I dunno, with everyone and their mothers having cell phones, there isn't much of a business for pay-phones.  I could be wrong on this though.

What are your thoughts?

Yes, definitely. I think they're already becoming things of the past. A lot of the payphone booths I've seen don't even seem to be functioning ones. I hardly ever see people using them at airports and on streets, they always appear abandoned and only good as places to stick advertisements. I once used a pay phone at school before I had a cell phone. This was when I was 12 or 13 years old, but now it seems like even middle schoolers have cell phones, even if parents buy them for their kids only for safety reasons. Cell phones are just too convenient these days, especially with Blackberries, iPhones, and other smartphones with multifunctional capabilities such as texting, email, and internet on top of the regular old phone function of making calls.

they already are... I work on a university campus. When I arrived here in 1996 there were some 20 plus phones all over campus now there are maybe 5 left.

I don't carry a cell phone (thus impugning my geek cred whenever I meet up with other software developers), so it kind of ticks me off that I can't use them anymore.  I've noticed payphones are disappearing very fast from public places.  Phone booths are pretty much gone.  Haven't seen one in ages except on an old TV show.

I imagine they'll still be around in some fashion though, there's talk of some restaurants installing new ones for people to use with their cell phones.  Most cell phone users I've met are way too friggin' rude so I doubt they'd ever use one.

I don't carry a cell phone (thus impugning my geek cred whenever I meet up with other software developers), so it kind of ticks me off that I can't use them anymore.  I've noticed payphones are disappearing very fast from public places.  Phone booths are pretty much gone.  Haven't seen one in ages except on an old TV show.

I imagine they'll still be around in some fashion though, there's talk of some restaurants installing new ones for people to use with their cell phones.  Most cell phone users I've met are way too friggin' rude so I doubt they'd ever use one.


I have an old cell phone that doesn't do anything other than telephony.  I won't talk while I'm driving and I won't engage in personal conversations in public.  There's nothing like sitting at a cafe and listening to one side of somebody's marriage collapsing!
::)

I think it is important to maintain public telephones in the interests of public safety.  Makes sense even if it's not profitable.  I wouldn't even have a problem with municipalities subsidizing them.  If a crime or a fire or other hazard to life and property is underway, and you don't have a cell phone, you should still be able to call civil authorities.  Back in the '90s they started making it possible to call the cops on any phone even if it was otherwise disconnected.  My point about public telephones goes with the same ethic.

Sometimes people who witness a crime are not people who want to talk to the cops.  If you can drop a dime on a public phone, they can't trace the call back to you personally.  They can only tell the time and location of the call.  If you're a fugitive yourself, you're not going to call the cops on your own cell phone, unless you're an idiot.  So if you see somebody get stabbed and its a matter of life and death for the victim, it could be curtains for the victim 'cos you don't want to go to jail!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/phone.gif

Dr Who uses one as a Time Machine!  Now THERE'S a great new business idea!

I think payphones should be gone within the next couple of years or so,now that cellphones are the hottest thing in this decade.

Sometimes people who witness a crime are not people who want to talk to the cops.  If you can drop a dime on a public phone, they can't trace the call back to you personally.  They can only tell the time and location of the call.  If you're a fugitive yourself, you're not going to call the cops on your own cell phone, unless you're an idiot.  So if you see somebody get stabbed and its a matter of life and death for the victim, it could be curtains for the victim 'cos you don't want to go to jail!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/07/phone.gif


The problem is that they can also be used by drug dealers. They used to hang around them and use pagers to know when to call someone, which made it a lot harder to trace their calls. It's one of the reasons they started removing as many of them as they did.

I think payphones are going much like CDs are; still around, but just a mere shadow of what they used to perform. London still has lots of payphones left on its streets (though they have a good tradition with those red booths.)

If they get rid of all the phone booths, then where will Clark Kent go to change into Superman???  :o :o :o

I need Pay Phone booths to stay around.  I am one of the few people in this world who will never have a use or need for a cellphone.


If they get rid of all the phone booths, then where will Clark Kent go to change into Superman???  :o :o :o


He can just do it in public, then steal that mind zapper from Men in Black and erase what everyone just saw ;D

He can just do it in public, then steal that mind zapper from Men in Black and erase what everyone just saw ;D



But if he really is a "super man," he's gonna want to show off what he's got. 


"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to pole vault tall buildings in a single bound..."  :o :o :o

I think payphones are going much like CDs are; still around, but just a mere shadow of what they used to perform. London still has lots of payphones left on its streets (though they have a good tradition with those red booths.)


Do they still have the red ones?  A lot of the red boxes were replaced with grey "shower stalls" elsewhere in the UK

If they get rid of all the phone booths, then where will Clark Kent go to change into Superman???  :o :o :o


Go into the nearest Port A Potty. ;D

I think some people that don't have cellphones may need payphones around.

I think some people that don't have cellphones may need payphones around.


They may need payphones, but they will likely be marginalized by the majority, who have cell phones and no need for payphones. . .

They are already few and far between. When I was in my teens (and 20's) ...pay phones were everywhere and I used them to phone cabs, tell Dad I was ready to be picked up, if we were driving around and decided to visit someone we would phone them to see if they're home first.

The biggest issue I found with them was that they wreaked of alcohol and smoke. They always felt and smelled like a germ farm!

I see the occasional phone booth on a street corner now .... usually situated out front of a trailer park or train/bus station or theatre (Aussie spelling  ;)). They are definitely a dying breed...

The problem is that they can also be used by drug dealers. They used to hang around them and use pagers to know when to call someone, which made it a lot harder to trace their calls. It's one of the reasons they started removing as many of them as they did.


So the dope dealers moved on to disposable cell phones!

I don't think they will disappear entirely but they are getting fewer and fewer. I think they will remain in places like rest areas, college campuses, malls, etc, but just not many of them-only one or two. But I think the "corner phone booth" has gone the way of the dodo.


There used to be "booths" like this:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/220532369_6dd795e2dd.jpg

Now they are more like this:

http://www.usconsulate.org.hk/pas/kids/images/phone_booth.jpg


I actually think the second one is a bit safer-because I was always afraid the door wouldn't open once I was inside. (even though they old one you had more privacy). Some places have the old fashion one WITHOUT the door.



Cat

I

I actually think the second one is a bit safer-because I was always afraid the door wouldn't open once I was inside. (even though they old one you had more privacy). Some places have the old fashion one WITHOUT the door.



Cat


Yes Cat...they can be dangerous places. I took this pic just yesterday...two innocent people drowning in our local phone booth... :o

http://i351.photobucket.com/albums/q474/gibbo4/getsmart2-003.jpg

...and I think cell phones need more privacy. I'm tired of hearing everyone's personal conversations!  >:(  Maybe something like this would help?




http://i351.photobucket.com/albums/q474/gibbo4/cell-phone-booth.jpg

http://i351.photobucket.com/albums/q474/gibbo4/cell-phone-booth.jpg


That made me LOL.

In other news, I actually saw someone using a payphone today!

http://i351.photobucket.com/albums/q474/gibbo4/cell-phone-booth.jpg

Imagine walking down the street looking like this..  ;D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3226439888_b81074210e.jpg

Unfortunately,this is what payphones look like, all busted up and stuff. :(

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3226439888_b81074210e.jpg

Unfortunately,this is what payphones look like, all busted up and stuff. :(


that doesn't look busted up  :-\\

this one is "all busted up and stuff"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/images/2006/09/26/mk_vandalism_470_353x470.jpg

What would the film, Phone Booth, be like without a phone booth?

;D

that doesn't look busted up  :-\\

this one is "all busted up and stuff"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/images/2006/09/26/mk_vandalism_470_353x470.jpg


Man,people these days seem to vandalize phone booths,why do they that sort of thing to them?  ???

I dunno, with everyone and their mothers having cell phones, there isn't much of a business for pay-phones.  I could be wrong on this though.

What are your thoughts?
it's unfortunate because of stupid people using phones where they really shou;dn't!