pre- trip report

typed:
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."

I didn't know Nextel had direct phone-to-phone capabilities on some of their
phones, even without network access. That's pretty cool.
--
TL,
Tim
-------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj