The Apple being the new Apple iPhone vs ?. Well I’ll back to you on the ? in a minute. The consumer is sitting there and sayng, hey cool I save $200 and get even more features. Well hold the iPhone LeRoy –

Apple’s new 3G iPhone might seem like a bargain at $199: more features, 3G speeds, and $200 cheaper than the original model. Great, except it’s not actually cheaper. The new $199 iPhone is actually $160 more than the $399 iPhone it replaces.

The iPhone itself may be cheaper, but the required flat-rate data plan now costs $30 per month, a $10 increase. Over the mandatory two-year contract, that works out to an extra $240. AT&T also now charges $5 per month for 200 text messages, which used to be free. That adds up to another $120.

Before you apply your generous $200 discount, you’ve already agreed to fork over $360. Two years from now, your new iPhone 3G will have cost $160 more than a current-model iPhone.

Compliments of the ever watchful folks over at Consumerist.com. Now Dear Reader do you understand why ThirdPipe recommends that phone costs be decoupled from rate plans! Its a shell game they are playig on you. You have to figure which pee you are going to get.

So lets get back to ? shall we! The ? is the Hop-On 1809 3G phone pictured here –

Oh shucks it doesn’t have the cool itouch display!? So what. It does nearly everything else you just have to use a button instead. Its 3G enabled. Plus its all up, no strings attached, full up price is $125. That’s right $125.

Folks you can keep being a chump and paying for Apples extortion or you can use your brains and get a similiar 3G product The choice is yours but if I were yoiu I would join the ‘its paid for express’. You will garner benefits in the end when the whole ETF’s issues get settled in courts and the idea of contracts die the ugly deaths. Those without subsidized phones will be the first to benefit.

The economic difference could not be clearer.

Consumerist Link.
Hop On 1809 Link.

First, I want to say that I was a happy Vonage customer for 4 years. The only reason I chose to leave them was I got a better deal. Leaving is the rub. Even after you leave, Vonage keeps on billing, and they resurrect dead service without notice. This company is technically a good operation, but the customer service and billing has earned this fiasco of a company the right to a dirt nap.

In late September 2005 I ordered VOIP service from another carrier and canceled Vonage. Several calls to Vonage sent me through a succession of people, many who had poor command of English, and eventually led me to wait on hold for the person authorized to end my account. The wait was too long, and I finally believed I closed the account on a Saturday after spending more than 2 hours on the phone with them. When I had allegedly discontinued service, I had been using my new carrier for several weeks and had disconnected the Vonage ATA box. They billed my American Express charge for the entire month, and I paid the entire bill. All was well until the next American Express bill arrived and the usual charge from Vonage was again on the bill again. I had now not used the service for 2 months Long waits finally got assurances form a Vonage employee that the service was discontinued, although no one would agree to credit me for the illegitimate charges. I paid the bill and moved on to more productive endeavors rather than fight over $30. The next month, you guessed it. Vonage billed my American Express again. I phoned American Express, and they contested the charges and since Vonage did not bother to try to prove they were legitimate, the charge was reversed. Every Month following that time, I had a new charge from Vonage that was contested and reversed. I repeated called Vonage and emailed them to no avail. As a rule no one could find my account when I phoned them or I was told it was an error. This continued for more than 2 years until I finally closed the American Express account. Finally all was quiet after 2 years of trying to get rid of the Vonage beast.

Today I received two collection notices from an agency writing on Vonages’ behalf. They say I owe more than $250 for Vonage service including charges from last year - more than 2 years after I canceled service.

Well, dear reader, it’s time for me to take the gloves off. If you have Vonage service, I encourage you to cancel service and get confirmation in writing. There are a plethora of other VOIP carriers in the world who are less expensive and have much better customer service than Vonage. If you are looking for new VoIP service, please do yourself a favor and avoid this company at all costs.