Popcorn Is Everything a Mobile Provider Should Be

The most undernoticed but amusing detail about smartphone reviews is that they rarely mention anything to do with using it as a “phone.” Reviewers — including myself — discuss screen resolution, camera quality, and new features, but placing a call is something that rarely comes to mind. In part, this is because it’s boring to write about. In part, it’s because iMessage, Messenger, Signal, and WhatsApp are the new dominant communication methods, with texts and calls replaced by their digital, data-provided equivalents.The other reason, though, is that while every other part of the phone has improved over time — sharper screens, better cameras, more powerful chips — the same has not been true of traditional calling and texting. Mobile providers are inflexible, uncompetitive, and provide poor value for the plans they offer, and then they are a pain to deal with.On WhatsApp, I can message or call anyone in the world, anywhere, without it costing a cent more, but if I have to call them through my SIM card, I have to pay. And none of this is to mention that, if you want to travel abroad, then you have to deal with roaming charges and e-SIMs, and consider whether you should have a plan that includes overseas data, and how much, or whether it’s better to focus on the per-gigabyte roaming charges — and so on. Where most technology gets easier and more convenient over time, the same hasn’t been true of the basics when it comes to your SIM. It’s all a pain.Except with Popcorn, a new telecom provider start-up that just makes everything easy. One plan exists — $69 a month, month-by-month — and you pay that and everything’s sorted. Having connection issues with your current provider? Well, Popcorn jumps between networks, choosing to pull data from whichever has the best connection where you are right now. Want to travel? Popcorn works everywhere, by default.Make sure roaming is enabled by default when you set up, but once that’s done, you’re ready to go. Just hop on your flight, and wherever you land, without you doing anything, your number will have unlimited data, calls, and texts available for you to use. And if you aren’t traveling abroad but just making a call, that’s included too. Within ten minutes, I placed calls to Texas, London, and Sydney, and each was completely seamless. There are ‘reasonability’ limits here — if you try to torrent all of HBO while on your holiday in Barbados, they will kill your ‘unlimited’ data — but anything you would reasonably need or use on your phone is covered.If you’re happy to pay the price and bring your own iPhone — no Android app exists yet — then no downside exists here. You can carry over your existing number if you like or get a new number; a stylish, easy-to-use app handles your settings; and you can leave easily should you please.But if you travel or make international calls frequently, you won’t. Because this just works — the way a modern phone ought to.

Popcorn Is Everything a Mobile Provider Should Be

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