Cell Phones

Michael Ludwig

Michael Ludwig

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2009
1,933
2,811
113
64
Simcoe, ON
20
So, who's using what these days for a cell phone? Why did you choose it? What do you like about it, and what don't you like about it?

Currently I am using a BlackBerry Q10. I chose BB because I like their no frills approach to a business phone. It's a safe and secure phone that does everything I need it to do as a business phone. What I really like about the Q10 is the physical keyboard ... just the "old school" in me I guess. What I really don't like about it is this new OS upgrade and the fact that it dumps everything into the "BlackBerry Hub" ... now I have to wade through a number of items and tasks that have already been completed just to get to the new stuff. I don't like it.

We use Android phones for our drivers, specifically the Samsung Galaxy Rugby LTE. They are $800.0 phones and also part of the reason I bring this subject of cell phones up ... cell service, and phones, are horrendously expensive here in Canada. However, I see Staples is selling Chinese Android phones at a fraction of the price of other name brand phones, and these Chinese phones appear to have many additional features such as dual, and, in some cases, quad SIM slots, along with all the regular features of the name brands.
 
I don't have a cell phone, for a total cost of zero. I'm reachable in my office from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm... When I'm not working I'm swimming or cycling or sleeping or enjoying quality time with my family.. so a cell phone would be an intrusion.
 
yeah for real, a broker without a cell, what about emergencies at like 8pm?!? lol

we all use iPhones, simply because they are reliable and they are easy to replace
we had blackberry but iPhones just seem easier to work with
plus with the upgrades the OS is always the same or similar so it makes upgrading really easy.
 
we've been with Rogers for a while, back when they were called something else like in the late 80s or early 90s

right now just using the regular 5s, then moving up to the 6 when they upgrade us, free upgrades every 2 years or when we break them lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: hauling_ass
We use mostly Android (Samsung Galaxy rugby for the office for the most part, 1 has an I-Phone) for the driver we provide them with the Sonim (yellow stick) they are as hard as the first Nokia that were out (who remembers those hard to kill phones!!!)

The issue that I mostly fing is the PTT app that we use, it was suppose to be miraculous (but put it simple it's just plain crap anyways for us)

A friend of mine has an Android Sonim (I am really impress with that phone) that phone is just not killable. He does landscaping and cutting cement all day and nothing (he rinces it under the hose at the end of the day lol)
 
What emergencies at 8:00 pm? They happen so rarely, and when they do there's generally nothing I can do about it anyway. My land line has a VM feature.. I'm not going to be one of those guys who answers his cell while on the throne or while enjoying the company of my wife.. or while swimming.. just not gonna happen because it s a quality of life thing. So why bother having a cell if I'm not going to answer it anyway. No matter what happens the sun will rise in the east tomorrow.. my business does just fine without my having a cell phone up my ass at all times.
 
good point, but still finding it surprise that you wouldn't have a cell phone in case of emergency
 
G-Roch I think it was called Cantel (I think it was Cantel AT&T) they must like you a lot, nobody stays that long espacialy today with numbers being transferable.
 
yeah we get really good deals when the other providers come to us with offers, we simply call up Rogers and they always make it right
 
I had a cell phone back in the early 90s when they first came out. And then I lost it and just never replaced it... I discovered that I got on just fine without having one. It really wasn't a big decision on my part.. just too lazyto go and get another and seeing no real urgent need. But who knows. Maybe I'll need one again one day.
 
We have both I Phones and Androids, slowly the Androids users are moving over, personally have the IPhone7 and will not move to any other model that is currently on the market. We use Telus and they treat us good and the coverage area is great (meaning works at the cottage). We do not supply phones to the drivers we have Peoplenet but they all buy packages in the US and pretty much get unlimited usage for $40 to $50.
 
Good timing on this conversation, for me. We are currently looking to replace our phones and possibly provider.

We used to be with Telus and used the PTT (Push to talk) system, which worked great. About two years ago Telus was phasing this system out and we were sold on some smartphones from Bell with a PTT app, so we could continue to communicate in the way we had. It works 'alright', most of the time, but sometimes our drivers get into a 'bad' area and we lose contact with them completely. The problem is, this PTT app uses a data connection instead of voice, so some areas the data signal is just not enough.

We have struggled with this system for the past two years, and we are now looking at going to smartphones with traditional voice communication, instead of this buggy PTT app. We are shopping prices at different providers and currently speaking with Telus, Bell, and Rogers.

We like the smartphones for our drivers because it allows them to take pictures, scan documents, and send them to us. Our drivers currently use the Samsung Galaxy Rugby. They have been rugged enough, but not sure they are powerful enough for the apps we run sometimes. They can be a bit laggy and slow.

Our office staff use Samsung Galaxy and they have been good, but the batteries die quickly after some use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mack Sam
Some time ago I had to make a decision about my cellphone, because the old one start acting weird.
Main points for me were:
1. Unlocked ( prefer world phone).
2. Safficion RAM ( 3G and higher).
3. Powerful battery ( over 3000 mAh, prefer removable).
4. Dust and water protection.
5. LED notification indicator ( if it doesn't blink I didn't miss anything )
6. Brand name.
7. Reasonably priced.
8. Reasonably sized.

Well, ended up buying Sony Xperia Z2 for $ 500.00 delivered to my door.
 
We use blackberry's with Bell - they offered an "unlimited blackbery northamerica email " package for a while that we locked all the phones onto. We will stick with that plan until we can't get it anymore :)
 
We're using iPhones with Telus in the office.

Personally, I have an iPhone6 plus with Rogers - never going back to something smaller! Been 10 years I'm with Rogers and never any problems.
Been with Bell for about 2 years - each month I had problems on the billing aspect of things.
Switched to Rogers - never had any problem at all! Even if the plan changes mid month or anything, always good!
 
klodashow said:
If you want something rugged (but expensive I think it is 800$ per unit) It is an Android OS.

Look into this http://www.sonimtech.ca/xp7/xp7.php

That is the phone I spoke about. Available on ost of the provider in Canada
Click to expand...

We currently have this unit deployed throughout of fleet of courier drivers, straights, and trailers. We use PTT, the PTT app, and a custom application for data entry/pod/notifications etc. Installation base is great than 100 units.

Units in the field now for 2 months, basically the XP7 is "drop proof, water proof" Battery seems great, unit is heavy, but it does the job... price points vary depending on # units purchased. We are using them on the Bell Network, formely we used Telus iDen PTT units, i.e. i365
 
We use the Sonim phones on a BELL PTT product. We had some bad luck with drivers where a couple of them in a matter of 6 months racked up $2500+ in roaming fees and such. It was a big pain point for me - just the principal of it all because there was no way we were getting that money back. The driver called 1-900 numbers etc... I also wanted to price protect against the US fees. I don't understand why I can get a US burn phone that costs almost nothing to use in the US but a Canadian based phone in the US costs an arm and a leg plus your first born.

Anyway, we moved to the Bell PTT solution with Sonim phones and satellite communication. We locked down everything else - no internet, no text, no voice. Dispatchers like it because its one way communication. They talk and the driver cannot interrupt - just listen.

We had a lot of problems with Bell. The sales person sold a different package than what they could bill for. It took over a year of battling it out back and forth before we agreed to something that we can work with and willing to pay for. The scope changed quite a bit.

As someone said earlier, it is all on a data package using VOIP. VOIP uses UDP traffic and therefore doesn't need to acknowledge that data packets so when some get missed it will not resend it. You are not supposed to even hear it you lose 1-2% of the packages but if you lose many in a row you will sound choppy. This happens in a lot of areas in the US. As luck will have it, when the driver breaks down, or has a problem at the shipper, there is no data available.

I would also like to find a great solution. Its a pain to have more than one method of communication but everything is so darn expensive to operate. I'm not happy about this solution that I have. I wished I could get normal voice phones just take anything extra off the drivers pay but the Labour board says that I can't unless I get the employee to sign a document each time. That is a pain as well.......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom