (KPN Hi) allows me to send SMS messages for only €0.07 (over 4p) to Dutch numbers but it's still €0.29 (nearly 20p) to foreign numbers.

It's understandable that texting UK numbers with a UK plan, even pre-paid, is twice to four times as cheap as doing so with a calling plan in Holland. But it's really frustrating to know that it would be seven times cheaper with a pre-paid card in the US, indeed cutting even local UK prices in half.

The telecommunication market in Europe is such a rip-off. Why can't life be affordable for the middle class, like it is in the United States?

© Copyright 1995-2008 Robert John Kaper. All rights reserved.

Tom has more friends but mine are prettier! (#1/1)