# Are You A Cell Phone Nut Case? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922 "2009-11-09T18:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/21 "2009-11-09T21:50:26Z")
No, I use them to make phone calls. I can see where they would be nice. It is cool that my friend with his blackberry can look up stuff on the internet. One couple we hang out with has a pair of Iphones. They are neat and awesome, but I can’t justify the money right now. Maybe someday… In fact I’m sure someday every phone will be a smartphone of sorts. I’m not a luddite, I’ll adapt, I just hope it is cheaper at that point. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/22 "2009-11-09T21:57:10Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Why does this question come up so often around here? I know that I’ve answered an almost identical OP twice or three times since I got my iPhone a year ago. And it’s usually after people have checked in announcing they have a cell phone to make and receive calls and that’s _it_ (and of course the OP has to be properly derogatory towards people with smart phones). It’s bizarre. It’s like people around here are fiercely proud of avoiding the latest “trends” in cellular phones, as though that is genuinely something to be proud of and not some little quirk that pretty much nobody cares about. This, so much. And it’s utter horseshit that they “can’t find something that’s just a phone.” Plenty of free phones lack most features. And while there many not be many phones that have zero features at all, it’s not like it kills you to have a camera that you never use. If all you want to do is make and receive the calls, then you can happily ignore all the buttons that aren’t numbers 0-9, or a green phone or a red phone. Given that all such phones are free, you can’t even make the case that you are stuck paying for something you don’t use. Me, I love my smartphone. While I can certainly survive without, my life is easier and more convenient with it. And when we got utterly lost on a country road last month, my Luddite father-in-law sure appreciated me being able to pull up Google Maps and find our destination. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/23 "2009-11-09T22:09:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Me, I love my smartphone. While I can certainly survive without, my life is easier and more convenient with it. And when we got utterly lost on a country road last month, my Luddite father-in-law sure appreciated me being able to pull up Google Maps and find our destination. I’m not anti-smartphone, but you don’t need a phone to find your way home. They have technology that costs 100 bucks and has no extra monthly charge called “GPS navigation”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/24 "2009-11-09T23:16:21Z")
I am a cell phone nut case. If your cell phone rings in public and you let it ring more than twice without answering or muting your 6$#@!@@@# ringtone, OR if you let it ring at all during any type of performance, I am likely to rip the goddam thing out of your hands, stomp it to smithereens, and then throw the resultant shrapnel into the toilet. Nutty enough for ya? ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/25 "2009-11-09T23:58:40Z")
> [@Walkabout](#): > > I have an iPhone and I absolutely love it, so I guess that qualifies me for option #1. One of the girls at work has a iPhone (well, several do, but I only saw one yesterday for the first time) and I’m rather entranced. I worry about my ability to use such a wondrous device, though, so I probably won’t get one. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/26 "2009-11-10T00:07:11Z")
The only reason I have a Cell phone is I use it as an Alarm Clock. Oh, and it gets voicemails/texts, but even then. I really REALLY hate phones. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/27 "2009-11-10T00:27:22Z")
I-phone junkie, web surfing, emails, skype, poker games, gps, sports results. In fact I get pissed off if I am using it for these functions and someone interrupts by actually calling me! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/28 "2009-11-10T00:59:25Z")
I voted _No, but I have a cell phone. I make/receive telephone calls._, but I wish that there had been a category in the poll that said something like - the only reason I have a cell phone is because the pay phone has been phased out, and I may have to drop what I’m doing and pick a sick kid up from school/day care. Other than those compelling reasons, I hate the goddamn things! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/29 "2009-11-10T01:22:23Z")
I just bought the new Droid smartphone. I travel for work a few times a month, and I ride the subway regularly, so it’s nice to have the internet. I expect that the GPS will be useful in strange cities, too. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/30 "2009-11-10T01:33:49Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I just bought the new Droid smartphone. I travel for work a few times a month, and I ride the subway regularly, so it’s nice to have the internet. I expect that the GPS will be useful in strange cities, too. I just realized an hour or so ago that this is probably true in many cases. I don’t live in a HUGE metropolitan area. My sister lives in NYC and doesn’t even own a car. In this case carrying a big old GPS unit would be pointless and her smart phone is a perfect replacement. I live in a smaller town and own a car (both my wife and I have separate cars), and we use a GPS unit. It isn’t necessary for our phones to do GPS navigation (thankfully because our batteries wouldn’t last). So I can certainly see where this would be more necessary than a GPS unit. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/31 "2009-11-10T01:35:22Z")
[This](http://www.geekologie.com/2009/01/girl_sends_14528_text_messages.php) is a good example of a cellphone nutcase. And she is not alone. If every random thought that skitters across the desolate landscape of your brain requires you to phone or text someone, you’re a nutcase. Or a certain type of Doper. I fall between the “have cell phone and make/receive calls” option and “what’s a cellphone”? I’m required to have one for work and sometimes even remember to take it with me when on call. I think it has numbers on a touch pad and some kind of display, but other than that I couldn’t really tell you what options it has. Oh, and it rings. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/32 "2009-11-10T01:36:52Z")
I don’t use a cell phone because I think the chances that it is really bad for your health are solid. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/33 "2009-11-10T04:51:22Z")
I’m in the I Wish group. I’m on the phone way too much for work and I truly hate talking to anyone on the phone outside of when I"m being paid to do so. Still, our internet filters are getting stricter at work. Since I work ten hour days, it takes a long time when I get home on work days to go through emails, facebook, and other online activity I can’t access at work. I’m keeping my eye on the prices. If they go down a bit more, I’ll buy. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/34 "2009-11-10T07:44:32Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I have an iPhone. > > I calculate roof angles, listen to music, surf the Dope, keep track of appointments, read email, watch cartoons, read faxes (why, yes, I have a fax thingie\*), test games, play games, look at pictures, check bus schedules, text with people, take notes, calculate tips and currency conversions, identify music, look up things in a Japanese/English dictionary, check the weather, find the nearest Tim Hortons, and oh yes make and receive phone calls. 🙂 > > I suspect I wouldn’t get nearly as much use out of it if I drove everywhere rather than taking the bus, streetcar, subway, or train. This may point up a significant divide in usage patters… dom the one who mostly use it as a phone tend to drive rather than use public transit, and thus have lass sitting-around time during day-to-day travel? > > [sub]\*The faxes are forwarded to me as emails with PDF attachments. Saved my butt more than once.[/sub] This is pretty much me, but I drive and use the GPS alot. I don’t actually make a lot of phone calls, but I also keep all of my appointments (with handy alarm reminders). Before my iPhone I didn’t want a camera phone or texting, but I use the phone camera almost exclusively now because the quality is so good. I have two 11x14 pictures of my dogs in the living room that look like portrait studio photos that I took with my phone. I don’t have to have all the gadgetry, but now that I’ve had it I really don’t want to be without it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/35 "2009-11-10T08:15:08Z")
Up until last month, I was in the “I have a phone to make and receive calls” category. Then I got an iPhone. It’s the most impressive piece of technology I’ve ever owned. There’s no going back. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/36 "2009-11-10T10:04:51Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I don’t want a camera, I don’t want a keyboard, I don’t want fax, joysticks or 5.1 channel surround sound. I just want something to make and receive calls on. What he said! I haven’t upgraded my phone in years because I like the model I’ve got. They don’t make it any more and when my last one broke, I had to spend ages tracking down a used version of the same model. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/37 "2009-11-10T10:20:21Z")
I have an excellent Nokia smartphone which I use a lot to surf the web , check e-mail, listen to music, play games and lots of other stuff. I am typing this post on the phone. I am looking forward to buying an even better phone next year. Android is looking very interesting with some great phones that have been released recently from Motorola and others. The Nokia N900 looks really neat as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/38 "2009-11-10T10:23:45Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > This, so much. And it’s utter horseshit that they “can’t find something that’s just a phone.” Plenty of free phones lack most features. And while there many not be many phones that have zero features at all, it’s not like it kills you to have a camera that you never use. If all you want to do is make and receive the calls, then you can happily ignore all the buttons that aren’t numbers 0-9, or a green phone or a red phone. Given that all such phones are free, you can’t even make the case that you are stuck paying for something you don’t use. > > Me, I love my smartphone. While I can certainly survive without, my life is easier and more convenient with it. And when we got utterly lost on a country road last month, my Luddite father-in-law sure appreciated me being able to pull up Google Maps and find our destination. Actually, it’s harder to find “just a phone” than you might think. My daughter is not allowed to have any sort of recording device at her work. This includes things like Furbies and cell phones with cameras (still or video). Right now, she just leaves her phone in her car when she goes to her office. So, while having a camera in her phone doesn’t kill her, necessarily, it does limit the places where she can take and use it. > [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I voted _No, but I have a cell phone. I make/receive telephone calls._, but I wish that there had been a category in the poll that said something like - the only reason I have a cell phone is because the pay phone has been phased out, and I may have to drop what I’m doing and pick a sick kid up from school/day care. Other than those compelling reasons, I hate the goddamn things! I have a cell phone because there ARE no public pay phones any more. I might need to call my husband when I’m out running around. I might need to call someone else. However, since my husband can’t seem to understand that it’s dangerous for me to try to answer the damn phone if I’m driving, I keep my phone turned off unless I’m actually using it. And the number of times I use my cell, as opposed to my landline, can be counted on the fingers of one thumb (read that carefully) in a typical month. I only use my cell when I need it, and I almost never need it. I don’t begrudge other people their toys…but I just really am not into cell phones. And I sort of resent the idea that other people expect me to be available to them during normal waking hours. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/39 "2009-11-10T13:35:00Z")
I carry a Blackberry for work. Since it means that I don’t need to worry about hauling around a laptop or keeping an eye out for internet cafes when I’m on vacation (comes with the job), it’s aces in my book. The music player, GPS, calendar, camera, browser, stopwatch/timer, and flashlight are just gravy. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922/40 "2009-11-10T13:41:43Z")
My employer pays for my Blackberry. I try to do everything with it _except_ taking calls. I hate talking on the phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-cell-phone-nut-case/516922.md?page=3)