General Cycling Discussion - Do you have a cell phone?

I am a technology / wireless guru myself. In fact, I like technology more than bikes. SHHH, don't tell Joe. I was just wondering what type of cell phone everyone here has? I was also wondering if you take it with you on your rides?

I currently have a few phones (for an almost 17yr old).

1) Unlocked Nokia 7190. That is my main phone. It's a couple years old but still rated at the top for reception quality, sound quality (thank you GSM), and its phone book.

2) Samsung A520. Colour screen Samsung. Great phone. That is my work phone. Sound quality is ok given the technology that this phone runs off of.

I take the 7190 with me. That is my personal phone and I like it much better than the Samsung. I'd be hung for using a work phone for pleasure.

Nokia 6188

It has been very reliable and has been with me for the last couple of years.

Gotta love Telus eh?

I got a color LG V4400. with my mom's verizon employee discount, it was only $39.99. I have been using a lot more then I though I would...and I got some bangin' ring tones. I got greenday-"basket case" and the "another one bites the dust" I wanna get some bon jovi or 50 cent though. I think that would be key.

I carry it with me on rides, so I can call mommy if I run out of tubes, or if I get hopelessly lost.

The thread should read Who Doesnt Have a Cell Phone, not who has a cell phone.

I own a 3-year old Nokia 8260 which has seen many tumbles and seems to be holding up pretty well. It's a TDMA/D-AMPS phone and at the time I started choosing a carrier (about 8 years ago), I picked one supporting the broadest range of technology available which meant one that supported both digital and analog in both 1900 MHz and 850 MHz because I often found myself in the remotest of locations where more advanced infrastructure hadn't yet been deployed. In terms of mobility, I like to subscribe to the philosophy of "shoot for the bleeding edge but continue to support the lowest common denominator". I also have a Nokia 6150 (900 MHz GSM) for when I travel to Europe.

I take my phone on my rides as it's pretty small. I like it because it's just a simple phone but is very compact. It does what I need it to do and it does it well. When it comes time to replace it, I'll probably choose one of similar form-factour and features. I've been tracking some of the more advanced phone/PDA/camera/etc gadgets lately but I'm not sure I would want to be locked into carrying a PDA with me on a MTB ride. My 8260 is all scratched up. I once had to replace a cracked display (5 minute job and can be done with a jeweler's screwdriver) after I dropped it on a hard concrete floor from 15 feet. But other than cosmetic damage, it still works perfectly. My previous phone was a Nokia 6162 which didn't absorb damage as well. I superglued its case back together about a dozen times over the course of its life because splitting the case caused the keys to become inoperative. When the display started getting loose and cutting out, I replaced the phone entirely. I eventually was able to fix the display after getting the 8260 and I now keep the 6162 in my Jeep in the emergency equipment compartment just in case I'm stranded somewhere and forgot to take along my normal phone. It's not activated but I can always use it to dial 911 if I ever need to. The one phone I've been sort of interested in is the Garmin NavTalk GSM (http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalkGSM/) and the Benefon Esc! (http://www.benefon.com/products/esc/index.htm) phones with full mapping GPS. Unfortunately neither of those are readily available in the US although I think Benefon markets a US compatible GSM phone.

8260 rules!

Get mine free with the package deal.

Wife and I both have Audiovox 9155 GPX

They are dual channel analog/digital. Next time I want triple channel. That dual channel is quite important around here.

They have the GPS 911 feature.

Anybody out there have one of the new picture phones? Do they really work?

I have owned cell phones since they first came out - my first was a 3 watt bag phone you carried like a purse. 65 minutes per month for about $40.00.

The technnology advances so rapidly it is difficult to keep up. Must have gone through 10-15 different phones.

I always carry one with me - at all times, riding or not.

I get 450 minutes free anytime long distance in the monthly package for each phone. I never use my home phone for long distance - make long calls to my relatives and never see an additional charge.

Except for dial-up, I don't really need a home phone anymore. Also, the law is changing so you can keep your same number from carrier to carrier.

8260 rocks on ATT in the USA. However, Rogers ATT in Canada is the worst of all the providers. They used to have the 8260. It was a good little beater.

haha...mine has GPS 911, tri--mode AND color!! HA! top of the heap! (for now)

I will have to say that one thing I've never been fond of is the flip-phone design. Maybe if the flip was spring-loaded or something... I find I have two personal problems with them.

I can't answer or dial them one handed or as quickly as just a regular candy-bar form phone. Nor can I restow them as quickly.
I tend to be harsh on my equipment. I used to have a cordless phone of flip-design (old Panasonic thing) and broke it rather easily. My old Nokia 6162 had a flip-cover that was mainly cosmetic (it would still function if you removed the cover) and I would always end up accidently snagging it on something or bending it wrong causing it to fly off. A phone with a functional flip would end up in the repair shop quite often.


Additionally, flip-phones seem overly bulky to me.

Originally posted by Phatman
haha...mine has GPS 911, tri--mode AND color!! HA! top of the heap! (for now)

If you don't have a picture phone, then you are already lost in the dust. :D

If I hear one of those things bleep out 'Strange' by The Doors one more time, I'm gonna throw it to the ground and jump on it.

I'm still using my Iridium 440. Contract is guaranteed til the end of 2008.

Having said that I like compact phones, I have however contemplated ripping out the innards of my old 6162, getting a PRC-6 from an Army/Navy surplus and grafting the electronics from the 6162 into it.

http://www.gordon.army.mil/ocos/Museum/AMC/PRC6.JPG

Don't have to worry about coverage in the middle of know where with that 6watt baby!

Originally posted by WorldIRC
Don't have to worry about coverage in the middle of know where with that 6watt baby!

Well... except the original PRC-6 had a TX power output of only 250mW. :D

Samsung something or other, on Sprint service. And I DO talk while I'm driving and riding my bike :)

Never had one.

motorola (forgot the model) - 1996~1997
erricsson 1018 - YR. 1998
nokia - 3210 - YR. 2000
nokia - 8250 - YR. 2001
nokia - 6610 (color LCD) - YR. 2003

i'm planning to get one of those nokia7250s or the 7650s, in a few months i guess.

I and a partner(also a bikeforums member), own and run a computer, internet and communications company.. I guess you can call me a tech freak.:D

www.howardchui.com - Large Cell Phone review site.
www.howardforums.com - Forum half of the site.
www.arcx.com/sites - Cell phone information for GTA and cell reviews.

I had one about five years ago. I got rid of it because it was more annoying than suitable for the purpose it served. These things seem to be a constant source of stress for everyone I know who has ever had one - and I know that I'm more relaxed without mine. I tend to agree with Allister, these things are extremely annoying in public.

I think there will eventually come a time when having a mobile phone go off in the wrong place will be considered socially unacceptable in the same way that smoking is in many places.

Originally posted by Chris L
I had one about five years ago. I got rid of it because it was more annoying than suitable for the purpose it served. These things seem to be a constant source of stress for everyone I know who has ever had one - and I know that I'm more relaxed without mine. I tend to agree with Allister, these things are extremely annoying in public.

I think there will eventually come a time when having a mobile phone go off in the wrong place will be considered socially unacceptable in the same way that smoking is in many places.

actually it has started.. Banks and Gas Stations: safety reasons and interference..

Classrooms and Lecture Rooms... Beware of your proffessor.:D

I guess that's why my celphone is on Silent mode and @ Vibration mode almost all the time.

Had a cell phone for at least 9 years. Right now I have the Motorola V60 which I like just not the antennae. They are known to break. I take it with me where ever I go. Lost my Nokia 8260 a month ago while working so had to get a replacement and this is all AT&T had in stock that was comparible.

Originally posted by Chris L
I tend to agree with Allister, these things are extremely annoying in public.
I think there will eventually come a time when having a mobile phone go off in the wrong place will be considered socially unacceptable in the same way that smoking is in many places.
At each of the three businesses I own and operate, we've got large signs which asks to turn off cell phones upon entering. Roughly 75% of our clients oblige. It is downright annoying and totally improper cell phone ettiquette....if there's such a thing....:mad:

My phones are always on vibrate. I hate hearing cell phones, so I figure, I should treat others how I want to be treated.

Double standard.At jury duty the judge said turn them off because if it goes off,he will take it and you wont get it back and he meant it.Well 10 min into more rules about choosing us,a lawers cell starts ringing and i thought well she can afford another.No,the judge laughts while she trys to turn it off and looks at us and says,dont let this happen.You will not see it again.

LG VX10 for me and it goes on all rides, enclosed in a sandwich bag so it doesn't get ruined in the rain.

Zack

Currently Nokia 6310i (tri-band, bluetooth, wap & gprs). I still have my old 6150 for backup. It became very handy on the occasion my 6310 got squeezed flat by a friend of mine... he drove a Ford van right over it:). The operator's service people were still able to salvage most of the contact info stored in the phone.

I take the phone pretty much everywhere I go. Most of the time it's on vibrate mode. I can also switch it off when needed. No stress.

--J

My little Nokia 8310 has a built-in radio, so I can get the news and weather forecast any time. It has to be much more useful than a picture phone.
Has anyone ever used their pic-phone for a practical purpose? Or for anything at all?

Never had a cell phone, and never will!!

Always carry a cell phone when I ride. A lot of my road rides are by myself, so it's a pretty darn important piece of safety equipment to take along.

I've had one provided by my work for the last 4 years or so, and they're happy for me to use it for personal use as well :D. They've always been Nokias, and reasonably frequently updated.

What is the purpose of a home phone? I got rid of mine, cell is cheaper.

Originally posted by MichaelW
Has anyone ever used their pic-phone for a practical purpose? Or for anything at all?

I think the true usefulness of a camera-phone is when you're standing there at the grocery store trying to figure out which type of exotic produce your wife sent you out to purchase and you call her up and start snapping pictures. :D Hmmm... I think they made a commercial based on that concept.

At anyrate, I worry about the fragility of the lens on the phone. My phone gets exposed to all sorts of nasty environment. I'm almost certain that without some sort of really good protective cover, the lens on any camera-phone I owned would get grimy and scratched up in no time.

Nokia 3285. I don't really care for it but it holds a charge well and it was free. I rarely turn it on but I usually carry it in my jersey pocket.

I never had one and don't want one. I hate 'em.

Probably some day a cell phone will save my life. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Louis
I never had one and don't want one. I hate 'em.

Probably some day a cell phone will save my life. :rolleyes:

HEHE yea. If you spot a fire at a power station, call someone to stop it so the other 50million people can stop wining :P

Nokia 3650. Camera, video, Symbian OS, Bluetooth. First cell was 1987..had one since. No home phone for the last 8 years.

I am confused by folks who say they hate cell phones.

Like any technology, it is how you use it that is important, not the object itself.

They are not inherently bad, only the folks who misuse them are bad. They can be lifesavers (I have reported a number of accidents, and gotten emergency help for several bikers). They allow someone like me to have freedom and to ride comfortable that if any of my children (who have diabilities) get in trouble I can be contacted.

They have given me FREEDOM, rather than limiting me. But, then, I only give my number to four other people, so I know calls I receive are important.

Don't hate them. Use them to your advantage to help. Just because other folks misuse and abuse them doesn't mean that you and I must do so also.

They can be your friend.

Well said! People generally "hate" what they feel intimidated or inconvenienced by...as DnvrFox states, learn to use a "tool" and it will make your life easier/safer/more convenient.

I dont own a cell phone, but plan on getting one as soon as i get a broadband connection at home.

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
I dont own a cell phone, but plan on getting one as soon as i get a broadband connection at home.

Be sure to give all your mods, or at least me, the number :P

Another interesting thing I found out.

Toronto has a higher ratio of cell phone users than New York City. In Toronto, an approximate 1 in 3.5 people have a cell phone when in New York, approximately 1 in 7 people have a cell phone. New York only has more cell users because of the population difference.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
I am confused by folks who say they hate cell phones.

Like any technology, it is how you use it that is important, not the object itself.

But what I want to know is how many people get a cellphone just because they can? If they would really be honest with themselves, do they REALLY need a cell phone? Do they really want to take on the responsibility a cell phone engenders; like keeping it on vibrate in public places, not yapping one sided conversations at the tops of their lungs about stuff no one else really needs to hear, about pulling over to the side of the road when they get a call while driving their cars, or, for goodness' sake, switching the damn thing off when necessary?

They are not inherently bad, only the folks who misuse them are bad. They can be lifesavers (I have reported a number of accidents, and gotten emergency help for several bikers). They allow someone like me to have freedom and to ride comfortable that if any of my children (who have diabilities) get in trouble I can be contacted.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, but answer me this. If you can be called while riding your bike when a child emergency occurs, what can you do about it but stew? You might be able to give some advice and hurry home, but what can you really do for your kids? Best to be at home if an emergency occurs, if one worries that much about it. I know that someday a cell phone might save my life, but I might be killed instantly crossing the street to visit a neighbor, and what then of the cell phones--my loved ones might be told I am dead a little sooner?

Jeeze, I am being a little sarcastic here. I have 3 kids that I worry about. And granted they are not physically or mentally handicapped. The are to the age (all 7th grade and older) when sex and drugs are coming into the picture and I wonder if we have raised them right (we've certainly tried!). What else can I do? Is carrying a cellphone going to be the card that proves I am a truly responsible parent?

They have given me FREEDOM, rather than limiting me. But, then, I only give my number to four other people, so I know calls I receive are important.[/QUOTE]

I am glad they have given you freedom as you sound like a responsible user, and I am sure that they have given many others that freedom also. It seems, though, that so many people I meet complain of all the stuff and errands they have to do with this "modern life" and those same people seem to have cellphones so they don't MISS any of all that stuff and errands. They are even more chained down by the cellphones they carry. I guess they are the idiots that truly do not need cellphones.

Don't hate them. Use them to your advantage to help. Just because other folks misuse and abuse them doesn't mean that you and I must do so also.

They can be your friend. [/QUOTE]

Yes, they can be my friend, but I would rather that they were more of a good aquaintance that offered help than demanded a chunk of my time. I guess I don't "hate" them but they way they are used is what I "hate."

I guess I see so many more people being rude with their cellphones than those who use them responsibly that it just ticks the hell out of me.
And I think I have enough stress and "interesting" things going on in my life that I don't wish to carry around a link to and cause of even more.

Live well and use them damn phones responsibly!

And please accept my apologies, if I have offended you during this ranting response to your post. I guess this is a red-button emotionally for me!

Those rotten apples really make it worse for the rest of the bushel.

I feel better now;) .

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
I dont own a cell phone, but plan on getting one as soon as i get a broadband connection at home.

I'm confused though. Why is one dependent on the other? I would have thought a mobile would be more valuable if you didn't have high-speed network access and were constantly tying up the POTS line.

LG VX2000, I think. I bought it almost exclusively to carry on rides.

I have one because of my job. I hate them with all my being (this is an edit - that comes accross really harsh but I really don't liek them). I hate the feeling of being connected all the time. So I only leave it on, on days I am on call otherwise it can sit there and rot. The real irony is I work in telephony/IT and love technology and work with it daily. I just don't like the way most people feel the need to be connected when thy really don't have to be.

I work from home most of the time. My actual official office is two states to the south and I commute there by plane every week. One of my luxuries is being able to steal away during the middle of the day when I'm done with everything on my end and go riding. This comes at a small price in that I have to be reachable during those business hours. Likewise, I have a certain obligation to my wife to also be reachable. It is a small price to pay for the freedom to go out and do what I want when I want. I do have certain rules. I won't answer the phone while riding for instance. Everyone I know and everyone who is important enough for me to talk to knows that when I'm riding, the phone is a signalling device... sortof like the ELF flash-emergency message that submarines use to get them to come to the service and get further information. I use profiles on my phone and have one programmed for riding where I can add and delete caller groups so that only certain people can actually cause the phone to ring. I maintain similar profiles for other activities too. Carrying a phone is carrying responsibility and one just needs to incorporate the habit of managing it into their lifestyle. For some people, it's too much a bother and they refuse to carry it which is in itself a responsible act. It's the other folks who don't accept the responsibilities yet carry and use a mobile phone irresponsibly and inconsiderately that are the problem.

Sorry, but answer me this. If you can be called while riding your bike when a child emergency occurs, what can you do about it but stew? You might be able to give some advice and hurry home, but what can you really do for your kids? Best to be at home if an emergency occurs, if one worries that much about it. I know that someday a cell phone might save my life, but I might be killed instantly crossing the street to visit a neighbor, and what then of the cell phones--my loved ones might be told I am dead a little sooner?

My children are all grown. But, if my son has been admitted to an emergency room with a seizure, or with a broken back, as happened in 1998, because I am his legal guardian, my authorization is needed for futher treatment beyond initial care, and I can do that by cell phone. I also know a lot about him that others do not know, and can give advice to the medical staff on how to work with him effectively immediately, because, if they don't know how to work with him correctly, there will be many problems.

I can turn around and head home, or, if necessary, can leave my bike and call a cab or get a stranger to take me somewhere.

If the electronically complex, sonar controlled $28,000.00 wheelchair of my other attorney son is broken, I can come to his aide and provide some necessary emergency repairs. Also if his van should break down. Or, if, as happened several years ago, he is traveling by plane and they forget to put the wheelchair in the plane's cargo hold (that is how it is shipped), and he is stranded in Baltimore without wheels, I can call the airlines, get the president's office, and put pressure on the airlines from this end to get that chair to him ASAP. He can't just use any old wheelchair, he has to use his own.

Unless you have traveled the medical world much, you really don't appreciate the power of instant contact.

Take it from one who has visited every single emergency room in the Denver metro are, several in San Diego and many in Illinois, who has had one son brought back by camp by a Flight for Life helicopter, who has had the other son moved by hospital Lear Jet from Baton Rouge to Denver. I could go on and on.

The cell phone gives me FREEDOM. I guess unless you have traveled in my shoes, you would not really understand, so you will just have to take my word for it and perhaps you might be kind enough to back off on your ranting a bit.

I use profiles on my phone and have one programmed for riding where I can add and delete caller groups so that only certain people can actually cause the phone to ring.

How would one do a profile on a cell phone?