And at some point today or tomorrow I hope to pick up my very own Eee so I can
I also need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do about my cell phone. I have to return the completely useless "replacement" phone they sent me - since it didn't come with a new battery it totally failed to replace my phone which I told them "will not hold a charge for more than 10 minutes"... Since it was their advise to get the replacement, they can send the damn thing back. I found a replacement battery at the recycling drive, but I'm a little leery of pinning my cellular communications on a salvaged battery. We're planning a lot of "divide & conquer" at Disney - I take TheBoy and we go do guy things; Mrs. G. takes BabyGirl G. and does girl things; our phones will of course be integral to inter-G. communications.
So, anyone got any thoughts on a good, sturdy cell phone?
And, at some point, I've got a passel of dirty guns to clean from yesterday's new shooter outing. Oh, and a new shooter report (here's a hint: I think he mighta liked it...). And some pictures of the kids at the carnival in town for the weekend (but don't worry, no pictures of the nice carny lady who offered to be my wife for the night...) Oh, and a cookout tonight at the Casa del Mom&Dad G. which offers much in the way of charred mammal flesh goodness...
Soon enough, summer will be here and there will be time to breathe. I hope.
That is all.
14 comments:
I was in a similar boat recently - my Motorola Razor had crapped out so many times I was no longer eligible for an insurance claim so I had to buy a new phone.
I didn't want to get locked into another 2 year contract - as soon as my current contract is up, I'll be gone like cane through a goose - and that's the only option (other than paying $500 for a phone) for buying one from the carrier. I searched around and ended up finding this joint: www.dotcells.com.
Got a replacement LG that has worked better than my Moto ever did for $40, delivered to my door.
Don't often do "endorsements" like this, but they really saved my bacon.
When we go to Disney we use a set of walky talkys you can get for hunting. . . they have like a 5 mile range so work fine in the parks. If you plan to split up between parks I guess you will need to use a phone. . . Wait till you see all the folks with walky talkys down there. . ..
www.woot.com has cheap Eees today.
Just sayin'.
I hardly talk on a cellphone, so Virgin Mobile prepaid works well for me. My phone was $15, and I pay $7 a month plus 10c per minute. Not necessarily the best for someone who talks a lot, but as a temporary solution without committing to spending a bunch more money may do the job.
I second the walkie talkies like JD. Get a rechargeable pair. They should cover you if you are in same park. Of course, with everyone else having a pair, you might have to fish to find your own frequency. In case your communications break down, have prearranged meeting points/times. BTW - hope you are taking something to keep you busy/not bored while waiting in line for the rides.
Not sure who your carrier is, but if its AT&T or TMobile, you can get a pay as you go phone at the store, don't bother with activating it and stick your chip in it.
If its Verizon or Sprint I think you'll need to take the phone you buy to one of their stores and they can program it to your account.
The pay as you go phones come as cheap as like $15 for a super basic one or you can spend a few more dollars (I think up to the neighborhood of about $100) and get one with more "features"
I forgot to add -- you can search ebay for new unlocked phones by your carrier type too. Its a bit more of a craps shoot though.
I'd just get a burner that's on the same network as your wife's phone. You'll have free calls to each other and you can use phone card minutes when you have to call off net.
If I wasn't totally addicted to my iPhone that's what I'd be using today.
Mobile phones are garbage consumer-level gear. Get a ham license and a couple of sturdy HTs. Okay, so maybe that isn't a possibility in time for your trip, but I'm just sayin' (that you need more hobbies :-))
The last time I went to Disney, there were no man-portable consumer mobile phones, and we used the time synchronization method.
Living in Florida and getting the chance to go to the parks occasionally, as well as hearing other people's problems, I know some of the problems you can run into.
As Agg79 said, you have to hunt for frequencies with the walkie talkies, and it seems you're always on a frequency that someone decides to be a jerk on. Walkie talkies usually end up adding a layer of frustration rather than solving it.
If you take a personal cell phone, and it gets lost or stolen, you're running into a bunch of irritation with that. Plus, you've got the chance of breaking a phone, and you'd be amazed how often that happens.
If it were me, I'd pick up a go-phone or other wireless phone before getting to the parks, and get it programmed with the necessary numbers. If the wife has an expensive phone, I'd do the same for her. Leave the phones you don't want to lose in the hotel room, so you don't end up seeing it go floating out your pocket and down to the ground as you're hanging upside down on a roller coaster.
Yay! eeePC! You gonna get eeeBuntu and be one of the really cool kids?
We did the walkee-talkee thing at Disney ten years ago, and it worked pretty well. But since we pretty much all now have cell phones, it seems like this would just be another dang thing to carry. That said, my phone has more than a 10 minute battery.
Solution #1
I have bought MANY cell phones off Ebay for a fraction of new cost.
Buy one specified for your carrier and swap current service over to the new unit.
OR buy one that matches your wife's service and add a line for whatever that costs ( verizon zings me $10 a month.
2. buy new batteries from ebay. that used to work on most phones.
no guarantees now a days.
My DAV brother-in-law is notoriously hard on cell phones - I think he's destroyed or drowned 3 in the last year. His newest is a samsung a837 mil-spec cellphone that thus far is holding up well - and is water-resistant to 10 ft or somesuch.
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