> But any random hard-wired phone makes better calls.
> So I have a cell and carry it ONLY when I might have > an urgent need to call somebosy, which is seldom. (I > have a phone at work and a phone at home, call me
> there. If I'm driving I would not answer my cell
> phone, assuming it was where i could hear it,
> assuming it was on, and assuming I brougt it in the
> first place.)
>
> >>
> I use it to check flight arrival information when I'm > on my way to the airport to pick someone up (you'd be > surprised how often arrival times & gates change at
> the last minute).
> >>
> So What? I simply go to where the plane was supposed > to arrive, 9 times out of 10 it does. I not I walt to > the correct gate.
The airport I use most frequently has terminals that are as much as a 40 minute walk between them, and I have two small children that I always end up taking (hey, we're going to meet Mommy. They aren't even willing to consider not going!). I simply can't do what you suggest. That is, even if I could get them anywhere near the gate - security won't let us past the checkpoint at each terminal, and parking is expensive enough near terminals that it's prohibitive to park and when the terminal is changed, drive to the next terminal and park again. No, using my cell to check the gate and arrival time is much more efficient and saves me te trouble of dealing with two children who are upset at having to walk a mile or so to the next terminal because Mom's plane came in at a different terminal than it was originally scheduled to arrive at.
> >>
> I use it to get sports scores when I'm not near a TV.
> >>
> I can always wait for the next time I'm near a
> newspaper, let alone a TV.
So you aren't a sports fan. I try to stay pretty current with the teams I follow. It's important <to me>.
One other thing I hadn't even thought about was the "additional expense" part of using my cell for Internet. My service package includes unlimited Internet access as well as unlimited nights & weekends. Internet usage cost is so much a non-factor I hadn't even thought about it since I got the plan (about 5 years ago, actually). I guess it actually costs me between $10 and $15 per month, but when you think about the additional costs if I didn't have this plan, that makes this package a bargain.
The phone network is for my provider is called 1xRTT (some folks call this 3G, but it's really about 2.5G). Speed isn't as good as on my broadband (at least until the next upgrade is rolled out in a month or so), but it's better than my old dial-up ever was. I don't know how fast it really is, but I can say that access isn't painfully slow, just slower than my cable.