Hello again from beautiful, warm, Yuma Arizona. Yes, I am down here again, just like so many other snowbirds from the Northern climates. It will be 75 today and I will be "forced" to put my shorts back on for today's adventures in the sun. I am here for the weekend to visit and watch football with my son Eric and his lovely wife Jill. I came into town on Monday after flying into San Diego. I spent 3 days up in Lake Havasu City (home of the London Bridge), which was a lot of fun and very informative. On Monday, I will leave for the Tucson area for six days before coming back here to watch more of the NFL Playoffs with Eric.
Had a fun day yesterday as I crossed the border to Algodones, Mexico. If you are not familiar with it, Algodones is one of the most interesting and bizarre places I have ever been. Unlike so many other border towns, it is relatively clean, safe, and crowded with snowbirds from America and Canada. What makes it so unique is that within a four block radius, there are probably more drug stores, liquor stores, dental offices and optometrists than anywhere in the world.
Algodones caters to mostly older Americans who come south for the cheap prices, especially for prescription drugs. And, I can tell you, they are very inexpensive and most don't need prescriptions. If you thought that Wal-Mart's $4 prices for generic drugs were cheap, let me tell you that the prices in Algodones were even cheaper. For example, one pill I take costs me $4 for 30 pills at Wal-Mart. In Algodones, it was $6 for 100 pills. All prices, by the way, are in American dollars, so don't worry about having to get pesos.
So, after walking around the town, I shopped for my pills, had a nice lunch, and headed back across the border...which was the hardest part. It took 45 minutes in line to get to the customs inspection, which went easily. Sometimes, I hear, it can take longer. I should mention that I walked across the border when I first arrived. There is a large parking lot run by the local native American tribe where you park ($5) and walk across. As I stood in the line to get back into America, I realized that at 62, I was one of the youngest of the hundreds of people in line. FYI, after 1/31/08, you will need a passport to get back into America.
If you are ever in the Yuma area, you should pay a visit to Algodones, especially if you need pills or a haircut ($2.50). I have also been told that dental work done there is cheap and very good.
On to today's topic...unlocked cell phones. These have become very hot products these days. For many years, cell phones were locked and you had to buy your cell phones from your carrier. This was fine when you were signing up as they were so cheap, but if you ever had a defective, out-of-warranty phone, you discovered that replacing them was not cheap. And locked phones meant that your phone only worked with the cellular service provider you signed up with. You were a captive audience and they made you pay for it.
With the advent of unlocked cell phones, you can purchase a new phone at a much cheaper price, if you know where to shop...then easily transfer your SIM card from your old phone to the new phone and you are back in business. Recently, I did just that. One of our cell phones died and was not in warranty. I went on eBay, found a new Motorola cell phone from a small company in Seattle for $50. When it arrived, I transferred my card to the new phone and it works just fine.
Now, there is a major caveat to this: Until recently, unlocked cell phones were only available if you used AT&T or T-Mobile as your cell phone provider, as they used what is known as GSM for their technology In December, Verizon announced it would make its services available for unlocked phones. Verizon, Sprint, and several others use a different technology called CDMA. Unlocked CDMA phones still may be in short supply right now, but that will change with Verizon's announcement. As of this writing, no other CDMA cell phone carriers permit the use of unlocked cell phones. Something to consider if you are thinking of changing cell carriers.
If you would like more in-depth information about unlocked cell phones, CNET recently published a very in-depth report that is most illuminating. The article is primarily for GSM users on AT&T and T-Mobile, but everyone may find it useful at some time or another.
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