Smart phone or basic phone?

Ford850 · Nov 27, 2017

Xfaxman said:
The old saying has been changed slightly, it is now, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR APPS!

There’s an App for that too.

Oaktree · Nov 27, 2017

hslogger said:
It amuses me how people on the board can poo smart phones. The fact that you have a computer of some kind and monkey with this website should be enough to make you appreciate the better parts of modern telecommunication. If you don't need one than don't get one but for the use and potential use, going back like a previous poster said is stone age Flintstoninan. You can gripe about them for what ever reason but if you have a good provider and bought a good machine, you are keeping up with the times and that is the real issue. After all, it is nearly 2018. If the tekkie stuff messes with your mind, take a tutorial or go to your point of purchase and ask the young bloods who sold it to you for help.

oosik said:
I have a computer and use it to access the internet, send emails, upload photos and print out just about anything I want. I have an old flip phone and all I expect it to do is receive/send phone calls - it does that quite well. I'm very happy.

I'm with oosik. I have a computer at home (several actually), and work with them as part of my job. There is very little I do on it that needs to be done NOW. I have no need (or desire) to be instantly reachable by anyone, anytime, anyplace. Unfortunately, the ability to be instantly reachable soon morphs into an obligation to be, and I have no interest in playing that game.
I've worked with technology all my adult life, I'm not intimidated by it. I'll embrace it when it makes my life easier/better but will pass on it when all it does is add clutter. And to me most of what smartphones add is clutter. YMMV

Citydude · Nov 27, 2017

It's pretty evident that the working guys are smart phone dependant, the retired guys, do things on our own time, in our own way. Glad to rid myself of the smart phone that always wanted my time, NOW.

k0ua · Nov 27, 2017

I will give up my smartphone when they pry it from my cold dead fingers...

downsizingnow48 · Nov 27, 2017

I've been retired since 2009. Used a Blackberry and several flip phones at work. Got iPhones for me and wife in 2010. The smartphones are a huge improvement in every respect.

Citydude · Nov 27, 2017

k0ua said:
I will give up my smartphone when they pry it from my cold dead fingers...

Working guy. ☝

Ford850 · Nov 28, 2017

Smart phones also offer an added level of security, from many angles. You can monitor security systems and cameras from anywhere. Control lights, heating/cooling, locks, etc on your home or your vehicle from afar. You can send messages and communicate via typing or speech using text. The text is an important feature for people with physical and/or hearing issues.
The speed and ease of texting from a smart phone is hard to beat. I don't get carried away with texting, but it is great for contacting someone without bothering them with a phone call while they are at work, or in a store, or church. With a text, you can toss a message to anyone anytime and they can respond when they are available. Group texts are great to get several people to discuss something within seconds, and then we can all move on. I realized the greatest benefit of the group text when my dad was in the hospital several times over the past year. Any of us five 'kids' can be at the hospital and give up to the minute updates on vitals, the latest Doctor's input etc. We are instantly up to date, with a text to refer back to if we have questions, and it's done from across the country.
I also find the magnifier options and apps very helpful when I forget my reading glasses, or for the extra fine print on things that even the cheaters can't help with.
I use the camera for quick pics and movies of parts before I disassemble things on the tractor too. Sometimes I can reach in to a tight spot, and capture a photo of something that is otherwise buried too deep to see.
I think someone above referred to smart phones as Swiss Army knives or Leatherman tools. I think that's a good analogy.

k0ua · Nov 28, 2017

And for every 100 things you can think of using a smartphone for, someone else will think of 100 more. The Star Trek tricorder doesn't have a thing on a good smartphone. The telephone part is a very small part of what a smartphone is good for.

Creamer · Nov 28, 2017

Ford850 said:
Smart phones also offer an added level of security, from many angles. You can monitor security systems and cameras from anywhere. Control lights, heating/cooling, locks, etc on your home or your vehicle from afar. You can send messages and communicate via typing or speech using text. The text is an important feature for people with physical and/or hearing issues.
The speed and ease of texting from a smart phone is hard to beat. I don't get carried away with texting, but it is great for contacting someone without bothering them with a phone call while they are at work, or in a store, or church. With a text, you can toss a message to anyone anytime and they can respond when they are available. Group texts are great to get several people to discuss something within seconds, and then we can all move on. I realized the greatest benefit of the group text when my dad was in the hospital several times over the past year. Any of us five 'kids' can be at the hospital and give up to the minute updates on vitals, the latest Doctor's input etc. We are instantly up to date, with a text to refer back to if we have questions, and it's done from across the country.
I also find the magnifier options and apps very helpful when I forget my reading glasses, or for the extra fine print on things that even the cheaters can't help with.
I use the camera for quick pics and movies of parts before I disassemble things on the tractor too. Sometimes I can reach in to a tight spot, and capture a photo of something that is otherwise buried too deep to see.
I think someone above referred to smart phones as Swiss Army knives or Leatherman tools. I think that's a good analogy.

And I can adjust the temperature in my refrigerator with mine - although I am wondering why I would that since I never adjusted the old one manually for over twenty years.

EddieWalker · Nov 28, 2017

I was just at McCoys and the girl at the cash register uses her phone to watch what's going on inside and outside her house. She has teenagers and she knows if they sneak home from school, or have friends over, or pretty much whatever they are doing when they are there. I've thought about getting that for my house just to watch the front gate, who comes over, and what they do when they are around my house.