So I was thinking of getting an actual cellphone. I have one, for work, but it's not supposed to be used for personal calls. In addition, I keep finding little reasons to hop on the Internet with my Nokia 770 — looking up addresses and maps, searching for stores, and so forth — and using a Bluetooth-enabled digital phone with a broadband data service would be perfect for that.

While T-Mobile has the best plan, they want either a $500 deposit, or they'll give me either a voice or a data plan for the first year, but not both. Which is kind of pointless for my needs.

So I figured I'd try Verizon Wireless, since we've already got an account with them, and their EVDO network appears to be the fastest current technology. However, I know that in the past, they've crippled the Bluetooth functionality of their phones. I read that, in response to a class-action lawsuit, they'd started uncrippling four specific models (including the Razr, which is a snazzy-looking phone), but there are some rumors on the Internets that they still forbid Bluetooth tethering.

Well, the best thing to do is to go to the source, or so I thought. I spent an hour on the phone, mostly on hold, being transferred from person to person (three of whom weren't even in the right departments, and another two who had no idea what I was talking about).

Finally I hung up and decided to hit a Verizon Wireless store on the way home. The salesman at least understood what I was talking about, but wasn't sure how to connect my 770 up to the phones. (Catch-22: if I'd had a connection, I could have looked up how to make a connection.) I managed to get it to talk to one of them (not a Razr), but it kept dropping the connection (so either they still don't allow tethering, or it wasn't one of the four phone models that permit it).

Why is it so hard to get a simple answer?