To understand what Straight Talk does, one first has to look at how most phones are set up. Smartphones use a SIM chip to communicate with a phone company. The chip contains the information needed to identify a person, and the service plan they’re using. This, in turn, is separated into two different identifiers. The SIM sends out information on normal cell service, and information related to the phone’s data plan. The data plan information comes in the form of something known as APN, or access point names. This is also the basic point where the settings come in when using Straight Talk. In general, this is set in the SIM card. So changing the settings to a different phone carrier usually means changing the SIM card itself. As such, Straight Talk typically uses a replacement SIM card in order to use the new settings on a phone. With the new SIM card comes new APN settings which let it take advantage of the Straight Talk program. That’s the technical side of things. But what does switching to Straight Talk actually mean for the end user? Basically it offers people the ability to get away from the traditional structure of phone service plans. Most phone companies have gone through a fairly slow evolution to where they are now. There’s a lot of needless bundling, hassle and lack of understanding of how important data plans are to the modern smart phone. Worse, they typically force people to stick to the same plan for extended periods of time. Straight Talk frees people to pay on a monthly basis for the service they want. Even better, that service comes on an as needed basis. With most phone companies, the user is locked into a specific service. Straight Talk allows people to pay as they go for the service they require at that particular point in their life. If someone’s going to travel, they can step up to an international plan. After a traveler is back home, he or she can switch back to what they were using before. If someone isn’t going to use the Internet much, they can save money by using one with a data cap. If that person needs unlimited Internet for a while, it’s a simple process to just switch over to it. It’s a way to use one’s phone in the exact way one wants.]]>
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