For anyone who loves cell phones...

[cbass2781]

Hi everyone!

I'm a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and I need to write a feature article for my journalism class. I recently bought a cell phone and am pretty interested in the new technology these days, so I stumbled on to websites like this one not too long ago. I was hoping to write about the "cell phone community" that exists online and maybe some of the individuals that make up that group. I have a few questions, and if any of you are interested in sharing some opinions, you can email your answers to me at cbass2781@hotmail.com or just reply here to my post. I do need full names, if possible, to document sources, but it's not necessary, or you can even make up a name if you like. Also, feel free to answer any number of questions you want--I'll take anything I can get. =)


1. Just for some intro information, how long have you been using cell phones and how did you find out about these online forums?

2. What is it about cell phones, in particular, that interests you? (sorry to be so general, looking for a wide range of opinions)

3. What is your general impression of the other members of these forums, and how much do you trust the information that is produced?

4. Also, I plan on using the release of the Samsung A530 (Verizon) as an indicative starting point, so any thoughts on the hype that preceded the release? Or anything else you can think of?


I don't want to overdo it, so I'll leave it at this for now... thanks for your patience, and I appreciate the help...

[VTEC01EX]

1. I've been using cell phones since 1998, when I got a driver's license. My first was a Motorola TeleTAC 250 analog on GTE's service. I found these forums when I first got my Verizon V60i and I was looking for the key sequence to get the test mode screen.

2. What interests me most is how dependent the world is becoming on their presence, when it is still such an unrefined technology. I'm also a nerd, and computers don't really do it for me anymore. It seems like all of the real innovation is happening in mobile electronics.

3. It depends. Just like in real life, once someone has proven themselves trustworthy by giving truthful information again and again, they become a reliable source.

4. In my opinion, Samsung handsets are subpar, particularly their CDMA ones. There was a lot of hype around the T720 too, and now look at it. It's the laughing stock of the Verizon phone community. I suspect we'll have another LG 4400 out there again soon - a phone that no one suspects will be great, but is. I also suspect it won't be the A530.

Hope I could help. If you want to cite me, that's fine, I'm Greg Ramage.

[cbass2781]

Thanks to all who responded, I appreciate the help!