CricKet vs. The Big Guys, Revol Intros the Lingo

CricKet is, at the moment, making a point of how you can get "more unlimited" for half the price of other carriers. Now on their front page, they have a top-to-bottom comparison of all the major carriers' plans, and theirs. Verizon and AT&T are at the bottom, charging $100 per month for unlimited voice calling. Next up is T-Mobile with unlimited messaging thrown in. Aoev T-Mobile it gets interesting. Sprint is displayed...their $89 plan, that is. I guess the folks at CricKet are hoping that you don't look and see that not only is Sprint not quite 2x as expensive as CricKet's top-class lineup (which includes stuff that most people never use as out-of-the-ordinary extras, namely 411 and international texting)...Sprint's $100 plan beats CricKet's $50 plan, esoecially in the area of coverage. Sprint gets Push To Talk, mobile phone TV, high-speed web browsing and (I think) Sirius radio where CricKet gets mobile web (usually at 1xRTT speeds, meh), free 411 (how about Google SMS or 1-800-GOOG-411 or 1-80-FREE-411?) and international text.

What should CricKet really be doing? Well, first off making sure that nobody knows they aren't a national carrier, heh. T-Mobile's relatively lousy coverage pales in comparison to CricKet's footprint, or lack thereof (though it's getting better...I think they've caught up to Sprint...in 1995!). Then compare their plans to something with limited minutes and no features on one of he "big boys". Note to CricKet: don't compare with Sprint. Rumor has it they're giving away free kitchen sinks.

In other news, Revol now has the Kyocera M100 "Lingo". You know, the successor to the Strobe, the weirdest-looking phone ever? Anyway, it's ridiculously priced, at $229. Plus you have to pay for your first month of service, which isn't a requirement for other unlimited carriers. My suggestion? Get a non-local number, get the Samsung text-friendly phone on MetroPCS, and roam on Revol. Geez freaking Louise, this company needs competition. Or maybe a swift kick in the pants.

If you're browsing around Revol's site and see something called RevolPTT by the way, ignore it. The feature, which can be used on all Motorola phones but the v710, as well as the Kyocera K312 (sound familiar? MetroPCS is the correct answer) and KX444, looks to be the same lameness that MetroPCS will shortly perpetrate on its customers as "push to talk". How about this: all phones come with Push To Talk. Step one: select number. Step two: PUSH the Talk button. Call it Voice SMS or something, but the only real push to talk solution worth its salt is the stuff Sprint is selling (iDEN and QChat). Kodiak (AT&T and Alltel) sorta count though I think the service basically sets up a phone call between the sender and recipient. Verizon and Sprint ReadyLink? Almost as bad as MetroPCS and Revol. Thus ends the weekly push-to-talk rant.

By the way, if you find this site worthwhile please check out some other sites that Google is serving up to your right. Doing so gives me a sense of self-worth, if not net-worth, in regard to this site. Thanks!