I had been using Bitpim for a while, and while not perfect, it was free and
easy to use, especially via Bluetooth. When VZW came out with Backup
assistant I downloaded it to check it out. It worked fine, but I deleted it
and couldn't remember exactly why. I was pretty sure it had something to do
with VZW slipping some kind of charges in on me. I just scoured their
website to see if I could find the "hidden" charges, and after much
difficulty came up with this: The language they use is very unclear, so I'm
not exactly sure when you incur these charges, but it appears that whenever
you download from the website to your phone, you're charged a text message.
This may be meaningless if you have a text plan though.

How much does Backup Assistant cost?

The monthly subscription fee to Backup Assistant is $1.99. Provided the
Account Holder has registered for My Account, this monthly charge will be
waived for all lines on your account and will not appear on your bill. When
downloading Backup Assistant to your Get It Now-capable device, usage
charges apply (airtime or data, depending on your plan). Standard Text
Messaging rates apply when you initiate contacts synchronization from the
Backup Assistant website.

"Janet Wilder" <kelliepoodle@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:47786898$0$4330$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com...
>A friend just lost all of the phone numbers in her phone because something
>in it broke and the store techies could not retrieve them. This was a
>little scary.
>
> While checking "my account" for something else (the online VZW account), I
> found something called "backup assistant" it is supposed to be free for
> "my account" users so I followed the easy directions and downloaded it to
> my phone, an LG VX8300, then uploaded all my contacts.
>
> The web site where the contact list can be viewed and printed also lets
> you add, edit and delete contacts from your PC then you can send the
> updated info back to your phone. The phone will automatically update the
> web site every day.
>
> I think I might have to pay 10 cents for a text message confirming my
> password, but I may not have checked that box.
>
> I printed out the page that says it's free if you are a "my account"
> subscriber, just in case they do bill me the $1.99/month for the service.
>
> Anyway, I think this is a lovely service that they offer and probably more
> people should take advantage of it. I don't play with any of the other
> toys on the phone and this is the first "Get it Now" thing I've ever done
> on any phone.
>
> Wishing all of you a happy and healthy new year.
>
> Janet
> --
> Janet Wilder
> Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
> Good Friends. Good Life