Hey, you all got cellphones?

[chrissie_m]

I've successfully resisted getting a cellphone so far. Heck, I don't even like answering the real phone (email is so much better for communicating, really). And so many cellphone users seem to lose manners and/or brain cells, always forgetting to turn the darned things off even when flight attendants beg them to so the plane won't crash or

Comments

[hederahelix]

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!

[chrissie_m]

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.