I didn't know that you could use an IP address to address a text message. Usually it's a phone number or email address (something like joetexter@text.yourcarrier.com). Your carrier can block all text messages. Many of these spam type messages come from the internet. Many carriers will allow you to create an alias (joetexterfriends@text.yourcarrier.com). You give that to your true friends and the rest get blocked. Talk to your carrier about options.

I use the windows address book. Type WAB into the Run line.

I believe both do have bluetooth but I never learned to use it. I will check it out. owbist; I always forget about youtube. However, I didn't see anything useful in your list. Remember, I had essentially succeeded in making a sim card transfe, but the data was not complete. The one on point post from your list also indicated incomplete data fields. I actually found that my transfer was worse than I originally thought. It only transferred the contact name and lost both the fact that the next contact was identical and thus a subset, but also lost any indication of the type of phone (work, home etc) and listed ALL entries as 'mobile'.

I guess it all depends on how much you call from home versus away from home or on the road. We use pre-paid cellular. The new phones were free after rebate and my wife and I each spend about $5-$7/month for the STI Mobile/Sprint service. We only make quick 1-2 minute calls for necessary reasons and it works fine anywhere in the country that Sprint covers. Voice mail and text messaging are turned off on both cellular phones. Other cellular providers are now joining the pre-paid game with good deals. We are still stuck with the old telephone company for home and home office lines. I must have the reliability and quality of a landline for my business. I do pay too much for long distance, toll-free, and local service for my business compared to the low rates available today. Bills are typically $35-$50/month for relatively low volume usage. The last time I switched was from MCI to Ameritech(i.e. SBC/AT&T/who knows?) It was a pain to switch, but the new lower rates were good for a year before they went up again. Our home phone line just went up to $22/month for local phone service. It started at $18 several years ago. Pre-paid long distance service is $.025/minute using cards from companies like Cheap Phonecards. The latest cards don't require you to enter the pin every time from home and you can program the 800 access number into speed dial. The long distance cards are great from hotels too. We are seriously considering the switch to broadband phone service, but our local numbers are not yet portable for Vonage or the others. We are just outside of their large markets. Broadband cable internet is $30/month and speed is around 300K or 10 times faster than dial-up. It is fast enough for our needs. The total bill (excluding my business) is around $67/month for all phones and broadband for my wife and I. Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Phone Cards