I Hate My Cell Phone!

joasis

Do any of you guys have problems with your cell phones? Mine takes a beating, and I have problems, like this morning, dead phone, every six months. The maintenance agreement is all that saves me. I wish there was a reliable phone, that could at least last a year in the rough environment we put them through.

__________________

send_it_all

My Treo has been very close to being tossed out of a moving vehicle several times. It randomly decides to dial the #2 whenever it sees fit. Right in the middle of a call it will just punch 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 . I have to hang up and call the person back. God forbid I try to look up a number in it's phone bbok while I'm on a call. It will start dialing random phone numbers. Pisses me off to no end. The only thing that keeps me from smashing it with a hammer is the fact that I paid almost $400 for it. i will be going back to a simple old cell phone very soon. I don't need a 30 pound laptop glued to my head all day.

Mbskye

I hate that every time I take a phone In because of a problem, the first words out of there mouths are," It's water damage. " When I know good & well that the only water it has ever been around is the sweat on my face. Can they not make a phone that is even in the least bit water resistant?
& The Insurance is a joke. By the time you pay the insurance for a year, & pay the deductible, YOU'VE BOUGHT A NEW PHONE!!! They canceled My insurance after 2 claims in a year, & said I wasn’t eligible to get it again for another year.
LoL, Sorry just had to rant for a second & get that off my chest. LoL

__________________
"Some days, it just isn't worth chewing off the restraints."
" Second place, is the first loser."

GregS

I used to have a Panasonic TX220 phone. It was rubberized and designed for impact.

I've since had a Treo 600 that I remember skidding face down across a road. Right after that I bought a somewhat bulky, but durable leather case for it. Never received another scratch.

Now I have a Treo 680 and I bought a rubberized skin for it and wear it in a holster. Again no issues. If it drops the skin breaks open, but that's fine. Phone still works.

Just what are you guys doing with your phones anyways? Surely you can purchase a phone down there that has some sort of shock/impact absorbtion?

A W Smith

When I first got a cell in 2000 i had the problem of it launching itself out of its holder and dropping to the ground only when it knew i was on a scaffold or ladder more than 20 feet off the ground. I don't know how they put that little hight detector in their phones but verizon did. But I found a way to fool it. Instead of the holster I started keeping the phone in my left front pocket. It hasn't abused gravity since. I'm only on my fourth phone in 7 years. I only replace it when my wife insists it too grimy to be presentable and the numbers have worn off and the screen is all scratched. I hate having to learn a new phone. I cant keep change in my left front pocket anymore because the phone keeps beeping from the quarters pushing the "on speaker" button on and off. I can't figure out why quarters need to have the phone on speaker?

__________________
Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com

daArch

Guys,

Cell phones in the construction industry are going to take a beating, AND they are not made for the abuse we can heap on. Even "girlie" work like paperhanging (I can say that, but YOU CAN'T ) poses threats. Many a cell has dove into a five of paste, or over a stair rail onto the marble floor.

Face it, these things ain't built like the old Western Electric rotary phones of the 60's that could jump out of tall buildings, or stop a speeding bullet LITERALLY.

Now, I have heard that those made to "withstand" rough environments do stand up a little better, but still - yah can't drop them into the cement mixer, or run over them with the bobcat.

You might as well realize they are expendable. Buy the CHEAPEST one, and replace it every three months.

__________________
Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

Chris Johnson

If I could get my hands on an old Motorola 8000 brick phone I would go back to that in a heartbeat. It got dropped, kicked, thrown around the truck and job site and never died.

__________________
Chris

RobertCDF

Those panasonic phones were awesome... I did not have the ruggedized one... No need, the regular ones were plenty strong. I WASHED!!! one in the washing machine. Took it out and dried it out and it worked fine! Wish I could find anything that strong nowadays.

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

Bone Saw

I'm in the same dilemma myself right now, for years I had my trusty nokia 6010, which NEVER gave me reason to complain. As of the last 10 months I have had a cingular 3125 smartphone which I abso-f&%king-lutely HATE. The only thing I like in this phone is sync'ing with outlook, and thats it.
The only reason I even got a data plan with the phone was to stay on top of a few sites I goto for solid wind and weather forcasting, and for email. I can't tell you (literally) how many calls I get that don't ring on my end, and the missed call log is sketchy at best, so it has become standard practice for me to check my voice mail 50times/day. Needless to say, I'm looking for a new phone. I want a pda phone solely for viewing/editing spreadsheets, sync'ing w/outlook, emailing, and calls, that's it.... Any recomendations, particularly from ATT users. tia

__________________
Custom Decks & Carpentry LLC.
Chester County Custom Decks
Custom Deckbuilder Mainline
Philadelphia Deck Builder
Custom Decks & Carpentry on Facebook

par3144

I'm on about my 10th phone in six years. Had Rugged ones and waterproof ones, but it doesn't matter how much abuse they can take, YOU CAN'T DROP THEM IN SEWERS!

PressurePros

I had so many replaced they cancelled my insurance.

PS: To overcome the "water damage" disclaimer. Go in and tell them you lost it.

__________________
Ken Fenner
Pressure Washing PA
Roof Cleaning Services PA

neolitic

My Motorola V-120 will be 5 years old in a couple of weeks.
Original battery, replaced antenna with a "fixed" one.
Fallen off roofs, been in torrential down-pours(once in the same pocket with a spiral notebook that completely melted), dropped, dropped, and dropped, into 5's of mud......
Only draw-back is the ring tone isn't very loud,
but I'm not answering when I'm running a saw anyhow.
Thing is, I just got it to make phone calls.
It does that.
I'm not much for the "swiss army knife" kind of tools either.

__________________
Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)

denick

The Motorola catalog has multiple Military spec. phones in it. Supposedly able to take all kinds of abuse. They are only available for Nextel service as far as I can tell. Which does me no good.

Maybe we could start a petition to Motorola to release them for other services. A "contractor's special release"

I only need a phone that has a good size log for phone numbers, received calls and dialed calls not much else. Purchasing power in numbers?

__________________
Nick

"Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving" Albert Einstein

neolitic

Mine is Verizon.

__________________
Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)

d-rez

I have two of these and love them.

Double-A

I think this is one time free enterprise kinda screwed the customers of cell carriers.

Why are cell phones designed for kids or technophrekes?

Why are there so many different types of cell carriers and why are they the only ones that get to tell the cell phone makers what they want in a cell phone design?

Only one company allows you to buy a phone from someone else, as long as it will work on their network, and activate it without penalty. AT&T. All the others try not to allow this or charge a premium for not having bought the phone through them.

I think in this case, a bit of standardization or at least portability for the end-user equipment would benefit everyone involved.

If you are with AT&T, you might check out what is available from the cell phone makers directly, then find where you can buy that phone in a compatible version.

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

joasis

Have you guys ever thought about the money spent on cell phones? We still did business without them, but now, they are a parasite attached to us....my 8 year old wanted one for Christmas (the answer was NO!)

__________________

dayexco

yeah, $385.66 a month

we have 5 of these, they're bulletproof, take dropping, sweating, an occasional plink in the water
SCP-7050 by Sanyo

__________________
someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

tinner666

I'm on my 4th GZOne in 6 months. Each one has had a different problem that left each DOA. I have it insured, but I don't even believe THAT has kicked in for any of the deaths. Bummer.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

Tim0282

Every year about this time when I run a report from my accounting. The number spent on a cell phone is incredible! I do wonder when I ordered rock for jobs before I had one. I started with a bag phone. It stayed in the truck most of the time. Didn't worry about sweat from my face destroying it.
You are so right joasis