How do you use your cellphone?

[Trazalca]

I came across this interesting article on a growing trend of cellphone use in Africa.
It's called 'beeping'. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070926/od_nm/africa_beeping1_dc)

Here's an excerpt:


Phone credit low? Africans go for "beeping"
By Andrew Heavens
Wed Sep 26, 11:32 AM ET

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - If you are in Sudan it is a 'missed call'. In Ethiopia it is a 'miskin' or a 'pitiful' call. In other parts of Africa it is a case of 'flashing', 'beeping' or in French-speaking areas 'bipage'.

Wherever you are, it is one of the fastest-growing phenomena in the continent's booming mobile telephone markets -- and it's a headache for mobile operators who are trying to figure out how to make some money out of it.

You beep someone when you call them up on their mobile phone -- setting its display screen briefly flashing -- then hang up half a second later, before they have had a chance to answer. Your friend -- you hope -- sees your name and number on their list of 'Missed Calls' and calls you back at his or her expense.

It is a tactic born out of ingenuity and necessity, say analysts who have tracked an explosion in miskin calls by cash-strapped cellphone users from Cape Town to Cairo.

But beeping is not only about money. Donner's 'Rules of Beeping' suggests a social protocol for the practice.

"The richer guy pays," he writes. It is acceptable to beep someone if you are short of cash and they are flush with credit. Never beep someone poorer than you.

Never beep someone you are tapping for a favor. You don't want to risk annoying the person you are trying to win over. Never flash your girlfriend, unless you want to look cheap.

"Most beeps are requests to the mobile owner to call back immediately, but can also send a pre-negotiated instrumental message such as pick me up now,' or send a relational sign, such as I'm thinking of you,'" the paper says.

It can go even further than that.

Cameroonian researchers Victor W.A. Mbarika and Irene Mbarika identified a different kind of beeping-powered relational call in a study for the technology association the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

"Lovers often communicate with text messages or beeping'," said the study. "One party dials another's number and then hangs up. One ring could mean, I am here,' two rings, Call me now.'"

And the name they gave this new entry in the beeping lexicon? Borrowing a street slang term for an appeal for sex, they christened it "the booty call."


Has anyone here ever done this? I dig the social aspect given between callers.
It's very respectful. I like that. But for myself, beeping only happens by accident
with me. It's never intentional.

In general, for myself, if I'm in a meeting that started the minute I walk into work,
I quickly send a text message to my wife to let her know I got in okay, and
mute the cell. Aside from standard calls, and leaving voicemails, I also use it
to go online and look up traffic congestion so I can know in advance
how best to sidestep the insanity.

I'd be more prone to do more text messages, but I'll wait till I can get my hands
on a Blackberry. :smirk:

How do you use your cell?

[Outsydr]

Well, I'm a bit biased since I work in the industry. But I just call. Even though I have a device that has a QWERTY keyboard, I don't text much. I prefer just to call. I also check my allowance before the end of my bill cycle. That way, if I need more minutes, I know I can call to change my call plan to get more.

[spammityspam]

I text a lot more than I call. Something about phones freaks me out -- I hate not being able to gauge reactions by someone's expression. I don't like disembodied voices, so I text everyone.

[Jakester]

I put my phone on vibrate, stick it in my boxers, and call myself repeatedly.

Honestly, I just use it as a phone. Mine has the camera and web stuff, but I really hate trying to type on a phone kbd. I'm not even too fond of sending mail on my blackberry (which is email/web-only), although I will use that for web browsing if I have to.

[spammityspam]

I play Tetris on mine a lot, too, though less than I used to. My high score is something insane, like 80,000 points. I HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS.

[TrixieB]

I was in the wireless industry for 11 years and I thought that I heard all the tricks. Never heard of this one, but I can see how it would work.

I use my phone to make and receive calls mostly and text occasionally. I do use the camera when I see something that I just have to have a picture of and I don't have my real camera on me. The phone I have also has all that V-cast stuff, but I've never used it.

[sickness]

Back in our teenage years, my friends and I used to use such quick-ring type of stuff to get a friend's attention around a planned time when a full-on ringing would wake up the lighter sleeping family. Then the party with the sensitive family would return the call.

Nothing new with this except the context and reason for use.

[chemikillgod]

I text. I actually prefer it since most of my phone usage mostly goes to the what/where/when of going out and I don't have to spend a lot of time with pleasantries. And I only have conversations on the phone on nights and weekends where it's free.

[Nostromo]

I have a Blackberry. The phone doesn't get much of a workout but e-mail is buzzing constantly. Fortunately the company pays the freight.
And I like playing Meteor Crusher. :) N

[MPG]

Has anyone here ever done this?
Yes, already 20 years ago, long before anyone even knew about cell phones.

I use my mobile phone to call people and to send text messages. I actually work in a company that develops software for mobile phones, and before that I worked in R&D for the market leader, but still I am not too interested in advanced features. I hardly use my phone to get onto the Internet, perhaps just twice a year to check train schedules. I'm not even considering buying an iPhone, and that means a lot, seeing how I'm somewhat of an "early adopter" when it comes to electronics.

[Kaeos]

I have a Blackberry. The phone doesn't get much of a workout but e-mail is buzzing constantly. Fortunately the company pays the freight.
And I like playing Meteor Crusher. :) N

Ah, a kindred spirit! My company makes me tote one around too specifically for email. No phone functions at all, but I don't pay for it so oh well. It truly is vital to my job for my customers to be able to email with me on the road, but damn it can be annoying. I carry a seperate cell phone with me for calls, which always gets wierd looks from people when I meet them for the first time professionally "Why do you have 2 phones?"

With bluetooth seated on my right ear, notebook on the seat next to me and blackberry at the ready for emails whenever I am lucyk enough to hit a red light or a parking lot, I'm a rolling office baby. :smirk:

[RedKarma]

The last time I signed up for a land line I had some broad try to sell me a cell phone.

Poor thing, little did she know she had The Cell Phone Hating Psychopath on the other end of the line.

On the list of things I absolutely hate, cell phones rank #4 after cough syrup, pantyhose, and death. Barring a family member becoming critically ill, I will never own one.

Damn near every stupid thing I see people do in the city is because they have their stupid phone in their ear. They also encourage rude behavior, and the conversations I'm forced to listen to everywhere, everywhere, ye gods!! :puke:

[Bill_the_Pony]

As long as I never have to use a payphone again, I'm fine.

But I absolutely hate seeing other drivers using a cellphone and impeding traffic or trying to back into into or out of a parking space. :mad: And there's always that one rude MF that HAS to leave it on in a movie theater, or even look at its display and it lights everything up, and is usually transparent with LED lights inside that blink, etc etc etc..... :mad: :mad:

There's a kiosk at a local shopping mall that sells loud and tacky replacement covers for various models of cellphone, they are SO fugly.



So: I do NOT keep a landline. Having a cell negates it.

BUT: I will NOT use a cellphone while driving. I will NOT interrupt a conversation with someone I am with to answer a cellphone. I appreciate the caller ID feature, because some people I screen. I did on the landline, and I still do. I'm not much of a phone person. I'm over ringtone quckery. I have the main one set to RRRRINNNNG, like the old bakelite phones, or vibrate, when needed. There IS a handset that comes with an assortment of replaceable jacks that you can plug into, and the handset looks like this:

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/images/%5CAUTOIMAGES%5CNOVABL2lg.jpg



:D

I'd love to have an entire cellphone that looks like this to carry around:


http://www.corp.att.com/history/images/milestone_1919.jpg


:smirk:


I have a camera and video camera, rarely use the camera except for something I may need to shoot on the spot for reference. I never use the video.

I don't like text messaging, but will do it if needed.

I got a text one day, and didn't recognize the number: BILL! I GOT MARRIED!

I texted back: CONGRATS! WHO IS THIS?

reply: ISAAC!

me: OH! CONGRATS, ISAAC! DOES THIS MEAN WE'LL NEVER GET A FREAK-ON?

Isaac: LOL



:rolleyes:

Overall, I'm just not much of a phone person. Bad connection, signal losses...arhhh.


And NO phonesexy, either. :smirk:

[rappites]

We do not have a land line. I use my phone primarly as a phone. I loathe texting. My ringtone is SpongeBob Squarepants theme. My kids love it. Plus it is loud and I can hear it. Between Outy and I. We barely use 300 minutes a month. Our bill is $50 a month. Free long distance, no roaming.

The only problem is that we have an area code of 312 (chicago area) and now we live in 815 (Winnebago County). So, when I give the number to anyone. They are like are you sure you live in the area. Then I have to go thru the whole explanation as to why we don't have the proper area code.

I am also like BIll about the caller ID. If a name does not come up or I do not recognize the number it does not get answered.

[Nostromo]

Ah, a kindred spirit! My company makes me tote one around too specifically for email. No phone functions at all, but I don't pay for it so oh well. It truly is vital to my job for my customers to be able to email with me on the road, but damn it can be annoying. I carry a seperate cell phone with me for calls, which always gets wierd looks from people when I meet them for the first time professionally "Why do you have 2 phones?"

With bluetooth seated on my right ear, notebook on the seat next to me and blackberry at the ready for emails whenever I am lucyk enough to hit a red light or a parking lot, I'm a rolling office baby. :smirk:

I'm a rolling office baby.

Amen to that. Snooze you lose. :) N

[Bill_the_Pony]

HERE is a cautionary video that shows what may happen if you miuse your phone for things like SEX! (http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4869754) :mad:

[MPG]

I will NOT interrupt a conversation with someone I am with to answer a cellphone.
Some people have a very pavlovian reaction to the sound of a ringing phone (not just a cellphone). They MUST answer the call. They can't let it ring, they can't reject the call, they just HAVE TO answer. At work, people come over to my office all the time to ask me stuff, and they are always surprised when I don't answer my phone when it rings. I usually tell them that the person who is sitting right in front of me is more important than a ringing phone, but most people seem to think I'm crazy for not always answering my phone.

My ex always had to answer the phone as well. She was not even as phone-addicted as many other women, but she never understood that a phone doesn't HAVE to be answered. Often, we'd have a nice dinner or we'd watch a movie, and then the phone would ring, so she'd jump up to answer it with me screaming after her "You can just let it ring, you know???" :mad: Then later she'd complain about dumb people calling during dinner time.
I got a text one day, and didn't recognize the number: BILL! I GOT MARRIED!

I texted back: CONGRATS! WHO IS THIS?

reply: ISAAC!

me: OH! CONGRATS, ISAAC! DOES THIS MEAN WE'LL NEVER GET A FREAK-ON?

Isaac: LOL



:rolleyes:

Overall, I'm just not much of a phone person. Bad connection, signal losses...arhhh.


And NO phonesexy, either. :smirk:
Jakester: OH! DOES THIS MEAN WE'LL NEVER GET A FREAK-ON?

:D