TECH Talk, Play and Surf ... for a Price by Ronaleen Roha
Each of the major wireless carriers offers a slew of extra data services that you could use to turn your cell phone into a hand-held entertainment center.
For one-time or monthly fees, you could order up jazzy ringtones, spiffy wallpapers, games, text messaging and photo swapping capabilities and suites of information specially formatted and packaged for cell phones by well-known providers such as ABC News, CNN and The Weather Channel. You can even browse the Web or, with Sprint PCS, watch the first incarnation of cell phone TV, called MobiTV.
There are hundreds of choices available from each carrier -- Verizon, for example, offers about 350 applications plus thousands of ringtones and wallpapers. Some carriers offer plans that bundle services. With others you can buy services separately.
In some cases, such as with Verizon, using data services will deplete your voice minutes. But with other providers, such as Sprint PCS and Nextel, you don't use up your valuable air time.
Not all phones can take advantage of everything a carrier offers. For example, some phones, including most newer phones, support polyphonic ringtones, which are more music-like, and actual music clips of artists performing their songs. Older phones might be limited to less sophisticated beeps and boops. You can check your phone's compatibility with particular services on each carrier's Web site.
For more information about cell phone data services, read "Phone, TV or PC?" in the June issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Below we highlight the pricing for some basic services from the major wireless carriers. Visit their Web sites for more information:
AT&T Wireless's mMode service offers a a series of four data plans, ranging from $3 to $20 per month, depending on how much data transfer you expect to use each month (the first 30 days of mMode are free).
Cingular Wireless sells bundled MEdia plans for $8 per month that includes 250 text or instant messages, 50 multimedia messages and 1 megabyte of wireless internet data transfer or $20 per month for 1500 text or instant messages, 200 multimedia messages and unlimited internet acces. Cingluar Wireless also sells text messaging, games and other services individually.
Nextel offers a number of data plans including Nextel Online which provides unlimited access to the Web for $3.50 per month and other packages of data services and a full service plan that includes Nextel Online Premium Web, two-way-messaging, mobile e-mail, and an address book for $15 a month. Nextel is especially good for services that work for business, including many Java applications. It is the only carrier that offers TeleNav, a global positioning satellite service for certain Nextel phones.
Sprint PCS offers Sprint PCS Vision free for two months, then $15 per month for unlimited Web access and more.
T-Mobile offers its t-zones services for $5 per month for unlimited Internet e-mail and unlimited Mobile Web browsing or, for $10 per month for the same two services plus unlimited access to corporate e-mail.
Verizon Wireless's Get It Now service costs $5 per month for text messaging, e-mail, games, information sites, and more.
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