Why Are We Still Calling the Things in Our Pockets 'Cell Phones'?

[Midpack]

Why Are We Still Calling the Things in Our Pockets ‘Cell Phones’?

Today, when I get a call, I think: Who died? Who’s trapped on a mountain? What awful global calamity is unfolding? I use apps and text messages for everything – ordering dinner, hailing cabs, telling friends I’m running late – and I rarely check my voice mail. I don’t have any friends who regularly call me; even my parents have switched to texts.

Regardless of its implications on wireless carriers, it’s odd to refer to these vast, all-encompassing gadgets merely as “phones.” It would be like calling a car a “radio box,” or a microwave a “popcorn maker.” All smartphones can make calls, sure, but what makes one device different from another is how well it can do everything else.

So let’s call these devices something that more accurately reflects how we use them. One idea would be to take a cue from the British and start referring to them simply as “mobiles.”

All of these words sound more awkward to our unaccustomed American ears than “phone” or “cell phone.” But they’re better descriptors of what these devices are.

 

[marko]

A lot of concern this week on this forum in what is in people's pockets, IMO.

 

[Meadbh]

A lot of concern this week on this forum in what is in people's pockets, IMO.

So true!

 

[euro]

for me, it's still mostly used as phone (and some as text device). I may be the exception, but I use very little data (I share 100MB/month with DW and we hardly ever come close to reaching 50)

 

[Koogie]

""Today, when I get a call, I think: Who died? Who’s trapped on a mountain? What awful global calamity is unfolding?""

To true. I haven't talked to my brother on the telephone in years (I do see him face to face infrequently).

He has called me twice in the last two months. First time, to tell me our sister had a heart attack (she is fine now). Second time, to tell me our aunt passed away.

I hope he doesn't call me again for many more years.

 

[joeea]

I call the thing in my pocket, My Expensive Pocket Computer/Newspaper/GPS/Text/Video Player/Weather/Calendar/Clock/Camera/Phone Machine That Sits Next To My Handkerchief.

My sons laugh at me. That makes me sad. Maybe I should put my handkerchief in another pocket...

 

[OldShooter]

Because they are cell phones?

 

[Alan]

I live in England where they have always been called mobiles. The UK usually calls a new device after what it does rather than the technology it currently uses. Over here a "GPS" is called a "Sat Nav". Way back in the 70's when computers started having electronic monitors and keyboards we called them VDUs (Visual Display Units) rather than CRTs which is what our US collegues called them.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Yeah , When the house phone rings late at night, Ive been know to say many times : "Oh God who died". It seems to always be bad news. Yeah my 10 cent a minute phone that I sometimes carry I call a cell phone. OK Ill bite, what should I be calling it?

 

[Tom52]

That device in my pocket can do a lot of things, but I only use it for it's namesake

 

[Cobra9777]

for me, it's still mostly used as phone (and some as text device). I may be the exception, but I use very little data (I share 100MB/month with DW and we hardly ever come close to reaching 50)

Funny, I'm the exact opposite. I ONLY use data. I intentionally disabled the phone and text capability using Ting's device setup page. I still send texts and make calls occasionally, but I use apps like Hangouts on the data network, which is WiFi about 90% of the time.

I haven't used the term "cell phone" in years. I usually refer to it simply as my "phone" or maybe "smartphone." I don't like either word, especially given my usage which is rarely phone-like. But I'm not a linguistics expert... whatever the masses decide to call it, I'll go along. Hopefully we won't revert to some earlier names: "PDA" and "Pocket PC."

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I think "brick" would make for good slang.

 

[Fedup]

My brother still calls me on my cell phone. He rarely texts me. My sister texts more but still calls me, but not often, once or twice a year.

 

[Bigdawg]

We could start a thread similar to this re: Cars, computers's, refrigerators, etc... So many things are muti functional.

 

[cathy63]

I think "brick" would make for good slang.

Whenever I hear a phone referred to as a brick, it reminds me of the days when I had to carry one of these for my job. They were the size, shape and weight of an actual brick, so that's what we called them. They did have texting, email and access to search online databases over 20 years before the first iPhone though.

 

[ponyboy]

Maybe because that thing in your pocket relies on a cellular connection to make a phone call. I know almost no one who uses wifi calling on their device unless the reception is really poor...which equates to a small percentage of murica!

 

[Alan]

Maybe because that thing in your pocket relies on a cellular connection to make a phone call. I know almost no one who uses wifi calling on their device unless the reception is really poor...which equates to a small percentage of murica!

My carrier now and when I was living in the USA defaults to calls over wifi whenever I have wifi, and since most of the calls I make and receive are at home then almost all my calls don't use cell towers. ( we don't have a landline at home). It's a great feature to have particularly when traveling overseas.

 

[easysurfer]

About the leave the door and didn't read the article yet.

But my hunch of still calling them cell phones is probably similar to saying "I taped the program on TV tonight". Tape jargon from the old days of VHS.

 

[ponyboy]

My carrier now and when I was living in the USA defaults to calls over wifi whenever I have wifi, and since most of the calls I make and receive are at home then almost all my calls don't use cell towers. ( we don't have a landline at home). It's a great feature to have particularly when traveling overseas.

My wife uses project fi and she gets no reception at our house...so all of her calls go through wifi. Shes still in the minority group though when it comes with wifi calls vs cellular calls.

 

[Cobra9777]

Maybe because that thing in your pocket relies on a cellular connection to make a phone call. I know almost no one who uses wifi calling on their device unless the reception is really poor...which equates to a small percentage of murica!

I use WiFi for all calls and text as long as I'm in a WiFi network, which is most of the time. It has nothing to do with the cellular reception. WiFi calling is free, whereas Ting mobile data usage is not. The only time I connect to a cell tower is when I'm actually mobile, i.e. NOT on a WiFi network.

 

[Alan]

I use WiFi for all calls and text as long as I'm in a WiFi network, which is most of the time. It has nothing to do with the cellular reception. WiFi calling is free, whereas Ting mobile data usage is not. The only time I connect to a cell tower is when I'm actually mobile, i.e. NOT on a WiFi network.

Exactly. All the cafes, restaurants, pubs, malls and supermarkets around here have wifi and once you have connected that first time it automatically connects once you are in range.

 

[sengsational]

Whenever I hear a phone referred to as a brick, it reminds me of the days when I had to carry one of these for my job. They were the size, shape and weight of an actual brick, so that's what we called them. They did have texting, email and access to search online databases over 20 years before the first iPhone though.

I never carried one of those, but my customers were always impressed by their functionality; it was something nobody else in the industry had.

But "Brick" is not an appropriate name for today's mobile devices because "to brick your device" means that it's startup code is gone or corrupt such that the device might as well be set on the floor to keep a door from closing.

Shortened "cell phone" to "cell" doesn't quite work because it uses other bands. But shortened "mobile phone" to "mobile" works for me. The sci-fi books call them "personal communication device", "data pad", or things like that.

 

[Midpack]

Because they are cell phones?

For many people, surely you realize the phone is one of the least used functions after text, email, internet browsing, map directions (more current than any GPS), apps, calculator, time, stopwatch, reading books, watching video, gaming, listening to music, camera, (audio) recording device, social media, payment device, even a flashlight, and on and on...

When my smartphone rings it's either 1) bad news, or 2) some cold caller I don't want to talk to. If mine rings and I don't recognize the number (already in my contacts), there's no way I'll answer. If you leave a message, I'll call you back if I know you. It's mostly older generations who still value the phone itself over other smart functions, some of them still prefer flip phones.

 

[braumeister]

In German, it's called a "handy" (yes, the English word).

It came from the old military term "handle-talkie" for a handheld two-way radio.

Even today, most amateur radio operators refer to one as an "HT" (for handle-talkie).

 

[ERD50]

Why Are We Still Calling the Things in Our Pockets 'Cell Phones'?

Ummm, because they are still "phones"? Though it seems most people refer to these as "smart phones" these days, if they refer to them at all. People just say 'text me', or 'call me' , or 'email me', or 'Face-Time me' or 'Skype me' w/o referencing the device. You could do most things on a tablet or computer too.

But anyhow, I guess it is also the same reason we still:

Call a "Swiss Army Knife" a "knife".

Call a turbo-charged engine an "engine".

Call a Hybrid Car a "car".

Call a combination refrigerator-freezer a "refrigerator" (unless we are specifically telling someone to put something in the freezer section).

If I use the scissors of my Swiss Army Knife the most often, and I lose it, does the OP expect me to go into the store and ask if they have any scissors? No, I think I'll ask to see their Swiss Army Knives!

I don't get the reason to question this, or if it's even commonly true?

-ERD50