Post date: Jan 27, 2013 12:44:02 PM
The folks at JHC got a family deal from Claro, one of the two local cell phone companies. Many of the members didn't like the phones, but the calling plan was good. So I am borrowing a fancy cell phone and buying minutes as I need them.
This is great for me, as I receive calls at no cost. I bought C$100 (about US$4) but have no idea how many minutes I have. The phone is complicated enough that I may may never find out! I get an ever-increasing number of text messages each day bragging about the free somethings that I earn by keeping this machine.
Friday the phone beeped me every hour. Couldn't figure why. That night when I plugged it in to recharge (the battery - buying minutes is also called "recharging") I realized that the power connector has to be moved to a particular position or it won't charge. So I guess the beep was a low battery warning because I had not charged it for several days.
The phone has 46 buttons. Using for anything more than answering a call is a real challenge. But calls are much cheaper than in US - unless you place a call to a user of Movistar - the competing cell company here. So some people carry two phones, one from each company. The phone number tells you which phone to use because the first four digits identify the phone company.