Cellphones

[boatillo]

I am 27 years old, working on a masters in MIS, BA in accounting, multiple certs, okay job and married. (This should prove I do not live under a rock)

I have never had a cellphone or felt the slightest inclination to purchase one.

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What is with these things?? What is so important to say that you need a phone 24/7? Who is so important that they need to be contacted 24/7? I just don't get cellphones except in certain instances like maybe my car broke down in Mexico and I *really* need some help. At that point I would like a phone with pre-charged minutes that I don't have to keep purchasing every month to keep "fresh". Phones are the biggest moneymaking scam in history!

/rant off

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Update: Seems I am 4 in 175ish so far.

 

[Anubis]

i have one only because i dont have a house phone, house phoneline + any long distance is more expensive then my cheap cellphone plan

i think i use like 20 min a month on it,

 

[jonessoda]

Once I got one, it soon got hard to understand how i lived without it. It's great for keeping in contact with friends, etc. I can be all the way across the city and they can text or call me asking if I want to go see a movie with them like right now.

Plus my apartment doesn't have a phone line, so it's useful for that.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i have one only because i dont have a house phone, house phoneline + any long distance is more expensive then my cheap cellphone plan

i think i use like 20 min a month on it,

This is one of the primary reasons why I have one. Paying for long distance on a home phone is not worth it these days especially with how much people travel or live far away from each other. That plus I find them very convenient for the usual reasons.

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i have one only because i dont have a house phone, house phoneline + any long distance is more expensive then my cheap cellphone plan

i think i use like 20 min a month on it,

Yup. Except my job has to call at all freaking hours, but they help pay for it.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Originally posted by: boatillo
I am 27 years old, working on a masters in MIS, BA in accounting, multiple certs, okay job and married. (This should prove I do not live under a rock)

I have never had a cellphone or felt the slightest inclination to purchase one.

---------

What is with these things?? What is so important to say that you need a phone 24/7? Who is so important that they need to be contacted 24/7? I just don't get cellphones except in certain instances like maybe my car broke down in Mexico and I *really* need some help. At that point I would like a phone with pre-charged minutes that I don't have to keep purchasing every month to keep "fresh". Phones are the biggest moneymaking scam in history!

/rant off

How do people get a hold of you in emergencies or urgent situations? What if you were out shopping for the day and your wife had to go to the hospital? I could name a million more situations but the convience alone is worth the monthly cost to most people. Like being able to get a hold of my wife when she is running to the grocery store so I can tell her to pickup some more beer because I just drank it all, etc.

 

[boatillo]

Originally posted by: MixMasterTang

Originally posted by: boatillo
I am 27 years old, working on a masters in MIS, BA in accounting, multiple certs, okay job and married. (This should prove I do not live under a rock)

I have never had a cellphone or felt the slightest inclination to purchase one.

---------

What is with these things?? What is so important to say that you need a phone 24/7? Who is so important that they need to be contacted 24/7? I just don't get cellphones except in certain instances like maybe my car broke down in Mexico and I *really* need some help. At that point I would like a phone with pre-charged minutes that I don't have to keep purchasing every month to keep "fresh". Phones are the biggest moneymaking scam in history!

/rant off

How do people get a hold of you in emergencies or urgent situations? What if you were out shopping for the day and your wife had to go to the hospital? I could name a million more situations but the convience alone is worth the monthly cost to most people. Like being able to get a hold of my wife when she is running to the grocery store so I can tell her to pickup some more beer because I just drank it all, etc.

Hmmm lemme think...what did people do ten years ago in these situations...oh ya! Find me at work, home, or some other place that I told someone I was going to be.

Don't get me wrong, I will someday have a cellphone. However, that someday will not be until landlines have been removed from day-to-day life - they are still too prevalent.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: boatillo
What is with these things?? What is so important to say that you need a phone 24/7? Who is so important that they need to be contacted 24/7? I just don't get cellphones except in certain instances like maybe my car broke down in Mexico and I *really* need some help. At that point I would like a phone with pre-charged minutes that I don't have to keep purchasing every month to keep "fresh". Phones are the biggest moneymaking scam in history!

/rant off

There are things that are easier to do when 24/7 communication is available. It's not that these things can't be done in other ways. It's just that most of the time those ways are harder and many can't be done at the last minute. Cellphones eliminate that problem.

Keep in mind that the same arguments can be made about e-mail, home phones, and the postal service. In the end, it's all just communication. Cellphones are just another way of making life easier. If they are making your life harder for any reason then that is your choice. The phone didn't make that choice for you

Also, it's not a scam if you know exactly what you are paying for and why you are paying for it.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: boatillo


Hmmm lemme think...what did people do ten years ago in these situations...oh ya! Find me at work, home, or some other place that I told someone I was going to be.

Don't get me wrong, I will someday have a cellphone. However, that someday will not be until landlines have been removed from day-to-day life - they are still too prevalent.

They are currently doing away with pay phones due to them not being profitable anymore. I can guarantee you that landlines will be next. It's just a matter of time.

 

[erub]

So does your wife have one? Because if she does you could just pay $10/month and get on her plan, and eliminate your home phone. Also, do you carry around a card with all of your numbers printed on it like my dad used to do up until about 5 years ago? How else do you remember everybody's number?

 

[Homerboy]

I dont have one.
Work pays for one too.
I had a pay as you go thing, but I lost it. I guess I need to get a new one sometime... I hate cellphones.

 

[MovingTarget]

I held out until late 2002. A cellphone these days has become so practical as to be a necessity. I do miss the days of not being bothered by the phone unless I wanted to be. I see some kids today that have them as early as elementary school! wtf! I still make a regular habit of turning it off today. With everything so connected today, you have to unplug every once in a while just to feel....human.

 

[BoomerD]

I have an electronic leash. It's almost four years old, not one of the new-fangled doo-dads that does everything. It's a phone and a crappy camera that I never use.
I got one because I was spending so much time on the road, plus, where I worked, phones weren't very accessible. The convenience of having a mobile phone can outweigh the hassles they also have. In restaurants or movie theaters, I just turn the dammed thing off. I also turn it to silent during classes.

 

[boatillo]

Originally posted by: erub
So does your wife have one? Because if she does you could just pay $10/month and get on her plan, and eliminate your home phone. Also, do you carry around a card with all of your numbers printed on it like my dad used to do up until about 5 years ago? How else do you remember everybody's number?

No and no.

I memorize any numbers I need, and using 30-40 different extensions at work I have grown to remember those as well.

Wife is an elementary school teacher, if we didn't have a landline phone all those misguided parents would be calling her at any hour of the day. That would be a nightmare!

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: boatillo

Originally posted by: erub
So does your wife have one? Because if she does you could just pay $10/month and get on her plan, and eliminate your home phone. Also, do you carry around a card with all of your numbers printed on it like my dad used to do up until about 5 years ago? How else do you remember everybody's number?

No and no.

I memorize any numbers I need, and using 30-40 different extensions at work I have grown to remember those as well.

Wife is an elementary school teacher, if we didn't have a landline phone all those misguided parents would be calling her at any hour of the day. That would be a nightmare!

Why is she giving out her home phone number anyways? Give the parents e-mail addresses instead.

 

[Martin]

I don't have one, not because I don't want one, but Canadian telecoms are some of the worst companies around. They are a highly uncompetitive oligopoly that I don't want to give any money to.

To give you an idea, any US carrier is about an order of magnitude better than the ones here.

 

[FoBoT]

i moved to the dark side a couple years ago when i got stuck with car trouble without one

now we ditched our landline and have just cell phones (and a skype number for our official "home telephone number")

 

[boatillo]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: boatillo

Originally posted by: erub
So does your wife have one? Because if she does you could just pay $10/month and get on her plan, and eliminate your home phone. Also, do you carry around a card with all of your numbers printed on it like my dad used to do up until about 5 years ago? How else do you remember everybody's number?

No and no.

I memorize any numbers I need, and using 30-40 different extensions at work I have grown to remember those as well.

Wife is an elementary school teacher, if we didn't have a landline phone all those misguided parents would be calling her at any hour of the day. That would be a nightmare!

Why is she giving out her home phone number anyways? Give the parents e-mail addresses instead.

Hah! Good one. She does and there are a handful each year that can figure out how to use email competently to converse with her. The rest enjoy calling you during the dinner hour and going on and on about how its not their fault they used meth and created a little monster that shouldn't see the public education system.

 

[thomsbrain]

I carry a Blackberry (personal), a cell phone (work), and a pager (work). Too much crap, but I can't tell work "no" since those items are job requirements.

I do think it is convenient to never have to tell anyone where you will be so that they can reach you. You're always at the same number, anywhere you go. Also, free long distance, and you never need to pay for a hotel phone. I think if you are willing to ditch your land-line, you probably save money overall.

And lastly, with my Blackberry... unlimited internet and email, permanently grafted to my hip! I'm a cyborg! Seriously, the Crackberry is almost as important as my glasses when I wake up in the morning. There is something to be said for having all the information and communication possibilities of the internet at hand no matter where you are. Yeah, you can live without it, but that's like saying you can live without a car, or even the internet in general. It just becomes a part of your life and how you operate, make decisions, gather information, travel, etc. You need to look at it almost more as a portable computer than merely a phone. In fact, the only time my laptop comes out of standby is for the occasional ATOT session, work documentation, or extended media-related browsing. All other "computer" activity is done via Blackberry.

 

[imported_yovonbishop]

I've had a stupid Tracfone for a couple of years because my grandparents bought it for me for my birthday (I live with them). I basically use it for emergencies or else if I'm at the store and don't know what to get for dinner or whatever. I'm not one of those typical younger girls who has the cell phone glued to their ear all the time. It's ridiculous.

 

[lokiju]

The wife and I have no house phone.

We have most of our family and a lot of our friends living out of state.

For us, it's the better choice.

I also have a Blackberry 8830 with voice service for work that I keep on my pretty much 24/7 as I support about 300 offices WAN connections across the country.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: boatillo
Hah! Good one. She does and there are a handful each year that can figure out how to use email competently to converse with her. The rest enjoy calling you during the dinner hour and going on and on about how its not their fault they used meth and created a little monster that shouldn't see the public education system.

Ick...

I got a friend whose wife is also an elementary school teacher except that she teaches special kids. By special, I am no way trying to emphasize that they are any more than batshit retarded. The parents of these kids are hell to deal with too. There is no landline in their house and she never gives out her cell number. The way she feels is that they can use e-mail and if they really cared enough about their kid and there was a serious problem then they would schedule a conference.

 

[Patt]

I don't own a cell phone ... but my wife does. We use it when travelling long distances in the car, but almost no one knows the number. It is pay as you go. I can't stand the idea that anyone can get a hold of me at any time, and don't often find a need to call anyone else in that manner either, so until we lose the house line, I'll be happily 'tethered' to the land lines.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Originally posted by: Martin
I don't have one, not because I don't want one, but Canadian telecoms are some of the worst companies around. They are a highly uncompetitive oligopoly that I don't want to give any money to.

To give you an idea, any US carrier is about an order of magnitude better than the ones here.

QFT...my "cheap" plan with Rogers is $35 plus voicemail and caller id...add in the taxes and system access fees and it's $50 a month. I wish I had gotten some free lube with the deal :roll:.

I held out until March this year, when I moved out. I was discovering a lot of times where my friends wished they could get a hold of me to hang out, when it was helpful to call someone to let them know I'm running late. Now I often call my g/f if I'm out running errands and I ask her if we need to get something. Saves on unnecessary trips, I find.

I also use my cell at home for local calls - no sense paying for a land line as well.

I have heard that in Finland, you can get basic cell plans for the equivalent of $10/month. We are just getting rammed up here.

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha

Originally posted by: Martin
I don't have one, not because I don't want one, but Canadian telecoms are some of the worst companies around. They are a highly uncompetitive oligopoly that I don't want to give any money to.

To give you an idea, any US carrier is about an order of magnitude better than the ones here.

QFT...my "cheap" plan with Rogers is $35 plus voicemail and caller id...add in the taxes and system access fees and it's $50 a month. I wish I had gotten some free lube with the deal :roll:.

I held out until March this year, when I moved out. I was discovering a lot of times where my friends wished they could get a hold of me to hang out, when it was helpful to call someone to let them know I'm running late. Now I often call my g/f if I'm out running errands and I ask her if we need to get something. Saves on unnecessary trips, I find.

I also use my cell at home for local calls - no sense paying for a land line as well.

I have heard that in Finland, you can get basic cell plans for the equivalent of $10/month. We are just getting rammed up here.

And let's not even begin talking about mobile data rates


I used to work for the company that makes the blackberry and had one that I used normally - ~150 minutes talk, replying to emails, occasionally chatting on MSN when bored, surfing when I needed it (without images!) etc. My bills (paid for by the company) were around 500-600/month. How can any normal person afford that?