Smartphone tidal wave

For the vast majority of Americans who are perfectly happy with their "dumbphones," your days are numbered.

Check out this link that shows an LG smartphone running Google's Android 2.2 (Froyo) on T-Mobile going for $30 with a two-year commitment. (Sidenote: A Wall Street Journal poll shows far greater satisfaction with Android than with Apple's iPhone.)

If you thought you had a great cell-phone plan with your dumbphone, it's time to think again.

The move to a smartphone, and its corresponding increase in monthly fees to the tune of $30, means that your cell phone bills won't get cheaper, but far more expensive.

Also, the network will get so congested that your smartphone will act like a dumbphone.

This is one of the great under-reported stories in America. We have all these wonderful phones that can't do much on our existing networks.

In this bogus attempt to "let the market decide," we end up with the worst networks in the industrialized world.

South Korea, Japan and even China have better networks than we have in this country. And yes, we are way behind Europe as well.

It's funny that those who want to look hip by carrying around an iPhone, need to use a Verizon phone to actually make phone calls that don't drop in mid-sentence.

This is the problem in America. We have more hype than substance, more sizzle than steak.

But, it's something we can text each other about, when we're not driving.