cellular phones

I managed to get along with out a cell phone up until I turned 21. I decided to get a nextel because my cousin had one and it seemed pretty cool. My dad and grandpa now both have one and I think I may be more committed to nextel than an actual contract now. I like the walkie talkie feature, but only use it to talk to my dad and grandpa. Sometimes I beep my uncle, but that is mostly when I need some work done on my house. My dad and grandpa converted after it was decided that my grandpas phone could not ring loud enough for him to answer. They felt the walkie talkie system could be a good thing for the farm, and by and large it has. We can get ahold of each other to make sure that the right thing is being done or check in to see if anything needs picked up while the other is at the store. My grandpa can negotiate the walkie-talkie aspect, but has a hard time making actual phone calls. My dad on the other hand talks all the time and then wonders why his bill is high after going over his minutes. My grandpa has trouble keeping his phone in working order, but doesn't want to pay for phone insurance.

I would like to move on to an iPhone, but I don't think the 3g system would work very well out here. I don't see the point if the unlimited data was very limited. A blackberry would be nice, but at this point I really have to use a military grade phone that can take some abuse from dust and dirt and falling to the ground. I still use the belt clip on my phone and walk around like a big hick. If the phone fit into my pocket easily enough I would put my phone in my pocket.

I also rarely text message. With my current plan, texts cost 20 or 25 cents per message. I usually just call my mom when she sends me a message. I would message more, but the shorthand developed from that is just very odd to me. Plus, I would need some motivation from the womenfolk. I could rationalize spending money on a text for a lady, but would just call up and talk to dudes right away.

Right now I have about 6 months left on my current contract. My dad and grandpa just renewed their contracts for two more years. I am not sure if I will get another nextel or not when that time comes.

times typed "oftern"-0