I just received the cell phone bill from PCCW.  In fact, I switched my cell phone carrier from PCCW to 3 with effect from 12 February 2009.  Before I picked this switching day, I called PCCW to check what the last day of my current contract is.  The staff said 12 February 2009 is the last day of contract.  So, a few weeks ago, I chose to switch it on 12 February 2009.

Now the phone bill said I have to pay HK$500 for the Early Termination Charge!!!  I called them rightaway.  They said the formal date on which the contract is over is 14 February 2009.

Then I claimed I checked with them on 24 January 2009, and the response I got was "the contract will end on 12 February 2009".

Anyhow, the representative said, "to maintain our good customer relations, I will waive this HK$500 Early Termination Fee.  However, the HK$12 Tunnel Fee can't be waived."  But think about it, cell phone plans are paid in advanced cycle.  Since I left this cell phone company already, why do i have to pay for Tunnel fee?

I bought a Motorola A3100 lately.  When choosing this phone, due consideration has been give to the following factors:

(1) I have not bought any phones since 2002, the year I went to the US.  Most phones I used are free phones.  Therefore, I saved quite a lot over the years;

(2) There are some Lai See from Chinese New Year that helps to ease the financial burden;

(3) My employer provides PCCW Wifi, so I can use it on the street/hotspots.  Having a phone capable for receiving wifi is crucial nowadays (e.g. check direction/bus routes, emails, etc).

(4) The aGPS will be will helpful.

(5) The Microsoft-Office-Mobile-equivalent will be good in case I want to do a document while I am commuting (i.e. 30 minutes on train).  Also the Microsoft Outlook, so I can draft at least 1 email on the way home.

(6) Anything that has the functions of (3) + (4) + (5) costs about the same.  Within the same price-tier, Toshiba's G810 is the cheapest, but it is really really old and its CPU is slow...etc.  LG is not stable as many testified.  HTC is rather expensive but same in specification.

(7) This is quite new in the market.  Price is moderate!

Last but not least: pre-loaded Opera Mobile 9.5; bluetooth ready; big keyboard on screen, like iPhone's; Live Messenger; miscellaneous things such as RSS reader, weather...etc.  Gift: USB charger, Toshiba microSD card, card reader.

We are switching cell phone plans to 3 again.

When we return to Hong Kong in May 2007, we first joined 3's plan. Then we switched to PCCW for a cheaper plan. Now we switched back to 3. 2500 minutes / HK$68 (inclusive of tunnel surcharge). That's 3G plan. Yeah!

Tonight is the last episode of the Japanese drama Good Luck!!  (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Good_Luck!!)

I think I watched this drama for at least 4 times.  I'm still very excited to watch it.  The whole drama contains stories of individuals who had failed something in the past but has the courages to overcome their obstacles.