Do you use a cell phone?
Here’s one for you. Anyone out there who doesn’t have a cell phone, raise your hand. Okay, I realize I can’t see you doing that, so you may have to leave a comment. Feel free to do that and I will consider that a hand raised. The point is, this world we live in is a very connected world and most people can not imagine being without a cell phone.
When cell phones first started being widely used, my family and I tried to get my Dad to get one. It’s not like he couldn’t afford it and with him and Mom getting on in years, we thought it would be a good thing. After all, Dad was nearly 80 years old and was still baling hay every year. (Actually, he is 82 now and he has been bailing hay all summer.) He said he didn’t need one and even refused to take my daughter’s cell phone when he and Mom made a three hour trip to Oklahoma City.
A couple of years ago, my older brother was changing his cell phone contract around and came up with an extra phone, which he gave to Mom and Dad. Mom especially needed one because she is handicapped, but since she very seldom goes out by herself, Dad commandeered the phone and it is now seldom out of his hands. Mom was just joking to me the other day about he always said he didn’t need or want a cell phone, but now he carries one everywhere he goes. But, I digress.
The cell phone market has grown by leaps and bounds and seems to get bigger every year. The service providers are always coming up with new marketing strategies to sell more contracts and it seems that they are the ones who are driving the new technologies that come out every year. You would think the makers of the phones, such as Motorola, Samsung, Apple, etc. would be doing that, but alas, that is not the case. I believe we would see a much better cell phone that would be much more user friendly, if it were.
I am in the market for a new phone and will probably get one on Sunday. I am using a Motorola Razr V9 right now and although I do like the phone, it has it’s drawbacks. Chief among those drawbacks is the way the menus and buttons are set up. It is clear that the phone is set up for AT&T’s sake, not the user. There are two buttons that have the exact same function and the menus lack in customization. The result is a phone that strives to sell me a service, instead of providing the service I need, ie. to make and receive phone calls.
My brother is currently using a Samsung Eternity, which he likes very well. Unless I change my mind between now and Sunday, that is the phone I will probably buy. As well as he likes the phone, it too has it’s faults, mainly it’s software and the bugs included therein. He is a member of a Samsung-Eternity forum and there are multiple posts on that forum that ask about a software update for the phone. Several of the members have called Samsung about this and the answer is always the same. It is up to AT&T, not Samsung, as to when or if an update is provided.
Can you imagine how many users a cell phone provider would attract if they would actually allow a phone manufacturer to provide a phone that was completely user friendly, allowing the user to customize the phone to his or her liking? Imagine a phone that didn’t have multiple buttons set to the same function or a phone that was not set up to sell the user music, videos, games, or other media. My hands itch and my mouth drools at the thought. I wouldn’t know how to act if I had a phone like that. Am I the only one, or are there other cell phone users who would kill for one of these phones that will probably never be?
I have a cell phone. I can’t tell you what kind it is or even the phone number. It’s Alltel, prepaid ($20 lasts me about a year). I have it for emergencies on the road, or if the power/phone is out at the house. The only requirement of my calling plan is that I make one phone call every 30 days so I don’t lose my $20. I call the Time Lady once a month if I haven’t used it for anything else.
Mostly I detest phones ringing and being used EVERYWHERE! Recently there was a man at Walmart by himself, but having a rather loud conversation on his phone (via a bluetooth, stuck in his ear). Hannah watched this guy for a bit (we could hear him up and down every aisle) and finally said to me “Mom, he’s very loud. Is he talking to God?”). Poor child, doesn’t have her own cell phone and doesn’t know what a “hands-free” phone is. Oh well.
OneMom´s last blog ..Our regularly scheduled Friday Flyer …
Hi, Kerry.
I can just hear little Hannah saying something like that. This can be a very rude world we live in. I find it very rude when people come in our front office and are still talking on the phone. I carry my phone everywhere I go and we no longer have a home phone, but if I am talking to someone in person, checking out in the the store, etc. I will not answer the phone unless I have reason to believe it may be an emergency. I have to admit though, I do like my bluetooth. It is very handy if I am on the phone while driving.
When cell phones first came out, I hated them. I don’t like intrusions into my “home” space. Over time, however, I have become more adjusted to them and have learned to turn them off when I want my space. I have the Samsung flipshot with a 3.0 megapixel camera. It is what I take most of my pictures that I have posted around the web with.
I will soon be getting a new phone (I think) and am leaning more towards a black jack or black berry for better organization, but I will see.
One thing I like with Verizon is that they have a plan that allows me unlimited minutes so I know what my bill is every month…to the penny. In addition, there are very few places that Verizon doesn’t work.
Now if I can get the sales people to stop calling me (even though I am on the DO NOT CALL list) that would be the icing on the cake!
Dominique´s last blog ..the TEN (Obama) COMMANDMENTS…