Throwing away my cell phone filter.

December 12, 2007 8:48 AM

I want to ditch my cell phone for a text only device. I want my wife to be able to reach me at will, but other than that, folks will just have to wait. What is the best option?

I'm about to make a career change and am looking forward to taking the opportunity to change the way I use a cell phone too. Ultimately, I want my wife to be able to contact me any time she wants - other than that, I want it to be like 1985 again.

My thought was this...I'll get a pager and a prepaid cell phone. So my wife could page me, and I'll call her back...immediately if she adds the ol' 911 to the end of the page. After doing a bit of research though, what seems like the ideal solution would be an SMS only device. Is there such a thing? How can I use the networks to my advantage? Take my back to simple, please.

The goal is to keep the cost as low as possible and to never check voicemail again.

P.S. If SMS only isn't the ideal solution in your eyes, what is?

posted by stuboo to technology (17 comments total)

Most decent phones will let you set up a profile that only allows calls from whitelisted numbers. If you list what phone you have, perhaps someone can help find the manual or explain the process.
posted by kcm at 8:53 AM on December 12, 2007

You could just use the prepaid cell phone and only give the number to her. For all intents and purposes, no one else need know you have a phone.

My husband and I have this set up. In theory, it works well. In practice, he always seems to forget to turn it on (or he keeps it in his jacket pocket, where he can't hear it ring or feel it vibrate), so I'm just as in the dark as everyone else.
posted by Lucinda at 8:54 AM on December 12, 2007

kcm - My employer pays for my current phone, so I'll be getting a new one eventually. The goal would be to have a very inexpensive "plan" even if it means paying a bit more for the right phone up front.
posted by stuboo at 8:55 AM on December 12, 2007

Lucinda - I would be like your husband :) - that's why a pager came to mind. Because it's small, and I could wear it inside my waistline where it wouldn't be seen. But, I suppose I could get a teeny prepaid phone. But I still like the idea of quick sms to answer quick questions and to send quick "I luv u's"
posted by stuboo at 8:59 AM on December 12, 2007

What about a Sidekick(or other qwerty phone) and a data-only plan? There was something in the news recently (on the blue?) about plans for the deaf.
posted by djb at 9:22 AM on December 12, 2007

A normal cellphone and a GrandCentral.com account. Give the wife the normal cell number, give everyone else the GrandCentral number, and you can use the GrandCentral features to make all your requirements come true.
posted by grumpy at 9:24 AM on December 12, 2007

the following blog targeted at deaf cell phone users may be of some help.
posted by phil at 9:35 AM on December 12, 2007

let them all leave messages.
posted by pinto at 9:39 AM on December 12, 2007

As djb suggests, you can get a Sidekick with a data-only plan. You would still be able to place/receive phone calls, but you would be charged some (high) per-minute rate (extra incentive to use it only for emergencies).

Specifically, I would suggest the Sidekick ID, since it doesn't have the stuff you don't want (camera, bluetooth, etc) but still can do SMS and even IM if you like, and has the full keyboard under the screen for easy typing. Plus, it is the cheapest option.

(full disclosure: I sometimes do stuff for the people who design the guts of the Sidekick)
posted by mikepop at 9:53 AM on December 12, 2007

The goal is to keep the cost as low as possible and to never check voicemail again.
In the phone's setup; turn the voicemail off.
YMMV, most prepaid plans have a $1.oo per day usage fee and adding other costs may be more expensive per month than a plan w/ unlimited calling and text messages (no contract plan with monthly billing, like cricket's $25.oo plan)
posted by thomcatspike at 10:01 AM on December 12, 2007

To my knowledge the only non-voice texting device was the ill fated Ogo, launched by (the old) AT&T Wireless. The company that makes the Ogo is now selling it in other markets, but not the US (and the new versions support voice via headset), but you might be able to find one being resold that you could us on ATT or TMobile.

BUT, as others have pointed out, you're probably best off going with a pre-paid phone and only giving your wife the number (don't you think you might want a phone handy to dial 911?). Cricket is a great option for this (if they have coverage in your area). You might also want to check out MetroPCS.
posted by donovan at 10:47 AM on December 12, 2007

One thing to remember is that Text messages do not have as high a priority on the network as a call does. I have gotten a text 24 hours after it was sent before. This seems to be something that happens across all providers. It is not very common, but the sender does not get a notice that the text has been successfully delivered. If they leave a voice message, they know you are not availible, but the message is waiting.

Also, don't forget that everyone does not have a free text plan. Many people have to pay per-message to send you a text. Sometimes a very high rate. Then they have to pay again when you reply.
posted by slavlin at 10:56 AM on December 12, 2007

If you can't find a technical way to do what you want, there's always the social engineering way: Tell everyone it's a text-only phone. If they try to call anyway, don't answer unless the caller id says it's mrs stuboo.
posted by happyturtle at 11:00 AM on December 12, 2007

Virgin Mobile would cost you $20 minimum every 3 months. Give the Mrs the number and be done with it. There is probably a cheaper prepaid option out there but I've been quite happy with VM for several years. It's a good balance of features / network coverage, and cheapness.
posted by COD at 12:12 PM on December 12, 2007

This is probably more than you want, but I have a Blackberry with a data and text message only plan. $30/mo. In addition to SMS and email, I use it to surf the web (and answer AskMeFi questions!)
posted by gingerbeer at 12:33 PM on December 12, 2007

I think you can do this easily with a normal cellphone. Set up a gmail account or something to forward email to the phone (I have mail to cellphone@[my-domain-name].com sent to my phone). Tell everyone that email address, and tell your wife the phone number. A potential problem is that tech-savvy people could presumably snoop your number from the email headers if you reply, and then call you.
posted by nowonmai at 2:59 PM on December 12, 2007

Thanks all. I think I'll probably end up with a combination of several of these. Namely, a data-only sidekick or Virgin Mobile plan, coupled with an email forward and grand central. The setup certainly isn't easy, but it allows many ways to contact me - none of which are interruptive (unless your name is Mrs. Stuboo, of course).

Many thanks and happy holidays.
posted by stuboo at 5:26 AM on December 13, 2007