Telephone Call Coster by Minders Software
1. Introduction
I do not know of a single person who does not open their telephone bill
without some degree of apprehension. It is almost a great British tradition to
open the bill that British Telecom kindly send you and gasp at the size of it.
This Psion Series 3 application from Minders Software could pay for itself in
a matter of days; once you see how much phone calls actually cost. You
probably only need to hang up ten seconds earlier on a couple of calls and the
money to buy the software will have been recouped.

2. About the Application
This Psion 3 application allows you to do three main things. The variables
which affect the cost of a phone call can be changed, on screen, so that you
can see, for example, how much a call to a Mobile Phone costs in comparison to
a Local call. You can "test" various scenarios. For example you can ask the
program how much a ten minute call will cost to an Information and
Entertainment Line at Peak Rate. And finally, and the most useful feature, is
that you can time a call and see how much it costs. When the phone is answered
you start the timer. You will see a continually updated display which shows
how long the call has lasted and how much it has cost. When you hang up the
phone you stop the timer which freezes the display so that you can see how
much the final cost is. The application is written in OPL and uses standard
menus and dialog boxes. Therefore it is easy to use and you can make use of it
straight away.

3. Registration Details
The unregistered version is a fully working version of the program. The only
thing that has been changed is that the Seconds per Unit have been amended so
that the cost of the calls will not be calculated correctly. To get the
correct pricing data you need to register the software. To do this contact
Minders Software 28 Kendal Green Kendal Cumbria LA9 5PN You need to send £7.95
and in return you will receive a registered version of the software and full
instructions. You will also receive any information we have as to upgrades
that are being made/planned to the software.

4. Comments
If you have any comments on the software we would welcome them. Future
enhancements we have planned include being able to cost the calls with or
without VAT and allowing International calls to be costed. Any other ideas?

5. Instructions
When you run the program you will firstly see an introduction screen. Press
any key to get past this. The screen is split into three areas. The top box
shows the Band, Rate and Option. The information displayed in this box can be
changed by using the menus or the relevant "hot keys". When you change these
parameters the second box is updated to show the correct Cost per Unit and
Seconds per Unit. If you want to time a call you use Psion/G (or the menu).
This will start the timer counter and will also update the cost. When the call
ends you press "S" which stops the time ticking by. You can "Test" a call by
using Psion/T (or the menu). This will prompt for a number of seconds which
will, when you press enter, be reflected in the Time and Cost fields at the
bottom of the screen. REMEMBER THE UNREGISTERED VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE DOES
NOT HAVE THE CORRECT SECONDS PER UNIT FIGURES IN IT. THEREFORE TO ACCURATELY
PRICE CALLS YOU NEED TO REGISTER THE SOFTWARE.

6. Costing a Phone Call
The way in which an individual phone call is costed is a confusing matter but
one which is ideally suited to a computer; and the Psion 3 is perhaps more
suited than most. It is portable, small and easy to use. Therefore it is on
hand when you are making a telephone call. A telephone call has three main
factors which affect how much it will eventually cost; these are

{SYMBOL 183 \f "Symbol" \s 12 \h}       The Band you are calling in. The best
known band (and the cheapest) is the Local band. But there are others. For
example calling an information and entertainment number (eg 0898 numbers) is a
separate band. There are also several long distance bands.

{SYMBOL 183 \f "Symbol" \s 12 \h}       The time at which you call also
affects the cost. There are three "Rates"; these being Cheap, Standard and
Peak.

{SYMBOL 183 \f "Symbol" \s 12 \h}       Finally there are some "options" which
affect the cost of the call. If you have not elected to pay for one of these
options you will just be on the standard option. However, if the amount of
calls you make warrants it, you can go onto Option 15. This makes the cost of
each call slightly cheaper.

The way in which a call is costed is fairly complicated but the explanation
below may help you understand it. The cost of a unit is decided by the option.
The standard option costs a unit at 4.935 pence (this includes VAT). If you
are on option 15 the cost of a unit is 4.442 (also includes VAT). The Band and
Rate decide how many seconds you get for a one unit. For example if you make a
Local call at Cheap Rate you get 220 seconds for one unit. Therefore if you
are on the standard option a call of up to 220 seconds will cost 4.935 pence
(actually 5 pence). A call to a mobile phone at standard rate using option 15
costs 7.61 pence per unit. Therefore a 220 second call will cost 1.29 (ie
220/7.61*4.442). It should also be recognised that British Telecom always
round up to the next unit. Therefore a 10 second Local call at Cheap rate will
cost the same as a 215 second call as each one takes one unit. Call Coster by
Minders Software Version 1.00 Date 01/07/93