Cell Phones --- useful or annoying?

[dew7]

   I thought people would like to use this thread to vent about how prevalent cell phones have become in our society.  For instance, when I cashier I hate ringing up a sale while the person could give a flying f___ about you and they keep talking on their cell phone like they don't have a care in the world.  Excuse the language but I feel very strongly about this.  It is also extremely annoying to have them go off in fancy restaurants, movie theaters, plays, etc.  However, IMO, they are useful in emergencies.  Have a great day!

[Say]

I couldnt leave home with my freaking cell phone because I dont use my home phone at all, I have my own phone where all my clients reach me, I cant be without it anyways, so, a phone its as much of a need as you give it to it, many ppl think exactly the same about cars, they think they are not important, and for some they are, this is as personal as it gets, but then again some people are just freaking stupid and they keep it on just for the sake to annoy the crap out of everyone, I lost mine and I got freaking pissed off cuz I've been without it for months and now I get flooded with email instead of voice mssgs, have a nice day yourself

[racx_00]

My cell is needed so i can keep in contact with friends and family , i turn it off though when in a cinema for respect towards other

The only time i hated having one was when i got called at 2:00am , it so pissed me off

[Yonkey]

I find them useful in emergencies, but otherwise find them annoying; especially when they go off during a movie, or class.  

[KatieHal]

Useful, useful, useful. I only have my cell, I don't havea  landline in my apt; if there's an emergency, someone can find me, I cna program numbers in and don't have to try and remember all of them, if I'm lost finding a place I can call for help, if someone's late getting somwhere, they can give you a heads up. Useful beyond belief!! I firmly believe cells are eventually going to entirely replace having landline phones.

Plus, it's small and purple and plays "Fraggle Rock."   Them going off in theatres bites, yeah, but that's why they have reminders to turn them off before the show starts. People can be inconsiderate with them, but they're the people who would be anyhow, be it ignoring you as you ring them up for something, or talking loudly to a friend next to them and not on the phone during a movie.

[J-ROC]

My cellphone is my only phone...same as Katie there....without it, I have no way of being reached immediately.  
Also you never know when an emergency is going to happen, so it's useful to have around.  Ie:  when driving to Calgary last summer, I saw four serious motor vehicle accidents.  Without cell phones, who knows how long it could have taken to notify the authorities.

[Jeysie]

Harrison's always on the go... the boy practically lives in his car, so he uses his cell phone pretty frequently. Plus it gets me off the hook for being on the internet at night, since he gets free nights and weekends on it. (sheepish look) Me, the only person who ever calls me is my mom, and that not very often, so my getting a cell phone would be useless.

I agree, as a former cashier, that it is annoying as hell when I'm trying to ring someone up and they're yakking away. If they didn't get off soon enough, I actually would set their stuff aside and go to ring up the next customer... when the cell phone person complained, I would smile and say "Oh, I'm sorry! You appeared to be busy, and I didn't want to disturb you, so I thought I would attend to the next person waiting instead."

Needless to say, I never lasted very long in retail...

Peace & Luv, Liz

[B'rrr]

lost my cell phone 5 months ago.... don't feel the need to replace it.... could be useful though, but i love the peace it gives when i'm not beeing called anymore ; )

[J-ROC]

Oh, I never get called.   I just use it to remind people I'm still alive.

I tell ya, if I got a dollar for every time I heard, "Oh, it's you again...*sigh*", I'D BE RICH!

[copycat]

I have a cell phone, but I don't use it that much, and if I do, it's usally just to send SMS-es. It's useful to let someone else you're driving towards know if you've run into something unexpected, but other than that, I have no use for it (yet).
I've never gotten a call or a text message during cinema visits or such, since I've never seen a message on my screen saying that as I turn on the cell phone when I leave.

[Drunken Chinchilla]

Yeah same as others here I wouldn't say useful, I'd say vital! I'd be lost without my phone and I'm a freak for all the new ones. Plus I've got the happy tree friends tune as my ring tone  

[MangoMercury]

I use my mobile 'phone for emergences, and to take when I go out so I can call my mum to get a lift home/she can contact me.  I hate them at work, I get the whole cashier/d****** thing too.  I end up just ignoring htem, not taking care of their shopping and then serving the next person after they've barely finished.  Idiots.

[The Fat Emu]

Cell Phones --- useful or annoying?

Both.

[dew7]

   Thanks everyone for your opinions.  Who is the best cell phone provider?  I currently use T-Mobile but am considering switching to Verizon Wireless when my contract expires.  I hear they have better coverage   but higher rates    I guess you usually get what you pay for -- :>

[racx_00]

I am with Optus and from 8:00pm to 8:00am i can ring ppl for ten minutes and it only costs 30 cents for the first ten minutes

[Drunken Chinchilla]

UK geta  raw deal when it comes to contracts. I'm on a £25 a month contract and for that I get 100 anytime any network minutes and 100 SMS's per month plus 300 WAP minutes and 3 MB of GPRS data trasfer for free. Then its something like 10p/minute for calls. In the US you get like unlimited calls for a cheap amount a month right?

[racx_00]

the contracts in Australia are also pretty expensive and cwappy

[Jeysie]

Alex: Not usually. Harrison's on a plan where he has unlimited nights and weekends, but he pays per minute during the day, on top of his monthly fee. Most plans, though, have a monthly fee which includes a limited amount of available minutes (and/or other services), then you pay extra they rest of the time. Not any better.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Mary Jane]

I got my cell phone a year or two ago, and I have definitely used it less that 50 times(maybe much less, I use it so little, I just can't remember). I hate the way people are abusing them recently. I really don't see why people need to talk or text message that much.

[copycat]

I have prepaid, because that is the cheapest for me. I pay a small amount in advance, and I can use it during a year. When I re-load, the amount that's still on the prepaid-'account', together with the added amount lasts another year, and so on.