My Handspring Visor, which, thanks to the Sprint AirPrime Handspring module, is also my cell phone, suffered acute deceleration trauma late on Friday night. Thankfully, the screen wasn’t shattered. However, the lower left-hand corner of the case has been completely cracked, leaving the microphone and power button horribly exposed. A friend cracked wise, remarking that it merely “looks kind of ghetto, now”.

I have a few options: get a “new” used Visor, get a broken Visor and use it to replace the outer shell, or do nothing and use it as-is. The latter option concerns me because I’m afraid that I will be unnecessarily exposing the Visor to dust and other crud that could get in through the fresh wound. But, since the Visor is my cell phone, I really need to have it on hand at all times. For now, I elected to do nothing, and periodically check eBay for deals on a broken Visor for parts.

This morning, I ran across my old phone—a Sanyo SCP-4700—in a drawer. Hmm… perhaps I could just call up Sprint and re-activate the old phone, and use it until I repair the Visor. I remember my experience with calling up Sprint to transfer service from the Sanyo to the AirPrime last year; it was relatively painless, and it cost nothing to do. The lady I spoke to also told me that I could transfer my service back to the Sanyo at no cost, should the AirPrime/Visor combo prove to be unsatisfactory. I remember asking her if there was a limit on transferring service to and from phones. No, she replied, you can do it as many times as you like, and there will be no fee.

I called up Sprint, punched in my the “new” old phone’s ESN, and waited for a few minutes. A fellow who sounded vaguely British answered the phone, asked me for all the usual information (name as it appears on my bill, passcode, etc.), as well as for me to repeat the ESN. No problem. Then, he drops the bomb:

“Sir, in order to transfer your service to another phone, we must charge you $38, or ask that you renew your contract with Sprint PCS.”

WTF? I asked him if this was a new policy, and he told me that yes, as of June 2003, Sprint has begun charging people who wish to transfer phone service to another Sprint PCS handset. He told me that I could try transferring my phone service via the website and it shouldn’t cost me anything. Whatever. I didn’t want to take my chances being billed either way, so I told him to cancel my request.

I also asked him when my contract with Sprint PCS would expire, to which he replied: “Your contract is due to expire November 2004.”

So. I’m stuck with this phone unless I want to pay $38 or extend my already overlong contract. I’m stuck with Sprint until November 2004. Hopefully, the next 17 months will pass uneventfully, and Sprint won’t think of new ways to screw their customers. And, thanks to the FCC mandating Wireless Local Number Portability, I’ll be able to keep my phone number when I leave Sprint behind.