Landline v mobile

biko

I've had a mobile for about 10 years and since the day I got it I have never used a landline to ring someone (outside of parents house and work). None of my friends has one afaik.
Whenever I need to call abroad I use Skype (my landline at home is for computer only).

Is the age of landlines dead? Will it be only VOIP and mobiles in the future?
What do you think? How do you make your calls?

crosstownk

biko wrote:

I've had a mobile for about 10 years and since the day I got it I have never used a landline to ring someone (outside of parents house and work). None of my friends has one afaik.
Whenever I need to call abroad I use Skype (my landline at home is for computer only).

Is the age of landlines dead? Will it be only VOIP and mobiles in the future?
What do you think? How do you make your calls?

Much the same here. I have a landline, but I only use it for receiving calls. I spend hours on Skype to my relatives abroad - and all for free! I do think that the days of landline phones are numbered.

I have 500 off peak min's and 400 text's from o2 bill for 55 euro a month and has saved me a fortune (I rarely go over)
I have a landline just never use it at all

Rb

Use the phones in work.
Use the mobile everywhere else, except when I'm at home, because I don't pay the bills.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Depends...
At home -> landline
Out and about -> mobile
To people who've got skype -> skype

Ruu_Old

Landline most of the time, would cost a fortune to call home (US->Ireland). I use Google Talk sometimes though. Prepaid mobiles are crap value here and not worth it.

Mossy Monk

i dont have a landline. i use my mobile/Skype/Google Talk

smashey

Mobile mostly with the odd call from the land line. I use skype for overseas.

unkel

Why doesn't the poll include proper VOIP? I ditched Eircon back in '05 in favour of blueface.ie

unreggd

why does everyon think skyp is great?

MSN messenger has had voice convos for ages, and it has IM too!

Skype is just a big Hype!

boo urns

simu

I've never used my landline! lol

Kintarō Hattori

I haven't had a landline phone in the last 5 years. I use the mobile for most of all and Skype for family calls. I'll occasionally use the phone in work for the odd call.

Black Swan

Have a mobile from work in a charger in my flat. Used only for work. Flatmate has a landline, which I rarely use for local toll free calls. Mostly communicate over the web from free wi fi hotspots.

Kojak

rb_ie wrote:

Use the phones in work.
Use the mobile everywhere else, except when I'm at home

Same here

Don't have a landline
mobiles only
mobiles have better sound anyway

Katykaboom

The Mother got rid of the landline... but I rarely have credit being the poor student that I am... so I usually end up using her mobile once or twice a week. Beofrehand though, if I had credit I'd use it, if not, I'd use the landline.

TerrorFirmer

Funny, just yesterday I was thinking about this. We actually get a fair few calls on our landline, but I can't even remember the last time I rang somebody from my landline. I don't even call people all that much on my mobile either, I just actually hate talking on the phone...

Unpossible

unreggd wrote:

why does everyon think skyp is great?

MSN messenger has had voice convos for ages, and it has IM too!

Because with skype you can call landlines (Im not sure about mobiles, I think you can but its a higher charge), its makes calls home a lot cheaper for me.

Tar.Aldarion

Landlines are nearly redundant at this point.
Skype and mobile.
Oh, and vent!1

Donald-Duck

HavoK wrote:

Funny, just yesterday I was thinking about this. We actually get a fair few calls on our landline, but I can't even remember the last time I rang somebody from my landline. I don't even call people all that much on my mobile either, I just actually hate talking on the phone...

So do I, I'm more likely to spend a few min texting than calling someone just becuase I hate calling people in general. Meteor have made texting all too convenient

Faith

Mobile nearly all the time for calls within Britain. I got the landline stupidly thinking I needed it for Broadband, before I found out that I didn't. Now I'm stuck with it for 18 months or something. I occasionally use it to make calls to Ireland when I want a crystal clear connection, but mostly I use Skype to talk to my family back home.

mikemac

Noone has mentioned using the Eircom phoneboxes.

I left my mobile in work over Christmas and don't have a landline in my apartment. For a number of reasons, I could not enter my workplace and I didn't want to call my manager for access, too much hassle.


I asked the local newsagents do they sell the Eircom callcards you use for phoneboxes. They didn't know what I was talking about and tried to sell me one those cards that give discount international calls.
Luckily, the post office sold them.

I remember people used to collect them.

robinph

Mobile and Skype for me although I do use the land line for some local calls, like taxi's or pizzas. Skype to mobiles is a bit expensive, but if it's an international mobile number your calling then it's still a bit cheaper than other methods.

Terry

I lost my mobile almost 2 weeks ago and I don't miss it one bit, except for the fact that it doubled as an MP3 player and had scrabble on it.
I hate talking to people.
I only use the land line when absolutely neccessary.

jor el

micmclo wrote:

Noone has mentioned using the Eircom phoneboxes.

Phone boxes, how antiquated. But nobody is thinking of the bigger picture, what ever will Superman use now?

I have a mobile that I rarely use, just emergencies and when I need to be contacted. I have a land line, again rarely used and only got it for broadband (DSL >> Wireless). I've only just started to use VOIP, as up until yesterday nobody I knew had VOIP.

I do feel strangely naked without my mobile though. If it's not in my pocket then I will miss it. Strange since I hardly ever use the damn thing. Typically it's when I forget it that someone will try ringing me though :rolleyes:

kelle

God, you all must have money to burn! It's cheaper to make calls using the landline you know! I have relatives who are difficult to shake off once you have them on the phone, and making calls using a mobile would ba a nightmare on my bank balance. Though I am a text addict, so I probably use the landline a lot less than i used to.

Pythia

Don't have a landline in my place. When I'm in my parents I don't really use their landline either. I used to use the landline when I was working as they never checked the usage, but I'd only ever use it to call mobiles.

vorbis

here in the States, a mobile is treated like a land line (costs the same to call a landline as a mobile) Your number is also like a landline (e.g. having an 021 mobile number) The only good thing about landlines is that its a lot cheaper to ring an irish landline than a mobile.

jrey1981

had to get a landline in the office in order to get broadband. Use it for UK and international calls and the odd local / Irish call.

Mobile has become indispensable and I use it for international calls if absolutely necessary...back in 1999 I was using one for my net access at 9.6kbps !!

iFight

Mobile or skype all the time except when ordering stuff

1huge1

well im 17 so still at home so use the landline the odd bit but ever since i got a bill phone with inclusive minutes and texts 99% of my usage goes through it

kelle

My (former) babysitter bragged that she only uses her mobile or Skype, never a landline - what's that, she asked me. She babysat for me 4 times and managed to run up a bill on my landline for E35 with all the calls she made to friend's mobiles.

Terry

That's €35 worth of babysitting time.

Unpossible

kelle wrote:

God, you all must have money to burn! It's cheaper to make calls using the landline you know!

Well its less than 2 cents a minute for me to call home (a landline in Ireland) using skype, so its best for me (incidently how much would it cost you to call finland with your landline? )

nlgbbbblth

Have always had a landline. Use if for ringing parents and family. Was required for broadband at the time. Nice to have.

Use mobile fairly frequently.

Don't understand people over 18 years of age who use ready to go / call credit.
All I ever hear from them is

'I had no credit so I couldn't ring you to say I was running late' etc.

If you can't cope with a monthly bill, you shouldn't have a mobile phone.

kelle

Terry wrote:

That's €35 worth of babysitting time.

Wouldn't mind, but I was already paying her E10 per hour and she never had to do a thing as the kids would be fast asleep when she'd arrive, and never woke up! Wish I earned as much when babysitting in the 80s!

Unpossible, I couldn't tell you how much it costs to phone Finland but If I knew anybody there I'd use Skype - if someone showed me how to use it!:D

Unpossible

kelle wrote:

Unpossible, I couldn't tell you how much it costs to phone Finland but If I knew anybody there I'd use Skype - if someone showed me how to use it!

I wasn't trying to be smart when I asked, just curious. All my parents tell me is "its so expensive for us to ring, just use that internet thing". Anyway my situation is different to yours, if I lived in Ireland then I would more than likly get a landline too (then I would play the changing providers game like my parents )

Skype is easy to use, just download it, get an account, upload credit and then just "dial" the number you want. I don't know where you can get credit in Ireland though, over here I can get it in local shops.

Sam Vimes

nlgbbbblth wrote:

Have always had a landline. Use if for ringing parents and family. Was required for broadband at the time. Nice to have.

Use mobile fairly frequently.

Don't understand people over 18 years of age who use ready to go / call credit.
All I ever hear from them is

'I had no credit so I couldn't ring you to say I was running late' etc.

If you can't cope with a monthly bill, you shouldn't have a mobile phone.

they obviously don't know about text top up