what kind of cell phone do you have?

somehow, in 1986 as a youngster, I managed to live without one
somehow, in 1996 as a slightly olderster, I managed to live without one
now, in 2006 I continue to exist on this planet without the need for a cell phone

the only reasons I've considered having one are the regular trips I make back and forth home (1000 miles round).

If it comes down to it, I would probably go with a pre-paid phone. even when I do call someone other than my family, it's a brief exchange to establish whereabouts, I don't need to pay a cell phone company $40 or $50 a month to do that. as for calling my family, $15 a month with Vonage accomplishes that and all my local calling needs perfectly.

but I don't condemn their use, if it's valuable to you then by all means, you need one, I just find myself watching the phone glued to the ear types and wondering "who in the heck are they talking to?!"

[disneysteve]

We have Cingular and love them. Reception and coverage area is superb. We are frequently out with friends who can't use their phone wherever we happen to be and ours work fine. At work, my wife can use her phone in the office but her coworkers all need to go stand outside to use theirs.

We all had Samsung x427m phones until 2 weeks ago when I lost mine . I replaced it with an LG camera phone (doesn't have a model number on it). I just went with the cheapest possible option. This one was $29 after rebate.

[Bookie]

My provider is US Cellular, and my phone is a very basic Nokia. Both work to my satisfaction.

After vowing that I would "never wear a leash," I got a cell phone this year because I was tired of listening to people complain they could never reach me. Frankly, I consider the gadget a full-blown indulgence, but I appreciate the convenience.

[Roupey03]

I have VZW. I just recently got a razr. Love it. If you get one I will warn you. Do not get the V3C. Make sure the one you get is a V3M. Those are the newest out there. They have fixed a lot of the problems the old ones had. The V3M I have is silver and also it comes with removable transflash memory capabilities. The V3C doesn't.

[Ima saver]

I am with rexdart, I have managed to live all these years without one! Frankly, I don't like talking on the phone, so I would not have one if they were free!!

[jaksilee]

I have sprint. I do ok with them, but I use it quite a lot. My family lives 200 miles away and I have a numder in that area so they can all me with out the long distance. I am still in my network area so I don't get charged long distance/roming. I'm thinking of cutting down my min though cause I don't seem to ever use them all. Mostly I get calls at night in my free time.

[Kirbycruiser]

I have Nextel. Reception and service isn't always great. All incoming calls are free and I hardly call anybody.

[markio26]

and for some odd reason, my razor phone gets hot, probably the battery???? i am thinking about changin phones again... will wait until xmas promotions.....maybe

[b4freedom]

I have a VoIP account (~$18/month-unlimited calls) and use a VoIP phone that is rerouted to a home made VoIP server. I amplified my wireless network to get a 20 to 30 mile range (depends on the weather). It's also good in any wireless hotspot. So, basically, I created my own wireless phone network. I'm thinking about assigning phone extensions and selling a subscription to my family/friends for $60/year. So, basically, for $5/month, they'd get unlimited phone calls. Of course, their friends would have to dial an extension in order to reach them.

[Crystallas]

Ive tried everyone and Ive been the happiest with verizon. You need to be a tad bit more disciplined with VZW because they will charge you for things that you use, but arent in your plan. Tmobile and Cingular seem to give a bit more grace time for those who rarely use a nonstandard feature.

I esspecially like verizon because i have it tied in with my onstar service. So when I get a call, or make a call while driving, its one of the easiest and safest hands free experiences. I get onstar for free because they give you the package for a year when you buy a new GM. Im not a GM freak, it just so happens the last 2 cars were GM.

[megy]

I have T-mobile and LOVE IT. Three people in my family (my mother, brother, and I) share a family plan. 700 minutes TOTAL, but we never go over because it comes with free mobile to mobile. Most everyone we know has T-mobile....so it works out really well.

My actual cell phone is a Samsung E105. I inherited it from my mother when she upgraded (for free). I'm due for a free upgrade now as well . . . love those!

[Credit Girl]

Tmobile's service isn't all that great. Plenty of dropped calls and lots of areas with no signal. However, it is hard to pass up their cheap family plans so it is a sacrifice to not always have the best service like verizon or AT&T.

[feh]

Tracfone. Cost $30 for the phone, and about $7 per month for service (I use it rarely). Have had no problems w/ reception, but I don't travel much.

[SoCalifrugal]

Droid. Yeah, it's expensive but it's a lifesaver. I get lost easily, so the GPS is very helpful. I don't have a landline. I email a lot, and I don't like talking on the phone and text instead, so having a qwerty keyboard is great.

[sofocused978]

I have a Tmobile pay as you go phone. I ditched sprint and monthly cell phone bills back in August. Couldn't be happier. I will never lock into another cellphone contract ever again. Biggest waste. As much as I would love a smart phone with all the bells and whistles I'm all set with paying $1200/year for phone service.

[Mike75]

My cell phone is my life. I manage everything on it. I can't remember how I used to survive without one.

[Ima saver]

Mine is invisible!!

[Jazzmint98]

My cell phone is a Sony Ericcson walkman.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Bookie

I consider the gadget a full-blown indulgence, but I appreciate the convenience.

This is pretty much how I feel. I consider a cell phone to be a luxury item, not a necessity. I will say, though, that progress is gradually eroding that opinion.

1. I know many people who ONLY have a cell phone. They don't have a traditional wired phone in their home. In that case, a cell phone no longer qualifies as a luxury because I consider having a phone to be a necessity.

2. Pay phones are rapidly becoming extinct. Sure, it is easy to say that I survived many years without a cell phone, but I frequently used pay phones during those years. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were at one of the largest malls in the state of NJ. While we were having lunch in the food court, there was a workman with a reciprocating saw removing the bank of pay phones along the wall. I have no doubt that they were being removed for good, never to return. They simply aren't needed any more. But that makes having a cell phone more important.

[glock35ipsc]

I have used Verizon for what seems like forever! My current phone is an old Blackberry 8703e. My wife is on Verizon as well, but it is a work phone, so she doesn't pay for any of it.