Can You Hear Me Now?-----Wireless Phone Service
Posted: Saturday, February 07, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
For outstanding strides in technology, the Internet comes in second only to the wireless cell phone. How did we every get through our day without this tiny little hand-held-packet of far-reaching tip-of-the fingers communications? I remember my first portable phone-that old dinosaur, the bag-phone. I thought I had died and gone to Southwestern Bell Heaven! We went from the bag-phone to the bulky, more portable hand-held version-about the size of a large cucumber. Again I felt, How could things get better than this?' About that time is when I fell truly in love-they came out with the flip-phone with the extendable antenna-would wonders never cease!? For the next few years, cell phone producers developed stronger signals and phones became smaller-still ugly-but smaller.
I'm sure you've all seen the commercials where the Verizon' guy takes a few steps and happily speaks into his cell phone, " Can you hear me now?" A few more steps and repeats the phrase again. Now they have the cute commercials with hundreds of Verizon associates ready and waiting at your beck and call'. Verizon seems to flood the media with more commercials than any other phone service-at least, that is the one that I have seen most often. But I wonder if more television advertising really out performs the old reliable stand-by-Word of Mouth?
I have known people who have had Verizon, Alltel, and Cricket and have all switched to AT & T. They complained about poor service with the other providers-either poor equipment, slow service, incorrect billing, dropped calls, and poor signal strength.
My first portable phone service was with Southwestern Bell in the early 1990's. The service was fair in the beginning and continued to get better as more towers were put up and phones became smaller and more technologically improved. Southwestern Bell then became AT & T and I continued to get good service. They then became Cingular Wireless and my service never faltered. It was during the Cingular' years that I switched my Internet service from dial-up to satellite and my cell phone service became so reliable that I had my house phone turned off completely and trimmed several dollars from my monthly budget.
Today my service has changed its name and is AT & T Wireless again, but through all these name changes, the service has remained exemplary. We have a family plan with a total of five phones on one package. The cost is reasonable and our roll-over minutes have totaled over 16,000 in the past four years with five phones being used. We live in a rural area with many hills and trees that would inhibit cell phone signals for many providers or phone styles, but our AT & T service still tops out at least at 90% signal and very few dropped calls.
The service associates at AT & T are always courteous and will go out of their way to solve any problems, questions, or issues you may have with your phone or service. Their phones are always first rate and top-of-the-line in technological advancements. Today I upgraded my old Motorola to a sleek and shiny new Sony Ericsson W580i slider with Walkman. As a camera it is one of the best I've had. I love it. My son upgraded to an LG VU with touch screen technology-a very nice phone, but way over my head.
I know there are some disadvantages to the cell phone, but as with all things, it is the carelessness and stupidity of a certain few that make great inventions dangerous in the wrong hands. Hands-free devices should be used when driving and text messaging should only be done when you are not driving- CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!?
It is a wonderful thing to be able to stay in touch with your spouse, kids, and grandkids any time anywhere. For this I thank the inventors of the cellular wireless phone, and for their on-going best service, I thank AT & T Wireless.
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Sandra E. Graham, author, AMOS JAKEY and NICOLINA published by American Book Publishing. Sandra loves to write about people and if you enjoy reading about people, you will love these books. Her first two novels are historical/adventure/fiction of early 1900's America. Sandra also writes book reviews for authors through Book Pleasures (no charge for reviews). Visit her website for more information on her books that are in print now and reviews she has written.
http://www.sandragraham-articles-books.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)hi sandra,i have been without a cell phone for almost 2 years, and i miss it. i think we forget all the conveniences one brings. if you go to the store, and forget something, you can call home, if your car breaks down, you can call for help, if you go to pick up one of your kids, and they're not there, you can call them, only to find they meant the OTHER baseball field! if we drive somewhere and get lost, we can call the person we are going to visit, and have them talk us through to their house. if my son's not home, i can call him to see where he is, or to stop off and buy a gallon of milk.i am using my son's cell phone for now, since he went into the airforce, but someday, i will have a new one, just for me :)best regards,sueThanks, Sue. I know I would be lost without my cell phone. My husband has one also and when he goes outside, I even call him just to make sure he's ok or to let him know his lunch is ready. If we go to Walmart or any other store shopping, we can always find each other with just a few button pushes. Ain't it grand!?Sandra
Howdy Sandra, here is your faithful fan, I really liked your article, and it is so true. I remembered the days that we had to drop a dime in the telephone booth, to make a call....what a difference from then to today. wow. I find your article very informative and true. I also have AT&T, and I love it. I didn't get all the bells and whistles, like internet, text messaging, although I can do it, and such. The are handy little devils....you as usual give great information, Thanks a bunch for sharing.....Your friend in pen.....GaryThanks so much, Gary. You hardly ever see pay phones anymore; I guess they will soon go the way of the "Edsel". Texting is something I don't use either. If I have something to say, I say it or leave a message. My kids and grandkids all love the texting and internet. I do love the camera and it is so handy when you don't have a camera with you.Thanks for commenting.Sandra
Hi Sandra,I guess it all depends where you live and how well your service works for you. I live in Florida and have been with Verizon for the past 12 years and never had problems with my service. I even had wonderful reception when I traveled out of state and made calls to family back home. We also have a family plan and although we don't have roll over minutes, we do seem to keep within the allowed minutes. It is amazing how technology has made our lives easier and definitely more portable but I worry about the kids and their obsession with texting. I do wish that Florida would pass a law that would also require bluetooth connections when driving. There have been too many serious accidents involving cell phones which could be avoided if the driver would concentrate on driving and not text messaging to someone.Good Article!Iris TaubParkland, FloridaI keep hearing that Arkansas is going to pass the 'no texting', hands-free only law. I think it should be that way. A young boy was texting while driving in Jonesboro--a large town near us--and caused an accident that killed a man. I either use my blue-tooth ear-piece or my headset ear-plugs when I'm driving. I don't like to take chances. If I forget my hands-free, I just don't answer the phone until I have stopped.It just isn't worth an accident.Thanks for reading and commenting, Iris.Sandra
I liked this article. I have an AT&T phone and it works great.Brittany S.Thanks, Brit. Have a good day.Sandra
Sandra, I'm like you. I like having it too but like everything else, we have to use it responsibly and with manners. I don't care to hear another person's one-sided conversation. But some will use the speakerphone in public places and you hear it all! *laughing* I will carry my iPod for that reason alone. I enjoyed this article, Sandra.
Be well and blessings,
AvisThanks so much, Avis. Good to talk to you again.Have a good week and God bless.Sandra
Sandra,That was great and I just loved the cartoon!!! As one who is (and has been) with AT&T, I also like their service. I get a signal everywhere. Last summer at a lake in New Hampshire, my step-daughter informed me that I wouldn't get a signal. Her phone, her husband's phone, and my husband's phone did not work. Little old me, with AT&T, was able to talk to my son in New Jersey.Thank you for a very good review. You brought back a lot of memories!NancyThanks, Nancy. And your're right---family can find you even out in the middle of a huge lake---I know, it happened to me and we thought no one would find us out there, but they did!Sandra
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