Just a Pad And A Dream

This marks the first day I've been without a phone since I was a teenager.

Like most people, I have considered a cell phone to be absolutely necessary.
But today, I cancelled my cell phone service, in favor of an iPad. Of course, I have a phone number, but I am using it exclusively through my tablet.

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle the experience, since not many people get their phone service strictly via a tablet.

Here's the pluses:
- I'm saving about 45 dollars a month.
- I have just as constant access to the internet through my tablet as I did through my smartphone, but with a much better interface.
- I don't have a phone weighing down one of my pockets all the time.  I didn't even consider this one when I decided to go through with it. True, I have a much larger device to carry around, but it's not in my pocket.
- my old phone has a pretty decent resale value, which I may take advantage of.

Here's the minuses:
- bluetooth headphones and phone apps don't always get along perfectly.
- I have to have a headset of some sort (or possibly a handset someday) on if I want privacy in my conversations.
- There's more stuff to charge on a regular basis.
- There's a significant up-front cost.

This is the hardware I'm using to make this work:
- a new Pad (3rd Generation) 64GB with wifi and verizon, purchased on sale at Best Buy for about $600.
- a new Targus keyboard case, purchased at Amazon for about $33.
- a new Kinivo BTH Bluetooth Stereo Headphone, purchased at Amazon for about $30.
- a new Timbuk2 Small Fry travel case, purchased at Ebay for $16.

As of now, I'm still familiarizing myself with the combination of devices, and the travel case hasn't arrived yet.  I've tested a couple iPad voip apps, but I'm not yet sure which will be my primary.
Apps tested:
- textPlus: this was the first one I tried.  The interface is pleasant, if a bit plain. They provided a free phone number and allow you to choose one in whatever part of the country you like, if they have any numbers in that area.  I chose one that matches where I live, which pleases the locals.  Texting is free, and phone calls are inexpensive.  I had problems with outbound calls not coming through my headset-- the audio kept coming out the iPad speaker. Texting is not terribly reliable.  I sent one text through this service, and it took about 20 minutes to get to its destination.
- Talkatone: this app uses your Google Voice login to allow you to make and receive calls and messages.  Setup was quick and easy since I already had a Google Voice account.  Outbound calls worked well with the bluetooth headset. I haven't yet received any inbound calls on this number. I haven't tried texting with this service yet.  But so far, I'm very impressed with this app.  It feels solid. It seems fairly likely I'll end up relying heavily on this app/number.

How it feels so far: scary.  I've spent pretty much my entire adult life with a cell phone. I think being without one will take me a while to get used to.  But, honestly, I was using my iPhone more as a tiny iPad than as a phone anyway, so maybe it won't be that hard to adjust.