Maybe I’m rough on them, but I’m going on my fourth phone in less than three years, and every one I’ve had has been in for repairs at least once before I decided to pitch it.
Is all that is out there just plain flimsy by design? With the number of tradespeople who rely on having that thing hanging on their belt, I’d think someone with some brains has come up with a little more indestructable model. I know in the military we had bricks which were radios, not phones, but you could drop kick the things across a field without hurting them. I drop the phones I have two feet and they turn off. Get drywall dust on them and they go on the fritz.
Anyone found a phone with some kind of body armor that keeps them from self destructing from average day to day use?
“The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb ” lyrics by Roger Waters
Replies
Dust has been the killer on mine. And when I signed up and was picking out a pohone I asked specifically about which was better for handling dust.
The rep told me that he had seen a couple go bad after being dropped in salt water but never heard about anyone bringing one back to him with a complaint that Hey, My cell phone got too dusty!
I wonder if he is still in denial.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge
FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where
Excellence is its own reward!
I use a Panasonic designed for the trades . Rubber coated dust resistant and so they say dropable. It has held up well for the last three years. Check the Panasonic web site for the contractor grade .
That's a late bump
For anyone who still cares. Got a Nextel. Rubber armored. Already dropped it 6 ft to the concrete. No problems. Ahhh. Life is good. "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
We just switched to NEXTEL also....I got the i530....bright yellow, so I can see it, and rubber armored and mil spec dust proof...pretty good. Walkie-talkie is awesome.
I have an motorola i35s which i dropped off of a bridge, 60'. It still works! This is no bullfeathers. Me and the better half went on vac. and while at the airport saw some metro looking dude drop his shiny fancy flip up , it went into 6 pieces. I laughed my a## off. As usual the better half hollered at me. What's the point, spend the extra 100 bucks and get a phone that meets military specs. It will take years of abuse.
Don't remember if anyone mentioned it but there are some nice, functional and durable, cases available for various cell phones.
A friend has one that encases his phone and it is quite water tight. We once had an emergency rigging pumps to keep a below ground site dry enough to continue work. A hurricane was churning nearby so it was a major challenge. We ended up in water about 4' deep and he had his phone below water a lot of the time.
His case is arranged so that he can work all the buttons, talk and hear without opening the case. Keeps dust and dirt out. It also seems to provide some physical protection.
If your rubber armored model is not waterproof, the ones that are both physically hardened and water resistant are pricey, a case might cover that weakness. I have seen phones killed by being dropped in water or even just heavily sweated on.
I have a very slim non-flip phone from Sprint. I carry it very comfortably in my front pocket. So far, so good.
Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.
Nextel has a couple of phones that adhere to military standards for dust,shock and vibration. They have a rubberized coating on them. I don't have them,but heard good things from other contractors. Their plans were a little pricey so we went with Verizon phones.
my nextel salesman showed me some of the new rubberized ones.. look pretty substantial.. maybe next time..
my i85 nextel is going on 2 years ... no problems..Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I got one of those flimsy flip phones from Sprint ...
usually it's strapped to my side each day .. all day long.
I have it in a nice tight case ... the top flaps over it ... holds everything secure.
This is the second case I've had ... this one has a flat spring clip ...
the first had a plastic swivel thing that stuck the whole phone out an extra 1/2 in or so ... was banging on too much stoff the first week ... got the new case.
My wife just got the same phone ... and she picked out a case that's even a smaller profile as the one I got ...
Might switch to that soon ....
I just want the thing in as tight as possible ...
other than that ... I can usually handle talking on the phone without falling over and hurting it.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Wehave the solid Nextels at work. Mines a Motorola 700(bulletproof) I'm not sure if they still make them. One mistake we made at first was not buying solid cases. Get the kind you have to swivel upside down and then pull up to release. It makes it harder to accidentaly knock it off your hip getting on and off equipment.
Who Dares Wins.
Pocket full of quarters....
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
that is a good one IMERC ,pocket full of quarters, but you know what , around here pay phones are disappering and then if you find one its 50cents
currently i am using a verizon flip phone,
but I can no longer warraty a phone, for a few more months anyway
seems I am always dropping them in water, mud
or I havent , and they open them up and say "oops water contact, void "
and the cell phone companies get tired of replaciing them
one year I blew through three
who knows I might be the person that the clause was added." warranty voided if imersed in water"
Well logging off, super bowl is on
im going for green bay
wernt those the days
On the phone = no productivity and since RW is covered up he needs his work time not being interfered with.
I don't have cell and there is only one pay phone for many miles around.
That one is 50 cents for four minutes.
No game. No TV.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
As others have posted, it is true that phone time=no productivity! I always keep my cell in my truck. Then it never gets dropped, rarely gets lost, and won't slow me down. I tell clients and friends that I do not work with a phone on me and they should leave a message (and I always return my messages after getting back in my truck).
My feeling is that my truck is my onsite office. Before and after working I go to my office and conduct phone and filing duties. That is an important aspect of the job and is scheduled into each day. Also, that way I can go home at night and rest assured that all my business has been taken care of or will be in the morning.
Seems simple but I see carpenters all the time trying to enjoy their off work time but cannot because they have "paper work" to get in order.
just my opinion
Here's your type of cell phone.Who Dares Wins.
If I had a cell you'd find some reason to call and wake me up. Don't know if handle being disturbed during working hours...
Or get directions to the house and then I'd find my axe murdered....
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
heres what you need Gunner...
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Yea, I bet that kit cost twenty bucks at the cell phone store.Who Dares Wins.
Saw A Mortorola 158si get run over by a fully loaded Garbage truck once... front tire, back tire....
Phone still worked, the display just didn't.... best part was, it wasn't mine.
I'm using a Motorola flip phone from verizon now. It got dropped of the scaffold once, now the hinge is a little floppy. Had a Panasonic Dura-max fromm AT&T for a couple years and it was great. Completely rubberized. It took a heck of a beatin' and still worked great. Didn't have battery problems with it that I usually have with other phones either.
Greg
Crowded elevators smell different to midget.
the very best phone i ever had is laying by the trash can right now ,it's the old motorola "brick style phone" you could drop it ,throw it, it didn't matter. but like everyone else i wanted smaller.so what i've done is find a phone i like and used it till it puked,then got on ebay and buy another one just like it,that way all my accesories work,gives me extra batts.,plus i know how to use it. i usally pay 5-20.00 for a new phone! i just bought one last week for 5.25 brand new. i just call sprint and they hook it up to the new one.by the way my daughter laughs at my "antique phone" [the stlye is about 4 years old,no web stuff or games, but i need a phone not a gameboy] but when she needs a phone,she passes on the "flip phone" of my wifes and uses mine!
Amen.
Sure they cost $1,000 in '86 (Salesperson: "That's just ONE deal"). And 45 cents per minute to call and receive... 45 minutes of talk time...about as big as a size 13W shoebox...2.5 lbs.
But, they we're hell for stout. I mean you could use it as a tire block while you changed a wheel in the morning, hammer 16d nails with it all afternoon, and use it as a weapon in a barfight that night, and it would still work fine in the morning, (provided you remembered to charge it!).
Ah...Motorola...
skipj
i had forgot about what i paid for that phone,i think it was 450.00 ,50.00 for 30 mins a month, if you walked out of a 20' circle you was on roam for 1.75 a minute! now that i think about that i may have to put it back in my drawer for old times sake or just carry it in the car for a tire block! larry
Those rubberized Nextel phones are awesome! My 158si took several plunges off 2-3 flights of scaffolding, bounced like a football, and worked just fine. One guy dropped his in a mud puddle and just hosed it off. Same deal, worked just fine. They are sealed up pretty well, and I never heard of any of them being affected by dust.
In a heated moment, our Asst. Super threw his a great distance. I had to call him so he could find it. Yep, it worked just fine!
Love that direct-connect feature. Most contractors and subs are on Nextel here, as well as the department managers at the lumber yard. It is a very useful feature, in the right circumstance.
Never had a problem connecting with the direct connect, either. Heck, I talked to Sonny Lykos in Florida all the way from here in California, and it sounded like he was just next door.
darcy
That's what we need a Nextel connection here at Breaktime. The biggest info pool available at your becon call.Who Dares Wins.
Thats actually not a lousy idea. Everyone get on Nextel and we can walkie talkie each other all day long. Talk about your lack of productivity. IMERC must have eyes on the wall to know how buried I am. I've been calling suppliers asking if they can delay stuff lately. That's fancy. Usually I'm the one growling "where's my stuff!!!??"
Popularity is good. Phone thing making me about as mad as computers do. Since I'm stuck in contract for awhile now, I'm wondering (doubting, but wondering nevertheless) if I got one of those Nextel phones, since I can't switch yet, can I program the thing for my carrier. I bet the answer is a big negatory."The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
No you have to use nextel. Mine is provided through work, I wouldn't have one for myself their useless once you get twenty miles from the hi way around here.Who Dares Wins.
"That's what we need a Nextel connection here at Breaktime."
Gee, sounds like lots-o-fun to me! Well, you're right, I guess it could turn into a nightmare. . .
Actually, we always felt the direct-connect cut down on the phone bills and improved efficiency.
darcy
My boss already grumbles about us being in "Private a 2" too much.LOL
The direct connect does make it pretty efficient. But it makes people . We have some guys that are way to fast on the button when they have a problem instead of working it out they have to stop someone else from what they're doing to answer simple questions that they could have figured out by themselves with a little thought.Who Dares Wins.
"The direct connect does make it pretty efficient. But it makes people ."
It makes people? Geez, I wish someone had told me that. I would have crossed my legs when I was using it! <BG>
Seriously though, we found it a very useful tool for addressing immediate-need-type situations. Supers were not always on top of things. Subs had to radio for simple things like: "We were scheduled to work on Lot X today. Do you guys mind coming and unlocking it so we can get in?" (aargh)
As far as I am concerned, the two-way was never abused, but proved to be a very useful tool, though somewhat of a love-hate thing.
darcy
Knowing what I know about Nextel from work, I wouldn't support that company one bit.
I've seen first hand how they screw people.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
RW's original question was about finding a durable cell phone, and the Nextels we had were definitely durable. As I mentioned, they were company supplied and we found the direct-connect function very useful.
We did wish they had a companion two-ways without the phone functions for employees who did not need phone privileges.
- - "Knowing what I know about Nextel from work, I wouldn't support that company one bit.
I've seen first hand how they screw people."- -
Maybe you could expand on this some. . . If some other company was to produce a bounce-, dust-, and water-proof phone with the radio capabilities, I'm sure we would have considered it.
darcy
Hi Darcy
Well let's see, when I used to work in the Two-way radio business, I had a customer who used a Trunking Radio system.
Nextel bought the system, and then shut it down.
This put him and all the other users out of business. Basically, there was no one else licensed on the frequency and trunking, so they were stuck.
Nextel is holding the frequecies to use for cell type service some time in the future.
Cost the customers over $10,000.00 each in lost and useless equipment.
Most couldn't do business without something to replace the lost communications.
They've done this in quite a number of places.
Or, how about the systems that they are putting up now.
Some areas have such bad interferance, they find their radios useless.
The law (FCC) says that the last person in (Nextel) is required to fix the problem or shut the system down. Neither is happening and the FCC isn't doing it's job and enforcing the rules (surprise).
Or, how about the interferance involving the Emergency Services (Police, Fire, and Rescue), where Nextel feels that they (the services) should move to different frequencies and not Nextel.
Oh, Nextel will give them 500 million to do it. Unfortunitly, New York City alone could use up all that money. Forget everyone else.
Most Emergency Services are hard pressed to come up with enough money to operate let alone replace their entire communication systems.
Or, or, or......
I could go on.
As for the ruff service radios, Nextel doesn't make them, just buy them and resell.
Most are made overseas and anyone willing to spend the money can get them.
Needless to say, I am no fan of Nextel and won't give them a dime of my business.
So much for my rant, I know alot more, but that should get you thinking.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Your rant was very informative, thank you.
I had no control over which cellular service my company selected. They selected it because it was the most durable communication tool which was also utilized by our subs and suppliers.
Can you recommend any company who can supply the same service that we need?
darcy
I won't endource it beause I've never tried it... but. sprint has what looks to be a durable phone that has 2 way radio capabilities. I have no idea if it just looks the part or if it's just a sheep in wolves cloathes.
Darcy
I wish I could.
Most of the trade journals that I used to receive have folded or become worthless with all the changes.
I haven't kept up with the changes that have occurred because living here in Vermont, most have little effect on me now.
I do keep up enough to know about the problems, but that's about all.
Most of the big companies have bypassed our area here as it doesn't bring in enough income (profit) to them.
I don't even have cable TV where I am.
I'll look around some more and get back to you if I find out anything.
My ex business partner is quite an expert and has his business in the NY city area, so he keeps up with this stuff now.
I'll talk to him and see what he knows (he also keeps me up to date on the problems that everyone has, including him.)
Jeff
Edited 2/18/2004 9:37:55 AM ET by Jeff in Vermont
Jeff,
You can add our company to your list. We had about $27,000 in equipment that was rendered obsolete by Nextel's arrival. The radios were only a few years old. Each was about 2 1/2 times the size and weight of today's cell phones. You had 2 radio channels, although most units just had one. I always new I was in trouble when the boss would call and say "Go to B".
Our Nextel units offer us individual and group calling capability on two way. We can now communicate to our subs on two way, nationwide. Before with our old radios, they only worked in two of the three cities in our locale.
We now have cell phone capability ! And we can text message all of our 90 units at the same time !
When Nextel came in, they took our $27,000 radios and replaced them for free with their equipment.
My response is THANK GOD ! If Nextel had not taken the channels, do you really think there would be a market for a two way brick that can only talk to another two way brick ? Even the pager market is about dead, and those things are smaller than cell phones.
carpenter in transition
Tim
So let me get this right.
Nextel replaced your $1000.00 radios with $100.00 cellphones.
Otherwise, the system works and you have better service.
Does the system work better then before and save you money?
Does it cover everywhere you go and what you do?
If so, then you really didn't loose anything but some money.
Your lucky, most of the stories I know of show both a loss of money and loss of service.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Jeff
Yep, you got it.
Before Nextel:
30 Employees could speak with each other (exclusively and only in group mode) in an area with a radius of about 60 miles from the tower. This didn't hold true depending on the terrain and buildings. Here in PA, we have hills large enough to block transmission.
No phone capability. We just bother the homeowners and use theirs or set up a job phone on the larger stuff.
Price ? wow, it's been a while, i think it was around $30 per month per radio.
After Nextel:
90 Employees can speak with any Nextel device on two way. Any Nextel device includes all devices, not just our company. Coverage area for this is huge. It doesn't include North Jersey (different market) but so it goes, little of our work goes there anyway. Of course nationwide 2 way is available for an upcharge.
90 Employees can speak to each other on 2 way groups.
Cell phone capability for all. No more bother for the homeowners. Scheduling is all done by the foreman in the field instead of through the office. Employees have voice mail on their phones. Office phones are quieter.
Text messaging for phones. We send text messages to groups for meeting announcements. One message is sent to 25 phones. Instead of making 25 calls.
Cost: About $50 to $60 per phone per month.
Was it worth it ? Absolutely. The new devices can do 5 times more for less than twice the price. And half the size.
As far as a $100 replacement for a $1000 radio ? I don't care if the new device only cost Nextel $5. We got a product that does so much more.
Best of all, now when a radio breaks (inevitable) it only costs us $100 instead of a $1000 to replace.
carpenter in transition
Tim
Seems to me your happy with the set-up and it works for you.
I don't see any complaints or problems with that.
Remember, for every horror story, there is a success story.
Have you ever talked to someone in your area who has problems caused by the same Nextel system.
His choice is to either suffer with the problems or cut and run to Nextel and leave his current company.
No one is helping him or the company being hurt by the loss.
When I owned a paging company, a competitor used his equipment improperly.
It caused me no end of headaches, and the FCC couldn't have cared less.
When I decided to do the same thing he did, I got threatened with a lawsuit by him.
I decided it wasn't worth the headache and eventually got out of the business.
His company doesn't exist anymore, other competition and cell phones did him in.
You do realize that if Nextel is called on the carpet or the FCC decides against them, and the result is the system is shut down, you have no service.
No I'm no fan of Nextel. Never will be. But if it works for you, who am I to complain.
Anyway, live long and prosper.
Jeff
darcy,
We did wish they had a companion two-ways without the phone functions for employees who did not need phone privileges.
You can "unhook" the phone so it is just 2 way radio. Makes it much easier and less tempting for an employee. Every once in a while I get talked into turning on the phone part of the radio. Employee usually goes hog wild before I have to rein him in. Last one did over 200 minutes in a month.
My only complaint w/Nextel is customer service. Wait on hold, can't do what i want them to do. Even after telling me what I want done is done find the next bill and .........no change. If I could pay someone to call customer service....
Scrapr
You need to hire a Yenta.
Jeff
I was on a Nextel phone on the last job ('cause everyone else is). Did not help that I was given the 1999 "hanger queen." Locally, the "radio" time costs exactly what the regular call time does--so it saved no money (you just couldn't hear other people's conversations, is all). It also added 15 minutes to every introduction ("Yeah, gimmee your cell; oh, nad the radio, too--wait, here, let me radio you to see what the number is . . . ")
Didn't help that you had to be in line-of-sight to radio amlost anybody in the county. Or, that you had to call them anyway after the system disconnected you.
I'm sticking to my no-moving-pieces-parts PCS phone. Phone, 3 accessories for the price of 2, and a 1 year contract--was out the door of Radio Shack for $113 including sales tax. It's been dropped, lost at Disney, even hit so hard the battery came loose. Still ticking. My results may not reflect your, though.
One of my buddies is using the picture phone PCS. He's on the second "flipper" half in under a year. But digital photos for commercial roofing jobs have more than paid for the costs on that phone. So, that's a wash for them--so far.
i've got a nokia 5100
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,4508,00.html
had it 9 months and cracked the case but you can just slide it off and get a new one.
dust and water resistant, the buttons are a bit fiddley though
its the best phone i've had i a while.
sprint also has a phone that's supposed to be tough.
I'd post a link but there web-site seems to be down.
This one you can drop from five feet on concrete
http://www.panasonic.com/PCSC/PTSC/duramax.asp
That one looks good but did you notice the note that it was discontinued?
No I did not, Bummer, it takes a beating.