FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - Cell phones: Ever-evolving, rarely improving...

03-02-2006, 02:34 PM

Did we forget what cell phones were created for? I got my first cell phone in '97 because I wanted the safety and security of having a phone available for emergencies and such when I wasn't close to a land-line phone. True, it was the size and weight of a landscaping brick, but in the few instances when I needed it--it was there. It stored 50 numbers, (which at the time I thought was HUGE) but I only needed to know three: home, work, and 911. Ironically, it had the best reception (even out in the sticks where we lived) of ANY of the four cells I've had to this day.

Fast forward to the present day.

My current cell phone has a full-color display, a built-in camera, capabilities for web-browsing and email, voice-activated dialing, a calculator, text-messaging, an alarm clock, notepad, 46235 ring tones, a world clock, and it's no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. Regardless of how convenient and or "necessary" those features are, it lacks the original feature that prompted me to get a cell in the first place: reception and security. I live in the state's capital city, yet I still have to stand in the middle of my front yard with a wire coat hanger up my nose in order to place a call. And if I'm out on the highway and need to make a call? Good luck. If I were to get in an accident, it's unlikely that I'd be successful in getting through to 911... but hey, at least I can take a picture of the smashed-up car, type the other drivers info on the notepad, calculate the speed of passing cars, set my alarm clock for the next day, and slip it comfortably back in my pocket until I need the EZ-Tip Calculator to figure out how much I owe the waitress when I stop to eat lunch.

With all of the commercialism and competition in the cell phone market, don't you think at least one of the providers would think about doing something to improve the service and range of these silly things?

03-02-2006, 02:34 PM	#1
PaulSage	Cell phones: Ever-evolving, rarely improving... Did we forget what cell phones were created for? I got my first cell phone in '97 because I wanted the safety and security of having a phone available for emergencies and such when I wasn't close to a land-line phone. True, it was the size and weight of a landscaping brick, but in the few instances when I needed it--it was there. It stored 50 numbers, (which at the time I thought was HUGE) but I only needed to know three: home, work, and 911. Ironically, it had the best reception (even out in the sticks where we lived) of ANY of the four cells I've had to this day. Fast forward to the present day. My current cell phone has a full-color display, a built-in camera, capabilities for web-browsing and email, voice-activated dialing, a calculator, text-messaging, an alarm clock, notepad, 46235 ring tones, a world clock, and it's no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. Regardless of how convenient and or "necessary" those features are, it lacks the original feature that prompted me to get a cell in the first place: reception and security. I live in the state's capital city, yet I still have to stand in the middle of my front yard with a wire coat hanger up my nose in order to place a call. And if I'm out on the highway and need to make a call? Good luck. If I were to get in an accident, it's unlikely that I'd be successful in getting through to 911... but hey, at least I can take a picture of the smashed-up car, type the other drivers info on the notepad, calculate the speed of passing cars, set my alarm clock for the next day, and slip it comfortably back in my pocket until I need the EZ-Tip Calculator to figure out how much I owe the waitress when I stop to eat lunch. With all of the commercialism and competition in the cell phone market, don't you think at least one of the providers would think about doing something to improve the service and range of these silly things?