Charging your cell phone

[Khan]

Quote:

I switched from a monthly plan (low minutes, still $30 or $35) to a prepaid plan which I just have to put minutes on to keep it active. $100 means I don't have to put more minutes on for a year, and I won't ever use them all. Adding minutes can be done by phone, online, or at their store.

I did the same back in February (Cingular/ATT).

Don't use the phone much; I leave it turned off and forwarded to landline when I'm home.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khan I did the same back in February (Cingular/ATT). Don't use the phone much; I leave it turned off and forwarded to landline when I'm home.

I might eventually get rid of my landline. Haven't decided yet. I like cable internet, and during the past few years it has become much more reliable - - so having an alternate means of internet access is no longer a priority for me. I can't think of any other reason to keep a land line.

[Goonie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum The #1 factor in how long it will hold a charge is whether you are getting a digital or analog signal.

I found that out a couple of years ago. I couldn't figure out why my phone would only hold a charge for a a couple of days while vacationing waaaay out in the boonies. A friend informed me of the digital/analog deal. I was relieved, because I had thought my battery was going south on me.

Thanks, T-Al.....I'm about the same 5 or 10 minutes a month (usually). I do use it for all of our long distance calling around holidays and that sort of thing. So I thought the TracPhone would be the way to go for me also.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire I might eventually get rid of my landline. Haven't decided yet. I like cable internet, and during the past few years it has become much more reliable - - so having an alternate means of internet access is no longer a priority for me. I can't think of any other reason to keep a land line.

Internet is DSL. Haven't tried cable internet (DSL got to my house first). I'll stay with cable TV and landline/DSL /prepaid phone for now.

[Martha]

The argument for keeping a landline is to have it for emergencies. (for example, 911 tracing)

We take the risk. We haven't had a land line for several years.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha The argument for keeping a landline is to have it for emergencies. (for example, 911 tracing) We take the risk. We haven't had a land line for several years.

The county just spent weeks and dollars mapping everything so that cell phones can be located in 911 calls.

[RunningBum]

911 is the biggie, though providers are required to track 911 calls to within 100 meters. I'm not certain how reliable that is, and 100 meters is a pretty wide space in tight neighborhoods, and certainly apartments/condos.

If you lose your phone, it breaks, it's without a charge, or you can't find it, then you're without a phone. If I'm in a 3 story house, unless I remember to carry my phone around with me, I may not even hear it ring, much less get to it in time. Then again, how often do I get urgent calls? Anyway, I like the convenience of having a phone near me.

If I hear the sound of glass breaking in the middle of the night, and my phone is charging downstairs, how do I call 911? I suppose you can probably leave phones plugged in and get 911 support so maybe that's not an issue. Are they able to associate your address with the line if you don't have a number? If not, there's an exposure if you're physically unable to talk or too scared to remember or have a guest that doesn't know the address.

Is the quality of a cell phone in your home good enough? My brother went back to a land line because he was frustrated with the spotty quality.

I think most of these things will be scoffed at by the next generation who will be used to only dealing with a cell phone. I imagine not that many college kids have phones in their dorm room anymore or relies on a hall phone. It's tougher for me to get used to.

[MikeD]

ve a landline and two cell phones. We don't use any of them very much.

Mike D.

[Sue J]

Regarding the issue of calling 911 from a cell phone.... I added my city's police dispatcher phone number to my cell phone. I work and live in the same city, so 95% of the time this is the number I would need. My husband works in an adjacent town, he also added that town's dispatcher number.

We also have a landline and really don't use it much. For now we're keeping it. It just seems like we're supposed to have a "home phone". But with 4 people, 4 cell phone numbers and 2 of those people also have office phones, it's getting to be something to consider.

I know our DirecTV TiVo requires a home phone connection. They charge you an extra $5 a month if you don't have a home phone but I don't know if we'd lose any services without it.