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Smart phones?

Lucille

Lucille

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I'm not on the cutting edge, I've had just a regular old cell phone for ages. I could text if I wanted but I don't. I mostly communicate via email.
I'm leaving Comcast, got fed up :rolleyes:

Looking over AT&T for TV/internet/phone. They have shiny new smart phones. I'm not sure I need one but they are so shiny :)
Those of you who have smart phones, are they worthwhile and do you use all the bells and whistles?
 
Once you make the switch, you will never go back. muuuuuaaahhhhhhaaahhahahahaha.

But yeah, seriously, jump on the wagon. The processing speed of the newer phones coming out is incredible. Think of your entire life pretty much being at your fingertips. You can connect with people in completely new ways, and it is almost too convenient haha. When I switched from regular phone to smart phone, I was blown away.
 
Lucille said:
Those of you who have smart phones, are they worthwhile and do you use all the bells and whistles?
Click to expand...
Whether they are worthwhile or not depends on the perspective of the user...I have one, and I like it; but I don't come close to using all the bells and whistles. It is simply a matter of convenience for me. Many people are addicted to their smartphones; and quite honestly, they are a disruptive force because a lot of people seem to have no sense that it might not always be appropriate to be texting, facebooking, talking, watching videos, playing games, etc.
It is easy to get used to having a smartphone, even if one only utilizes a fraction of its capabilities. This is becoming a technology based world, for better or worse; and smartphones are getting smarter and more capable with every step. Of course, with a smart phone, you'll also have to have a data plan :ack2:.
 
Yup - that's why there is next to no personal information about me on facebook, I never "check in", I don't leave my phone's GPS locator active, etc. I'm among that group that thinks Google has already been walking the line I don't want crossed, even though some of the features are quite convenient.
I don't want my phone telling people where I am, with relatively few exceptions; and if I'm not going to have the ability to limit that access, I don't want it happening. Will I occasionally lament a near miss with a friend - sure....but the alternative is more unpleasant, IMO.

Going back to my earlier comment about people not having any sense of propriety - I have seen nurses texting/facebooking in patient's rooms (and I'm talking about fully alert patients, here), manager's turning their backs on customers in the middle of a discussion to carry on extended personal conversations, employees ignoring customers while they're doing whatever on their phones. Granted, I'm 45 yrs old, and haven't fully embraced technology; but those things, IMO, do more than cross a line. They scale a wall and jump over.
 
Going back to my earlier comment about people not having any sense of propriety - I have seen nurses texting/facebooking in patient's rooms (and I'm talking about fully alert patients, here), manager's turning their backs on customers in the middle of a discussion to carry on extended personal conversations, employees ignoring customers while they're doing whatever on their phones.
Click to expand...

LOL- people at my work know to not let me catch them texting while working ( on break- thats fine) I flat out said if I catch anyone on their phones texting- its gettign dropped down the inaccessable safe- when the store manager comes in- you can go up to her and tell her you need her to open that safe to get the phone out. She'll ask why, and yeah, she'll eventually know why it was dropped down there.

we got people hiding in the freezer to text...
 
hhmoore said:
Going back to my earlier comment about people not having any sense of propriety - I have seen nurses texting/facebooking in patient's rooms (and I'm talking about fully alert patients, here), manager's turning their backs on customers in the middle of a discussion to carry on extended personal conversations, employees ignoring customers while they're doing whatever on their phones. Granted, I'm 45 yrs old, and haven't fully embraced technology; but those things, IMO, do more than cross a line. They scale a wall and jump over.
Click to expand...

I agree!

Last night we were out at dinner & I told my son that his girlfriend wasn't going to die if he stopped texting for an hour while we ate dinner.

I have criticized friends for texting while we were talking.
 
It's a trick! They aren't really that smart :)

The iPhone is a great, user friendly phone that I recommend to new users. It's very easy to navigate.
 
hhmoore said:
manager's turning their backs on customers in the middle of a discussion to carry on extended personal conversations, employees ignoring customers while they're doing whatever on their phones. Granted, I'm 45 yrs old, and haven't fully embraced technology; but those things, IMO, do more than cross a line. They scale a wall and jump over.
Click to expand...


Not to mention customers who interrupt conversations that they initiated where I am telling them what I think might be wrong with their snake or fish tank to take a call or to text the babysitter not to let junior stick crayons up his little sisters nose.

Personally I despise smartphones and I hate cell phones in general. I have a Trac phone and I carry it with me maybe about 5% of the time I leave the house. I only got one initially because my family was concerned that they had no way of contacting me outside my store.

You are spot on with all the info people put out there about themselves. Funny thing is some of the people I know who do this are the first ones to squawk that the government is taking away all our privacy.

I'm a lot like you regarding the age and embracing technology thing. I've had many people tell me I should have lived in the 50's since I seem to be stuck there anyway. I'd be much happier if someone would take my internet service away as well but I am too addicted to sites like this to give it up on my own.

I know they do serve a purpose but it has gotten out of hand and it is only going to get worse.

Crawling back under my rock now over and out.
 
Steve, I understand where you are coming from but I love my cell phone. I rarely use it, (I'm hearing impaired so talking on the phone is stressful) but now that the kids are grown and gone, if I'm in my car and have car problems I can call them and the auto club. I used to be able to change a tire, I don't think I could do that any more. The cell phone gives me some confidence that if I need to find help I can do it.
 
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I love my smartphone for the fact that I can check my email wherever I am. I also like having GPS because I get lost a lot. It's also nice to have a phone for emergency purposes. Though around here there are so many places if you break down, you're SOL because there is no signal and the closes place of civilization could be several miles away...
 
Oh, I believe it's going to get MUCH worse....

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57462058-93/google-glass-$1500-for-developers-shipping-next-year/

It's not too difficult to predict where this will lead.... :rolleyes:
 
My old LG flip phone works great. Heck my parents text way more than I do and both have iphones. Anyways, I just don't see any reason to need internet on the go, so no need for a smart phone here. Course I'm turning into a bit of a fuddy duddy.

Picard-Android.jpg
 
I believe I have some sort of iphone, my mother's old one, before this I used to have one of those razors. Had that for about six years, it's a "just in case of an emergency" thing.
I don't come close to using anything fancy on mine, it's just an address book and means of communication for me, I don't even use the email/internet features, but I must admit I do prefer this touch screen to the old keys. Before there used to be three letters per key, so if I wanted to type say a "c" then I'd need to hit the "abc" key three times in rapid procession. This full keyboard thing is much easier~ ;)
Plus the camera on this one is nice. I think my old phone had a camera as well, but this one is much clearer and more user friendly.
Lastly if there is a GPS in here, that certainly could be convenient. My car has an old GPS already, but you have to know the address to get directions, I think smartphones can find the addresses of businesses for you. :thumbsup:

I've seen other people play games and such on them, even toddlers, so I guess that's also pretty easy to do if you're into that. :shrug01:

So it's up to you! :D Personally I only carry mine when I'm out by myself, I don't need any extras, so I wouldn't be willing to pay much more for it if that's the case.

P.S. Just adding on the age thing - my mother's fifty and is constantly using hers for facebook or doing those scrabble/drawing with friends thing. She always needs the newest model. :rofl:
Meanwhile I'm still a teenager and never even made myself one of those facebook/myspace/twitter thingies. lol Just never got into it :p
 
Lucille said:
Steve, I understand where you are coming from but I love my cell phone. I rarely use it, (I'm hearing impaired so talking on the phone is stressful) but now that the kids are grown and gone, if I'm in my car and have car problems I can call them and the auto club. I used to be able to change a tire, I don't think I could do that any more. The cell phone gives me some confidence that if I need to find help I can do it.
Click to expand...


Hearing impaired here also Lucille. My cell is much clearer than home phone.
Accents are even worse.
 
I wouldn't call my love of smartphones an addiction, I look at it as actively embracing the advancements in available technology. I have 2 of them at the moment, and I definitely use as many of their features as possible; from wifi hotspot capabilities, gps navigation, capturing video, to surfing forums. Hell, the hard drive in my laptop died a few days ago, so right now I'm posting from my iPhone until I get a replacement. If only I could get into Fauna chat with my phone.

If you've never actually had a smartphone, I say 'give it a shot'. Whether or not you currently think you have a need for one, you may be surprised to find yourself going out of your way to find excuses to do things with it. If you don't like it, you'd be surprised just how much the latest smartphones are selling for, used.
 
Looking around it seems like if you are a new cellular customer, the companies try to hook you in by offering some *amazing* deals. Some of the phones are free if you sign their contract. That's the pull- they are so shiny and new and can do so many things. I watched one of my sons start talking to his phone the other day, it changes his words to text and stores them so when he wants to remind himself of something, he doesn't need the ubiquitous stickies that I use.

But I'm still trying to figure out whether I would actually benefit. I have texting capability on my phone, but I have maybe sent a total of 12 or so text messages in the years I've had the phone. I guess I'm single minded- I drive when I drive, I walk the dogs when I walk, I'd never think of texting in a store, so the times that I actually want to email someone, I'm home with my desktop.
 
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