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| Author |
Message |
jep
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The cell phone item
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May 21 12:12 UTC 2002 |
This item is for discussion of cell phones.
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| 68 responses total. |
jep
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response 1 of 68:
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May 21 12:15 UTC 2002 |
I have a bunch of questions about cell phones. I have one, but I don't
really understand them well.
1) When I got my cell phone service, the phone was included. Can I go
out and buy a different phone and still use it with my service? How
would I go about doing that? Why would I want to?
2) Why would anyone send a text message from a cell phone?
3) I have 3500 "anytime minutes" with my package. My service contract
is for 2 years. How do these anytime minutes get used?
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ric
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response 2 of 68:
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May 21 12:29 UTC 2002 |
1. a - yes, but you may have to pay a service charge for changing phones.
b - contact your provider
c - To get a better phone.
2. Either they are a serious geek or they are desperate. I understand
sending text messages TO cellphones but not from them. What a pain
in the ass. My friend Doug ("serious geek") sometimes uses the
instant messenger feature on his Sprint PCS phone.
3. 3500 anytime minutes? Are you sure? That'd be an awfully expensive
package. Your package is most likely to include 350 anytime minutes
and 3150 night/weekend minutes, or some similar arrangement.
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scott
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response 3 of 68:
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May 21 12:43 UTC 2002 |
2. The popularity of text-messaging is greatest among those who spend a fair
amount of time in loud discoteques.
(the popularity of "radio-mode" is more difficult to explain; I suspect some
secret wish to get beaten up by complete strangers)
1. Actually I'm considering getting a new cell phone. My current one is a
bit on the large side, and I will probably start using it much more as my
career gradually changes from "employee" to "consultant".
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gull
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response 4 of 68:
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May 21 13:02 UTC 2002 |
Re #1.1 - It's easier with some services than others - you should probably
contact them to find out what your options are. With VoiceStream, as long
as you get a compatible phone it's pretty easy, since you can just pop out
the smartcard and snap it into the new phone. The smartcard has everything
that makes a particular phone "your phone" to the network.
Re #1.2 - I almost never send text messages *from* cell phones, but I do
receive text messages on mine. I have some software at work that sends me a
text page when certain network or computer problems come up. The voice mail
that comes with my phone also offers people the chance to send me a numeric
page (which arrives as a text message) when they call. Also, if they leave
a voice message the voice mail system text messages me to let me know I have
one waiting.
*Sending* a text message is too tedious to be worth it unless you're really
bored, at least if you have a regular phone. If you have something with a
keypad or touchscreen, like a Handspring Phone or a Blackberry, it's a bit
different.
Re #1.3 - I don't think I understand the question.
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jep
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response 5 of 68:
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May 21 13:12 UTC 2002 |
The Cingular Nationwide 250 package costs $29.99 per month, has 250
minutes per month with no roaming charges, and 3500 anytime minutes.
I'm trying to find out what the anytime minutes are about.
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jep
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response 6 of 68:
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May 21 13:14 UTC 2002 |
I've been on hold with Cingular for 15 minutes, trying to talk to a
human about a billing question I have. I am not very impressed right
now with their customer service.
Note: Cingular is owned by SBC Communications, and so is my employer; I
have stock options for SBC and so am kindly disposed toward Cingular.
Right now, though, I'm ready to blast them into oblivion.
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jep
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response 7 of 68:
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May 21 13:34 UTC 2002 |
Whew! I got ahold of someone after 20 minutes. She didn't know what
to do, so put me on hold for another several minutes, came back and
still didn't know what to do. She started to say "Let me put you on
hold and I'll..." and I caught her at it. "How about if you call me
back? I've been on hold for over a half hour already!" She'll do
that. (She'd better.)
This was probably karmatically good for me, as a customer support rep
myself. I hope I carry the lesson of the cruelty of a support phone
line with me for a while, so I don't put someone through that myself.
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jep
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response 8 of 68:
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May 21 13:51 UTC 2002 |
Argh... they're 3500 minutes, but they're weekend/evening minutes.
Sorry about that.
It seems like a weird concept to me. They're spread over the life of
the contract? It just seems weird.
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krj
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response 9 of 68:
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May 21 13:58 UTC 2002 |
(Why buy a new phone? I had two fail from being dropped repeatedly
(oops) and the third one got lost for months. Only the newest one has been
small enough to travel with my wallet; seems like this one might stick
around for a while.)
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jmsaul
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response 10 of 68:
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May 21 16:02 UTC 2002 |
Sending text messages from a phone: I use that to send email when I'm
traveling and don't have access to the Internet.
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gull
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response 11 of 68:
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May 21 17:55 UTC 2002 |
Re #8: That is weird. My plan has a certain number of 'anytime minutes',
but it's per month. Same with my weekend minutes -- they replenish at the
beginning of the billing cycle.
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ea
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response 12 of 68:
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May 21 18:06 UTC 2002 |
My cell phone plan includes 300 "anytime" minutes and 3500 night/weekend
minutes. Per month, not spread over the lifetime of the contract.
I have never sent a text message with my cell phone. I have recieved
them (Northwest Airlines flight status info on days when I'm flying, my
dad will e-mail me sports scores when I'm in a place that I can't answer
the phone, etc)
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bhelliom
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response 13 of 68:
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May 21 18:11 UTC 2002 |
This response has been erased.
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michaela
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response 14 of 68:
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May 21 20:30 UTC 2002 |
I never understood "radio mode". It's annoying, for one, and why don't they
just TALK ON THE PHONE instead of subjecting others to hearing the annoying
beep and the other person's voice? Do they want to look popular? UGH.
(rant complain)
I've just seen way too much of that in restaurants lately. It's distracting
and annoying.
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jmsaul
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response 15 of 68:
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May 21 21:46 UTC 2002 |
I think radio mode doesn't count against their minutes, or something.
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jep
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response 16 of 68:
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May 21 22:21 UTC 2002 |
I get 3500 weekend/evening minutes per month? If that's true... wow.
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jep
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response 17 of 68:
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May 21 22:26 UTC 2002 |
Yep, it is true. They're per-month. I had thought they were some kind
of bonus over the lifetime of the phone contract. They're usable
between 9 pm and 7 a.m., and any time on weekends from 9 pm Friday to 7
am Monday. I never understood that before. Not at all.
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ea
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response 18 of 68:
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May 21 22:53 UTC 2002 |
I'll admit to having used radio mode on occasion. The place I work at
when I'm at school purchased a bunch of phones with the two-way radio
feature, and when a tech goes out in the field, they carry one with
them. There are a few reasons for going with those phones rather than
actual two-way radios. 1) They have more range than a typical two-way
radio. 2) The SU campus is very hilly, and as a result, there are
repeaters located on top of many buildings. If we had purchased radios,
we would have had to work with Public Safety, Housing Office, and the
Maintnence office to make sure that our radios wouldn't interfere with
any of the other radios, but would still be able to use the repeaters.
3) On occasion, techs need to use the phone feature to call a client
from out in the field. 4) The initial purchase costs for the phones was
much less than for radios.
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gull
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response 19 of 68:
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May 21 23:12 UTC 2002 |
I think the reason for using radio mode instead of phone mode is it's a
quick, asynchronous sort of thing. It's faster than dialing and hanging up
every time. It doesn't make any sense for extended conversations, but for
quick exchanges or for the kinds of things you'd normally use a 2-way radio
for, it makes sense.
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other
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response 20 of 68:
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May 21 23:17 UTC 2002 |
They're virtually universal in the trades, and in production for TOP or
other outdoor festivals, they're almost indispensable for efficiency of
operations.
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michaela
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response 21 of 68:
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May 22 00:56 UTC 2002 |
Okay, that all makes sense. What bugs me are the people in restaurants who
could at least GO OUTSIDE. :)
That's one thing I liked about Sylvia (bhelliom). Her phone rang at dinner
one night, and she went outside. She said, and I quote, "I wouldn't want to
be so gauche and take a phone call at the table."
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scg
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response 22 of 68:
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May 22 06:18 UTC 2002 |
I have a two way pager that I got work to order while I was still doing
on-call stuff, but that didn't show up until I was no longer doing on-call
stuff, so I have yet to use it. I've been carrying it around in my computer
bag on the assumption that I may have some need to send e-mail from somewhere
where I don't have Net connectivity sometime. The reason I wanted it (given
that I had to replace my existing pager, and the cost to me was the same for
one way or two way) was that I used to sometimes get text pages describing
some urgent problem, but not including a phone number to call. I wanted to
be able to send e-mail back asking for a phone number, rather than having to
call the NOC and have them hunt for the person, which was often a pain.
I also used to wish for something like that when trying to find people in
clubs, where it was too loud for the cell phone to be useful and too crowded
to look around and see the people I was looking for, but I haven't been doing
that sort of thing much lately.
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jep
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response 23 of 68:
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May 22 15:50 UTC 2002 |
Are pagers on the downswing? Maybe I just don't notice them much, but
I don't seem to see many of them any more.
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jep
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response 24 of 68:
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May 22 15:56 UTC 2002 |
I've seen some accessories, ranging from surprising to useless
seeming. Does anyone change the faceplate on their cell phone? Do you
have a leather case for your phone? I can get a vibrating battery for
my phone, which will vibrate instead of ringing.
My phone is made by Nokia. There's a Club Nokia that Nokia owners can
join. You have to specify your country to join, and the United States
is not on the list, though. Supposedly, through Club Nokia, you can
download ring tones, games, etc. Has anyone gotten a customized ring
tone, or added any games to their phone?
Speaking of ring tones, I have mine set as loud as it will go, but
still frequently don't hear the phone ring until the 2nd or 3rd ring,
often too late for me to answer the call. Does anyone have any
suggestions on how to improve this situation?
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