Hope I got a good list, but feel free to elaborate.
The phone I have, technically has texting. But I never use it for that. It’s a Net10 pay-as-you-go, which is perfect for me. It’s great because I have to care for my sister, and that means going into town a lot, which is a 30-minute drive, so it’s not unusual for me to not be home when my 10YO gets home from school. As long as I have my cell with me, she can call me, update me on what’s going on with her, and check on where I’m at and when I’ll get home. Also, if I’m out and about, my tenants can reach me. But I don’t use a lot of minutes, so the ten cents a minute plan works well for me.
My hubby has an Android, and offered to get me one. But I can’t see spending all that money for something I surely will under-utilize.
Dirt cheap pay-as-you-go.
I love seeing some guy in the feminine products aisle talking on his cell.
I have one of those cheapie Straight Talk phones from Wal-Mart. I can text on it, but rarely do. I’ve also got a land line, but it’s getting cut off sometime today, as I can’t afford it right now.
When/if my business picks back up, or I find a steady job (whichever comes first) I’m getting my land line back, and probably getting a droid. A smart phone would go a long way in helping with my handyman business.
Work for a telco, live on my iPhone, getting a Samsung Galaxy S soon. Use that on a postpaid plan, prepaid for my son’s phone (a lower end Samsung touch screen with free text, Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter.) Use prepaid for mobile broadband as well, with a postpaid plan at home with naked ADSL.
Seriously, internets in my pocket, not that expensive - we don’t watch TV, so no pay TV plans, this is our always on entertainment. Love my phone!
But it’s more expensive in the US anyway, I can see having a barebones plan there.
Cell phones have made my life easier, but the one I have now is making my life hell. I talk more than I text, but I’d rather text more. Some of my friends don’t text so I have to call.
Our land line is bundled with the cable and internet. Once they stop offering the deal we will can it.
I ended up with a droid phone because although I rarely need to be reached while I’m away from home or work I needed to replace my dying PDA and other than the ipod touch wasn’t finding devices that would manage my calendar and task lists without a phone component.
The navigation has come in handy.
If you have droid and enjoy word games allow me to heartily recommend a game called Lettered.
How have cell phones affected the hotel industry? Didn’t charges for calling from a hotel room used to be joked in a manner similar to the mini-bar? For that matter, did hotels change that when the cost of calling dropped?
Landline at home (with a phone number I’ve had for 21 years!), iPhone 4 in my pocket, with grandfathered unlimited data plan. The landline is dirt cheap; I pay $9 a month for it, and it’s local-only, with no special features.
The iPhone 4 was an upgrade from a Samsung Blackjack II. I use it mostly as a mobile internet device/camera/PDA/game device/mp3 player, with phone capabilities not as important. I text more than I talk on it; texting is handy for asynchronous communication, as I’m usually too busy to chat with someone in real time.
iPhone and landline, because reception at home can be temperamental.
I also voted other, because while I don’t really think a cell phone has made my life easier, or made it hell, I DO think it’s made it a bit more complicated, and a bit safer.
I tend to do long drives by myself, towing a horse trailer. It’s nice to have the phone for emergencies. I also ride alone a lot, in areas where I may not see other people. I keep the phone on me when I ride just in case I crash and burn. I know it isn’t a guarantee, the phone could breal or I could be unconscious, but it makes it feel a bit less risky.
I have a very basic pay-as-you-go plan because sometimes it’s really handy to have a cell phone around, even if I rarely use it. I don’t use it for texts because it doesn’t have a keyboard and I can’t stand trying to type out words on the regular phone numberpad. I’d like one of those new Droids with all the bells and whistles, especially for the internet capabilities, but I can’t justify the expense. I use my phone maybe once a week as it is - why spend $100 a month just so I can check Facebook while I’m out? As much as I would loveloveLOVE to have the ability to look stuff up on a whim, it’s not worth the money.
I have a copper land line also, in case of emergencies and because my cell phone is almost never on anyway. Reception isn’t great here, despite being in central suburbia, so I’m not sure I’d want to go to a cell phone exclusively and drop the land line.
I’m moving away from texting. Most of the time it’s easier to have a 30 second call than spend 1 minute building a complex text then waiting for the reply.
I have a cell, plus a land line at home.
Cell phones have made my life easier.
I have a basic cell phone, for calling only.
I text more than I talk on my cell.
Mine’s a Trakfone. It’s not that I wouldn’t want a fancier phone, but I can’t justify the expense. I barely use it. If I need to text, I use gmail, otherwise, I use the land line, which is still a better deal for having four people for $45 a month with free long distance (if I count Internet as $30, as it would be separately).
I do want to point out why cell phones have “made my life easier”–they allow me get in contact with others in ways that I previously couldn’t. And they give my sister a way to get on the Internet even when I’m tying up the line.
I only text with my children, and former husband, and was thrilled to learn you can get free texting apps that eliminate the need to pay for texting! I hate texting and find it incredibly stupid. But the children like it.
I love having all the resources available to me in the iPhone but I think it costs way too much. Then again—I’m pretty cheap.
I have a very basic pay as you go cell phone. It can text, and I have, but it’s very hard to do so, since I don’t have anything remotely like a keyboard, and it can only take a couple of lines. It has made my life easier, but I could have done without it.
I have a Tracphone, but it’s been without minutes and dead in my purse for about 6 months. I have no use for a personal cell phone, although I’m toying with getting one for my business line, so I don’t have to take the occasional call on my home phone. It just seems more professional.
Cell phones drive me nuts. I can’t imagine having an electronic leash. When I know I’m going somewhere which may be boring, I bring a paperback. And the cost - I am amazed that people will spend $200 on a phone, and then $70 a month for the service. My landline + high speed internet package is about $70/month.
I only have a cell phone, no land line. I’m rarely home, and when I am, a cell phone is still more portable. I’m never even close to using all of my minutes (lowest minute plan available).
**Cell phones have made my life easier. **I don’t have a work cell phone, so maybe that’s the deciding factor on this. I like being reachable, and being able to coordinate while on the go is priceless.
**I have a cell with all the bells and whistles. **I have an iPhone 3G, which I love. Maps, visual voicemail, e-mail, internet, social media, etc. are all available to me when I need them.
Other. I have the lowest voice and text plan. I probably text more than talk, but I use way more data (in terms of time spent) than either of the other two.
Landline and Cell phone with all the bells and whistles. I would be OK with getting rid of the landline if we got decent cell phone coverage at home. It’s very rare that we would use our cell phone at home. It can be done, but it’s iffy.
I never text. And rarely use the phone. But when you need it (expecially when traveling) you need it.
It’s mostly the bells and whistles that I use. Music, GPS, Calender, email, timer, alarm ebooks and an internet hook up for my net book. I rarely use the internet on it as Blackberrys pretty much suck at that.
Right, exactly. Last year I was out with a friend and his girlfriend on something of a pub crawl, and he was trying to let people know where he was. “I texted Joe Bob, and am waiting for a response.” His girlfriend says, “You do realize that you have a telephone in your hands, right?” Right. Text messaging is useful at times, but the fastest and easiest way to get a hold of someone is the same as it was 100 years ago: calling via telephone.
Bells and whistles. The smartphone is the best thing since sliced bread, and also the last best hope for humanity’s salvation from Windows.
I do have a land line, but the only reason we got it is for burglar alarm monitoring. Nobody calls it except my mother-in-law.
I said both “basic cell phone, calls only” and “text more than call”… there’s a step between “basic cell phone” and “all the bells and whistles”, meaning a fuller-featured phone that isn’t a full-blown smartphone.