cell phones

[slleipnir]

I don't have one. My personal opinion (probably cause it's pretty small here) is that why should I pay all this extra money when I have a free one at home or pay ones everywhere for only 25 cents..

[carole]

Up until recently i never owned one, but now everyone in the family has one, my husband gets them free from work and fixes them, so they only cost us for the pre-pay card, so its good, i like them for emergencys etc, and now i am into TEXT MESSAGING, it was great when my sister was in las vegas, i could text her for 20cents a message and she would reply instantly and i would know what exciting things she was up to.
We are really into TEXT MESSAGING in nz, all the teens love it, and even us oldies it seems lol.
I must admit i used to get really bugged when i was out with my sister and her cell phone would ring, or we would be shopping together and i would be leaving her half way down the street text messaging alas i am now one of those, its like an addiction really, sigh, oh well, got to move with the times.

[boscibo]

I've had a cell since 1997 - two different companies and three different phones, they do come in handy. We (in the near future) are going to cancel our regular land line phone because the only people who call us on that phone are telemarketers!

It can be a lifesaver, like when my SO really did some serious damage to his knee (blew out 2 ligaments) when he was out in the middle of the State Park (with the dogs), and another time when he ran out of gas (again with all three dogs) out in the country. It is also nice when I (or he) am running late so the other person doesn't worry.

I turn my ringer way down so I'm the only one that can hear it, so when I'm around other people I can choose not to answer it if I want.

Truthfully, I am not a phone person at all and I would rather do anything else than yak on the phone, but they are so convenient.

[RubyMutt]

Yeah, I have one. I never really wanted one - I thought the same things "I have a free phone @ home and pay phones are pretty cheap". However, it has been a lifesaver. I've locked myself out of the house, gotten a flat tire, etc etc etc, and there were no payphones around. (Yes, I'm a little ditz sometimes ) Plus, it's just handy sometimes even when it's not an emergency

[Edwina's Secretary]

I have one and use it. It is no different than any other "tool" (i.e. computers, the internet), either you can manage it or it can manage you. A cell phone makes my life easier and safer. But I can also turn it off, not answer it, etc!

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Sadly, I have had one since I was 15!! I have never been without one since!! I feel lost without it. Everyone in my family has one. It is very handy!

[jennifert9]

I have a cell phone also. In fact, it's the only phone I have! I was paying for a home phone but I was never home! All it did was take messages for me really! Now I have caller ID and voice mail on my cell phone. I don't always answer it but I do always have it with me, either in my purse or the car but it's always nearby. People get mad sometimes when they call me and I don't answer but the way I see it is this: The cell phone is for MY convenience, not theirs! Just because they felt like calling me doesn't me I am willing or even able to answer the phone. And I'm certainly not obligated to answer it!!! I pay for voice mail for the caller's convenience. So leave a message and I'll get back to you!
Here in NY, it is illegal to talk on the phone while driving though, because they say it's distracting. Which it probably is. But so is the radio....Anyway, that is my biggest bad habit. I think of so many things I have to say in the car! I'm forever throwing the phone down on the passenger seat when I pass a police officer. I miss half of my friend's conversations sometimes!

[catland]

I finally got one a few months ago. Its a prepaid one with no contracts. It was handy to have on vacation. I leave it off most of the time - but it is a secure feeling to have it in case there was an emergency. I've only given the number to a few people, and since I haven't taken the time to figure out how to access my voicemail - I don't get bothered.

Cell phones are becoming so popular that its becoming harder and harder to find pay phones anymore.

[Cataholic]

Love it, use it, wouldn't ever get rid of it. It is a major convenience, and while I can't claim any 'emergencies' it has saved me from, I think it is great.

Public opinion isn't any different on cell phones then it was when it was all about microwaves- for those of us that remember their introduction. I heard many people say, "well, I can just do XYZ in the oven/stove"...or they cause cancer, or food doesn't taste right...blah blah.

How many of us DON'T have a microwave?

Fast food restaurants, cable tv, HIGH SPEED INTERNET, same thing.

Change, even good change, is hard for alot of people....he he he...

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by DoggiesAreTheBest
Sadly, I have had one since I was 15!! I have never been without one since!! I feel lost without it. Everyone in my family has one. It is very handy!

Hehe. You're like my brother!

Personally, I'm not a phone person, but cell phones come in handy, and my parents want to be able to call me at any time when I'm not at home. Its good because your parents can keep track of you, and there's not always a pay phone around. Also, they can come in handy when there's an emergency, or you really need to make a phone call. A few months ago, we went to visit a friend and my brother went in his own car because he had to leave earlier (he had to study for his test at school). When we got home, my dad discovered that he forgot the garage door opener, and that he locked the front door from the inside with the extra locks before leaving because he assumed we'd be coming in from the garage. Had we not brought the cell phone, we would've been stuck outside for hours, but we called my brother and told him to come open it, and we were free in just a few minutes.

[carole]

Yep i think i feel better knowing my young daughter will have a cell phone when she is a teenager,(She has one now, but only uses it for text messaging at the moment) because its going to be safer for her to have one, if she is stuck somewhere or something happens, also she can always ring emergency services on it.
Do any of you use TEXT MESSAGING i am curious?
Hubby brought home 3 yesterday and was going to use them for parts to build me a new phone, i was excited it looked nice, alas did not work this time.
In NZ we dont pay for our local calls NOT YET anyhow matter of time i think we just pay a line fee of around 40 dollars a month.

[boscibo]

Originally posted by carole
Do any of you use TEXT MESSAGING i am curious?

I use it once in awhile - like if Jeff is out and I really don't have anything important to say (stuff like "get some milk on the way home"), but most times it's easier to just call and talk, typing out a message on aa phone keypad takes too long!

My sister's phone can receive text messages, but she can't send them. SOmetimes I think it's just a fact of her sitting down and reading her phone manual, or else she hasn't subscribed to the text service.

I get 50 free text messages a month, so I don't have to pay for them. But I don't know if mine work overseas yet - when I was in Ireland, Jeff said he tried to message me, but i never got it. That could just be me not knowing how to work it at the time (I literally got my new Motorola cell phone two hours before I got on the plane). And then I brought the wrong owner's manual overseas - I brought Jeff's phone manual and left mine at home!

If I had a teenager - they would definitely have a cell phone! I think of all the stuff I got away with as a teen and how it would have been a lot harder if there were cell phones back then. ("I know I'm four hours past curfew Mom, but there wasn't a phone anywhere!")

[carole]

Hey good point, i never even thought of that, still it will be SORRY I HAD MY PHONE SWITCHED OFF , always some way out of it eh.
Yeah my phone is the same i can receive text but cannot send them stupid really who ever thought of that one, i have others i can use, it does take time, especially as u get older your eyesight aint so good, and the letters are small, but u get faster, i can vouch for that.
I am just a cheapskate, works out far cheaper than ringing or toll calls so i do use it quite often now.

[bluekat]

Originally posted by carole
Do any of you use TEXT MESSAGING i am curious?

Yeah, used it a couple of times. But it was such a waste, I text messaged my sister only, and all I said was "Hi". It takes so long to write a message though. and my dad doesn't like to pay extra, because there's no point in it.

[Dakota's Mommy]

Oh yeah! I got a cell phone! I never had my own until last year when we got here and at that point only knowing my husband, I wanted one just incase something happened while I was out shopping. I love it. Infact, he had one and I had one. It was great. Since he's gone, we had mine (it was under his name too) turned off and I now use his because it was a better calling plan. We have free nationwide long distance, 550 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, no roaming as long as we're in a AT&T area, caller id, call waiting all for $39.99 a month plus tax. Granted, Brian has only been able to call me once since he got deployed, but anytime he gets a chance to call he will call the cell phone, we set it up that way so that he could make sure I wasn't always sitting at home waiting for his call but that I would always receive his calls. I go no where without it! I love that phone, it's so helpful!