Going All Cellular

[Balldog]

Has anyone switch to having exclusively a cell phone? Any drawbacks? I think I am the only human being who does not have one. How much can I expect to pay a month? I do not talk on the phone much, hopefully I can continue that trend too.

[HornedFrog Purple]

No you aren't the only one who doesn't have one. I can't stand them.

I truly believe there are people who cannot function without having the thing stuck to their head 24/7.

[albionmoonlight]

My Sprint PCS phone craps out enough that I am glad that it is not my only phone. I have had friends go cell phone only with other carriers and they have been happy.

Also, Sunday Ticket on DirecTV requires that you have a land line so that it can verify where you live. That may or may not affect your decision.

[Groundhog]

Are mobiles/cell phones as big in the states as they are over here in Australia? Over here, it's basically unheard of for anyone over the age of 15 to not have a mobile.

[Fidatelo]

You're definately not the only one. I'm hoping to be able to go my whole life without one *crosses fingers*

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Are mobiles/cell phones as big in the states as they are over here in Australia? Over here, it's basically unheard of for anyone over the age of 15 to not have a mobile.

I wouldn't say that its unheard of at this point not to own a cell phone, but its becoming more and more likely that you own one. Its nice to have when your like "Where the hell is she going??!?!" or "I really need directions". When you're 23 and married, you really don't talk on the phone that much. I think they are really designed for the 15-18 year olds who live on the phone.

Then again, the free long distance (no additional charge) makes it worth it on that alone in my opinion.

[pskov]

I went to California on holiday this year and was very suprised at how few people use mobiles over there. Simmilar to what Groundhog said, in the UK everyone has one. My dad alone has three (but then he does work for Vodafone).

[Castlerock]

Don't have one... don't want one.

[GoldenEagle]

At my campus everyone has one. No joke.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

My Sprint PCS phone craps out enough that I am glad that it is not my only phone. I have had friends go cell phone only with other carriers and they have been happy.

Also, Sunday Ticket on DirecTV requires that you have a land line so that it can verify where you live. That may or may not affect your decision.

Actually I was considering switching to all cell phone and was worried about the Sunday ticket and got confirmation from several different people at Directv that you don't need the phone hooked up for anything except for menu ordering of pay-per-views. I told them that I thought they pinged the boxes and he basically gave the phone version of rolling his eyes. My problem with the cell phone only is that I have a roommate who lives with me in my house and I have to be somewhat considerate of his situation as he is paying me rent.

[McSweeny]

don't have one, don't want one. I'll just be happy to be a mooch and use my friend's phones when the need arises

[Groundhog]

Back when I started working at the company I'm currently at, I was only 18 and didn't have a mobile. No one here could believe it, and the company bought me one.

I don't know how I'd get by without one now. It comes in handy so often. Sure, it can be annoying, as especially when it comes to work people don't have the same reservations about calling your mobile phone after hours as they do with calling your house. But overall, it can be (literally) a life saver.

[Castlerock]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

But overall, it can be (literally) a life saver.

I have managed to survive without one.

[MikeVic]

I just have a pay-as-you-go cell phone for emergency purposes... don't really use one to call people regularly.

[Chief Rum]

I am an all-cellphone user.

It has worked fine for me, with the only problem being when some places where I fill out forms need me to have a "home" phone number that is not my cellphone number ("well, you see, this IS my home number...").

CR

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Also, Sunday Ticket on DirecTV requires that you have a land line so that it can verify where you live.

Actually, no it doesn't. I have had the Ticket since 1997, but have not had a phone line connected to any of my receivers since 2001.

DirecTV says that you are required to have a land line connected to all receivers continuously. But, the ONLY thing that they actually use this connection for is to send ppv purchase information on ppvs ordered using your remote to the company. They can not use the line to actively collect any information, since they could not do that without your phone ringing - i.e. they never actually use it to verify where you live.

They do not want customers ordering ppv's and not paying for them, thus they tell you this and that service will not work without a phone line. Its all bunk, the only thing they use that phone line for is to collect ppv billing data.

[Chubby]

I'm an all cell-phone user too. Hell I still have my PA number cause i'm waiting for the contract to run out (so i can get a new phone) before I switch to a NY #. I couldn't imagine having a regular phone anymore. It's not like I use the phone THAT much and it's nice that I can take it anywhere. If you can get a good plan it's def worth it. Free nights/weekend, no long distance, no roaming... I wouldn't do this why?

[ice4277]

I have a couple friends who have done this and they have not had any problems with it. As for cell phones, I think there may be an age thing related to it, as just about everybody I know 25 and under has one. I'm sure I could live without one but as somebody who works at odd hours and isn't around the house much it makes life that much easier.

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm from the old school. I barely use the phone now. Why would I want to pay for another one that I would use even more rarely?

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Honolulu Blue

I'm from the old school. I barely use the phone now. Why would I want to pay for another one that I would use even more rarely?

Same here, the only people that call are telemarketers.

[Sloan]

I'm an all cell guy, but I average less than 1 call a day.

[Pacersfan46]

I had never had a cell phone, until a couple months ago.

I got a T-Mobile Sidekick, which is pretty nifty. I get unlimited internet access (has a small keyboard on it, so no typing with 12 keys), unlimited picture e-mailing (yes, has a camera), and text messaging. Not to mention having my AOL Instant Messenger with me everywhere I go.

It's a hell of a time killer. Looking up sports stats, talking to friends, or whatever.

[gstelmack]

Once we had a baby on the way, my wife and I got cell phones and they have come in very handy.

That said, I'd never get rid of the landline simply for emergency reasons. First off as a backup, and secondly for reliable 911 usage.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

I have managed to survive without one.

Well, all it took was one breakdown in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night for me to get one. Not to mention it ends up being cheaper than a landline.

So would I rather have a phone tethered to my room, or that same phone available anywhere?

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

Don't have one... don't want one.

Smae with me. If I'm home, call me at home. If I'm not home, I'm busy and don't want to be bothered. In fact, I don't want to be bothered when I'm home. I'm going to just get rid of all forms of communication with the outside world. Oh what a paradise that would be.

[Shucker]

I am all cell, for about 18 months now. Resisted for a long time because I despise those people that always make a shw of being on a cell phone, like they really are somebody. I make, and take, very few calls. Everyone I know knows that I am about the cheapest bastard there is and would refuse to come even close to using up my alloted minutes. No calls before 8:00!!

I will say this, however. I would be lost without it. I have three kids going every direction and it has proven invaluable on many occasions coordinating who is going to be where. I am hardly ever at home and have no use for land-line phone.

Best piece of advice: Make sure you get strong reception in your home. It is not always a given, depending on service.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Shucker

Best piece of advice: Make sure you get strong reception in your home. It is not always a given, depending on service.

This is the ONLY thing that is stopping us from going all-cell right now. I get 1- or 2-bars and limited reception at my apartment with AT&T and my girlfriend's T-Mobile phone is useless there. We're going to try out Sprint and pray that it'll actually work inside soon. (Personally, I don't care that it doesn't work at home but it freaks her out.) If so, we'll be cancelling the landline and use that saving to go DSL for our ISP.

[Chief Rum]

daedalus,

you hit on a sore point for me. When I first went all-cell, that's exactly the situation I found myself in. Fortunately, we moved, and my reception in my new home is much, much stronger. If we hadn't have moved, I probably would have cancelled my service with AT&T and switched to another provider.

CR

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

daedalus,

you hit on a sore point for me. When I first went all-cell, that's exactly the situation I found myself in. Fortunately, we moved, and my reception in my new home is much, much stronger. If we hadn't have moved, I probably would have cancelled my service with AT&T and switched to another provider.

CR

We've been wanting to move, unfortunately it's not quite an option for us right now. I really don't want to switch from AT&T since I get good reception everywhere else with them. I actually manage to get reception in places where most cell phones do not (like some buildings back at Hughes).

How inconvenient was it when you went all-cell and you had the bad reception at home? For me, I wouldn't really care since I rarely use the phone and, hey, I can order pizza online now! My girlfriend balks at it because she occasionally does the obligatory phonecall-to-the-parents when I sufficiently nag her and she can't get reception with her T-Mobile at home when I call to status her of my whereabouts when I'm out.

[Peregrine]

I've thought about going all-cell, but have never gone through with it. For one thing, I need the landline for my Tivo. For another, my cell service is mostly okay, but I have problems with occasionally not getting messages, etc. I'd hate to have that as my only phone and miss an important message that way.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by daedalus

We've been wanting to move, unfortunately it's not quite an option for us right now. I really don't want to switch from AT&T since I get good reception everywhere else with them. I actually manage to get reception in places where most cell phones do not (like some buildings back at Hughes).

How inconvenient was it when you went all-cell and you had the bad reception at home? For me, I wouldn't really care since I rarely use the phone and, hey, I can order pizza online now! My girlfriend balks at it because she occasionally does the obligatory phonecall-to-the-parents when I sufficiently nag her and she can't get reception with her T-Mobile at home when I call to status her of my whereabouts when I'm out.

It actually was annoying. People would try to reach me, and it was difficult. This caused all sorts of problems, both personally and professionally. None of the problems were more than inconvenient, but it was a tremendous annoyance. And God forbid I should actually need to call out for anything.

Strangely enough, I had the same experience as you with my service elsewhere, where it seemed to work great just about everywhere except, of course, my humble abode.

I did ask a couple people who are more cellphone-savvy than me (I work with younger, college-age young adults), and they said I might be able to get that fixed by taking my phone to a AT&T Wireless store and getting it re-programmed. Apparently it's a simple process that doesn't take long. I couldn't tell you any specifics for why that could work, but then I use a lot of things where I don't understand how they work.

I would have followed up on what they suggested, but my move was already in sight, so I decided to hold off until I saw what reception was like at my new place. Since it was good, I never followed up. But maybe doing something like this would work for you.

CR

[mckerney]

I only use cell phone. It's much easier for me at school, especially with a roommate (I don't like sharing).

Sprint works well for me, never have had any problems with it other than using the internet to keep updated on sports scores at work drains the battery fairly quickly.

[vex]

When I get married in June, I'm going all cell. Just seems cheaper.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I did ask a couple people who are more cellphone-savvy than me (I work with younger, college-age young adults), and they said I might be able to get that fixed by taking my phone to a AT&T Wireless store and getting it re-programmed. Apparently it's a simple process that doesn't take long. I couldn't tell you any specifics for why that could work, but then I use a lot of things where I don't understand how they work.

I would have followed up on what they suggested, but my move was already in sight, so I decided to hold off until I saw what reception was like at my new place. Since it was good, I never followed up. But maybe doing something like this would work for you.

CR

Oooooh, I have not heard of this. I will have to see if my local AT&T place can figure this out. That'd be awesome.

Originally Posted by vexroid

When I get married in June, I'm going all cell. Just seems cheaper.

I know what you meant but I couldn't help getting an image of:

*ring*
"Vex speaking."
"Vex, do you take this . . . "
"Hurry up, padre. These minutes costs."
"Fine. Do you?"
"I do."
"Hold on."
*ring*
"This is Mrs Vex-to-be speaking."
"Mrs Vex-to-be, do you?"
"I do."
"Hold on."
*conference call*
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Bye."
*click*

[Peregrine]

Chief, I had a lot of problems with bad reception at home on my AT&T phone, but after I dropped my phone and broke it and had to get a new one, I got one on their "improved network" or whatever they call it, and reception at home was much improved. So that's one option.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by HornedFrog Purple

No you aren't the only one who doesn't have one. I can't stand them.

I truly believe there are people who cannot function without having the thing stuck to their head 24/7.

Three cheers for HFP!

Not that I've looked into this sort of thing, but...

There are Israeli cell phone jammers available on the open market- they basically flood the bands used by cells and cut off anyone on them. Unfortunately, they are illegal to own in the states as it is theft to "steal" that bandwidth which is why theaters, meeting halls, churches, etc don't have them.

I mean, really, I didn't look into this because I wanted to walk all over campus one day and every time I walked by some blonde sorority chick (no, she doesn't get the dignity of being called woman, girl, whatever- she actually deserves the term chick) playing with her hair with one hand and holding a cell phone to the now-permanent indentation in her head with the other and saying {pseudo valley girl}"Oh! I can't believe she did that" {/pseudo valley girl} in my f'ing airspace as opposed to right now when they get indignant when I either glare at them or start having fake conversations with friends about their public conversation *loudly, within earshot* "Hey, John, I can't believe Beth did that either, can you?" "No way, man? How could she do a thing like that" "I know, man, that's just cold" "No shit, that's why I'd spend my life talking on the phone about it" (or my personal favorite of a friend of mine, he'd get out his wallet, unfold it kindof like a cell phone and start yelling "BUY! BUY! BUY! SELL! SELL! SELL!" right in front of people on cells).

SI

[Leonidas]

I was td out longer than anyone on a cell phone, but I got sick of my dial up internet and my phone company broke the last straw when they disconnected my service because I forgot to make one payment (Sprint). I went cable for internet and checked cell plans and found out it was basically the same price as just having a local phone service. So we did it and have been very pleased. I think the biggest thing is making sure you have good access where you live and work. Most plans give you 15 days to see if it works.

[JeeberD]

I've been all-cell for nearly two years now. I had no problems at all until I moved into my new apartment a month ago. In this place half the time my calls won't go through or if they do they'll be extremely staticy. But I really don't mind since I find cell phones to be much cheaper and much more convenient than land lines...

[rkmsuf]

Don't have one...no wish to have one.

It's like a quest now to not get one...