{"id":925,"date":"2014-02-25T13:18:10","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T12:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ericlee.info\/blog\/?p=925"},"modified":"2014-03-07T10:02:11","modified_gmt":"2014-03-07T09:02:11","slug":"why-im-throwing-my-mobile-phone-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ericlee.info\/blog\/why-im-throwing-my-mobile-phone-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I’m throwing my mobile phone away"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” – Dr Emmett Brown, Back to the Future (1985)<\/em><\/p>\n

I hardly ever use phones.\u00a0 Like many people, I do most of my communication either face to face, or using the net.\u00a0 That having been said, I find that I’m spending an enormous amount of money on telephones.<\/p>\n

On average, I’m spending around \u00a358<\/strong> ($100) a month for something which I don’t think I really need.<\/p>\n

Of that money, about 75% goes to Three<\/a>, one of the least expensive mobile phone carriers in the UK — where I have one of the least expensive plans (Essential Internet 300 – just 300 minutes per month).\u00a0 That plan includes a 24-month contract which ends very soon. \u00a0The rest is spent on a relatively inexpensive international calling service called “18185<\/a>” and on SkypeOut credit which allows me to call regular phones using Skype.<\/p>\n

So I recently called up Three (because you actually need to phone them to do this) to instruct them not to renew my contract.\u00a0 And which provider will I be using?<\/p>\n

None.\u00a0 No one.\u00a0 No provider.<\/p>\n

I’m throwing my mobile phone away.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Not really — I’ll probably recycle the damn thing.)<\/p>\n

But wait a minute, what if I want to have a, you know, conversation with someone who’s not in the room?\u00a0 What used to be called a “telephone call”?<\/p>\n

I’ll be using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) for that — meaning Skype<\/a>, but possibly alternatives as well, such as Viber<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I can already hear the objections.<\/p>\n

Sure, you’re saying, but isn’t using Skype kind of clunky on a laptop or desktop?<\/em><\/p>\n

It is, which is why I’ll be using an iPod Touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Well OK, that works, but what if I want to call you?<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve purchased a Skype online number<\/a> — it’s a local number in London.\u00a0 It costs me \u00a33.35 a month.<\/p>\n

What if you want to call someone who’s not on Skype?<\/em><\/p>\n

On the rare occasions where that might be case, I’ll use SkypeOut<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That’s great when you have WiFi, but what about the times you’re out and about?<\/em><\/p>\n

First of all, I nearly always have WiFi.\u00a0 I have it at work and at home and in most cafes I might go to.<\/p>\n

But on the off chance that I’m somewhere where I want to make or receive a phone call on a 3G or 4G network, I need a portable WiFi hotspot with me.\u00a0 So I’ve purchased a Huawei E5332<\/a> Unlocked Mobile Wi-Fi Modem on eBay for about \u00a335.00.\u00a0 I’ll need a SIM card for that, so I’ll be taking the \u00a35.00 a month data-only plan from GiffGaff<\/a>, giving me 500 MB of data.<\/p>\n

In other words, my monthly expense will be \u00a38.35<\/strong> (that’s the Skype Internet Number and the GiffGaff data-only SIM plan) — not \u00a358.87<\/strong>.\u00a0 I’ll be saving \u00a350 a month.<\/p>\n

There remains the issue of how to deal with SMS messages.<\/p>\n

Here are my thoughts:<\/p>\n