Okay, so the ‘not owning’ part is technically not quite accurate: I own both a Blackberry and an iPhone. However, some months back, both packed-in for numerous reasons. I shall not be replacing either. Like others here, I am sure, a cellular phone had become part of my everyday life. It is a device that many of us, at least, subconsciously, rely heavily upon: it can be a tool to stay in touch with one’s children, spouse, partner... your Facebook ‘friends’, etc. Take yourself back though, to a time when you didn’t own one. You ‘coped’, didn’t you? Well, I’ve adjusted and feel a sense of liberation. No more beeping, vibrating or tedious ringtones. I am free.

+1

I have a fliptop TracPhone, totally obsolete and uncool. It's never turned on and I only use it sparingly. I really don't want to be that accessible. What's even worse, I have a portable CD player that I use on my commuter bus. No IPod or anything like that...maybe someday I'll get one of those, but I'm not in any hurry. I think humanity is too technology-crazed, but I do like the Internet, this forum, and YouTube...so I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite. Well..taking this a bit further, living without a microwave oven would be a bit difficult.

As I do not currently have the use of a cellphone, I rely on Facebook to stay in touch - I'm in Canada, but my entire life - the wife aside - is in the U.K. As soon as I'm back in England, I'm deleting my Facebook account - yes, you can do it - and will be reliant on good land line, email and, most importantly, all those human instincts and qualities that have been sucked-up by cellphones, 'smartphones' and godawful 'social media'.

ROCKMAN

Ha! The important and significant role played by the military's 'carrier pigeons' during the First and Second World Wars should not be forgotten. Their bravery and valiant efforts in the face of open-fire and threat of being cooked and eaten should always be remembered.

Well, if we have a huge solar superstorm like they did in 1859, we might have to resort to carrier pigeon for communication. Nothin' will work!!!

This is a great topic. I just use a cheap Metro PCS cell phone service. I think it runs me about $40 a month.

However, technology is rapidly changing where cell phones are now used to download movies, tv events and play on HDTV. Some are even predicting the Cable TV industry will suffer huge losses in the coming years. This makes me happy as Comcast unnerves me.

I just need to catch-up with the new technology to enjoy the savings and simplicity.

I only ever bothered with cheap, 'pay-as-you-go' phones. I'd by a £10.00 top-up card and it would last me the best part of a month. Then, however, I lost it and the wife thought now was a good opportunity to give-in to trends and purchase one of these smartphones. They're horrid. The world is at your fingertips and one cannot help but be distracted. I used to look forward to returning home from work and switching on the laptop to see what emails I had received during the day and oh, checking 'Tell Me' and 'Rocks Off' The bloody smartphone took all that away from me.

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Chris Fountain
cheap Metro PCS cell phone service. about $40 a month.

40 Dollars a month, and you call that cheap ???? I pay less than 9 Euros a month.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

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Rolling Hansie
40 Dollars a month, and you call that cheap ???? I pay less than 9 Euros a month.

My smartphone contract in the U.K. was close to €50.00 per month. I'm glad to have that monkey off my back.

I've never owned one. I have a primitive flip phone that work gave me. Has unlimited free texting which is nice but other features are scant. Fine with me.

I've never owned a cell phone.

I still have a land-line with an answering machine.

Hey, the phones in the house ARE cordless.

Basic phone and pay as you go.

The times I get on the train and the amount of people with phones stuck to their ear or head bent down looking at their phones makes me laugh, but a bit sad as well.

There is nothing wrong with owning a cell phone--the problem begins when you find you are being owned by one.

Big Al you're an amateur : for me it's no mobile, no Facebook, and no credit card! ><

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Big Al
I only ever bothered with cheap, 'pay-as-you-go' phones. I'd by a £10.00 top-up card and it would last me the best part of a month. Then, however, I lost it and the wife thought now was a good opportunity to give-in to trends and purchase one of these smartphones. They're horrid. The world is at your fingertips and one cannot help but be distracted. I used to look forward to returning home from work and switching on the laptop to see what emails I had received during the day and oh, checking 'Tell Me' and 'Rocks Off' The bloody smartphone took all that away from me.

Your logic here is like blaming the weapon when someone gets wounded. The phone is an inanimate object. On it's own, it has no ability to make you do anything.

You say that you used to look forward to coming home and switching on the laptop but the cell phone took that away from you. I'm tempted to question what enjoyment the laptop took away from you and why do you not hold the same type of animosity against the portable computer that you have against the even more portable computer simply because it has a built in phone? The things you mentioned your smart-phone taking away from you can all be done on either the phone or the computer. At this point, other than size, portability, processing speeds and memory space, are laptops really that much different from smart phones & tablets anyway?

Somehow I have a feeling that you're just trying to bait someone into an argument or show all of us who like our cell phones & smart phones to be inferior to your way of thinking. Just how is it that you know that I "can't help but be distracted"? I can assure you that we're not inferior nor are you superior. We just have different opinions. The way I see it, the cell phone & smart phones are simply advances in technology and are fundamentally not much more than tools with an entertainment capacity.

Don't blame the phone for the fact that you didn't like the way you found yourself interacting with the technology. I'll give you kudos for that all day every day and even agree with you on some points. Personally I refuse to use voicemail as I find it a huge waste of my time. I don't blame the phone for the feature that I don't like and don't find fault in people who choose to use that feature. I simply choose not to use that feature myself.

While I am glad that your finding the will-power to avoid something which lowered your enjoyment of your life, please don't insult those of us who don't make the same choices as you. My smart phone is not horrid, and, believe me, I have no problem not being distracted by it when I don't want it to distract me. Thankfully it came with a "Power Off" button and, since it hasn't been surgically attached to me, I can choose to not have it with me when I don't want it.

Peace,
Mr DJA

BIG PROPS to dcba on the no credit card stance! My wife and I are right there with you. Question though... Are you a true purist, or will you carry a debit/atm card? I can't seem to manage to get to the bank on a regular basis so I do like the fact that I have a debit/atm card that I can use when I'm "cash poor".

Peace,
Mr DJA

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mr_dja

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Big Al
I only ever bothered with cheap, 'pay-as-you-go' phones. I'd by a £10.00 top-up card and it would last me the best part of a month. Then, however, I lost it and the wife thought now was a good opportunity to give-in to trends and purchase one of these smartphones. They're horrid. The world is at your fingertips and one cannot help but be distracted. I used to look forward to returning home from work and switching on the laptop to see what emails I had received during the day and oh, checking 'Tell Me' and 'Rocks Off' The bloody smartphone took all that away from me.

Your logic here is like blaming the weapon when someone gets wounded. The phone is an inanimate object. On it's own, it has no ability to make you do anything.

You say that you used to look forward to coming home and switching on the laptop but the cell phone took that away from you. I'm tempted to question what enjoyment the laptop took away from you and why do you not hold the same type of animosity against the portable computer that you have against the even more portable computer simply because it has a built in phone? The things you mentioned your smart-phone taking away from you can all be done on either the phone or the computer. At this point, other than size, portability, processing speeds and memory space, are laptops really that much different from smart phones & tablets anyway?

Somehow I have a feeling that you're just trying to bait someone into an argument or show all of us who like our cell phones & smart phones to be inferior to your way of thinking. Just how is it that you know that I "can't help but be distracted"? I can assure you that we're not inferior nor are you superior. We just have different opinions. The way I see it, the cell phone & smart phones are simply advances in technology and are fundamentally not much more than tools with an entertainment capacity.

Don't blame the phone for the fact that you didn't like the way you found yourself interacting with the technology. I'll give you kudos for that all day every day and even agree with you on some points. Personally I refuse to use voicemail as I find it a huge waste of my time. I don't blame the phone for the feature that I don't like and don't find fault in people who choose to use that feature. I simply choose not to use that feature myself.

While I am glad that your finding the will-power to avoid something which lowered your enjoyment of your life, please don't insult those of us who don't make the same choices as you. My smart phone is not horrid, and, believe me, I have no problem not being distracted by it when I don't want it to distract me. Thankfully it came with a "Power Off" button and, since it hasn't been surgically attached to me, I can choose to not have it with me when I don't want it.

Peace,
Mr DJA

I love my i-Phone. I use it for what it's useful for, which is a ton of things. It contributes fun as well as convenience to my life. Either I am doomed, or, as I suspect, Mr DJA got it right.

Mr DJA, you make some valid points, though if you are one of those in control of their smartphone usage and the hold it has upon you, then you are surely in the minority. Yes, I an argument. Who doesn't?

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odean73
Basic phone and pay as you go.

The times I get on the train and the amount of people with phones stuck to their ear or head bent down looking at their phones makes me laugh, but a bit sad as well.

I saw a couple walking down the street the other day, both talking on their phones..........

I had a pay as you go phone for years, the thing could barely text, didn't take pictures, and it cost me about $35 every three months.

The wife got me an iPhone three months ago, and I love it. Get directions instantly to pick up my kids at some far-flung friend's house. Texting so he wife doesn't have to call and interrupt me every time she needs something. Spotify in the car or on the go.

But here's the key: I don't actively email on the thing, and I PUT IT TO SLEEP AT NIGHT DOWNSTAIRS IN THE KITCHEN. That way I don't hear avery single, bleep, blip, chime, or wrong number on the damn thing. But for too many people the thing is attached to their hip.

Now, if it's your only phone number, you may need to keep it on all the time in case of emergency, but that's what the old landline is for.

T@3

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-23 07:42 by Max'sKansasCity.

I decided to take a year off work and come back to Michigan to help my aging folks off. When I moved back to Saginaw, I brought my dog, and left the phone in Asia. I have not owned a cell phone since June 5th. I am getting lots of pressure from friends and family to get one, yet I still have not. I do feel very liberated, and also often find myself laughing at people who are so emphatic that i need to get one. "How can you survive? What if your car breaks down? What if I need to reach you??" All the usual stuff, and my reply..." well it'll work out..."

For years I resisted getting a cell phone. But my job requires that I'm on-call and public, pay phones are getting few and far between so I had to get one. I got a Boost pay as you go Blackberry clone that cost me about $5 a month. Just phone and text. I dumped my landline. But with this last Stones tour I got a Boost Android clone so I could keep up too date with IORR posts, take pictures and keep up with eBay items I'm bidding on. Every six months it drops $5 and after one year will cost me $35 a month. I don't Twitter/Facebook or download videos. Still kinda pricey for this cheapskate but much less than what most of my friends are paying. I had too move into the 21st century sometime. LOL.

Scotty,
Irvine, CA

In Canada the monthly price has become atrocious as they've moved toward 24 month plans for new phones...$70-80 per month for the major carriers.

A 'good deal' is $45-55 for some of the 'bargain carriers'.

I don't use my android all that much, it's a phone for business, but I would like to get the new Nexus 5. It has a 2.3 quad core processor...2 GB of RAM.

It is a computer.

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whitem8
I decided to take a year off work and come back to Michigan to help my aging folks off. When I moved back to Saginaw, I brought my dog, and left the phone in Asia. I have not owned a cell phone since June 5th. I am getting lots of pressure from friends and family to get one, yet I still have not. I do feel very liberated, and also often find myself laughing at people who are so emphatic that i need to get one. "How can you survive? What if your car breaks down? What if I need to reach you??" All the usual stuff, and my reply..." well it'll work out..."

and i thought i was the only one on earth.
Even, in Kenya you can see Masaï warriors (in the middle of nowhere) with cell phone!

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marclaff

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whitem8
I decided to take a year off work and come back to Michigan to help my aging folks off. When I moved back to Saginaw, I brought my dog, and left the phone in Asia. I have not owned a cell phone since June 5th. I am getting lots of pressure from friends and family to get one, yet I still have not. I do feel very liberated, and also often find myself laughing at people who are so emphatic that i need to get one. "How can you survive? What if your car breaks down? What if I need to reach you??" All the usual stuff, and my reply..." well it'll work out..."

and i thought i was the only one on earth.
Even, in Kenya you can see Masaï warriors (in the middle of nowhere) with cell phone!

Yes but do they have a pocket that they can carry their cell phone in, or do they have to hold it in their hand all the time? Very inconvenient for the average warrior.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-23 21:59 by treaclefingers.

Here the mobile phone market penetration is 150%. 10 million inhabitants, 15 million active subscriptions. One of the highest in the world.

I have 2 active numbers, and a handul of old sets lying around.

Like Mr. Dja said, smartphones are more like the computer you carry in your pocket. Wifi, camera, gps, unbelievably fast processors... An amazing little piece of technology.

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treaclefingers
In Canada the monthly price has become atrocious as they've moved toward 24 month plans for new phones...$70-80 per month for the major carriers.

A 'good deal' is $45-55 for some of the 'bargain carriers'.

You're right. My wife used to have an iPhone contract with Rogers or Bell (can't remember which) but after a few months, had to downgrade and join a budget network called 'Wind' Unfortunately for her, they do not currently allow contacts with an iPhone, so she had to opt for a Blackberry. The contracts with the bigger networks are overpriced. More affordable in the U.K., but not so much here.