Arras
enthusiast
Reged: 05/24/04
Posts: 263
Loc: B.C., Canada
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In chapter 32, as Langdon and Vittoria arrive in Rome, they're greeted by a Swiss Guard who wants, among other things, to inspect Vittoria's cell phone:
"Vittoria removed an ultrathin cell phone. The guard took it, clicked it on, waited for a dial tone, and then, apparently satisfied that it was indeed nothing more than a phone, returned it to her."
The emphasis is mine, to highlight the nit I mean to pick with this scene. This is a cellular phone. Cellular phones do not have dial tones. Dial tones are provided by DC power that only hard-wired telephones possess. If you turn on a cell phone you're greeted by...silence.
We get the point, of course--the guard wanted to verify that the phone was actually a phone, just as security personnel at airports often do these days. It's just that the "waited for a dial tone" bit is wrong. The best you could hope to do with a cell phone without actually dialing a number would be to check the LCD display to verify that the phone appears to be working and receiving a signal from a transmitter.
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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Good point. I never really thought of that... However, does that in any way change the story? We can conclude that Brown either has never used a cell phone or was just absent minded at the time, as were his editors. I vouch for option two....I think. When was A%D pubished? (I gave my copy to someone to read and can't check).
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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Arras
enthusiast
Reged: 05/24/04
Posts: 263
Loc: B.C., Canada
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Oh, it doesn't "change the story" in any significant way, it's just a minor nit that sticks out. Brown could as easily have avoided the issue by just saying that the guard "verified that the phone was working", but in trying to say so in a more detailed manner he committed a technical error. Sometimes it's safer not to say too much 
As for whether Brown himself had used a cell-phone at that time (1998-2000), I wouldn't be terribly surprised to learn that he hadn't. While cell phones have become standard accessories for the under-30 set and the folks who hold down 9-to-5 jobs in urban areas, a surprising number of people still live without them. My wife and I have a cell phone. One phone, that is. It lives in the car for emergency purposes and very occasional use. Cell phones just aren't a part of our lifestyle--we're both writers, so we work from home, and most of the people we communicate with use e-mail or instant messaging tools to reach us.
Cell phones (and phones in general, for that matter) are the bane of writers, constantly interrupting us at the worst times for the most inane reasons. We often leave the ringer off and let voice mail take the calls, so we can concentrate on our work. I suspect that if Dan Brown has a cell phone at all, he probably has to remember how to use it on those rare occasions that it comes out of his desk drawer 
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Sephia
Supreme Goddess
Reged: 11/28/03
Posts: 876
Loc: MA, USA
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I guess I should have thought of that. Living around here, everyone has a phone, ans walking through the school halls after or between classes, one sees 95% of people with their heads glued to their cell phones...
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"Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it" ~Terry Goodkind
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WKShadow
Beloved Angel
Reged: 06/02/04
Posts: 79
Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC
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I must admit, I too have a cell phone, but I just had to upgrade my minutes because as we have no land line, but a cable modem, if you were wondering my online usage, My digital (rather than cell) is my primary means of support. Very necessary in the world of home health nursing. And I like it. Although, for the same reasons which make it convenient, easily accessible ( I am) at any time, makes it a nuisance.
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AAnnAArchy
Gifted Procrastinator
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 643
Loc: Las Vegas
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Arras <<My wife and I have a cell phone. One phone, that is. It lives in the car for emergency purposes and very occasional use. Cell phones just aren't a part of our lifestyle--we're both writers, so we work from home, and most of the people we communicate with use e-mail or instant messaging tools to reach us.>>
Mudpuppy and I are the same way. We have one cell phone, it's a Virgin Pay-as-you-go phone, with about $90 on it because we have to pay $20 every three months or get disconnected. We've used it maybe 4-5 times in the last year; and, in fact, we don't even know our own cell phone number. It sits in the car for emergencies, like ordering pizza on the way home or for me calling Mudpuppy at home and seeing what she wants to drink from Starbucks. We work from home and we have caller id and anonymous call blocking, as we hate the phone. If anyone wants to reach us, they know our email addresses or can find us on one of our boards. We prefer to do *all* business online.
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WKShadow
Beloved Angel
Reged: 06/02/04
Posts: 79
Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC
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My nitpicking on the book I've been meaning to post, but forgot. So here goes. If leonardo was homosexual, and it is well documented that he very well could have been, did he participate in the sexual ritual as the grand master of the priory of scion?
Ijust also realized, I typing in Angels and Demons, not dvc.
oops.
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Wake
stranger
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 24
Loc: England. East Sussex
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Well spotted though.
I like the little things that make writers human.
Mistakes that is!
No problem WKShadow.
Even if he was a homosexual he may still have taken part in the rituals for the sake of completion.
Perhaos he was Bisexual!
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techn9ne
stranger
Reged: 06/02/05
Posts: 1
Loc: DE
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Dude I can see if he wrote contradicting parts in his story but minute details such a cell phone having a dial...I mean...c'mon man. That is nit picky...good job.
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BWise
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FeuerFrei
stranger
Reged: 06/24/05
Posts: 8
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I EASILY noticed that. I only thought it was some European cell phone thing for it to have a tone, so I put it aside.
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