11/22   Any suggestions for good cellphone?  A good carrier?
        \_ Pacbell currently has a good promotional plan.  $29.99 for 120
           peak minutes and 1000 nights and weekend minutes plus a free Nokia
           5190 phone.  Good deal if you don't plan to travel to rural
           places since Pacbell coverage isn't that good.  CellularOne has
           similar deal, too, but voice quality isn't as good as Pacbell and
           voicemail is extra.  However, the coverage is better.
        \_ Nokia 8800 series...so now you can be as cool as Neo.
        \_ $700 with activation makes the phone much less appealing
        \_ Get one of the nokia 6100 series.  they kick ass. 6190/6185 are
           esp nice.
           \_ the 6185 is pretty nice because you don't need a different
              battery for vibrate
           the useless parts of your brain for nearly infinite stoage!  Be
           \_ I love my 6150, except that 6100s have sort of high-ish
              emissions in a lot of comparisons.  -John
                \_ Don't worry: living in Europe, you're already sterile and
                   have brain tumors forming.  Enjoy your phone.
        \_ Ether BrainTap(tm)(c)(R) from <DEAD>BrainBits.com<DEAD>.  Get and send your
           email and instant messages directly from your brain implant!  Use
           the useless parts of your brain for nearly infinite storage!  Be
           all that you can be!  No OS required.  Installation is free.
        \_ Buy American.  Buy Motorola.
           \_ this is stupid. companies compete in a global marketplace.
              i base my decisions on product quality and price, not
              which multinational company is headquartered in the US. they
              all use indigent southeast asian and mexican labor anyway.
              do you think they give you a discount because you're a
              citizen of the US? no, because THEY'RE not stupid. --aaron
              \_ I'm not a citizen. I just live here, cause the money's
                 better.
              \_ I thought they are designed and manufactured in Florida.
                 As for southeast asian and mexican labor, it's slave labor!
                 Unfair competition!!!  Why is it that it was such a big
                 deal when Japanese car companies were gaining market share
                 share in the US, but not when Nokia is killing Motorola?
                 \_ Cars are american.  Electronics are toys.  I hate when
                    someone chops into the middle of something to reply.  Just
                    add your comment.  Sheesh.  (waiting for some nimwit to
                                                                  \_ NIM!
                    add a reply to each of this)  I rebuilt aaron's comments
                    stronger, better, faster than before.
                \_ i think american cars are very poorly designed. --aaron
                      \_ You also think American chics are poorly designed.
                         \_ but they're easy/cheap
                   \_ Go home!
        \_ I'm also in the hunt for a phone, anyone use gte prepaid? Can you
           use any phone you want? Anyone have a new StarTAC? How's the
           battery life?  any problems, commments, etc? The phone MUST vibrate
           and have voicemail.  Thanks.
        \_ I have a PacBell wireless phone (the digital startac) and while
           I get coverage in Soda hall (which other carriers dont seem to
           provide), I am having trouble with my phone/service in that
           if I walk around the building and pass through an area where I
           do not have service and go back to my office, my phone sez that
           it is in service, but when I call my phone from a land line, it
           goes straight to my voicemail unless I turn my phone on and
           off. Does anyone else also have this problem? Is this a problem
           with the service or the phone? (PacBell customer care is of
           no help - they think turning the phone off and on every 5
           minutes is an acceptable thing to do).
           \_ I get service in Soda Hall from CellOne on floors 4 and above.
              Floors 3 and below are essentially subterranean. --Jon
        \_ my old motorola 6000e has a menu option to control the frequency
           of network searches.  i believe they only transmit to the
           network base on this interval when idle.  you trade off network
           reliability for battery life.
                \_ I've tried that, it doesn't help.