By LISA W. FODERARO
Chaz Albert, a freshman at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., is a
passionate "texter," someone who loves to send and receive pithy text
messages via cellphone. He does it at home, at school and at work. He
often prefers texting over talking on his cellphone.
Last month, though, Mr. Albert's habit caught up with him. Only $80
of his $400 cellphone charges were his father's, and most of his own,
he said, were for text-messaging.
"I was shocked, but I couldn't do anything about it," he said. "I
didn't realize that I got charged for reading text messages. My dad
was just like: 'Hey, it's your problem. Pay it.' "
In the last two years, text messages - which cell carriers generally
limit to 160 characters - have become a rage among teenagers, who
embrace the technology as yet another way to escape a boring class or
stay in touch with friends.
But text-messaging, or texting for short, has a downside. It can be
expensive. Although phone companies offer relatively inexpensive
packages -- like Verizon Wireless's $9.99 for 1,000 messages a month --
industry experts say that carriers sometimes fail to draw customers'
attention to the cost-saving deals, and that customers themselves,
especially young people, often exceed the number of messages
allowed. In those cases, sending a text message usually costs 10
cents; the cost of receiving one ranges from 2 to 10 cents.
The sticker shock is reminiscent of the early days of cellphones, when
users often were surprised by how much they were charged for going
over their allotted minutes or for phoning someone outside their
calling areas.
Many high school and college students accustomed to sending unlimited
instant messages on their computers do not adapt easily to text
messaging's pay-per-message format, and end up with unexpectedly high
bills when they get involved in keypad conversations that involve
hundreds, even thousands, of messages a month. The results are angry
confrontations with parents, long-term payment plans and the loss of
cellphone privileges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/technology/09message.html
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Monty Solomon (