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So, you’re paying for a one-way conversation that probably will take longer to complete with all the “over”s and “can you repeat your second sentence”s. Your cell phone conversations will become less private and, as if it wasn’t bad enough already, they will become even more obtrusive to others.
So what’s the appeal? The flat rate? Well before Rogers bought Fido out, Fido had a great flat-rate talk-as-much-as you want anytime deal that didn’t seem to win over as many people. Perhaps if Fido encouraged its customers to say “over” while they were talking on their unlimited plans they would have been more successful. They could have added a button you could press while talking to make it feel more like a fireman’s radio. That might have done the trick.
Others claim the benefit is the instant connection. When you press the button – the person who you programmed to receive your messages hears what you say right away. Well let’s think about this for a minute. Are we to assume that when we bark “lets go to the mall” that the other party will be a) listening attentively for your message b) not talking to someone else on the phone, or in person. C) Hasn’t switched off the phone to stop being interrupted by you all the time. A typical situation would be the following: You’re in mid sentence talking to a friend about what an awful TA you have for Psychology when you hear someone blurt something out on your phone. Next step is to pick up the phone and say “what?” See how much time this saves over the old fashioned way of ringing the phone and saying “hello”. In fact, you might want to train your friend to say “ring ring” as he’s trying to contact you so you don’t miss any of the conversation. It would also be much more entertaining at the movies when you forget to turn your phone off. Instead of hearing a boring ring tone, your fellow movie patrons will appreciate hearing “Hey Adam, you bastard pick up the phone”. Yes, progress.
