On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:15:53 -0400, "Tim J."
wrote:

typed:
On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:49:11 -0400, "Tim J."
wrote:

Joe McIntosh typed:
snip
...call 910 262 7761-you have to be close to get wife's cell phone.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, Joe, but someone could be
standing side-by-side with you and it would make no difference.
These new-fangled cell phone devices ain't walkie-talkies, ya know!
;-)

I hate to be the one to tell _you_ this, but some kinda are, or at
least work for the end-user in much the same way. And depending on
the carrier and type of phone, it's possible to have better luck
across the country than standing next to each other. There are spots
(both in and out of urban areas) where, for example, a particular
Cingular customer can get service, but a Nextel/Cellular
South/whoever customer can't and vice-versa. And if there aren't any
towers in the area, nobody is talking to anybody...

So, basically, in Joe's context of someone having to be nearby to call his
wife's cell phone, what I said is correct then, right? Or are you saying
some cell phones are phone-to-phone direct, which is what Joe implied?

Some can be "phone-to-phone," (well, most commonly, it's more (internal)
tower to (internal) tower, like Nextel, but see below) some can't, but
IAC, some areas (although the number is dwindling and coverage areas and
system-sharing agreements are increasing) are serviced with limited
towers, all of the "local" carriers. I can think of a number of rural
or just semi-rural areas that are now, or in some cases, less than 2
years ago were, in just such a circumstance. So, if you aren't using
the same carrier AND in same general area, getting through is or was
hit-or-miss. All I was pointing out was that from an end-user
perspective, and under certain circumstances, "cellular" might seem very
much like "walkie-talkies."

TC,
R