# I May Have Been the Last Hold-out. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2014, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154 "2014-08-09T09:17:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/21 "2014-08-09T20:03:46Z")
I finally got one last year after a roadside emergency when one would have been really useful. My passenger’s phone was dead, and I didn’t have one. Efforts to sort things out would have gone faster with a phone, and I would have been less footsore. Like **Ferret Herder** , I treat it as a portable computer with a GPS, which can also be used to make calls in an emergency. Very few people have the number, all of whom I trust not to abuse it. (Which is to say, they know I have a number-blocking app, and that I will use it on them if they bug me too much.) So, I was not the last holdout myself. However, I will submit that I _work_ in the cellphone business. The hardest part of giving in may have been giving up the irony. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/22 "2014-08-09T22:14:28Z")
Interesting; of all of my peers (50-ish to 60-ish) l cannot think of a single person who does not own a cell phone either smart or dumb. few people I know have land lines any more, actually. Like most people I know, my cell phone is my only number and I rely on my smart phone for scores of uses. That doesn’t mean I am tied to it 24/7 though. It’s simply a tool. I don’t get the resistance though, especially from a forum of people clearly well-connected to the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/23 "2014-08-09T22:17:37Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I don’t get the resistance though, especially from a forum of people clearly well-connected to the internet. Cost. I have been flat broke for quite awhile now. Since the old phone works replacing it is not a priority. Unless someone pays to upgrade I’m keeping the current phone until it stops working or my income substantially increases. Until then, priority is food, shelter, fuel, and clothing. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/24 "2014-08-09T22:38:20Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Cost. I have been flat broke for quite awhile now. Since the old phone works replacing it is not a priority. Unless someone pays to upgrade I’m keeping the current phone until it stops working or my income substantially increases. Until then, priority is food, shelter, fuel, and clothing. I get that but I know several people whose only phone is an “Obamaphone” which is completely free with at least 250 monthly minutes. And several national commercial carriers have very generous data plans that one can sign up for, phone and all, for about $50.00. How much does a land line cost? (not being snarky; I really don’t know.) ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/25 "2014-08-09T22:58:33Z")
My land line bill was $40 (approximately) and internet via my phone line was around $30. I switched to Charter (only provider around) and my bill dropped $25 and my internet speed increased. I acquired a basic Trac Fone 15 years ago when I was getting a divorce. Nobody has the number; it’s strictly for emergencies; and I doubt I’ll ever get a smart phone. I’ve never figured out voice mail on the Trac Fone and haven’t a clue about texting, either. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/26 "2014-08-09T22:59:18Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You’re not the last holdout. I don’t carry one, and I never will. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/27 "2014-08-09T23:07:49Z")
Another dumb phone user. Mine doesn’t even flip open or have a camera. I pay 10¢ a minute and I may talk for a total of an hour each month. The day I can get a smartphone for $6 a month I’ll upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/28 "2014-08-09T23:08:42Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > My land line bill was $40 (approximately) and internet via my phone line was around $30. I switched to Charter (only provider around) and my bill dropped $25 and my internet speed increased. > > I acquired a basic Trac Fone 15 years ago when I was getting a divorce. Nobody has the number; it’s strictly for emergencies; and I doubt I’ll ever get a smart phone. I’ve never figured out voice mail on the Trac Fone and haven’t a clue about texting, either. I pay $40 per month for unlimited everything on my smartphone - GPS, internet, calls, text, etc. Home internet is also about $40 per month. I work on the go (contractor) and am self employed so a cell is vital. I will not hire someone without at least basic smart phone service. Did it once; utter fail. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/29 "2014-08-09T23:18:02Z")
I have an “Obamaphone” that is kept in a saddlebag on the powerchair. It stays off until I need to call the CARTS bus for a pickup from whatever Dr’s office I happen to be at this week… A friend tried to get me to text,but with my dislexia and the tiny letters - no way :roll: Also have a plug-in-the-wall home phone… Bout $20.00 monthly. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/30 "2014-08-09T23:59:59Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I don’t get the resistance though, especially from a forum of people clearly well-connected to the internet. In my case, you could almost call my job aversion therapy. Early on, my work involved hours of driving around with not just one, but up to _six_ cellphones for testing purposes. In addition to regular test calls, coworkers (and managers, the worst offenders) felt free to call any of those phones at any time, and if I didn’t answer one–say, because I was _driving_, or already on one of the phones talking to someone–they would just go down the line trying them all. No, that doesn’t make sense, and yes, they did it anyway. It didn’t take much of that to instill a hatred of phones that bordered on the irrational. > [@chiroptera](#): > > How much does a land line cost? (not being snarky; I really don’t know.) The really cheap option for a home phone these days is a VOIP service, if you’re already paying for home internet service. (Obviously, this is a can opener inside a can if you’re still on dial-up, somehow.) The service I use is prepaid, and charges $0.01/minute for calls within the continental US, both originating and terminating. (International rates go as high as $1.51 for really remote places and $3.05 for Iridium calls, but I never have occasion to make such calls on that line.) I keep about $5 on the account and refill it every two or three months, depending on how many calls I get. There’s a setup fee (I forget how much), and you have to buy a phone adapter (around $30) that you plug your regular landline phone into. Unless you spend an awful lot of time on the phone, it ends up being considerably cheaper than a PSTN line. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/31 "2014-08-10T00:44:47Z")
I’m just not a phone person. I have a prepaid cellphone that costs $100 a year and I don’t come close to using up the minutes–I have something like $300 in rollover minutes right now. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/32 "2014-08-10T02:05:01Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I pay $40 per month for unlimited everything on my smartphone - GPS, internet, calls, text, etc. Home internet is also about $40 per month. I work on the go (contractor) and am self employed so a cell is vital. I will not hire someone without at least basic smart phone service. Did it once; utter fail. Well, OK, if I get a job where it’s required I’ll upgrade, but then, I’ll have a reason to. As long as my current phone serves my needs I’ll keep it. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/33 "2014-08-10T02:12:48Z")
I don’t have a cool-guy phone, and for the 5 times a month it might come in handy I have my wife and coworkers. Ironically, most of my coworkers don’t know how half the stuff works on their phones, so getting them to do anything but send text messages typically comes with an eye roll and a request for me to show them how things work on their own phones. That is, when I’m not yelling at them to put the damn things down and get to work. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/34 "2014-08-10T02:25:33Z")
My husband thinks his phone is a fifth, cooler, limb. I’m sure he believes he’ll bleed to death if it isn’t within arm’s reach. We are so different. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/35 "2014-08-10T04:14:31Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > My husband thinks his phone is a fifth, cooler, limb. I’m sure he believes he’ll bleed to death if it isn’t within arm’s reach. We are so different. You may come to change your mind. Smartphones are quite handy. In a device that weighs less than the sports section of a newspaper, and takes up less space than a billfold, you have access to the sum total of all human knowledge, instant worldwide communication with just about anyone, an appointment calendar, a scientific calculator, a camera, a flashlight, an alarm clock, and (mostly importantly) TETRIS! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/36 "2014-08-10T04:31:05Z")
Nobody talks to me. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/37 "2014-08-10T06:02:53Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > You may come to change your mind. Smartphones are quite handy. > > In a device that weighs less than the sports section of a newspaper, and takes up less space than a billfold, you have access to the sum total of all human knowledge, instant worldwide communication with just about anyone, an appointment calendar, a scientific calculator, a camera, a flashlight, an alarm clock, and (mostly importantly) TETRIS! I hate the new ‘tetris’ as only the old, old win-95 one is any good. No phone has a screen big enough. I need to see what it would take to get my old ‘tetris’ floppy to work on my win-7 pro rig. It has BIG screens… Yeah, old man eyes… :::: Grump :::: ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/38 "2014-08-10T06:30:12Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I don’t get the resistance though, especially from a forum of people clearly well-connected to the internet. For me, this is precisely the reason i don’t really need a smartphone right now. I spend a considerable amount of my life in front of (or at least within a few steps of) an internet-connected computer, both at home and at work. I just don’t need the connectivity in my phone. About the only thing it might sometimes comes in handy for is GPS, but a little planning allows me to easily cope with getting myself around. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/39 "2014-08-10T07:36:02Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > For me, this is precisely the reason i don’t really need a smartphone right now. > > I spend a considerable amount of my life in front of (or at least within a few steps of) an internet-connected computer, both at home and at work. I just don’t need the connectivity in my phone. About the only thing it might sometimes comes in handy for is GPS, but a little planning allows me to easily cope with getting myself around. This is my situation as well. There may be an hour a day when I’m not within arms reach of a computer and internet access. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154/40 "2014-08-10T07:53:31Z")
We’ve no land lines in our village, so cell phones are almost a necessity. Mine is a very cheap one that embarrasses my wife. She, who was a technophobe until recently, is now addicted to her 'droid smartphone. I’m happy to do without: spending _too much_ time on-line (via laptop) is my problem, not too little. Sometimes we use Skype or Line, but an ordinary phone call to U.S.A. is just 3 cents (U.S.) per minute using a service of a government-owned phone service ! (What’s the low cost in U.S. to call Thailand?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-may-have-been-the-last-hold-out/695154.md?page=3)