How much handicapped are you when dialling from a rotary without letters.

[dsk]

Here in Norway the dial has only numbers.
(Cell phones has, and a few companies has tried to use "dial name1234" in ads.)
How much is those letter really used out there in the rest of the telephony world?


dsk

[deedubya3800]

I use a mobile so much that I pretty much know where the letters are. Not only that, but I've looked at these telephones so much that I have come to associate the letters with the number they're on whether they're there or not!

[Kenny C]

I used to could because I used a standard cell phone but now that I have the iPhone it's a little hard to remember at times. But I wouldn't go back to the old ones fir anything. That's a strange thing about me, I want the oldest landline phone possible but the newest mobile possible.

[bingster]

I honestly don't think I've ever dialed a rotary that didn't have letters on it.  It would probably be momentarily confusing to me if I did.  Even though we don't use exchange names here anymore, we do use the letters for other things, for example: 1-800-FLOWERS will get you a florist company.  I think for that reason most phones still have lettered dials, even though the original purpose of the letters is long gone.

[deedubya3800]

Then they invented text messaging! What would they have thought long ago to know that many modern people prefer to send a sort of telegram from their telephone by using the letters assigned to each number to spell words rather than actually talk to someone? That would be the simplest way to explain it to them back then.

[bingster]

And they'd probably look at you like you were crazy, because an actual telephone call takes less time and effort than sending a newfangled "instant telegram."

[deedubya3800]

I'm picturing the guy in the saloon in Back to the Future Part III: "Run for fun? What the hell kind of fun is that?"

[andre_janew]

With a few exceptions, telephone numbers are all numbers today.  In most cases, I would do very well with a rotary phone that only had numbers.  Of course, I would probably still miss the letters because I have gotten used to seeing a phone with both numbers and letters.

[Greg G.]

Not really an issue for me since I don't have a numbers-only dial in use.  However, I've always detested the acronyms some use for phone numbers and having to hunt for the letters on the dials.  I would convert them to the numbers before dialing.  "Number please!"

[andre_janew]

Impressive, but that is not what this forum is about.  Now if he could dial a telephone blindfolded, that would be something that would be of interest to this forum!

[princessphone]

sorry andre, i'll remove it, john