apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The only drawback I have is that in my ground floor apartment I have quite a few dead spots. When I drop calls I just say, "oops I just stepped out of the phone booth." Sometimes rather annoying, but I really don't want to take on another bill just for that.

I was wondering if there is a device that would allow you to plug in you cell phone in a base type thing and then have another phone you could walk around with. Has this been invented?

Been cell-only for almost 3 years now. Don't see much reason to go back. Never really used the landline when I had it anyway.

Haven't had a landline in...gee, four years. Don't miss it.

I too am cell-phone only, and love it, though I do have the same problem as EastVillageAmy as my basement apartment gets pretty bad reception.

The other draw back is that if you have guests, and you're out, they don't have a phone to use. Though really, doesn't everyone have a cell phone these days??

The are cell phone boosters - and I don't mean the little stickers that you put on your phone that don't actually do anything. See http://www.spotwave.com for an example.

What about the internet? That's why I still have a land line.

I work at home and wouldn't know how to fax anything without a land line.

I'm with sara48. I've got Verizon DSL in my apartment which is the only reason I keep a landline. If I could find comparable internet service for the price, I'd dump it in a heartbeat.

Everyone should have a corded (not cordless, which won't work in a power outage) landline in case of emergency. Maybe that's just my paranoia speaking, but on 9/11 my corded landline was the only way I was able to get through to anyone.

I only have a cell phone (well, and a blackberry phone, which I can also use with PINs in case of emergency.) Don't even remember the last time I had a landline phone. I guess it must have been five years ago. Don't miss it in the slightest.

If you have kids, keep a land line. A toddler can be taught to dial "911". Of course, the tough part is keeping them from doing it when there is no emergency. Also, keep your charger and cell by your bed to call if some less-than-nice person attempts to trespass in the wee hours. Make sure your cell as a GPS finder as well for the same reason. If there are dead spots in the apartment, keep a land line for the same reasons.

Once worked on customer service for a phone company. That is what I heard from parents of young children (with hard lessons learned) as well as a lot of newly single women due to death or divorce. Think of it as an informal survey with loads of qualitative information and personal stories.

None of our immediate neighbors have landlines, so I'm guessing that if you have cable internet, you don't miss 'em.

How do I know this? The phone company says our address doesn't exist. The cable company says 50 of the 51 lines in the main phone closet share the same serious equipment problem -- which they didn't notice until we hauled them out here.

If your apartment entry system ties into a phone, make sure you can use a cell on it. Many allow it, but some older ones actually connect to phone wiring in the building.

EastVillageAmy:
T-Mobile has a system that works similarly. Basically it's a mobile phone / VOIP phone. When you're in your house where a wifi network is set up, your phone acts as VOIP (or when you're at a TMobile HotSpot like a bookstore). This is nice not only because you aren't subject to a cell tower's reach, but you're also not using cellular minutes off your plan. Then when you're not on your home network it operates like a normal cell phone. So theoretically you wouldn't have the phone booth issue because your wifi connection is carrying your signal instead of a cell tower. To learn more, go to their promo website: http://www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com/

(And, no, I'm not affiliated with TMobile in any way. I just happen to remember reading about this on endgadget.)

Oh, and we're a cell phone only couple. I guess technically we have a landline for our DSL, but we don't have a phone plugged into the wall and I don't even know the number.

We are having a baby in January, though, and I could see us having a phone or two plugged into the wall in case of emergencies.

eastvillageamy:

I have a motorola docking station and accessory cordless phones, which can work with a landline and a cellphone. It only works with motorola cellphones though. It's a cordless phone system that has an optional cellphone dock. As an added bonus, it's specifically configured not to interfere with wifi signals (which is a problem with many older 2.4 gHz phones).

I was originally looking at an RCA version which has converters for a variety of cellphones (if you're phone isn't a moto), but I had serious problems trying to get them to tell me whether my phone was compatible, which is when I discovered the moto version.

Oh, I should also note that I've been cellphone only since I bought my new apartment two years ago, and, except for times like last night when I accidentally left my cellphone at work (but used skype to check voicemail before I went to bed), it's been fine.

I moved into a very old building, and when renovating, my contractors (in order to actually paint the walls correctly) ripped out all of the old phone line cabling, which was "installed" (probably 50 or so years ago) by having been stapled to the baseboards throughout the apartment. So I had them take it all out, figuring that if I ever wanted landline service, I should get it properly installed anyway. These days, between cellphones and VOIP, it just seemed unneccesary.

I have an old-school corded landline for power outages and for emergencies. I also use it for long social calls. The sound quality is better over the landline and the phone is more comfortable to hold if I'm going to be on the phone for half an hour.

I totally agree with you quercus and d in dc. It makes my family breathe a sigh of relief to know that I have a landline for emergencies. As a single gal living alone in the city, it gives me a little peace of mind. I have a corded phone plugged into it and since incoming calls are free, I always have my relatives call me on that number. Much better reception and no dropped calls.

I let land-line phones go in 1995. I've been mobile since......

Don't mean to sound crazy, but it is possible that excessive cell phone use contributes to brain tumors...I'm keeping my land line!

Cell only for over a year, and love it. Never miss the land line. I have the option of getting a landline with my cable package without paying much more, and turned it down.

You can also get insurance on the cell, about $5/month, and get a replacement almost right away if you lose/damage yours. Some services also give out loaners.

So please explain to me how to run a business from home without a land line. Is it possible? I'd give up my land line if I could but again, how do you send and recieve faxes without a land line? Can you do it with a cell phone?

I'm serious. Am I the only one here who works out of a home office?

Although I have the same apt. arrangement (ground floor) and suffer the same reception problems as EastVillageAmy (and in the same 'nabe) I have to agree with D in DC on keeping a land line. On 9/11 both my cell phone and land line went dead immediately. The land line, however, was semi-up and running (able to receive calls, though not make outgoing) by noon and fully operational by 3 pm that afternoon. The cell was dead for a full day and VERY spotty for another after that.

Still, it irks me to have to dish out roughly $40 monthly ($25 to Verizon, $15 for MCI long distance) for peace of mind. Is there a cheaper alternative in NYC?

I've been cell phone only as long as i have lived in the states, and its worked just fine.

The only time I kind of wished for a land line was on 9/12 when mobiles wouldnt work because too many people were on the networks. I consider that a once off though.

Also if you lived in queens during the 10 day blackout last year, I imagine trying to find ways to charge your phone may have been challenging, again, a very unique situation.

You can send text messages to google and it will send you back 'yellow pages' type information (often better). It will also provide weather/movie times/sports scores and all kinds of cool stuff. Google 'Google SMS' and it has all the info.

Hmm, I am definitely pro-landline for two reasons: First, emergencies - in addition to 9/11, during the NYC blackout I was able to make phonecalls no problem and even CHECK E-MAIL with the remaining battery on my notebook thanks to my landline.

Second, I feel that switching to cellphones only leaves people with the perception that I am reachable 24x7 and if I don't pick up I must be screening. I do carry a cell, but people who know me know that it is shut off in my purse most of the time, and they always try my home phone first.

I have friends who are cell only, and if I call I fear I may be interrupting them; if I have nothing crucial to say I often hesitate to call them and choose e-mail instead.

Sounds like a lot of people are concerned with emergency lines....I still have that concern (I had no landline in 9/11 and during blackout, and remember how nerve wrecking it was.)

If the phone companies had half a brain, they would offer a special deal for concerned people. Let's say--$5 bucks per month for piece of mind-- just a landline for emergencies. Then whenever you use it, you'd pay by the minute and get charged an arm and a leg. So you'd only really use it in emergencies and extraordinary cases. Instead of a phone line, they could sell it as a "safety line"... which would really scare a lot of people into getting that service. They'd make a killing in new york market, probably.

My father worked for the phone company and he drilled into me the importance of having a landline with a non-cordless phone for emergencies. Living in SF, with the possibility of earthquakes, I cannot imagine going without a landline.

saudoso and others paying for landlines just for emergencies - Telephone companies have that option of the completely bare bones, pay by the minute plan, you just have to ask for it. It's not $5, esp. with taxes on top of it, but it's not expensive and could save you money over what you're paying.

In my case, we were getting wrong numbers (from the same people who didn't speak English--or another language we know--and weren't considerate enough to watch what they were doing) at all hours of the day and night, and they were the only people calling us on our landline, so we'd panic that a family member was seriously hurt or something that would require waking us at those odd hours.

Days I get to sleep in, I'll either put the phone in another room or I'll silence the ringer; my husband keeps his on in case anyone needs to get a hold of us for emergencies (he gets very few calls besides from me because they use email (or me) to contact him, so it's not a problem).

anne - you can get e-fax programs for your computer if you really need to have a fax machine. This routes any faxes to an email address, which you check, and the doc shows up as an attachment. If you need to send physical pages, you can scan them and send via the same program, but if it's electronic documents you need to fax, it's even easier to use the e-fax program. If you have multiple pages at a time to fax, consider a fax with a feeder on the top to do them like you might on a copy machine when you have multiple pages.

Cell phone coverage and battery-life is too spotty.

I've had Lingo VOIP for 3 years now and I love it. I travel a lot internationaly and bring it with me. No problem. I have the same U.S. phone number wherever I am.

Plus cellphones get too warm after use.

This week I've been dealing with a vendor who has to send me several faxes. I asked if he could just email them to me and he said he didn't have the capability. So, Kate, you're saying that he could have faxed me the only way he could and I could receive them in my computer? If so, that would be the only reason to hold onto a land line.

Having said that - I hate the phone. I didn't get my first cell phone until last Nov. and have only used 200 minutes on it since then. I figured that if I hate the phone and rarely pick up at home until I know who's calling, why pay to carry one around with me! There are a couple of reasons for getting the cell but I really don't like it (or my land line).

i have been without a landline for almost 8 years. i have no problem with it. the only thing is that there are a few people who i have lost track of over the years. i know the city they live in, but since they don't have a landline, i can't dial 411 to track them down.

is there any plan for an online directory for cell phone numbers?

I would really like to give Ma Bell the old heave ho, but need the landline for entry to my building. Anyone know if you can just have LL to let the pizza guy in.

During Katrina, my sister had to leave her house because her uber-toilets were electrically powered, and since she didn't have a landline, she had to move to her sister-in-law's in a different state, because that way she could also charge her phone. My folks had no phone service, but could stay longer because they at least had toilets.

I'm not giving up my landline because I like the 911 thing and although I'm not old yet, I'm getting to be middle-aged, and I want that security. If you get telephone connected to your cable service, you're screwed if there's an outage. If you get DSL from your phone company, you're completely screwed if they have an outage.

I hate the 3 different bills, but I hate even worse the idea of having all my eggs in one basket. As it is, I can pretty much always communicate. I call the landline company on my cell phone (as I did just the other day); I could reach Time Warner on my landline if my cable goes out, etc.

But I don't smoke, as my aunt used to say (when she lived in Norway, where her smoker friend used to pay through the nose for cigarettes) and she wanted to justify the cost of skiing trips.

I have both--though my "landline" is VOIP...Vonage. My cell phone gets no reception in my house...not to mention that I hate using my cell phone. I never feel completely comfortable talking on it. I also know when I'm on with people on their cell phones, there's the constant "Are you there?"

Just FYI--you can dial 911 with VOIP too. You just have to tell the system where you are. As a backup, I have the police number programmed.

I personally love Vonage. $24 bucks a month, including forwarding to my cell phone (or any other phone), internet voicemail, a "ghost" phone number my parents can call that is local to them (b/c they don't have l.d. on their landline), and perhaps the biggest advantage I can see is that when I moved, I kept my number.

I thought that I wanted a landline for emergencies, but the $70 per month I had been paying seemed a bit steep for that--esp considering that even with a landline there are no guarantees.

I am required to have a land-line for work. Even signed a paper stating "that the contact number I have on file is not a cell phone." But it's only basic service; no call waiting, forwarding, etc. Cost about $11 a month.

bobbin: I have both a landline (VOIP) and a cellphone/mobile. The mobile is connected to the buzzer at the front door. I don't think it has to be a landline.

Plus its one less key to carry as I can just buzz myself in.

Cheers!

During the blackout of 2003, I dragged out my Canal Street special (cost me about 8 bucks tops)--the beige touchtone corded phone with no machine attached. Plugged it into the jack and it worked like a charm. I have a toddler, and I can't live with limited access to 911. I'm on the 12th floor, but there are dead zones in my apartment, too. So yes, we still shell out for the landline. But the day will come when we'll ditch it, I'm sure.

Im cell only. I got so frustrated with an $85 a month phone bill, and thats with out voicemail, caller ID, etc. It was much too expensive, and I hardly used it anyways. Seemed like a waste of money.

I dont get the 911 concern. Ive called 911 on my cell, and I was instantly taken to the local 911 place. I didnt have to say anything about where I was.

Kate--

Years ago we had elderly neighbors who couldn't afford to pay regular phone bills, and Bell had an emergency only call-out, and (of course) free incoming call plan, which was great for them. I'm not quite ready to switch over to 100% cell use for some of the reasons already cited. I asked Verizon if they had some plan like the old Bell plan, and I got an incredulous "Nooo!" for an answer.

Every time I see a commercial in which a company applauds its own money-saving fees, a certain finger of mine jabs in the air at it.

Although I only use my landline about 2% of the time, I can't convince myself to get rid of it, because on 9/11 I was the only person in DC that friends or family could get a hold of, since cell phones were all knocked out. Although I certainly don't expect a repeat of that experience, the landline is still my little security blanket just in case.

I've compensated by creating a mock "family" plan with my sister and her husband, pretending we're one household and saving about $20/month each. Also, I've cut back as much as I can on the landline service - limited local calls, very limited long distance, etc., so that also saves about $15/month.

Every six months or so I try to convince myself to let go of the landline, but it's not happening, even though it's the biggest waste of money. Oh well. I just decided to save money somewhere else.

We thought about giving up the landline to save money but if that happened and my husband had his cell number and I had mine, I'd probably never have a chance to chat with his family and friends and vice versa. My people would call me directly and his would call him.

There's something to be said for the few minutes of chat that happens before you hand the phone over to your partner or take a message. It helps us keep connected as a family.

Kathy

On 9/11, our cell didn't work but our landline did (we live a few blocks from the WTC site). And during the NYC blackout, we didn't have to worry about recharging a cell. We had two old-school Princess phones, plugged one into our landline and lent one to a neighbor. The assurance that we're connected is worth the $.

I wouldn't be without a landline. I resisted getting a cell phone for a long time, especially after 9/11 because cell phones did not work; they also didn't work the night of the blackout. I can talk comfortably for long stretches with the landline and don't ever have to worry about not having enough bars, reception, recharging etc as you do with a cell.

I rarely use my cell, in fact.

Never felt the need to have a conversation while in the street, in the supermarket, on the train, or, the best (actually the worst) in the bathroom UGH UGH.

I've been using a cell only for a few years. One reason for that is emergency use: I feel a little safer on the street at night with a phone in my hand. And once I had to call my brother to rescue me when I had car trouble in the middle of nowhere. And I mean the middle of nowhere-- I wore out the battery using the phone as a freakin' flashlight!

we have a landline and cellphones - overseas calling to 2 countries in Asia make a landline necessary for us. Plus, our walls are super-thick, so our cell phones only work out in the driveway! I'd love to ditch the land if I could though!

I keep the landline for 2 reasons:

1) DSL
1a - Our DSL is reasonably priced and very reliable compared to friends' cable modems.
1b - I regard cable as disposable and the local cable company with suspicion. If I can convince hubby to cancel cable I will - and I won't want to stop to dither about cable internet.

2) It's not uncommon for us to lose power during winter windstorms, including one 5-day stretch last December. Good ol' fashioned phone lines work just fine without power.

As I mentioned, we have the land line for emergencies. You can ask your provider for a bare-bones "economy" line that will charge you a minimal amt per month and will charge you per phone call received (I think over a certain threshold). So if you never use it, you'll only pay the low monthly fee.