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...

[dobby10]

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

Lets see, I got my first cell in 1997 or 1998, from BAM (Bell Atlantic Mobile) Now Verizon. It was when Digital was first starting.


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

I always like to be on top of new technology, so I am interested in Cell Phones..


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

For the most part I feel the information is reliable. There is really no incentive for people to give out false information.

Mike Dobkin

[mobilephonie]

Hey,

Mike Dobkin.....gimme an email at mrdobrow21@si.rr.com.

I have a question or two for ya.

btw I will post a reply to these questions too. I just have a question for Mr.Dobkin.

[mobilephonie]

1. 1996

2. Important comm tool.

3. Ditto on Dobby.

[crood]

Originally posted by: 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...

1. I've used a cell phone for about 4 years. I found the forums by using the Google search engine.
2. I'm interested in the technology and features, but mostly I like it as a convenient way to stay in touch with family and friends.
3. You need to take all the information together as a whole. There are quite a few people who claim to be "in the know" about things, but the information can be false. If you read as many of the posts on a topic as you can, you usually get decent information. It seems a lot of people are biased towards their own carrier or against their last one. I think you need to go in knowing what you're looking for to get the info you want.
4. I think most phones get over-hyped. People anxiously await the next big thing and are then disappointed.

[vtguy]

1. I got my first phone in 1996, an analog Nokia on AT&T Wireless. I found out about this forum by searching in Google.

2. I am very interested in technology, in general. My interest in mobile phones, I guess, is just a natural offshoot of my general interest in technology.

3. I frequent this forum, Howard Forums and the general usenet forums, and my general impression is that this forum is the friendliest and most willing to be helpful. Yes, sometimes there is misinformation passed on around in this forum, but there is much less of the "attitude." In general I trust the information posted here, but it depends of course on the source. That being said, I think this forum attracts much less traffic than HoFo for some reason.

4. I think that the a530 and its release has been the most over-hyped thing that I have seen in a while. For one, I don't know why that phone in particular is being viewed as the second coming - other than the fact that it's very small and has an external color lcd. I mean, it doesn't have analog, which for urbanites, is probably unnecessary but since I live in a rural area, if I had the a530 it would be useless at least 50% of the time for me. I am sure that other people's needs are not the same as mine, though, so to each their own. It's interesting, but there was a similar level of hype that preceded the release of the Kyocera 7135, but that was much more in the smartphone forums (not too much hype in HoFo, for example), and I can see why that phone was so anticipated because it looked to a very good integration of PDA and phone into a phone form factor. The a530, I dunno, I just don't see why it's been so hyped.

[cbass2781]

Thanks to all who responded, I appreciate the help!