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Cell Phone Services: Is Cell Phone Insurance Worth it?

Cell phone companies are constantly looking for ways to get your business by offering competitive cell phone services. The competition among companies means that you can now get a great deal on phones, Cell Phone Plans, cell phone services, features and options. Often, this means significant financial savings, or just a better overall plan for the same financial obligation you would expect to pay for a lesser plan. Offering insurance on your cell phone is a fairly recent addition to most cell phone services, but one that is being accepted by many people as a good investment.

The tendency to offer cell phones free or at a significant savings is among the most common ways cell phone services providers entice new customers. Consider the cost of an average cell phone today and you quickly realize that owning a cell phone has never been so affordable. But what if the phone and cell phone services aren't what you want? Maybe the cell phone services provider is only offering a basic phone and you want a camera phone. Or what if you want to take advantage of great upgrade deals?

While a very basic cell phone might cost less than $100, the majority of cell phones are much more expensive than that. This is especially true if you have purchased an upgraded model instead of keeping one of the more basic models. In fact, many people have several hundred dollars invested in their cell phones. And what other piece of equipment is handled more, under extreme conditions, than a cell phone? Your cell phone probably travels with you thousands of miles each year. If your business calls for you to travel, your cell phone might make thousands of miles each month. This is why, for many people, cell phone insurance is a worthy investment. It's now possible to find a cell phone company in almost any part of the country that offers insurance as part of its cell phone services.

Consider the potential for damage to your cell phone that your cell phone company can't help you repair. Water is a great problem for most cell phones and who hasn't been caught in an unexpected rain shower? Even if your phone doesn't get wet directly from the rain, you could easily drop it in a puddle while trying to retrieve it from your purse or briefcase. There are dozens of other potential problems too, including a lost or stolen phone, that can be covered by insurance from your cell phone services provider.

Your cell phone services provider will likely ask if you want insurance at the time you purchase your phone, but if that's not the case, take the initiative to ask about insurance.

Today's Cell Phone Services Articles
T-Mobile Eliminating Handset Upgrade Fee

Effective immediately, T-Mobile is eliminating the $18 fee it charges customers to upgrade to a new phone. I'm glad to see that T-Mo came to their senses here—penalizing a customer for upgrading is ridiculous.

From the press release:

T-Mobile is pleased to announce that beginning yesterday, the company has ditched the handset upgrade fee for customers. The elimination of the $18 upgrade fee applies across-the-board to all handsets (including the T-Mobile G1) and in all channels (e.g., retail, online, etc.).

With consumers watching every dollar this holiday season, the savings come at a perfect time. Note however this is NOT a holiday promotion, as there is no specified end date; it's just another way T-Mobile is thanking its loyal customers.

We can only hope other carriers that continue to charge these fees will follow suit.

Nokia Intros the Here and Now

Today Nokia updated the Nokia.mobi Web site with a new section called 'Here and Now.' The new section, tabbed on most new Nokia devices, offers users easy access to world news, music, celebrity buzz, as well as information on ...
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The First Good Look at Sony Ericsson's C510 (Kate) Cybershot Phone

Sony Ericsson's upcoming C510 (Kate) Cybershot phone has been floating around for a while now, but these images from Daily Mobile represent the first decent look at it.

In case you missed it, here is a rundown of the features:

•3.2 MP AF camera and LED
•Face detection
•Smile shutter
•Auto rotation when viewing
•Cyber-shot™ UI 2.0
•3.2 MP AF camera
•Active lens cover
•2.2” QVGA display
•QVGA video
•Picture light
•160 MB in-built memory
•Dedicated shutter key
•Illuminated imaging shortcut keys
•Face detection, Photo fix
•Direct blog short cut key
•Smile shutter
•Illumination by different theme/mode
•Print service Snapfish
•Blue illuminated imaging short cuts
•Download and upload to YouTube

It doesn't appear to be a huge jump from the K770 series, apart from a bigger screen and a bump up in internal memory. Still, it should be a decent lower-end Cybershot handset when it is released in February. [Daily Mobile]

LG Intros Solar-Powered Car Kit

Today LG introduced the HFB-500, a new mobile phone car kit that uses solar power to provide the energy necessary to run a speakerphone when in the car, making use of the cigarette lighter unnecessary. The hands-free device has ...
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Slightly-On-Sale iPhones Arrive at Wal-Mart Today, Still Not $99

Just a gentle reminder for you folks who buy the lion's share of your electronics at Wal-Mart: The iPhone will be at the big box store chain with a tiny discount, starting... today!

According to Yahoo, Wal-Mart will offer the 8GB iPhone 3G for $197, and the 16GB black or white model for $297. Dealzmodo this certainly is not, as the $99 iPhone rumor we reported on earlier this month never materialized, as expected.

That said, if you really want a $99 iPhone, head on over to the refurbished section at AT&T. Those guys are offering a $99 gently used (or potentially never used, actually) phone for the low, low price of $99. [Yahoo, Image: MacRumors]

Apple Enables iTunes Music Downloads Over 3G

Apple today announced that iPhone users can now buy music from the iTunes Store app and download the songs directly over 3G networks. Downloading previously required a Wi-Fi connection. The company also announced that all music will be now ...
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Motorola Rolls Out Eco, Touch and PTT Phones

Today Motorola announced three new handsets that will become available through several different carriers over the course of the next few months.Renew W233: According to Motorola, the W233 is the first phone made from recycled water bottles. It has ...
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Nokia N96 NAM Receives Major Firmware Update

Nokia has made a firmware update available to the North American version of the N96. Aside from some major bug fixes (including Bluetooth compatibility, stability, and camera performance), the update also makes the N96 compatible with Nokia's newly-launched Mail ...
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Sprint Can't Offer Service In iPCS Regions

A judge upheld an earlier decision that bars Sprint Nextel from providing wireless services in areas covered by iPCS. iPCS had sued Sprint and Clearwire in hopes to block the merger of the two companies' WiMax businesses. iPCS is ...
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The Only 10 Games Your iPhone Needs

There are loads of games in the App Store for the iPhone/iPod Touch, but if you want to save money and space, which are the true essentials? Here are our 10 must-haves.

While there are enough good games in the App Store to fill up multiple pages on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you don't need that many, nor do you need to spend that much money. If you focus on filling certain genres with single games and not doubling up on multiples, you can make yourself the ultimate "games page" of apps. Here's the list.

Touchgrind: This skateboarding game was designed from the ground up for the multi-touch iPhone platform, and it shows. The completely unique control method of using your fingers as legs on a skateboard immediately makes sense and is totally addicting. As you get better, the new skateboards that are unlocked with high scores continually feel just within your grasp. $4.99

Galcon: Galcon is a space-based strategy game that delivers super-short games, which is perfect for the iPhone. Rather than getting dragged into games you won't finish, Galcon lets you play a bunch of one or two minute games. You can refine your strategy with each game, and every time you lose it's just too easy to try again. Lite: Free; Pro: $4.99

Fieldrunners: Many call this the best game in the App Store, and it's tough to argue with them. A tower defense game with a super-high degree of polish, this is the definition of addicting. Basically, you want to set up weapons to stop soldiers for storming your towers. You earn more cash for more weapons for every guy you stop, and you lose health for every guy who gets through. And then you can't. Stop. Playing it. $4.99

Line Rider iRide: You've probably played Line Rider on the internet in some form or another: you draw a bunch of lines, then a little man on a sled gets tossed down your makeshift track. The controls are simple and work great on a touchscreen, and you can play in short bursts, saving your maps for later. It's intuitive enough that there's virtually no learning curve, but you can spend countless hours working on your masterpiece of sledding physics. $2.99

Uno: You know Uno, you love Uno. But here's a version that involves no pesky shuffling. If you're more of a poker fan you probably went for Texas Hold 'Em, which is cool, but if you ask me, Uno is a much more fun card game. After all, what fun is poker when you're gambling with pretend money? $5.99

Rolando: This is a wonderful, cartoonish platformer that uses simple controls that are easy to learn but are used in increasingly complicated and challenging ways as the game progresses. You control a series of little balls—Rolandos—by tilting your iPhone and swiping up to jump. But you can control many of them at once, and there are also obstacles and switches you can manipulate. It's got a high degree of polish and will suck you in from the first level. $9.99

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D: This is our favorite racing game, despite not being fully sold on the accelerometer controls of iPhone racing games. But because of that, you really only need one, and this should be it. Great graphics, good stability and plenty of variety add up to make this the essential iPhone racing game. $5.99

SimCity: This port of SimCity 3000 is stunning. This is no gimped version of SimCity, dumbed down for a touchscreen. It's the full game, complete with advisers and all the building types you can handle, with intuitive touchscreen controls. Finally, you can build the epic metropolis of your dreams whenever you sit down and have a few minutes to kill. $9.99

Touch Hockey: FS5: Air Hockey on the iPhone is just like regular air hockey, minus the high probability of getting one of your fingers smashed with the puck. Simply put your finger on the mallet and try to score some goals. It's also fun to play with two people, with each person holding an end of the iPhone. And hey, no quarters required. Lite: Free; Pro: $1.99

Trism: This is essentially a modified version of Bejeweled, and if you know that game then you know why you'd want it on your iPhone. It's a classic puzzle game, one that makes the transition to the touchscreen beautifully. You're trying to get three pieces of the same color together to make them disappear, and depending on how you're holding your iPhone, the resulting tumble of pieces will happen in a different direction. It adds a new level of strategy to the game while retaining what made the original so awesome. $2.99

[A Bonus 11th game, From Brian: I'd like to add Motion X Poker Quest to the list for its amazing use of the accelerometer and in game physics used to roll the dice, as well as beautiful graphics and sounds and addicting game play. ]

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