Smartphone = worth it?

[larryinnewyork]

Hello all,

I still haven't gotten past the 'rotary' phone.
Made in the early 70's

Have 3 in the house with an answering machine.

But I would like having a camera / video with me all the time.

So, my advise is probably of no help.

 

[surfstar]

I held out as long as I could and only got one when I was offered a great plan/deal by my carrier and picked up a refurb phone for basically free. That was over 2 years ago and I'm now just picking up my next smartphone.
They can be great, but if you don't need one, don't bother. Save your $. It amazes me to see people pay insane monthly rates and/or $200-300 just to get the latest phone when it comes out. Wait a few months and they're free.

Having the 'net almost always available can be very convenient many times, though. Awesome when traveling.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: GMFan
Was anyone hesitant to make the switch to a smartphone?

I was... back in 2006, LOL.

Smartphone is not a necessity. If you can get around without it just fine right now, then you don't really need it, IMO. But once you start using it and find some useful apps, it's hard to go back to an old flip phone.

For me, it has replaced a car navigation, point-and-shoot camera, audio player, video player (when on a plane), etc. I also use it as a hot spot when I'm at a client site and in need of internet access and the client can't provide it to me.

 

[surfstar]

I think my favorite use is being able to download podcasts to listen while working/driving/cooking/etc. Best use of my phone by far!

 

[KD0AXS]

My smartphone has pretty much replaced my computer. It does 99% of everything I would do on a computer, and it fits in my pocket. It has also completely replaced the need to have a home phone and internet connection. On the occasion that I do want/need to use my computer, I just tether it to my phone.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

As mentioned before, if you don't need one, don't lock yourself into a contract by buying one.

Have fun with the gadget without being pummeled by high phone costs: buy an iPod Touch 5. Everything the same as an iPhone 5, w/o the phone, which means, no sucking sound removing $$$ from your wallet every month. And, if you want, you can run Google voice phone number with free software on it to emulate a phone if you're on home WiFi. Many people do this as it's totally free, even for domestic calls, and works good enough.

Simply use the device to have fun: games, pics, music, etc. Don't spend the $$ on a phone if you really don't need to.

 

[dishdude]

You can buy a Nexus 4 from the Google Play store for $299, and stick a T-Mobile sim card in it for $60/mo that includes 2GB data and unlimited everything else without a contract. It doesn't get much more cost effective than that!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
You can buy a Nexus 4 from the Google Play store for $299, and stick a T-Mobile sim card in it for $60/mo that includes 2GB data and unlimited everything else without a contract. It doesn't get much more cost effective than that!



You can buy that same phone from Ting.com for $404 (less $25 promo discount code), they resell Sprint line services, and only pay for what you use every month, usually around $30-$35, no contracts. You only pay for what you use so if you use very little, you pay very little, no constant charge contracts. Ting is becoming wildly popular.

https://ting.com/plans

I wish I knew about Ting.com before I re-upped our AT&T plans last year. Live & learn I guess.

 

[RTexasF]

Although we have two smart phones they are almost never used to their capacities. It IS nice to be able to go online with the phone when Roadrunner is down at the house. Stick with what you've got if it works for you. Some folks actually need a smartphone for work access etc. If you don't then why pay for it? If your phone hangs onto calls and has decent voice quality there's no reason to shelf it.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I have absolutely no use for a smart phone.

While I'm sure there are some people who use them for business, I personally have no desire to be that "connected". I don't text, I don't do Facebook and I don't need an app to manage my life. I don't need GPS and I don't need the added expense of a smart phone with their overpriced "plans".

I'll stick with my plain old cell phone. If I want to communicate with someone I'll call them. When I don't want to be interrupted, I'll turn it off.

 

[apwillard1986]

I held out as long as I could until getting work e-mails on the fly became integral to my job. As cool as they are they are really just grown-ups toy. It is also frustrating to walk by cubicles and see people on their phone all day long rather than working.

 

[rjundi]

For myself I love the ability to look stuff up and good mapping. ALso the texting ability is wonderful on an iPhone and beyond easy to type.

The integration though is quite poor on an iPhone, eg clicking a link in email does not launch the proper application(LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook etc) but instead a cruddy mobile interface prompting for password.

I think if you have lots of email to work with very much so. My wife with kids is overwhelmed with email. She ended up with an iPod Touch to cover off email and calendar of kids as she has free wifi at work and many places she frequents. She even knows on RT495 in heavy traffic how to pull on an unsecured router. She plans on finally making jump to iPhone.

 

[SLCraig]

I'm in the "they're not needed" club, but they can be pretty handy.
Google maps driving directions are awesome, and its nice to have internet access to settle arguments on things when needed, but these are just luxuries.

I think the most useful thing about it to me is the GPS.. If I am out somewhere and I don't know my way, its right there. I have a NAV unit in my car, but sometimes I am with someone else and having that capability is a lifesaver. Email and other stuff I could not care less.

 

[GMFan]

Update: I bought an iPhone 4S last week. It's alright. Definitely mainly an adult toy but also somewhat useful. I have only used maybe 30MB of data so far. I really don't use it too much as an internet device. Calls are a breeze on this phone which is most important.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: GMFan
Update: I bought an iPhone 4S last week. It's alright. Definitely mainly an adult toy but also somewhat useful. I have only used maybe 30MB of data so far. I really don't use it too much as an internet device. Calls are a breeze on this phone which is most important.


The horrid 3G bandwidth on the iPhone 4s makes it hard to use lots of data on the device. A great thing for minimizing your data costs however painful when you need to wait for it to load content.

I like mine otherwise especially when on wifi.

Using my wife's iPhone 5 is wonderful on 4g. I find it quite usable as an internet device.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Maybe we have good 3G coverage at our house, but I find no issues with internet across 3G on my iPhone 4S. We have wi-fi in the house, but I never bother to connect the phone to it; 3G does just fine. I suspect it matters what you're trying to do. 3G loads pages like BITOG and streams YouTube videos just fine. If I were trying to download a 50 MB PowerPoint file or something, I suppose it'd be different.

I've owned the phone for over a year, and these are my usage stats (I've never reset them):

Call time: 1 day, 19 hours
Cellular data sent: 1.3 GB
Cellular data received: 10 GB

My wife and I each have a 4S, and this is the first time in a long time that we're not looking for what our next phone will be. I'm not even sure when my upgrade date is. This phone simply works, and works well.

 

[javacontour]

It all started for me with a Treo back in 2004. So for the past decade, I've had internet in my pocket.

About three years ago, we went to Android at work and I now carry a Galaxy S3.

It was brutal in the beginning. The internet was slow and the built in browser was sketchy to be polite.

Things have come a long way in the past 10 years.

The upside is I don't have to carry a handful of devices. Just the smartphone and occasionally my Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet to do most things I need to do while traveling. My tablet is wifi as I use my phone as a wifi hot spot.