Verizon Wireless Users - Questions for You

[Nerak936]

Have been contemplating getting rid of my landline and converting over to only using my cell phone. Currently have Verizon as a provider (have had them for about 8 years) and prefer to stick with them.

My question is: Do any of you have Verizon as your provider and use your cell as your one and only phone?? What are the pros and cons?? Anyone know if it's possible to have two phones, same #, so I can keep one in the house and carry the other one with me?

Sorry for what might seem to be silly questions, but I've never used my cell on a regular basis. Mostly I leave it in the car for emergency use only. (Of course sometimes ordering Chinese food on the way home from work has qualified as an "emergency"!!)

Thanks for your help!

[absoluteAL]

Originally Posted by Nerak936

Have been contemplating getting rid of my landline and converting over to only using my cell phone. Currently have Verizon as a provider (have had them for about 8 years) and prefer to stick with them.

My question is: Do any of you have Verizon as your provider and use your cell as your one and only phone?? What are the pros and cons?? Anyone know if it's possible to have two phones, same #, so I can keep one in the house and carry the other one with me?

I have Verizon and have used Verizon for years. I got rid of my home land line about 3-4 years ago. I do not think that you can have 2 phones with the same phone numbers (at least through Verizon). The pros and cons : people can reach me 24/7 and the cons are that people can reach me 24/7 (my phone is on 24/7 because of my business). Also, when I was in Belize a couple of weeks ago, my phone worked there (on roam). Cell phones can drop calls while land lines do not drop calls. Cell phones can be expensive if you are roaming or if you exceed your minutes. You can drop a cell phone in a toilet but it would be hard to drop a land line phone in the toilet. It is a lot easier to lose a cell phone than it is to lose a land line phone. I am sure that there are a lot of other pros and cons, but it is to early for me to think them up.
I also have 2 Verizon phones (one is a private number for me) and one MX (Telcel) cel phone.

[Nerak936]

Thanks, Al!! BTW.... I guess I could drop my landline in the toilet since it's wireless, but so far that hasn't happened.

Do you find that the clarity/reception you get is good? Verizon sure seems to have a lot of "towers" all over the place, so I don't think I'd have trouble with "dead zones".

[mastequilapf]

Karen,

Susan and I have done exactly what you are contemplating...The last time I had a land line was 2004-2005 when i was living in an apartment. The only reason we got it was so that we'd have a way to open the gate.

PROS: I only have to worry about giving out one number to people, and conversely people don't have to try two numbers to get in touch with me. Plus the number is not listed, so I get minimal telemarketers calling. I don't know either way on the two phones with the same number thing.

CONS: In addition to what absoluteAL mentioned above, there have been times when I've left my phone on vibrate and forgotten about it (ie, left them in the pants that I wore to work the previous day) or when I've let the battery run out, which means that people can't get in touch with me. This has burned me a couple times. But I have gotten a lot better about this.

I rarely have problems getting a Verizon signal...it works in suburban atlanta, downtown atlanta, and even in the North Carolina mountains.

Unless you have some discount package including DSL, phone, cable TV, then i say drop that landline!

[absoluteAL]

Originally Posted by Nerak936

Thanks, Al!! BTW.... I guess I could drop my landline in the toilet since it's wireless

Yes, but in would be alot harder to actually flush your wireless landline phone down the toilet than your cell phone (based on size) .
I have used my cell phone all over South Dakota and there are only a few areas where I do not have cell reception - and SD is a pretty (and pretty) rural area.
As far as the cell phone battery going dead, I have a charger at home and one at my business. I also occasionally carry spare (cell phone) batteries. On my previous Verizon LG vx6100 phone, I had over 37,000 calls. Probably the best phone (model) that I have ever used (LG does not make this model anymore) so I have to buy them off of ebay. I got my first cell phone in the early '80's and I still have it. Fun to show people a comparsion of the early cell phones to present day phones.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by absoluteAL

I got my first cell phone in the early '80's and I still have it. Fun to show people a comparsion of the early cell phones to present day phones.

I still have a bag phone......in the closet.

I converted my business to cell phone only, but I still have my home land line to use as a fax line....and some people still call us on that number.

[absoluteAL]

Originally Posted by Dale

I still have a bag phone......in the closet.

Can't say that I ever had or wanted a bag phone. My first cell phone was a Motorola "brick" phone.

[ryberg]

Interesting topic! Glad you brought it up. I was wondering about this the other day, in part because of a related question involving my mother and in part because the Pew Research site I like to check in on from time to time ran an article, in fact, saying that some 7-8% of Americans now operate with cell phone only, no land line (and how that might affect the validity of telephone surveys, was their particular concern).

I must say that to me it just seems obvious that land lines are a thing of the past, all in all, and are bound to fade out, they're just not something that fades out so quickly (like many tech gadgets, for example). Everybody uses their cell phone and it probably seems silly to you guys to hear but I was surprised some 3 years ago or so when we were in the States visiting my family in KC and I took a quick trip to Denver for a day to visit a friend who was recovering from chemo and when I specifically asked for the land line to call and check in with Delmy, assuming that would be cheaper, and they corrected me and said the cell would be cheaper.

Anyway, I have heard that one disadvantage to a cell-only approach may be with respect to 911 service, and in particular that it may be impossible for anyone to determine where you are and how to help you if you call 911 from a cell phone but cannot speak or explain properly or something. Granted this would be quite a rare instance, indeed, and many 911 situations might occur outside the home, but still...

Steve

[kayt707]

I would always want a land line. One if you do have trouble with down towers or jammed circuts you still have a means of communication. I know for us during the fires a few years back towers got knocked down and we had some issues for a while. Two, I dont have to worry about minutes.

One thing though about the 911 thing is that if you have ever had a land line hooked up to your house you can still access 911 even if you do not still have an active land line. Just leave one plugged in somewhere so you dont have to track it down in an emergency!

[smachim]

You can't have the same number in 2 different handsets, but there are ways around.

Check
GrandCentral: The New Way to Use Your Phones
they belong to google now.
If you have broadband skype is a cheap alternative. Although no 100% reliable, if combined with the cell is more than enough.

[jamesblonde]

Originally Posted by ryberg

Anyway, I have heard that one disadvantage to a cell-only approach may be with respect to 911 service, and in particular that it may be impossible for anyone to determine where you are and how to help you if you call 911 from a cell phone but cannot speak or explain properly or something. Granted this would be quite a rare instance, indeed, and many 911 situations might occur outside the home, but still...

Steve

That's interesting and something that I hadn't thought of. I rarely use my land line, but still like to have it. We did drop all long distance some time ago. I'm thinking about dropping the other features too and just going basic as I rarely answer the call waiting calls anyhow and anyone who can't reach me just calls my cell. My verizon service is pretty good almost everywhere.

[absoluteAL]

Originally Posted by ryberg

I must say that to me it just seems obvious that land lines are a thing of the past, all in all, and are bound to fade out, they're just not something that fades out so quickly (like many tech gadgets, for example).

Look at how the number of pay phones ("booths") has diminished in recent years, at least in the US and probably a lot of the world. I am sure sooner or later they (pay phones)will all be relics as cell phone usage keeps increasing. But rest assured, Telex will still have their pay phones throughout MX. How else could Carlos Slim Helu become the richest man in the world (soon).

[queencityfan]

My daughter and her husband (mid-twenties) have never had a land line, they both have their own cell.
I don't have (or want) a cell phone so I keep my land line for the few calls I make.

[Sol]

I don't use my cell phone too much. We have a land line. Verizon has the best coverage. I have T-mobile and I have noticed that when roaming in some parts of the state, it will switch to Verizon.

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by absoluteAL

Look at how the number of pay phones ("booths") has diminished in recent years, at least in the US and probably a lot of the world. I am sure sooner or later they (pay phones)will all be relics as cell phone usage keeps increasing. But rest assured, Telex will still have their pay phones throughout MX. How else could Carlos Slim Helu become the richest man in the world (soon).

Already is. You didn't see my thread on that a while back, here?

Steve