I think part of the difference is that so many people treat their public cell phone conversations as though they were private at-home, in-the-car, etc conversations. I work retail and have heard some pretty amazing/disgusting/inappropriate things being discussed as the person roams around the store or even stands right in front of me while chatting on their cell. Some people are truly oblivious to their surroundings and it just doesn't seem to occur to them that describing their sexual experience from last nights date in the middle of a clothing store might not be the best thing

The texting also really gets to me. I've had people hold up the line in the fitting room because they can't look up from their phone long enough to pay attention to what is going on around them - same thing while ringing them up at the cash register. And as far as driving and texting goes, there was a group of five girls killed 1/4 mile up the road from me when the driver of their suv drove head on into a tractor-trailer truck. There had been a text message sent from the driver's phone just seconds before she drove into the truck.

I love my cell phone and I don't expect people to never use them in public but it sure would be nice if more people paid closer attention to their surroundings and considered the appropriateness/safety of what they are doing.