way ot- cell phone ?

[back alley]

ok, i'm flying out on saturday morning and i hate flying and i thought if i had something TO DO while i just sit there that i'd be a much happier camper.

well, it was time for a new cell phone and i hate sitting and programming all my numbers into a new phone so i thought this would be a great opportunity to use that hated time on the plane usefully.

still with me?

so i got a new phone today.

and i just had this horrible thought...am i allowed to turn on a cell phone on a plane?

anyone know for sure?

joe :bang:

 

[simonankor]

No. At least, not on domestic flights down here (Australia) or any international flights I've been on...

You might be better off fondling a Canon or two 😉

 

[back alley]

no, meaning i can't turn it on?

 

[simonankor]

Yes, meaning no, you can't turn it on.

Oh and don't fondle with the cameras either. That makes you a terrorist! :bang:

 

[back alley]

damn and double damn!

 

[back alley]

guess i'll have to bring a book for the flight and program the damn phone tonite!

joe

 

[Traut]

But a Treo 650 or other "smartphone". You can turn the power on without turning the telephone portion on. I've used most smartphones and feel the treo is the most intuitive phone I have owned.

 

[rover]

But a Treo 650 or other "smartphone". You can turn the power on without turning the telephone portion on. I've used most smartphones and feel the treo is the most intuitive phone I have owned.

Traut, I am looking at the Audiovox 6601, it is like a Pocket PC, have you used that one?

Joe, check with your airline, you may be able to turn one on once the flight gets up to altitude. It has been a few years since I have been on a plane though.

 

[back alley]

i'll check their website.

already bought the phone traut.
actually it was free. i don't think i have actually paid for a phone yet since 1992.

joe

 

[DougK]

I've flown quite a bit with various electronic gadgets in the course of my job, so here's my take:

Theoretically, if you can turn the phone/transceiver portion of the device off, you can use the remainder of the functions (PDA, phone, whatever) during the flight once at altitude.

Practically, most flight attendants will see your gadget as a phone and just tell you to turn the d*** thing off.

 

[peter_n]

But a Treo 650 or other "smartphone". You can turn the power on without turning the telephone portion on. I've used most smartphones and feel the treo is the most intuitive phone I have owned.

Yeah!! I have a Treo 180 from when they came out and that thing is indestructible! Love the thing, love the Palm OS, the phone integration with my Palm address list, the Word docs I can put on it, the 500 free text messages a month, the SIM card operation, the three dimensional tic-tac-toe.... oops 😀

 

[JoeFriday]

when I got my latest cell phone, I picked it up at my cellular provider and they transferred the numbers from the old phone into the new one automatically.. I didn't have to do a thing

 

[back alley]

they can do that?

 

[Justin Low]

For Nokia phones, Nokia provides a software suite for PCs that allows one to control, download or customize most aspects of the phone from the computer. You'd need either a data cable for it, an IR link, or a Bluetooth connection depending on the model of phone.

I personally use an IR link with my laptop to backup my address book. Also, I do a cut-paste of my text messages from the phone to the computer everytime my Inbox gets full. It beats erasing messages one at a time.

Check with your phone manufacturer if they have such a software.

 

[Pherdinand]

Maybe you can borrow the rubber chicken from Bill Mattocks?😀
Interestingly, whenever I fly, before takeoff they say that cell phones have to be switched off during the whole time of flying, not even stand-by mode is allowed - and then, before the landing begins, they ask us to switch off our "mobile phones and other eledctronic equipment".
This was done both by KLM, SkyEurope and Malev - and I think also by Delta.

Once i will have to ask them about this contradiction.

 

[rover]

My phone actually has an airplane mode....I have no idea what that is, but I was playing with the menues yesterday and noticed that it was there.

 

[back alley]

i found that on my new phone last night (while i was inputting some of my numbers).
it turns off the transciever & receiver and allows you to play with the phone as a seperate device. kinda cool.

 

[peter_n]

Motorola phones also have software that allow you to manage the phone from your computer. My kid who's just come back from living in Spain got a new mobile this week and we already have the software for it because I bought it for another kid last year. It costs money ($49 I think) but it certainly beats entering numbers on the phone.

I wouldn't buy a mobile any more unless it was at least GSM with a SIM card and the ability to manage the phone from a computer.