Can You Hear Me Now?: Difference between revisions

Some writers go to the other extreme, using cell phones in place of crazy [[James Bond]]-esque communication devices. Except when the plot demands, they work in places that no cellphone should—such as in a [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer|sewer]], a [[Beneath the Earth|cave system]], or ''Antarctica'' (unless it's a very expensive and very large satellite phone), and come equipped with [[Crystal Clear Picture|flawless webcams]].

 

 

Often watching older sitcoms, from the early days of cellphone use (80s-90s), the time of the cellphone's primitive ancestor, the car phone (60s-70s) and the days when mobile phones were not available (50s and before - early mobile phones existed as far back as the 40s, but were not available for civilian use) you may suffer many a facepalm as you count how many situations could have been prevented with just having a cellphone ([[Larry David]] and others have commented on how prevalent this is in [[Seinfeld]] - the plots of almost half of the episodes in the series simply wouldn't work if the characters had cell phones). You can even make a [[Drinking Game]] out of it. Note that sometimes it was justified, as in the early days, cell phones were hideously expensive to own and to use, had next to no battery life (and those batteries were nickel-cadmium, a type of rechargeable that gets screwed up if it isn't charged and discharged all the way), very little coverage, and were very bulky (if they existed at all).

 

 

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in ''[[My-HiME]]'', when several characters are stranded in a cave.

{{quote|'''Yuuichi:''' Kanzaki-senpai!!! ''(draws out cell phone)'' Cell phones won't work either? Seriously?}}

** Justified again in the "bROKEN" story, when the Fate Spider's Apprentice intentionally makes Torg forget to charge his cell phone, forcing him to leave it off when communication would have been vitally important.

* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'', Nanase is unable to call for help during a wizard attack on a school in [http://egscomics.com/?date=2009-06-06 this strip.] As for why, [[A Wizard Did It]], literally

* In ''[[Silent Hill: Promise]]'', Vanessa's cell phone hasn't worked correctly yet.

 

=== Web Original ===

* Discussed by [[The Distressed Watcher]]

{{quote|Horror movies were better before they always had to figure out a reason to explain why the main character can’t just use their cell phone to call for outside help. Now every movie has to come up with some clever excuse: "Oh, the vampires stole all the phones in the night!" Or, ”this is a dead zone”, or “the government blocked all the cell signals to cover this whole event up”. Or, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|“we’re all Amish!”]]}}

 

=== Western Animation ===

* In Australia the major mobile phone providers claim to provide coverage to 97% of the population, not 97% of the country. Beyond the highy populated south east corner (Between Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne-Adelaide) coverage is very sparse indeed. As [http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/state.html\] this map proves

** Canada is more of the same rubbish once one leaves the beaten path, to the point that the Newfoundland government will lend a limited-capability satellite telephone to motorists taking the Trans-Labrador Highway (as the only way to call police for roadside assistance after a breakdown).

* Oh, and the "Can you hear me now?" slogan? That became a running joke quickly after Edward Snowden revealed the extent to which the US government was snooping on callers, most often with the full collusion of Verizon or other major carriers. They were even caught [[Exact Eavesdropping|eavesdropping]] on Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who was prone to use the "handyphone" often.

 

== Super Cell Phones ==

* In the anime series ''[[Gate Keepers]] 21'', many characters use specially designed cell phones to activate "Gates", the source of the series' [[Functional Magic|magic-like abilities]].

** The Pixies of ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'' also use cell phones to make magic.

* External mobile phone antennas and modded internal antennas may extend range significantly.

* There are satellite phones small enough to almost pass for ordinary cellphones these days. Of course they are expensive and their sound quality isn't very good compared to an ordinary cellphone, but you can use them practically anywhere out of doors.

 

== Aversions ==

 

 

* In ''[[Arkham Asylum: Living Hell]]'', the asylum's guards have barricaded themselves in a security room. They try to call for backup and begin to panic as "The phone lines have been cut!" The warden calmly asks if any of them have a cellphone. When one of the guards hands him one: "Idiots."