What is some of your Pet Peeve's

[WinterDeere]

They mostly all run the same iOS, so what is the attraction to the latest model? Our eyes can’t distinguish between 12 and a bazillion megapixels. I aim for two models back when replacing.

I only upgrade when I manage to break the one I'm carrying, or when a kid or my wife needs a new phone, and I give them mine. But as to why I usually buy the latest model:

1. Waterproof features had me choose the latest model in two of the upgrades I made in the last 10 years. I race sailboats, and phones sensitive to water intrusion was always a major PITA. I think the 10s was my first phone rated for submersion, and then the 12 or 15 Pro increased the depth and duration it could withstand. Good thing, I just dropped my iPhone 15 Pro in the swimming pool ten days ago, while closing the pool... retrieved with a net.

2. Better camera. We have kids who play sports, and a few recent upgrades have come with better zoom lenses.

3. Increased storage. I don't use cloud for photos, everything is stored locally and backed up to my NAS. But it really sucks when you're traveling, find you're out of space, and have to start playing games with what you delete. So, I always choose models with the highest available storage capacity, which is usually the latest model.

4. Longevity, i.e. years before obsolescence. Assuming I don't break it, this phone will get passed down to my wife or kids. I have my newest phone, my wife has the one I used before this, the one before that was dropped and broken, but my daughter presently uses the phone I had 4 generations ago.

That said, if I couldn't easily afford it, I'd re-prioritize. I don't need the latest or greatest, it's just a matter of convenience.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I only upgrade when I manage to break the one I'm carrying...

I miss the days when I could get a new or used Razr on eBay for $35 to $60.

Of course, they usually only lasted me between two weeks and three months before I managed to physically break them.

When they quit 3G here I had to find something else. Swallowed hard and paid some $200 for a Kyocera. That was over two years ago and that water and drop proof flip phone is still going strong. No wonder the military uses them.

 

[Jstpssng]

I miss the days when I could get a new or used Razr on eBay for $35 to $60.

Of course, they usually only lasted me between two weeks and three months before I managed to physically break them.

When they quit 3G here I had to find something else. Swallowed hard and paid some $200 for a Kyocera. That was over two years ago and that water and drop proof flip phone is still going strong. No wonder the military uses them.

The phone I am using now is a refurbished Motorola which I bought last summer at Best Buy for $100 after losing my old phone... I like it better so when I got my Samsung back I never bothered to switch it back.
Instead it's a $600 flashlight.

 

[Oaktree]

My personal phone is an android, my company issues me and iPhone. The latter takes better pictures yet doesn't like to converse with a PC.
But why do they need proprietory charge cables? I grabbed the cigarette lighter adapter from my personal truck today... Two cables attached so I should be good. Except that one was for my booster pack. First day of the week so my work phone is dead with no way to charge it. Besides those I also have the charge cable for my locator beacon as well as the download cable for my GPS. Also the cable for connecting my SD reader to my laptop.
6 cables for 6 devices, yet they all plug into a standard USB port.

Because they're Apple and they can and all the fanboys will fall in line. My wife has an I-phone and I agree it's a PITA to get pictures off it. You copy a few, then the phone locks up and won't let you transfer any more until you go all the way back to the beginning of the process. Between stuff like that, and the hassle she had to go thru the time she forgot her password, should I ever get a smart phone, it ain't gonna be an I-phone!

Yeah, I don't get the need for a whole bunch of USB cables with a different connector for each gadget on the other end. And this isn't even remotely limited to Apple stuff. I have 2 digital cameras, both use different cables from each other, an mp3 player that has yet another unique connector and USB hard drives have yet another type.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I really should learn how to turn on a so called smart phone, how to answer a call, and how to dial 911 on one. It could come in handy some day.

Under normal circumstances my simple phone works just fine, as does my little flashlight and cheap small camera.

 

[WinterDeere]

Because they're Apple and they can and all the fanboys will fall in line. My wife has an I-phone and I agree it's a PITA to get pictures off it. You copy a few, then the phone locks up and won't let you transfer any more until you go all the way back to the beginning of the process. Between stuff like that, and the hassle she had to go thru the time she forgot her password, should I ever get a smart phone, it ain't gonna be an I-phone!

Yeah, I don't get the need for a whole bunch of USB cables with a different connector for each gadget on the other end. And this isn't even remotely limited to Apple stuff. I have 2 digital cameras, both use different cables from each other, an mp3 player that has yet another unique connector and USB hard drives have yet another type.

Not trying to talk you into anything, you're probably better off with what makes you comfortable, anyway. But just to clear the muddied waters, iPhones got away from cables years ago, I don't think I've ever plugged my current model into anything. Wireless charging, wireless transfer, etc. I even have a MagLock mount in each vehicle, which the phone just sticks to (magnetic), and wirelessly charges through. All photos automatically upload to the NAS through WiFi as soon as I arrive home, or overnight while I sleep, depending on battery status... no manually retrieving them.

That's kind of the beauty of the phone for me, it's simpler and cleaner, not the other way around. That said, lose your passwords, and you're going to at least face some inconvenience to get it retrieved. I'd recommend a password manager app, as essential in today's world as a credit card or pocket knife. Ironically, one of the better ones out there is integrated into iOS as part of your iPhone Settings app, but there's also always SecureSafe and Norton Password Manager.

Speaking of passwords, and folks who lose them... if your passwords are anything other than random, if they have literally any similarity to them between institutions, having just one of them cracked or leaked means having all of your financial accounts accessed or wiped out within hours. The better hackers are very sophisticated today, with automatic routines that will try your email / password combination at every financial institution on earth, once they obtain it from a data breach.

Put otherwise: Your wife gets an email that an attack on Target's or Kohls' site may have compromised her data? Better believe that same password/email combination, and tens or hundreds of thousands of permutations of it, have already been tested against Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fidelity, etc., long before you even heard of the data breach. Use randomly-generated passwords from a password manager app, for your own safety, please!

 

[BackRoad]

For 40 years, corporate paid me very well for 24x7 availability.

Now, my wife pays me very well for 24x7 availability.

Other than her, it's a single purpose tool...outbound only, no inbound!

 

[Runner]

Pet peeve - people who ONLY communicate by text. I guess if you have an I phone it doesn't matter whether you use email or text because you have a "keyboard" to type on, but if you have a flip phone, like me, texting is a pain in the a$$. When a friend sends me a text, I send the response as an email.

Just thought of another pet peeve that I'm going to have to add here and I hope I don't piss anyone off, it's not personal, just something that bugs me. It is people beginning EVERY sentence with the word "so". Where the HE!! did this habit come from? It's getting to the point where you hear it in almost every interview. Not just people with limited vocabulary or education, it is EVERYONE, government, education, industry, you name it. I don't get it. This is the modern version of Valley Girls beginning every sentence with the word "like" in the 80's. This is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

[WinterDeere]

Pet peeve - people who ONLY communicate by text. I guess if you have an I phone it doesn't matter whether you use email or text because you have a "keyboard" to type on, but if you have a flip phone, like me, texting is a pain in the a$$. When a friend sends me a text, I send the response as an email.

... and your friend's pet peeve? Luddites.

Not to pick on you, but you have to admit, it's kind of funny that you're "pro email", but "anti text". I mean, these two technologies are separated by little more than the blink of an eye, on the grand scale.

Next time, respond via Western Union telegraph.

I'm usually slow to adopt any new "social" tech, my wife always jumps first, and then has to drag me along. But smart phones are one that I just can't imagine living without, anymore. So much of my daily life is scheduled through that damn thing, including my "to do" and "shopping" lists, appointment calendar, and my daily listening of audiobooks and podcasts while I fritter about my chores.

 

[Runner]

... and your friend's pet peeve? Luddites.

Not to pick on you, but you have to admit, it's kind of funny that you're "pro email", but "anti text". I mean, these two technologies are separated by little more than the blink of an eye, on the grand scale.

Next time, respond via Western Union telegraph.

I'm usually slow to adopt any new "social" tech, my wife always jumps first, and then has to drag me along. But smart phones are one that I just can't imagine living without, anymore. So much of my daily life is scheduled through that damn thing, including my "to do" and "shopping" lists, appointment calendar, and my daily listening of audiobooks and podcasts while I fritter about my chores.

I am not anti-technology at all. If I had a use for a smart phone, I would have one in a second, but I just don't need one. If I travelled a lot, or was running some kind of business, or was in some kind of situation where I thought I needed access to the internet or email, or all my electronic files remotely, I would have one. But I don't.

I'm retired, rarely travel, get VERY few phone calls (except for advertising). Quite literally, I probably don't make or receive an actual phone call more than once per month, if that.

If I need to do something that requires a computer, I've got four of them, including one in the shop, to access the internet, files, etc. Accessing electronic files on a little, tiny screen is just not something I ever need to do. I can view a computer screen without wearing my cheaters, and be comfortable doing it while using a full-sized keyboard.

As far as using maps, my pilot background teaches me to plan trips ahead of time, so if I need a map, I get that information before I leave the house and I also have a hand-held GPS if I really think necessary, but usually not.

My "doodlebug" (as my wife calls it) sits on my desk on the charger all the time, except that I do take it with me in the car, or out to the "field" if I think I might need to communicate for some reason. But it normally resides in the house because I normally just don't need or want to be in instant communication (I had that for 35 years).

I will have to say, it's a shame that all the "basic" phones seem to be kind of crappy quality-wise. Just because I want basic and no-frills, doesn't mean I want it to perform like crap.

I phones are great, but I just don't need one for my lifestyle and it would be a complete waste of money for me.