The fall of the phone

[V-Sweetheart]

Vintage phone skin

Ok how did you do that? You called your provider and ? I can't even figure out how to get the image I want on the screen much less a interesting outside attachment.

 

[ScionPI2005]

WOW! I too want to know how you did that.

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

How I did it

Thanks guy and doll

I happen to have Verizon and they have an application called vskin:

http://www.vskins.com/

Here you can choose the phone model you own, and either use art they have available in various categories or "create your own" and then upload images from your computer.

So try playing around with with it and see what you can come up with - I don't think you have to be a Verizon customer (though I have not verified) because you pay directly for the skin independent of your monthly bill.

Obviously there are lots of great Golden Era inspirations out there - everything from furniture details, suitcases, radios, automobile dashboards, cinema marquis and neon signage to actual phones...

Mine is beginning to show some wear after about 1.5 years, but for the price I think that's awfully reasonable, especially since I use it alot!

Hope this helps!

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

Ok how did you do that? You called your provider and ? I can't even figure out how to get the image I want on the screen much less a interesting outside attachment.

My phone has a camera function, so believe it or not, I had that image on my computer and took a picture with my phone, then set the "wallpaper" to that image. Try looking in your phone's menu under settings or tools and look for "Display Settings" that would be where you would change the appearance of the phone's displays. Hope that helps!

 

[zombi]

I have a cell phone. I also hate my cell phone. I have it because my fiance & I do not have a home phone -- we have separate cell phones. When I went away to university, my parents gave me a cell phone so that they could call me from their home without paying long distance charges. They are still the only people, besides my employer, who ever call me normally.

I dislike talking on the phone in general; I don't know what it is, but I really hate it. If it is not the hospital where I work, my fiance, or my family, I usually don't answer. Half the time I leave it at home and don't even it take it with me if I go anywhere, either. lol I don't want people to be able to reach me!

 

[Retro Russ]

I don't ever use a phone. I never know what to say when on one. The only time I've ever used a phone is to answer it for someone else. Someone bought me a cell phone once, but I never used it and never bothered to carry it around. I just didn't have any use for it, and I find the idea of someone being able to contact me at any time annoying.

I have a replica of a vintage telephone in my basement, but it's just for kicks, since I don't call anyone. It'd be nice to have a real one that can somehow make calls for the occasional pizza delivery, but I've read that modern phone companies don't support rotary dialing. Is there a way to modify an old phone without having to pay additional charges for rotary support? I've only ever heard of getting them to work by paying an extra charge to a cooperative phone company.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't ever use a phone. I never know what to say when on one. The only time I've ever used a phone is to answer it for someone else. Someone bought me a cell phone once, but I never used it and never bothered to carry it around. I just didn't have any use for it, and I find the idea of someone being able to contact me at any time annoying.

I have a replica of a vintage telephone in my basement, but it's just for kicks, since I don't call anyone. It'd be nice to have a real one that can somehow make calls for the occasional pizza delivery, but I've read that modern phone companies don't support rotary dialing. Is there a way to modify an old phone without having to pay additional charges for rotary support? I've only ever heard of getting them to work by paying an extra charge to a cooperative phone company.

Most if not all traditional hard-wired (*not* cable tv/digital phone) phone companies in the US still support rotary dialing, including all of those descended from former Bell companies (who don't charge extra for it), and there's little chance of that changing unless there's a wholesale replacement of the entire network. If on the odd chance your company doesnt still support rotary, you can use a pocket tone-dialer to dial out -- it's a cheap little gadget you hold up to the mouthpiece of your phone and use to punch in numbers. I have nothing but rotary phones in my house, and have a tone dialer in my desk drawer in case I run into one of those insufferable automated answering systems.

 

[Paisley]

The machine just doesn't understand me

I don't mind answering systems that make you push buttons--that's how I like to pay my credit card bill. What I hate are the ones that try to recognize what you say. For some reason, those often don't understand me.

 

[Retro Russ]

Most if not all traditional hard-wired (*not* cable tv/digital phone) phone companies in the US still support rotary dialing, including all of those descended from former Bell companies (who don't charge extra for it), and there's little chance of that changing unless there's a wholesale replacement of the entire network. If on the odd chance your company doesnt still support rotary, you can use a pocket tone-dialer to dial out -- it's a cheap little gadget you hold up to the mouthpiece of your phone and use to punch in numbers. I have nothing but rotary phones in my house, and have a tone dialer in my desk drawer in case I run into one of those insufferable automated answering systems.

Ah, that's unfortunate. The phone company I use is a digital phone network. I guess I could use a pocket tone-dialer, but then I wouldn't actually be able to rotate the dial, which was what I was hoping for. Thank you for the information. It has been helpful.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Dial R for Retro"

"Does anyone else use the "Novophone" I need to buy a new cell phone, as it has died! can anyone recommend a cell phone to use with this handset?"

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I don't mind answering systems that make you push buttons--that's how I like to pay my credit card bill. What I hate are the ones that try to recognize what you say. For some reason, those often don't understand me.

There was a bank I used to deal with that had a similar automated response, but to be cutesy, when they recorded the chaps voice they put in deliberate ums and errs and "the computer is not usually this slow" that you might get from actual person. I'm not sure who'd be fooled by that though.

 

[Dr Doran]

How astonishingly annoying.

 

[Story]

Cell phone, circa 1922
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16196/its_no_iphone_4g_but_it_is_in_black_and_white

to
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo.../Footage-shows-worlds-first-mobile-phone.html
and
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=26165

Looks like the umbrella is the antenna and the fire plug a ground.

 

[ScionPI2005]

Cell phone, circa 1922
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16196/its_no_iphone_4g_but_it_is_in_black_and_white

to
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo.../Footage-shows-worlds-first-mobile-phone.html
and
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=26165

Looks like the umbrella is the antenna and the fire plug a ground.

Hmm...somehow I don't think using that in a thunderstorm is a good idea...even with the umbrella.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

A G Handset, eh? I would suggest a Western Electric 500 or a wall model 554, or one of their Stromberg Carlson, or ITT cousins haha.

I have an LG Bliss. It's touch-screen, has internet, and all kinds of bells and whistles, it's the only non-rotary phone I ever use. In today's world, I only have one friend who calls me, everything else is Text Messaging, a cell phone is a must for me I guess.

"Does anyone else use the "Novophone" I need to buy a new cell phone, as it has died! can anyone recommend a cell phone to use with this handset?"

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"I can't find any cell phones to use with the Novophone!, its all rather anoying!"

 

[Atomic Age]

"I can't find any cell phones to use with the Novophone!, its all rather anoying!"

Novaphone makes adapters that allow it to work with many different cell phones.

http://www.novophone.com/categories/Shop-Novophone-Adapters/

Doug

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Thanks for the link,however, I have emailed novophone asking which phone to buy so i do not have to mess about with adapters"

 

[Helysoune]

I've been without a cell phone for about two months now due to trimming expenses and I LOVE IT! At first, I was so irritated, thinking constantly that I'd like to text this person or that I forgot to tell the mister we needed bread before he went to the store and so on. But I've gotten past that and I don't want to go back! The mister and I can converse without someone chiming in with obnoxious text messages and no worries about driving somewhere and being interrupted by the blare of the phone.

I've also again abandoned the debit card and am exclusively using checks and cash again. It's so much easier to keep the checkbook this way - no losing receipts and the overdraft nightmare that goes along with missing an entry.

Three cheers for a slower, more deliberate lifestyle!

 

[Brent Hutto]

Nothing about owning, carrying or using a cell phone demands that you be any more available than you choose to be. My wife carries hers 'most everywhere she goes but would never, ever answer it if it were to ring. Anyone who wants to reach her knows her work and home phone numbers (and most do not know her mobile number) and can call her at one of those if they want to talk to her.

People are not instantly and continuously available because someone invented cell phones. It's because they want to be instantly and continuously available. And some people Just Say No.