CBS Early Show: Send text messages for less Video

CBS Early Show: Send text messages for less Video Transcript

>> Text messaging is getting pretty pricey these days. All the big carriers have raised the price of a text to 20 cents. Natali Del Conte from our partner CNET is here with some of ideas on how to avoid a skyrocketing cell phone bill. Natali good to see you.

>> Good to see you.

>> I don't get it. The technology is getting cheaper, but the cell phone companies are charging more money. What's the rationale that you see for that?

>> You know, we really don't know. It seems like maybe they're trying to recover other lost operating cost, but we're really not sure, but it really is aggredious. And people don't understand. They think, oh it's just 20 cents, it's just pennies, but someone did the math recently and if they charge the same rate that they charge for text messaging, for say, downloading the songs, it will cost $6,000 to download a single song.

>> Oh my goodness.

>> Just one MP3.

>> That makes it pretty scary.

>> Yes.

>> Okay, that puts it in perspective.

>> So, it really is a price douche, we just don't realize because we think, oh it's 20 cents, whatever, you know.

>> You've got some alternatives for us. Let's begin with...

>> Yeah.

>> Internet-based texting.

>> So, you can from your cell phone, download a client like AIM, which is AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo! Instant Messenger, and if you do that, then, you're instant messaging with your friends and it's the same effect basically. It's the same, you know instantaneous conversation, so that's one way.

>> I got you, you know the Internet would cost me, you know the same amount of money if I use it for minutes or five hours or how does that work?

>> Right. So you should have an unlimited data plan 'cause I think most people are emailing more and more often from their phone. So if you get an unlimited data plan, then you're already paying for this data transfer, so you might as well just use instant message client, because then you're using the data that you already have in a bundle.

>> Okay, what is Meebo, exactly?

>> So, Meebo is great. Meebo is really popular, mostly on a desktop or a laptop, but it is starting to go mobile. So you go to your browser, go to say, Internet Explorer or whatever BlackBerry has for you to go to the Internet, or Safari on the iPhone, and you go to Meebo.com and it lets you sign in to many of your instant message client, that's one so you can get it to AIM, you get in to Yahoo!, you can get in to Google Chat and you can get into the Jabber -- all in one place. So you don't have to choose. Do I wanna be on AIM or do I wanna be in AOL or Yahoo! you can just get into all of them at once.

>> This may fall in this category, the BlackBerry messenger. What's that?

>> It's very similar. So if I have a BlackBerry and you have a BlackBerry, we can message each other for free and that's hosted by RIM, which is the company that owns BlackBerry. So that's another free -- basically a text message, but it's instantaneous conversation as well.

>> Yeah, and somebody who watches these kinds of things, are you surprised that the companies are raising the price of this?

>> I am little surprised. I'm also surprised that it goes, kind of under the carper like that. People just kind of take it. I tend to suggest that you should write to your carrier and say, I know that this is aggredious and I'm not okay with it and I'm gonna try and find other ways, so -- because I don't wanna see it raised anymore.

>> Yeah, we don't wanna do that.

>> No.

>> Natali Del Conte, thank you, always good to see you.

>> Good to see you too.

>> Really do appreciate it.