Clive Thompson on the Death of the Phone Call

I used to talk on the phone long distance for hours at a time with friends when I was back in college in the early ’90s…but it is perhaps telling that those friends were ones I’d met on the Internet, and that was the only way I could hear the sound of their voice.

For the last few years, I’ve been with AT&T (nee Cingular), and finally cancelled my AT&T service at the end of my most recent 2 year contract in favor of a cheap ten-cents-a-minute-with-no-monthly-fee Boost Mobile PAYGO phone. All I was really using my RAZR 2 for was text messaging, and checking email and Twitter on the go. My new phone won’t do that as much, but I’ve found I don’t really miss it. I just keep it around for rare times I do need to make a call. Most of my interaction with the POTS is done through Google Voice + Gizmo (which I was fortunate enough to sign up for before Google bought it and locked it up) or the local-only landline that came with my DSL. I don’t even have to bother with voicemail anymore because Google transcribes it well enough that I can figure out which messages are worth listening to.

I had been thinking semi-seriously about getting an iPhone 4, when I realized…I don’t really need to. Why pay $60 a month for voice service plus limited always-on ‘net when the always-on ‘net is the only part I really want? I could get the new iPod Touch and still do most of the same things…and then for about the same money as AT&T’s monthly fees I could get something like Clearwire (if it ever comes to my town) and a MiFi and have the always-on Internet for ALL my devices.

via wired.com

Posted via email from The Baub Show