Apr. 9, 2008 Wednesday

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My cell phone battery had just about had it. A new battery cost $50. But if I signed up for two more years, I could get a whole new phone and a new battery, for free.

So guess what I did?

Yep, I have a new cell phone. It has a 2.0 megapixel camera and a qwerty keyboard. That last feature is important. I have a 12-year-old niece who's very big on texting, and I'm not so good at texting on a standard cell phone keypad. I also paid extra for unlimited texting, even though my niece will probably be my primary text recipient.

The phone itself is cool (an LG enV); it looks like an ordinary cell phone on one side, it looks like a digital camera on the other side, and it opens in the middle to reveal a large (relatively) screen and keyboard. It's larger than a typical cell phone, but not by much. I like it.

So instead of spending money on a battery, I have a new phone with new features.

For free.