Hey, you all got cellphones?

My one and only piece of advice is to shop around for a salesperson until you get someone that seems trustworthy and knowledgeable. I originally got a cell phone just for emergencies, and then I started traveling a lot, so battery life became more important and I didn't have a phone to match, and that sucked.

but I always had good luck going in to the store and telling the guy "Look, I don't want anything fancy, but I am hard on my gear, so I want durable. Which of these models is durable?" And often they would steer me away from whatever cool model with whiz bang new features looked neato with a quiet "That one gets returned for repairs a lot."

Also, a friend of mine got one that had the Bluetooth feature, which allows you to put a very space age headset (sold seperately, of course) that looks like a golwing memory stick for your computer on your ear. Very Star Trek, but also very practical if you don't want to have to juggle the phone while doing other things, which if you're using your phone while traveling happens more often than you might think (i.e., walking through an airport with a coffee in one hand, your luggage in the other, and your cell phone in . . . hand number 3 that you don't have?).

If you're the sort who keeps stuff for a while, I'd think about going with one that is Bluetooth compatible, even if you don't go Bluetooth right away. I don't really care if my next phone has a camera, but I'm dead set on it being Bluetooth ready.

Hope that helps!

A trustworthy salesperson? Well, Futureshop is right out, then. Great place to look around, but they're all so hungry for commission that they'll say pretty much anything.

I hadn't even thought about Bluetooth, even though the new leetle teeny laptop I just bought says it's Bluetooth-compatible. So, something new to learn about.

Thanks for the visuals, too. I hadn't really visualized myself actually using the thing, you know? But visualization is always helpful.

I have a prepaid mobile phone plan. Had to buy the SIM chip and the handset which was pretty cheap and I just top up the account with $20 every now and then. Cheaper set-up and more flexible than being stuck on a plan.

So, I'm guessing there's a plan where you contract for a set period of time at a set amount, and a plan like yours which is more flexible?

I wonder if we have that here, since that sounds more like what I'd use. I don't come close to using up my long distance minutes on my regular phone plan, so I don't imagine I'd use up cell minutes either. And then I'd feel like I wasting money.

Australians like me don't like waste. *g* So prepaid systems are popular for some of us who don't use the phone much, and those who chatter would go for the contracts that have SMS bonuses, extra minutes or whatever, but which mean you lose your minutes if you don't use them.

Also, in Australia the $20 or so that you put into your prepaid account is valid for 12 months. North American deals might have a shorter validity period.

I have a cell phone... it's one of those pay-as-you-go things, so that seems like it'd be cheaper because you only pay for what you use, but not so, really... you have to put at least like $20 a month into it anyway. Also I get shitty coverage and have come to expect having the signal drop completely and hang up on me at least three times per conversation. And the per minute charge is outrageous.

But, on the up side, it doesn't really cost any more than a landline would, I think.. and I really like having a phone on me in case of emergency, like if I'm having car trouble or you know... I witnessed a crime or something. It feels kind of reassuring to know you've got that immediate link to emergency services, and that people can reach you anytime for urgent stuff. (Though that doesn't always apply, as I leave my phone off a lot of the time.) Cell phones are annoying because people act like idiots with them (especially while driving), but people act like idiots anyway, so what the fuck. I figure I'm raising the standard by having a cell phone and not acting like an idiot.

See, that's the kind of complaint I'm always hearing, and one reason why I haven't even considered a cellphone before now. I hate, really hate, technology that doesn't do the minimum it's supposed to, so if I needed to talk to someone and the phone kept cutting out, I'd get infuriated.

So, the pay-as-you-go hasn't quite worked out. That's useful to know, since it does sound like a better idea on paper.