As I wrote about earlier this year, my old phone had developed some kind of malignant growth on its display, and it was only a matter of time before it rendered the phone useless. But what do you want for $10? Virgin Mobile phones aren’t the greatest out there, but they, like the service itself, are cheap and get the job done. So Santa brought me a nifty new Wildcard phone. It’s designed for those who do a lot of text messaging, with its flip-open QWERTY keyboard and secondary display, and it has a decent 1 megapixel camera built into it.
I recycled my old phone using Virgin’s recycling web site, which allows you to print a postage-paid mailing label and send your old phone back instead of sending it to a landfill. This is a great idea, but I have to question Virgin’s level of commitment to environmental issues when every phone they sell is packaged in the dreaded and evil clamshell plastic that requires a plasma cutter to open. Make sure you remember to erase all of your personal data from the phone before you ship it back!
Not that it is relevant anymore, but it is also possible to donate one’s cell phone to soldiers.