robert nelson (dot) me

I have been using Android for a while now and have also been maintaining two phones. Now those two phone days are coming to an end. Well, maybe, let me explain.

In the past I have had an iPhone 3GS with AT&T as well as a MiFi and HTC Hero with Sprint. The MiFi and Hero have since been cancelled and replaced with a Droid Eris on Verizon Wireless. So far I love Verizon and I love my Droid Eris. Unfortunately I am missing the MiFi, but more on that in a minute.

Due to pain of paying multiple wireless bills and the joy of using a Droid Eris on Verizon I am canceling my AT&T account and turning my iPhone 3GS into a fancy iPod touch. The reasoning behind that is that its cheaper and easier to just keep that iPhone than it is to sell it and buy an iPod touch. Plus I want/need to keep an iPhone (or touch) because I really like the device, and well, I still write for a dedicated iPhone site. Plus this is not about ditching Apple or AT&T, its just about the bottom line in terms of money. Which means I am not ditching the iPhone as much as I am ditching the bill that comes along with it. I still love the iPhone, but for now Verizon has better deals on family plans. Plus I was able to get a Droid Eris for myself, my wife and my daughter — all for $20 plus shipping.

Now getting back to the MiFi, I miss it and am considering either the Palm Pre Plus or MiFi on Verizon to fill that void. Of course the Palm Pre Plus is adding another phone but it would primarily be used as a data device because it allows me to share the connection by creating a mobile (MiFi like) hotspot. In terms of prices on those, the MiFi is $60 a month and adding the Pre Plus to the existing family plan with the data and mobile hotspot only comes to $80 per month. So really for $20 extra I am getting a whole other phone. Now some, ok many will argue that its not needed, but having an extra phone can be nice at times — if for no other reason than those times when I forget to charge or overuse and drain my battery.

Anyway, that was a lot of words to say that I am turning my iPhone into an iPod touch and picking up a Palm Pre Plus to use as a fancy MiFi. Oh, and I still love my Android based Droid Eris.

I have been considering picking up a Sprint MiFi since it became available, but for some reason I cannot justify making the purchase, which is strange.

I do have a need, well maybe not really a need, but it is something that will get used. I can, and have been getting by just fine without a MiFi, but at the same time I like to write from outside of the house from time to time and it would be nice to not to have to worry about finding a location with Wi-Fi available.

That said, I consider it strange because I was once a happy Palm.net subscriber which for the unlimited plan used to cost me $44.99 a month. Sure, that $44.99 is cheaper than the $59.95 that I will have to pay Sprint, but at least the MiFi offers full Internet access, which is unlike what the Palm.net service on the Palm VIIx used to offer.

The Palm.net service offered unlimited access, but only offered access to web clips which were known as Web Clippings. Basically the service allowed you to visit only certain pages that were formatted to fit nicely on the Palm VIIx display.

Given that, why can’t I justify a purchase of the MiFi? (and yes, that was really just me asking myself that question) It will get used, most likely at least 2-3 days a week. Maybe I have just gotten cheaper with age, or possibly it just seems a little more normal to me to depend on pubic Wi-Fi now.

[Palm VIIx image courtesy of Wikipedia]