Remember that phone I had, the one with the keyboard that could surf the web, play Bejeweled, act as a modem for my laptop and play music?

I broke it.

I was inserting the SIM chip (Subscriber Information Module) and one of the SIM reader contacts broke off. I called up the new AT&T, found them to be about as helpful as the old AT&T.

They said it was going to be $500 to replace the phone. I told them that eBay had a new one for less than that. They didn't budge. I told them that I was using it in a prescribed manner. No go. I said it could have been a manufacturer's defect. Like talking to a wall.

Finally, they grew bored talking with me and suggested I call the manufacturer (probably after the sixth time I asked if it was covered under warranty if it was a manufacturer's defect.)

The manufacturer, HTC was more helpful. It'll cost me $30 to have them look it over and give me an estimate. If it's a motherboard repair, it'll be $175. If it's a replacement, it'll be $250. Argh.

At least they'll include the cost of the estimate in both of the service charges.

It's not just a toy. I use it to get email all day, and it's tied in to my work calendar (which I also use for personal entries, just marked private) and beeps me when it's time to prepare for a meeting or event.

And it plays Bejeweled, MP3s, runs Office Mobile, surfs the web and acts as a modem.