Ringtones

As much as Verizon sucks, their cell phone service is good. Try to get a land line or FIOS brought to your house and you might as well go get a root canal-it's about the same amount of pain. They do the cell phones right though. Verizon has the best coverage out of any of the cell providers and their customer service is actually pretty good.

I don't even need a land line. I prefer to use my cell phone for everything. I even have some cool Verizon ringtones on my phone. Different people have different tones on my phone, so I know who is calling without even looking. I have a Three Stooges Verizon ringtone on my phone that cracks people up!

If you have a Verizon cell phone, get yourself some free Verizon ringtones.

Old Folks Phone

My parents are, "tecnically speaking," senior citizens (they'll KILL me if they read this). People of their generation are hysterical when it comes to cell phones.

Both my folks have cell phones. They NEVER turn them on.

I always ask them why they even bother having the phone if they never turn it on.

"Well, it's nice to have for emergencies," they always say.

I classify an "emergency" as: they forgot something at our house that they could turn around and grab when we realize they've left it 5 minutes after they've left for home. A simple call would do the trick.

If their cell phone was on, they could turn around and get it rather than make another three hour round trip the next day. Maybe that's not an emergency, but it sure is a heck of a lot more convenient!

Another complaint I hear from folks of their generation is that "cell phones are too damn complicated." I've heard them say "why can't they make a cell phone that's just a PHONE?" Many seniors can't deal with the multi function phones of today. They just want to dial and talk-nothing else. Whoever figures out senior cell phones will be a bazillionaire.

There are new cell phones that would make great gifts for senior citizens. The Jitterbug is one of the best cell phones for senior citizens because it's JUST A PHONE. It has big buttons and all it does is make phone calls.

My parents would love it, but I'll bet they'd still never turn it on!

Compare Wireless Plans

Every month when I get my cell phone bill, I check to make sure my calling plan is giving me the proper amount of minutes. Going over the allotted amount of minutes can be expensive, so I'm pretty vigilant about checking it out. Every time my contract runs out, I try to compare wireless plans and get the best deal for me.

This isn't always easy. You have to go to all the carriers' websites and compare wireless plans. It can get confusing to say the least. Plus, the carriers don't neccessarily tell you about the best plan for you.

Now there is an easy way to compare wireless plans online. Wirefly.com has an online tool called the Wireless Wizard that lets you plug in your usage information and other parameters then automatically gives you the best plan for your situation, whether it is with your current carrier or another carrier. They can even set up your account for you and they have good deals on cell phones too. Talk about one stop shopping!

Wirefly.com is an INC 500 company that offers phones, ringtones, cellular accessories, prepaid wireless, virtually every calling plan from every carrier and (my favorite) FREE SHIPPING! They offer calling plans from AT&T, Alltel Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Nextel. They also have prepaid plans from GoPhone, T-Mobile To Go and Virgin Mobile.

I'll be checking out Wirefly.com the next time my contract is up. I've already taken the time to compare wireless plans and I have found a better plan with Verizon (my current carrier) than the one I have now. Funny how Verizon didn't tell me about this other plan! I called them and had them switch me to the better plan, so Wirefly.com has already helped me!

If you spend a decent chunk of change on your wireless service, it is worth a visit to Wirefly.com to get the best deal available.

Business VOIP

It used to be if you wanted aPBX Phone System for your business, you needed to get a couple of T-1s and invest tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment. Larger companies have staff in place just to deal with the phone system.

Now with the enhancements and advances in VOIP (Voice over Internet protocol) services, businesses don't necessarily need to spend huge amounts of dollars on a PBX Phone System. Packet8 offers a hosted "virtual" PBX Phone System with all the functionality of the old school phone systems at a fraction of the cost. Whether you need a PBX Phone System for a small business or a large call center (or anything in between), Packet8 can supply your business with a feature rich PBX Phone System that will be easy to install and get running, will grow with your business, will support multiple locations and won't require a separate room in your office for equipment.

The service plans include monthly or yearly fixed rates with unlimited calling and the ability to add extensions nearly instantly. All the services offered by Packet8 are video phone compatible as well.

If I had Hot Dog Trucks all over the world, I could communicate between locations without incurring additional costs and I could use the video phones to make sure my locations were putting their dogs together correctly!

The scalability of their plans, the virtual PBX Phone System, and the advantages that come with fixed costs make Packet8's offerings an excellent voice solution for businesses of any size. Check out Packet8 today

Cell Phone Rant

I know everyone has a cell phone. I use mine more than my land line. I find it far more convenient to use than the land line. I don't know how I ever got along without it. I also have a wife-whom I love dearly. She has a cell phone too. This is very convenient for a multitude of reasons most people would recognize.

What kills me is the "just calling to chat" call. It'll be about 12:15, I'll be knee deep in hot dogs, with 10 people in line and the phone will ring. It's my wife, "just calling to chat!" HELLO HONEY, ITS LUNCH TIME! "I know," she says, "I'm having lunch and I wanted to chat." AAAAAAAArrrgh! She knows I'm busy at lunch time-heck its what I do, make lunch for people, yet she insists on calling to "chat."

When I call her back, say at 2:30 when I'm wrapping things up for the day, to "chat," she invariably says "honey I'm busy, can it wait until tonight?"

This is when I really hate cell phones.