Let’s look at Hyderabad: a city with over 90 lakh people (Hyderabad is ‘Greater’ now) adds thousands of immigrants to its ever-growing population, everyday.  Hyderabad has the country’s highest traffic density per kilometre  - standing at 2337 per km (in 2007), with road availability of just 6% (again, 2007).  Roads that were once a pleasure to drive on, like the Inner-ring road connecting Secunderabad to Tarnaka has now become a nightmare, especiialy after the government planned to take up road widening on this stretch.  Several bottlenecks on my daily commute to Hitech City from Tarnaka include : a badly timed traffic signal at Parade grounds,  a narrow stretch at Shopper’s stop, another narrowing of the road at the BP gas pump, ever-increasing traffic on the Begumpet bridge, traffic curbs and barricades near Somajiguda to let our Hon’able Chief Minister reach his destination every morning and evening, a narrow road at Chutney’s, another narrow stretch on Jubilee Hills which is due to a graveyard if I’m not mistaken. I have more on my daily ride - the best of the worst being three religious obstacles at the Malkajgiri junction in the form of the famous Church, opposite to which is a tiny church, and bang in the middle of the road, under a tree lie a temple - all in an unbelievable proximity to each other. The right turn that I take towards Rail Nilayam from under the bridge is another awesome example. A new entrant to the pain in the rider’s ass list of irritable traffic spots include the split in the divider bang opposite Axis Bank in Tarnaka just a few yards ahead of the flyover.

I’m sure that you have come across similar experiences either in Hyderabad or in your own large city. What does/can one do in a situation like this? I, being a huge believer of reducing pollution and of saving petroleum for the future would jump at the idea of travelling by public transport. If only I could find a proper mode of transport. Let me shed some light. The previous govt. did a huge favor to the citizens of Hyderabad by starting what we call a Multi-Modal Transport System. What was initially envisaged to be a huge public-mode-of-transport, including a train cum bus system turned out to be a big disaster. That was until the govt. started actively advertising about its services, at a time when new offices in Hitech city were cropping up every other day. These MMTS trains now run jam packed during peak office hours partly due to the large no. of employees working in the Software industry.  The other part of the reason is the sheer lack of frequency of these trains, due to the fact that these trains do not run on dedicated tracks, instead further clog the already clogged rail network of South Central Railway. This also means that the routes do not serve a major chunk of Hyderabad citizens. Add to this the poor connectivity of buses and the sheer location of these MMTS railway stations.

I do not think I need to comment on the condition of travel in an RTC bus over 20 km.

Keeping these limitations in mind, the Congress govt. envisaged a new metro rail network that would run over major existing roads connecting the dots and covering gaps left open by MMTS and RTC.  The tenders to this project created tonnes of footage of news and more news due to the fact that Maytas Infra, a Hyd. based construction company bagged the project. People applauded this move and waited eagerly. And waited, as we saw Satyam get into a scam, taking down Maytas with it. We continue to wait with what all us Indians (are forced to) have : Hope. The last heard news about it was a couple of days ago when the Chief Minister asked Maytas to reply in a week’s time about its ability to fund and take up the project. Originally projected to be completed in 2013, we hope atleast our kids get to enjoy the fruits of this ‘dream’, while we continue to drag our shoes along the roads for what seems like an eternity.

Next post : Intercity travel.

The Victor is a 110cc carb. 4 stroke engine with 4 gears and with regular spoke wheels and drum brakes. On first looks, it doesn’t look a stunner, but you tend to get used to the looks and you start liking it with every passing day. The seats are plush and quite comfortable and the ‘pleather’ has lasted through these five years with not a wrinkle or tear. Alas, the comfort factor lasts only for a few minutes, as I discovered on longer rides, when my bum really starts to ache and pain to the point where I have to shift my position on the seat once every few minutes. Not good. The bike’s handling is average, as long as you don’t try gymnastics when you are maneuvering through a turn. Keeping the bike straight, I found out that the brakes work very well and the tires hold up without skidding or throwing you over. Unfortunately, the same doesn’t hold true for bends and curves as understood from my fall at 10kmph on a slight turn. Rides on my bike have never been the same again. Braking, like mentioned before, holds up quite well and has triggered many a question from pillion riders if I had disc brakes. Once,my bike had to come to a complete stop from 50kmph since some wise guy had decided to cross that road at that ultimate moment. I braked and kept the handle steady and that was all I required to stay alive and on the bike.

The ride quality of this machine is heavily dependent on its engine. The TVS Victor’s engine is not a very smooth running one, what with terrible vibrations at 45kmph and then at around 70kmph in its 4th gear.

On trips longer than 10 minutes, you really start to feel your fingers feeling numb from the vibrations reaching the handlebar from the engine, especially if you are riding at cruise speeds of around 40-45kmph in the city. This bike either has a terrible problem, or has been mounted on some terrible engine mounts since I am yet to see any bike vibrate so badly. The suspension, on this bike speaks quality and has never given me any trouble. All the attention it needed was the one change of fork oil at its regular interval. The shock absorbers in the rear and the front really do their job in absorbing the cruel road conditions in India and hold up even at high speeds. One complaint, again, is of the poor handling during turns, which might be partly because of the suspension, but I cannot be sure. The ride position of this bike is that of a regular city bike for rides under 20min. Any ride lasting longer will surely get your spine asking for rest and over time, a deserving massage.

I have ridden bikes comparable to the Victor - Hero Honda’s Splendor and the Passion, Bajaj’s Platina and Yamaha’s Libero and found all other bikes to be far smoother and to have much better handling than the TVS Victor. The Libero was one bike that impressed me the most with its ultra-smooth engine and the sweet purrs of the engine with every gear shift. Surely, a Yamaha bike.

Now, the economy. ‘Mileage kitna detaa hain?’ - is a typical question on the mouths of every Indian even if the bike in context were a Hayabusa. The Victor definitely lives upto expectations, but what else can you expect from a puny 110cc, if not some decent fuel economy? In the first two years, whenever I calculated, I observed very high fuel economy, in the range of 75-83 kmpl, 83 being the highest that I ever noted, during the second year. Over time, and as I moved to a bigger city with messy stop-n-go traffic, the fuel economy started to drop down to the levels of 60-65 kmpl, with 45 being the lowest when the vehicle was due for a service. There is nothing more evil for fuel-economy watchers than dirty air-filter and older oil. Other factors which come into play are air-pressure, amount of braking, excessive acceleration, pollutants/oxygen availability in the air, and more. The list will exhaust you.

Quality of service, parts, and of the vehicle. The dealer where I bought my bike provided excellent service, and always made me a happy customer. There was another authorized TVS service shop nearby that also provided good customer service, and reliable vehicle repair. But that was Warangal. Come Hyderabad, and all I get are small, crampy service stations with technicians that look similar to those at the road-side repair shop. Not impressed.

The bike, in its first 3 years was a pleasure to ride, with minimum repairs and repairs came cheap. Soon enough, the vehicle started showing its age, with the plastic loosening at many a place, the one under the seat being the most irritation. The rear-view mirrors lose their rubber protectors, and the plastic turns an ugly grey from a beautiful black. The small storage space under the battery is protected by a cover with lock and key. This lock had to be replaced twice in since it gets broken so very easily. The key, when it goes into the ignition and is turned on, cannot be usually removed without having to switch off the engine. Now, thats gone kaput too, since I can now ride the bike without the keys in the keyslot. Just turn the key to Ignition and pull it out. The tires on this bike held up their threads for a very long time, and I’m impressed with the quality of these TVS tires. I finally had to replace my rear tire before last year’s monsoon since I wouldn’t trust old tires on our country’s awesome ‘roads-to-be’ in the monsoons. The wheels, on the other hand, are a painful pair in the ass. I have had to true these wheels umpteen number of times, and these tend to bend and go out of shape with the slightest of the potholes our roads have to offer. Each time, I have to shell out something around Rs.50/- only to have to go back a few potholes later.  Poor quality. The battery from Amco-Yuasa is an impressive battery that lasted these 5 long years without the slightest glitch ever. The battery finally declared its demise after the past few months of non-use. The ball bearings at the fork and the front wheel also showed their age or rather their inability to handle high quality Indian roads since they had to replaced recently for a whopping Rs800/-.

Overall, the Victor is a sweet bike, meant for the ultimately delicate, mileage seeking, back-breaking-ready driver who might forego his right to better quality for a lower initial price and reliability, something which this bike ain’t got! I’d strongly suggest that you don’t buy a used Victor if its more than a couple of years old, and if you own one, then I recommend you sell it by the end of its 3rd or utmost 4th year and get one of ‘em new computer-controlled Bajaj bikes since they offer better value for money for the same fuel-economy and for similarly priced after-market parts and service.

To summarise, this watch is a simple digital time keeper with extreme durability, reliability, and a battery that you’ll never have to worry about. For those looking for a better looking glow light in their watch, Casio also has a Illuminator - F105W - 1A. This is a slightly modified version of the classic F91W-1. My friend bought this a couple of days after I bought my Classic. Apparently, he was looking for something simple too. He keeps making fun of my rather boring LED and tries to show off his blue illuminator. I have to admit that it does look cool while still retaining its classic casio look.

Here are links to both these watches on Amazon:

<- Casio Men’s Classic Black Digital Resin Strap Watch #F91W-1

<-Casio Men’s Illuminator Digital Watch #F105W-1A

Why a Fair Usage Policy?
A very small number of customers use an excessive amount of the network bandwidth, to the extent that it can impair the experience of others. The intent of Airtel’s Fair Usage Policy is to provide the optimum internet experience to all customers.
What happens in Fair Usage Policy?
Under the policy we have defined fair usage levels for unlimited data transfer plans and needless to mention, the usage levels set are very generous such that most customers will not be affected by the Fair Usage Policy.

The “limit” on their unlimited plans are as under:

128 kbps = 10 GB download limit per month
256 kbps = 15 GB download limit per month
384 kbps = 20 GB download limit per month
512 kbps = 25 GB download limit per month
1 Mbps = 150 GB download limit per month

Tata Indicom’s FUP is worse. Customers who exceed their limits are either forced to upgrade to a better plan or risk suspension.

The evolving internet broadband scenario in India necessitates the management of limited high-speed bandwidth and network resources in the larger interests of Customers. In line with the practice followed by major international Internet Service Providers and in its continuous endeavor to provide best possible Broadband Internet experience to all its customers, TCISL adopts a Fair Usage Policy (TCISL FUP) with an intent to ensure that the excessive bandwidth usage by a small segment of customers does not impact service quality for a large set of customers.

Tata Indicom Broadband has established a monthly data transfer threshold (Fair Usage Limit) for the various unlimited tariff plans as given below:

Plan Type Plan Speed (Kbps) Fair Usage Limit (MB/Month) Unlimited 64 5,000 Unlimited 128 20,000 Unlimited 256 45,000 Unlimited 384 70,000 Unlimited 512 80,000 Unlimited 1024 90,000 Unlimited 2048 105,000 Unlimited 4096 125,000

Data transfer in excess of Fair Usage Limit as per the applicable tariff plan shall be treated as a violation of TCISL  FUP.

Upon such violation of FUP, TCISL shall contact the Customer suggesting for reduction in usage or upgrade to a higher bandwidth plan.

Despite the above, if the customer fails to upgrade to a high speed plan or continue to violate the TCISL FUP, TCISL reserves the right to suspend or terminate the customer’s account immediately without prejudice to other rights available to TCISL under these Terms and Conditions.

Reliance, introduced its FUP in a more subtle way with its recent 3.1Mbps Internet connection that is delivered by the CDMA technology. You can have a look at the plan here : http://offers.connectindia.in/reliance/tariff.jsp . The FUP is mentioned at the very  bottom - a cap of 10GB, beyond which the user is charged an exorbitant Rs2. per MB.

While I browse at 6Mbps Unlimited with ATT in the US, India is still battling with limits on 256k/512k ‘broadband’ speeds. Internet Service Providers don’t seem to want to upgrade infrastructure and provide better speeds and (un)limits. Like guys on Vinuthomas, broadband in India can be correctly termed as ‘Fraudband’. Seems like BSNL is the only ISP that still delivers true Unlimited broadband even if its a ridiculous 256k. I have heard of several complaints against BSNL, but I’m yet to face any problem(s) with the service at my parents’ house in Hyderabad.
While TRAI does a lot of policing, and penalises telecom operators in the mobile and telephone industry, it seems to have completely ignored the broadband scenario. TRAI - where is the right of the customer to Fair Internet Service?

One : Low volume(audio)

Two : Slow Wireless

Actually, wireless was working - fast and slow, sometimes too slow. The hulu.com page would take light years  to open. I just kept ignoring the issue for the first few days, thinking that there were either too many users on the network, or that it was a temporary ISP issue. But today, a simple CNN IBN feed had to buffer every few seconds and that is when I finally gave up and started looking for a solution.

The solution, apparently, is a simple one. On my Thinkpad, when the wireless driver was installed, it selected the ‘Maximum’ Power Saving feature by default. This meant Least performance.  All I had to do was to turn it off. To do that :

• Go to Device manager
• Click Network Adaptors
• Double-click on the Wireless card
• Select Advanced Tab
• Select Power Saving Mode in the left
• Turn it off in the drop-down on the right.

And thats it! My wireless connection was now blazing fast again.

This worked on my R500 but apparently there are other Thinkpads that have the same problem and I guess this simple fix would help users of those laptops too.

A couple of days later, I receive an email from Rediff saying that my request for the domain was processed successfully and I would be able to manage my domain using their control panel. When in fact, I had already set the nameservers on Stafi.net’s control panel and my domain was clearly accessible from the Internet. I couldn’t help but laugh while I was also being pissed that my money went down the drain.

A few days ago, I received this email from Rediff:

“Dear Sanjay Varanasi,

We would like to inform you that your following service(s) will expire on MAR 30, 2009.

Renew your account right away to continue using the service(s).

Your Rediffmail Business Solutions Account details:

Click here to renew

You will be taken to the Rediff Business Hosting page. In the Login Box - please provide your username and password to login and reach to the renewal screen.”

While clearly, WhoIS and my sense say that the domain is with Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

“Domain ID:D2905638-AFIN
Domain Name:STORZ.IN
Created On:28-Mar-2008 21:40:48 UTC
Last Updated On:28-May-2008 19:20:12 UTC
Expiration Date:28-Mar-2009 21:40:48 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. dba PublicDomainRegistry.com
(R5-AFIN)
Status:…”

My honest suggestion : Don’t ever use Rediff for your domain/website related activities.

I used to love the smaller details of life as a kid and I didn’t spare trains either. I could distinguish if the tracks were on wooden or concrete sleepers, if the tracks were long-weld or short-joint tracks (not technical terms), and I could tell when the engine was pulling or coasting or slowing down, even those small changes. I used to wait for those diesel engines to puff away all that dirty exhaust, because I loved the sound the engine made when it did that. I used to be so particular about getting a window seat because you get to see so many beautiful things outside. Bridges, farms, tractors, lakes, puddles, rivers, cows. Hawkers selling breakfast,  cool drinks, biscuits and everything else that can be eaten, hawking away in their weird voices, and making those tring-tring sounds with bottle openers. Ticket collectors and their black suits with a pad in their hands waiting to board the train and talking to passengers looking for an upgrade or a seat-change. A guy would announce the arrival and departure of trains using a hand rail-bell. Every departure was affirmed with a loud whistle of the guard with a green flag waving in his hand. Whenever the train braked, a strange smell would fill the compartment’s air and I used to love it. People hated it. I would then sit in my window seat and watch trains after trains go by - goods, passengers, super-fast and just single engines. I could pass hours without knowledge, just looking at all the track, track yards, exchanges and traffic signals. And when I was waiting for a train, I would look at all the trains arriving at a station and would wonder about each part - wheels, brakes, pipes, and more.

Here are pics of suspension found on Indian trains :

There are lots of pictures of trains (and tracks) taken by a Mr.Sriskand. Click the image below to go straight to his website.

The second image is free. The first and third pictures have been linked to their respective websites, so don’t sue me.

Okay, now you know how much you need, but you seem to dislike the taste of water! For some people, it can be very difficult to drink such a large quantity of water when they cannot ‘taste’ anything. So what do you do?
Luckily, there are alternatives, and healthy ones too! Just make sure you have lots of ’splenda’ (artificial-sweetener) available so you don’t pump up entire kilos of sugar into your body. And be ready to prepare large quantities so you don’t run out of liquids when you need them the most.

[One Gallon = 3.78 Litres = 16 cups]

Lemon Water -> Prep. time : 5 min.

In a large jug of cool water ( I use a one-gallon jug),  squeeze two big lemons. You can use a strainer if you like it without any pulp. Add salt and artificial-sweetener. Now you should begin with small quantities of both salt and sweetener and keep tasting the mixture till you feel its right. Specially watch for the salt, as you don’t want to be adding extra sodium to your diet.

Green Tea -> Prep. time 15min.

Lipton and Tetley sell green-tea-leaves available at most stores. Boil 4 cups of water (from a gallon) in a kettle. Remember, we’re preparing a gallon of green tea, so that is about 16 cups of tea so you should remember to add all ingredients keeping this in mind. Once water starts boiling, remove kettle from heat and let is stand for a minute. Now add 16 teaspoons of green tea leaves and 16 packets of sweetener to the kettle, stir and let stand for another minute. Stir again, and strain all liquid into remaining water. Throw away strained tea leaves, stir or shake the mixture to ensure even mix and store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Buttermilk with spices -> Prep. time 15 min. (No Splenda needed)

We need about half-kilo of curd/yogurt for this preparation. Take yogurt in a bowl and thoroughly beat it up using egg-beater or a couple of forks. This is to ensure consistency in the buttermilk. Next, finely grind : Semi-large ginger about half the length of your little finger; one or two green chillies (depends on your taste), half a bunch of cilantro (coriander leaves, kothmeer), and about 10 leaves of Indian Curry Leaves (Kari patta, Karepaku). Add this to the yogurt. Add upto one gallon of water and mix. Now add salt to taste. We’re now ready to enjoy a truly Indian drink.

Apart from these, you should also drink lots of fruit juices and water containing fruits like watermelon and grapes to make sure your body also gets the necessary supply of vitamins.
A video explaining what water does and does not :

What you need :

One cup of green moong seeds,
One medium sized onion,
One large tomato,
One green chilli,
Half -a-lemon,
Chat-masala/Aamchoor,
Salt and chilli powder.

• Soak one cup of green moong seeds overnight, in a bowl.
• In the morning, get rid of the water, and wash seeds once in fresh water.
• Chop one big onion, one tomato, one green chilli (optional). Mix into a bowl along with the moong.
• Squeeze half of a big lemon into the bowl.
• Add chat-masala (readily available from MDH, etc) or Aamchoor to the bowl.
• Add a pinch of chilli powder (optional) and add salt to taste. Its better to add salt later since chat-masalas usually have some salt mixed into them.
• Thoroughly mix all contents of the bowl. Get ready with a spoon and start relishing on this delicious breakfast.

Let me know if you have any healthy or interesting recipes, and I shall publish them with full credits to you.

Fast forward 2 months and I have a blown gasket. Several months back I had noticed that I had to top-up coolant quite frequently. I asked the dealer to check it out and he said everything was fine. Anyways, I’m here now with this great problem that needs another grand to be fixed. Excellent.

Then, I have to pay my fees for my next semester - $1550. And I’ve been paying all this using my credit card which has no interest rate until March ‘09. Now I have the time bomb ticking. I need to gather a total of nearly $4000 to get out of debt in the first place, and more to get going for the next semester. That brings the total to nearly 6 to 7 grand.

So now, its apparent that I made a mistake selecting the car I did. But, I’m going bankrupt ain’t I? So, can I ask the US govt. for a bail-out? Or atleast a freaking scholarship!?

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you could try being frugal. Since my financial position hasn’t been all that great since mid-spring 08, I’ve learnt to cut costs and save money. Its never too late. Try this link for 50 tips for being frugal.

Meanwhile, enjoy this funny video about a frugal man:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115499
I found this interesting review.

Click to view Image

Jason Solves’ review speaks volumes about Linux’s capabilities.
On my thinkpad, the entire Ubuntu installation including Office Suite, codecs, media players and all that I ever need were installed into a 5GB partition with 1.4GB space free. That means Ubuntu occupied only 3.6GB. A standard XP installation would easily occupy around 10GB with all these functionalities. Vista has always eaten up no less than 30GB!

Ubuntu is also much faster and less buggier than Windows, from my experience. I’ve rarely got viruses when on XP, so I cannot speak from that point of view.

In my opinion, there is no better time to make that amendment to our fuel policy. This will ensure that  we no longer have to bear with discussions and heated debates on various news channels whenever the govt. plans to put a price hike into effect. This will also help save lots of wasted expensive Parliamentary hours, which hopefully would be put into better use. Mr. Chidambaram - Please do it !!

For those of you living on cutting edge software, and for those desperately waiting for fixes and drivers for some of their hardware, get ready to gear up your Internet connections to download the release next Thursday.

If you are one of those who like living life on the safe side of Long Term releases, feel free to skip this release. This doesn’t mean that this release is not worth noticing. It definitely is, for me. My Thinkpad R500 barely worked onHardy and X.org couldn’t do anything with my display on Gutsy. But, on Ibex, my laptop runs at full steam with Wireless, Audio and Graphics working out of the box without me having to install or enable any additional drivers. The availability of Open Office 3.0 comes as a blessing, and I was one of the first ones to download the final build. (Yeah, curse me for the slow speeds and for the OpenOffice.org website going down). The good news is that Ibex comes with OOo 3.0 by default.

As a user who doesn’t really exploit most of the features of Linux, I couldn’t really find many new features. When I say features, I mean those that add more/new functionality to the end-user. One new thing that I noticed was the integrated icon for Pidgin and the User Switcher icon in the taskbar.

.. to be continued ..

… apparently not…

During my last days of my India trip(Ahmedabad and Bangalore blasts), I was nearly terrified to move about on the roads of Hyderabad not knowing which vehicle or bus nearby would explode.  I used to venture out, but with a constant fear if I would make it home safely. I guess this is what the terrorists wanted to achieve.

To the Indian govt. : Forget peace. Its time to retaliate. I’d say follow the US when it comes to terror. Bomb blasts are the last thing one has to worry apart from the plethora of other troubles a common Indian has to go through everyday just to scrape it through. 

God bless India.

My verdict : 3.5/5. Why? Here is why :

Setup : Using Skype and its various features like SkypeOut, SkypeIN, Voicemail etc are a breeze on this phone. That is, the setup is very easy and is quite newbie friendly too. Once you sign-in, all features on your skype account are automatically put into use by this phone. Whats more, all your contacts are automatically imported into the phone too and the phone displays your current skype credit as the wallpaper. Changing status of your skype account : Online, Away, etc is available at the touch of a button. So far so good. 5/5

Usage : Using this phone for making calls is pretty easy but is fraught with problems. To call a number not in the contact list, you will have to use the dial-pad to dial the number. You better not get a busy signal coz the Redial facility ( accessed by pressing the Green call button) is useless. When pressed, the screen says redialing but it never redials. I wait 5 secs, 10 and then 30 secs but still no signs of connecting. This is always the case.

Many a time, I noticed that CallerID for incoming numbers often shows Unknown. And when it does show the number, most of the times the last digit(s) is truncated. 

Once I had to restart the Base Station coz the other person(s) was not able to hear me. It worked well after the restart. Weird. 

I give the usage 2/5. 

Call quality : The call quality on the Skype phone has been excellent. Even when downloading something over the internet on the computer, calls remain as clear as a Landline and seldom drop. I’ve had my calls drop just thrice during my entire usage, and this was clearly when my computer was downloading loads off the internet. So, I don’t blame Skype or the phone for it. I give this phone’s and Skype’s call quality a full 5/5

Battery : Most important part. The phone runs on two AAA size batteries. The batteries provided with the phone are a cheap chinese brand 3YD or something. It is, thus, an advantage that you can actually replace the default batteries for a nice pair of Sony batteris. 

The default batteries on this phone doesn’t last too long. A 1hr 15 min call took off more than 1/2 of the battery’s life. The battery also loses 1/4th of its charge in about 7 hrs in standby.

The downside of having AAA batteries is the time it takes to recharge these things. It takes the phone a horribly long time to regain optimum charge. Unless all your calls last less than 5 minutes ,there is no way you’d be able to use this phone in a heavy-usage environment.

For the default batteries : 3/5. 

Range: I’ve not really used this phone outside the apartment many times but once or twice that I did, I found the range to be OK. Nothing excellent, nothing bad. Its range is just as good or bad as the average cordless phone. 4/5.

Overall, I find the Skype phone to be immensely useful over the very costly landline and mobile combo. I give the phone a 3.5/5 rating even with the usage faring so low. That is because I chose to compare the phone with a landline and not a mobile. Do you have get all these features with your landline phone? Does the average phone have callerID ? Do you get to call anywhere in the US (and canada) for just $5 a month?

That said, I definitely think the price tag of $130 that I paid for it was a tad too much. It would have been a much better bargain at about $50-70. I hope with time, as usage and awareness of Skype grows, the phones would get cheaper.

Btw, I recently noticed T-Mobile offering a similar service but at a higher price and you’ve got to be its mobile phone subscriber to qualify for the ‘offer’ which for some reason is called TMobile@Home. Duh, who cares as long as we have Skype!