Mobile plans that ain't that mobile

It was a sad day.


When I finished my last Belgium chocolate:(



Yet, on a higher note, I am enjoying my new mobile phone and plan. I always wondered why the seniors said that once we start using UK mobile plans, we will think that Singapore plans are crap. After spending so much time exploring my phone and its capability, I finally understand why.


1) You get freeing incoming messages and phonecalls. Period. There's no crap like deadlines when this promotion ends etc. I always thought that this should be the case, since it isn't my fault that the other party sends me a message.


2) I can access the 3G services for free. I am not exactly sure how things work in Singapore, but here, as long as you don't download something, exploring the services are free. Anything that you have to pay for is has its FULL cost written down clearly.


3) AND if I want to download anything, I can, because I have £5 worth of download that comes with the plan every month. I had lots of fun sampling rintones and background etc.


4) I have 25 free MMS and 25 mins free Video conferencing every month.


5) All these for £10/ month. (For the uninitiated, that's SGD$30) (However, for such a cheap plan, there's some role the customer must play, like returning some forms in time)


I know... You are probably saying, I am paying for all these, so they aren't really freebies. But if you think about it, I don't think you can get 250 free minutes and SMS, PLUS all the free MMS and vidz mins for SGD$30 in Singapore. Not to mention the downloads.


Of course, then there's the point that the extra MMSes etc are not essential. Which brings me on to the next point. We are underutilising our phones. There're so many features on our phone which we hardly use(eg video streaming), because everytime we THINK about using it, we think of the extra cost incurred. If the use of these features comes free or cheap(like in UK), we might actually for once, appreciate the phone (which doesn't come cheap). I agree, I am falling into the commercial trap, whereby the mobile providers are coeurcing me into using things that I dun really need, but using them coz I will be wasting my money if I don't. But the truth is, most of us will hanker after a new phone (ie, most of us already has one foot into the commercial trap). So, instead of thinking that having free services from a plan as something extra, perhaps it would be best to think of it as a way to make full use of a phone which we paid so much for.



I have no idea why I am spending my precious time defending the UK mobile plans. Perhaps it is to justify the fact that I have just signed on to a contract which I might not need.