Mobile Phones.

[azekeil]

So. I have a new phone. I'll put the number up shortly, after I've finished faffing around with contacts. (It has so far involved writing a perl script. You don't wanna know. I hate phones.)

In the mean time, have a poll

[Poll #581699]

Comments

[reddragdiva]

I basically only ever use my phone for texts to and from arkady and redcountess. And to hang up on recruiters and send them to message. I hate texting too.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

I hate texting. I forgot to include a 'Tell me what you hate most' section in the poll.

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

Ah, this would be why you equal specialunclet in the brevity of your messages.
He's the only other person I know who could sent "Pub" certain that I'd know which one!

[raven-muse.livejournal.com]

*Waves hi from friendsfriends list*

I have an old fashioned crappy little phone that no thief would want. I only have it so I can be contactable when off out and about, or when I need to contact someone else when I'm out if I'm held up by a knackered train or something.

It doesn't get used often but is useful on the rare occasion it does get used.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much what I intend to use mine for.

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

There's a huge difference between:

having the phone switched on, and

having the phone switched into a silent or restricted-group mode.

My mobile is usually in what I call "Silent SMS Only" mode. It doesn't ring at all for voice phonecalls; it flashes the screen when a call comes in, but if it isn't on my desk then obviously I won't notice. Missed calls go through to voicemail. If the caller leaves a voicemail message, then I receive an SMS. For SMS messages, it beeps once quietly, and vibrates.

Occasionally I put it into "family" mode whereby it does ring, but only for a specific subset of phone numbers, notably my wife and elderly parents. Everyone else gets the same treatment as per "Silent SMS Only".

These and other modes are easily customisable in most phones; in the Nokia, just place your important Contacts into a particular Group, then select which groups achieve which results (ring, vibrate etc) in Profiles.

I quite like the fact that most people dislike leaving voicemail messages. It sorts out the important from the unimportant calls.

I don't make or take voice calls at inappropriate moments, however I do have a habit of using a Java SSH client (http://www.xk72.com/midpssh/) and Opera Mini browser (http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/operamini/) (the built-in Series 40 browser is vastly improved on my Nokia 6230i (http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,71691,00.html) over previous Nokia Series 40 browsers, but still not a patch on Opera Mini).

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Well, yes - I was being liberal when I said switch off.

And I hate the things so much I can't be arsed to play around with them to that extent.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of groups that I use in a similar way, although mine are less restrictive than yours in application. At night only 5 people can make my phone ring, in the day it tends to be open season unless I'm in a bad mood, in which case I might cut it down to just people I know (which is a large meta-group, maybe 50 or so members).

[nina321.livejournal.com]

I used to be a bit 'meh' about my mobile, I still have a fairly old one and only really use it for calls and texts, and as such aren't particularly bothered about all the flashy features such as camera, mp3 player, and all that bollox.

I've become attached to it so much recently as it's my main form of communication with colfu, and when someone took it the other night (they brought it back with £20... strange) I was all wandering around then suddenly having an outburst of shouting 'and where the f**k is my phone?!'

Strange things.

[gerald_duck]

My phone is an aged Nokia 6210. I have two spares I bought for £5 each, and my contacts database is backed up; I don't care one jot if it gets nicked.

It's charged by the car's handsfree kit. Provided I drive the car for at least an hour a week, I don't have to think about charging.

It fits in my pocket; I always have it with me, and I never turn it off. I frequently set it to vibrate-only, though. At night it's put in don't-ring-don't-vibrate mode, but even then it remains switched on so I can easily tell on waking whether I missed a call while asleep.

I've now owned a mobile phone for almost a decade, and wouldn't be without.

[stuartl.livejournal.com]

I'm largely unbothered with my phone. I use it as a tool and for making calls, usually when the whim takes me. I'd miss it if I didn't have it but I don't think it's a big issue.

The only reason I'm a 10 on the "living without it" question is because it's absolutely 100% essential to the work I do. If my customers couldn't get hold of me promptly I'd miss out on a LOT of work, possibly all of it.

The most important consequence on my life of my phone is probably the calendar. This calendar reminds me to do things, tells me when I'm supposed to be places, reminds me of birthdays etc etc. These things I find very difficult to do naturally and the unnatural assistance is very welcome.

As to texting - Don't get me started ;)

Too late

What's wrong with phoning someone? A text probably costs about 7p each (yes, even if you get them "free" you're still paying for them) which is plenty of time to call someone and say what it is you want to say. And it has the added bonus that you can get an instant response! It saves the person receiving the text spending another 7p saying "Yes" or "No".

The only exception to the text rule for me is where you specifically want to give someone some information which requires no interaction and they may want to keep the information. For example:
"Watching 'Batman Begins' at 7pm at the Reading Vue. Meeting at 6:30 at Pizza Hut. Be there by 6:45 if you want to join us."

*considers a big post in journal about texting*

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Yes, totally agree with the whole texting thing.

The only other thing is that if you're unsure if the other person is able to respond then and there it can be convenient for the sender, as they don't have to remember to try again later or risk bothering the receiver.

[bex-sgs.livejournal.com]

I'm not concerned with the cost because I pay a certain amount a month and I know I can't go over it because I only -need- to pay that much (15 quid).

I'm not bothered about how new my phone is, as long as it works and has all the accessories I use on it such as the calender and lots of text storage space!