AT&T, Bell South, L.A. Cellular,
One Rate, the Motorola M-75 and Captain James T. Kirk.
Hello for 01-99
By: Mike Lipshultz
Mike@biznetonline.com
|
AT&T, Bell South, L.A. Cellular,
One Rate, the Motorola M-75 and Captain James T. Kirk. |
|
||
This month is HOT NEWS month. First old news, for those of you in the Los Angeles, California area. Two very big players in the national cellular market wholly own L. A. Cellular (one of the oldest and biggest players in the local cellular market). AT&T and Bell South have owned L. A. Cellular for some time. In the past both companies have co-managed the cellular companies that they have co-owned. Now in the rapidly changing cellular market, the last thing a company needs is more layers of management. So... Now for some newer news: AT&T will manage companies in the western states, and Bell South gets the ones in the eastern states. In about 3 months L.A. Cellular will be able to start offering products that before were only offered by AT&T.
That’s where the One Rate Plan comes in. AT&T offers a plan called "One Rate" you pay for air time and pay no long distance or roaming charges. At this time 600 minutes run about $90.00 per month. This works out to $0.15 per minute and if you make a lot of long distance calls, or do a lot of roaming, this is a very competitive plan. If you're a cell phone user based in L.A. you can’t get it. AT&T has no outlets in the greater Los Angeles Area (or even in adjoining counties), after all, why compete with another company that you own (L.A. Cellular).
So the HOT NEWS is that L.A. Cellular will be able to start offering this plan...Soon!
Now, the BAD HOT NEWS. Only a "Dual Band" Digital TDMA phone will work on these plans. At this time that gives you a choice of a Nokia, or an Ericcson phone. Sorry, Motorola does not have a model that will work...
NOT SO FAST... If you think Motorola is going to just let this market slip away, you're nuts. By the time you can get on the plan from L.A. Cellular, you should be able to obtain a model from Motorola.
And talking about Motorola... Motorola has stopped making the M-75 (see past review). The M-75 was/is one of the best sounding Digital TDMA phones on the market. I personally believe the sound quality was even better than Nokia (a great sounding phone). In fact, I know several individuals that have used them both then purchased the M-75. If you recall, I purchased one after reviewing it. So why is it being discontinued? The M-75 was a buggy phone. I do not know anyone who could keep one working for more than a few months. I went though 6 of them. Motorola has been great on shipping replacement phones under warranty; however, now with the M-77a on the market they are cutting their losses and discontinuing the M-75. Motorola states that the M-77a is a direct replacement for the M-75. Personally I believe some users will not find that the case. The M-77a and M-75 use all the same accessories, so far so good. However, the memory for storing phone numbers in the M-77a is half of what it was on the M-75. The M-77a sells in this area of the country for under $150.00 When the M-75 come out it was selling for upwards of $300.00. If you need the same storage capacity of the M-75, your only choice in a Digital TDMA Motorola phone is the Star Tac TDMA (just out on the market).
The trouble is, none of the M-75 accessories will work with the Star Tac. If you have extra batteries, chargers and an installed Hands Free Kit in your car, the cost of replacement gets very high (easily $500.00 to $700.00). I am waiting to see how Motorola handles this matter on warranty replacements of the M-75.
As for the Star Tac... I have one. I replaced my M-75 with one. Now I feel like Captain James T. Kirk... I can just pull it out of its belt clip or my shirt pocket and call Scottie. I always knew how small this phone was but I never realized how light it is, my M-75 feels like a brick next to it. In my shirt or pants pocket I don’t even feel the phone is there. Makes it fun when I have to play what pocket did I put the phone in? I use the extra capacity standard battery. I get about 40 to 50 hours standby with about 20 min. talk time, or over one hour talk time and over 24 hours standby. Like the M-75, it rings, vibrates, or does nothing. The ringer is louder than the M-75, so now I can turn up the car radio and still hear the phone ring. For on the go, talking on this phone is great. If you plug in a "Headset" and use the "Smart Buttons" on the side of the phone, you can answer the call without opening the phone. With my headset on I just ‘Squeeze" the phone in my pocket to answer a call. So how does it sound? Even better then the M-75 did. The phone also seems better at holding a signal so calls are just clearer. Two other former M-75 users I know have purchased the Star Tac. They agree, it is a great sounding phone. Very well designed with volume and ringer even louder than on the M-75. Small as it is, use is still very easy. Big fingers, and dialing on the Star Tac, get along fine. If you carry your phone everywhere, and use it a lot… Check this phone out. If you're replacing an M-75 you may wish to talk to your Cellular Dealer and/or Motorola to find out about the cost of upgrading to the Star Tac.
| Be A Famous Writer Submit An Article |
 |
 |
 |
| Because It's The Right Thing To Do. | ||