A very dear and close friend of mine recently purchased her first cell phone in a few years. Recently? It was actually less than 24 hours ago. She ended up going with a company I somewhat despise, my carrier Unicel (Unicel Sucks!). She did choose them, however, because they had a plan that didn’t require a lengthy contract, and she can cancel at anytime without a cancellation fee.

In any event, the entire transaction/activation period was about 1 hour. Long? I’m not sure. Some of that time was trying to decide what phone she wanted. They didn’t have a lot to choose from, I think maybe 5 models at the store location. A couple had phone options with a 1/2 megapixel resolution ## nothing to woo about. The cheapest camera-phone package was around $140 with a $30 rebate if purchase of accessory was made. So, that’s what she went with.

Now, my phone doesn’t have a camera in it. My screen is monochrome, hers is color. Her phone is lighter and a bit smaller. Mine cost me $20 with a yearly contract. However, she’s the one wondering if she really wants the phone she has. It’s built to use their GSM network, but that turns out not to be as fast as they said it was going to be (supposively it was suppose to be around DSL speeds, hahahaha, try more like dial-up). I guess that’s fine if you’re just checking email. The big kicker is the monthly $6 fee to actually use the photo sharing service.

What a crock? Right? You pay $40 a month for the plan, another $100+ for the camera-phone, and then $6 a month for the photo service… This has to be the biggest nickel & dime market next to the automotive industry. I’d love to see a provider come and give offer an all-inclusive plan and it could probably cost ‘whatever’ because the reward is not having the hassle of little fees here and there.