Phone-y

It's been exactly a year since the last cell phone switch. You have a phone for a year, the battery dies, you get the phony sales pitch re: it's cheaper to get a new phone than a new battery--and you chomp on the bait only to realize it actually costs you a 2-year extension of your current plan!

The battery is dead, so I stopped into the "Cingular" store, which is now AT&T, to buy a new battery.

Nope, don't want a new phone: I want a new battery and the same phone.

Well, this phone is obsolete! We don't carry replacement parts for phones "this old."

Hey, it's one year old--one year, not a decade!

Well, you might be able to find a battery on the website, but it's gonna cost you $40-50 for the battery, so it's actually cheaper to upgrade to a more modern phone.

Thanks, but no thanks. No battery? I'm outta here.

I googled "LG 3.7 volt battery" and found dozens of sites selling the replacement battery, ranging in price from $9.99 (au extension) to $10.99 (uk extension) to USA ($12.99). My battery should be here the first of next week and I get to keep the phone I like without having to extend my service again.

Win-win!
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The new battery arrived, is installed, and works beautifully! $9.99, no extension of the service contract, and I keep the phone I want.