Smart phone or basic phone?

[Creamer]

Plus a hundred more... I can't imagine going back to a flip phone. I may be an old curmudgeon, but when it comes to technology, I try to stay pretty close to the cutting if not the bleeding edge. I have had my Motorola now for nearly 4 years. It is still working strong. Couldn't get along without it. The ability to have hundreds of PDF documents at your fingertips is worth the price of admission. And if it died tomorrow, I would go get its successor. No flip phones for me, thank you.

4 years old - not quite on the bleeding edge!

I understand - when I bought my Note 2 it was the edge. The hassle of changing and getting used to a new one precludes me from updating until I have to.

Phones are kind of like computers - once they get to a certain level of functionality you really wonder if the improvements really buy you anything. It all depends on what level of functionality you require or desire.

 

[Sigarms]

I'm still amazed at the amount of guys who have a smart phone for work but fail to understand what they can do with them.

I'll send out manuals for quick reference tech guides or installation manuals, all created in hyperlink so when you get a 100 plus page document, with the tap of a finger you can go to any page you want (I can be in some very rural areas where internet access isn't available). Guys still don't know how to save documents to their phones.

I had one guy couple of years ago. I would send documents out and one time he called me. I told him I had sent that info out in the past via e-mail. He informed me sheepishly he was afraid to admit it, but he didn't even know how to open the document on his laptop and this was after a year from getting e-mails from me.

Keep in mind, I am NOT what I consider technically advanced via computers and phones.

 

[/pine]

People are needed to create the applications for smartphones, so "smartphone application designers/programmers"?

In March 2017, "Android users were able to choose between 2.8 million apps. Apple's App Store remained the second-largest app store with 2.2 million available apps."

App stores: number of apps in leading app stores 217 | Statista
Steve

Apps are nothing but scripts/programs that run on digital devices...before phones the same programmers were writing scripts/applications for other platforms and interfaces...the advent of "smartphones" may have increased the number of coders but the same basic jobs already existed...

 

[k0ua]

I'm still amazed at the amount of guys who have a smart phone for work but fail to understand what they can do with them.

I'll send out manuals for quick reference tech guides or installation manuals, all created in hyperlink so when you get a 100 plus page document, with the tap of a finger you can go to any page you want (I can be in some very rural areas where internet access isn't available). Guys still don't know how to save documents to their phones.

I had one guy couple of years ago. I would send documents out and one time he called me. I told him I had sent that info out in the past via e-mail. He informed me sheepishly he was afraid to admit it, but he didn't even know how to open the document on his laptop and this was after a year from getting e-mails from me.

Keep in mind, I am NOT what I consider technically advanced via computers and phones.

I have a lot of manuals on mine as well as sales literature, just for the reason you mentioned. If you are out in the boonies without internet access, you can function on your own.

 

[k0ua]

4 years old - not quite on the bleeding edge!

I understand - when I bought my Note 2 it was the edge. The hassle of changing and getting used to a new one precludes me from updating until I have to.

Phones are kind of like computers - once they get to a certain level of functionality you really wonder if the improvements really buy you anything. It all depends on what level of functionality you require or desire.

Well, it is just that my Moto is still working so well. Trust me, if it wasn't, I would have kicked it to the curb and gotten a new one. But it has been a dandy.

 

[sixdogs]

In running a business and getting ahead, I would say you have to have a smartphone to hold your own because everyone else has one. No problem with that.

But being retired, I'm happy with a Convoy flip phone. It gives me communication in the event I'm needed and I can save the stuff I can't live without until I get home and on the laptop. I'm not a stooge but worked in a field of instant data and demanding communication. Now, I just want it to leave me alone.

 

[newbury]

I gave up my smart phone for a basic flip phone a few months ago. The basic phone will receive and make calls where the smart phone doesn't in areas with poor service reception where my property is. A contractor pouring concrete in my pole barn was the one to show me the difference. I had no service with my smart phone, he was talking and receiving calls all day.

That is probably more dependent on the phone than if it is flip or smart.

Don't think I could go back. I use my smart phone for online searches while at work when I need something, or need to learn something. I use the GPS several times a week when going a new house. I can't remember the last time I used a map to find where I wanted to go. I watch the weather and decide what I will do that day, or how long I have to work outside when a storm is coming. I send pics to clients, sometimes several a day if they are not around and I need them to make a decision on something. The flashlight is always there when I need it, and even though I have a nice LED in my truck, it's just easier to pull out my phone and use it for quick trips into attics or looking into a dark place. The calculator is used every time I figure out a bill for a client, and the calendar is how I know what day it is. There is an alarm on my phone so I don't miss appointments. The best thing about my smart phone is that I now have it all in one place instead of a dozen different things stored away in my truck.

Well written. Now that screens have gotten bigger most of my library of manuals is stored on my phone.

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.

To me it is like the choice between the Sear's catalog and toilet paper.

Hey, I resemble that remark! There were many times I only had the Sears catalog!

Well, it is just that my Moto is still working so well. Trust me, if it wasn't, I would have kicked it to the curb and gotten a new one. But it has been a dandy.

My Moto fell from my pocket a year ago and kissed the concrete. Kinda of glad it did. Moved up to a larger screen and more memory.

SWMBO swears by her flip phone. Until one of us does a an internet search on our smart phone.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Our kids talked us into smartphones (iPhones) some years back. Easy for the whole family to stay in touch, not to mention news, weather, and all the other practical things already mentioned. We then talked my father in law (now 97) into using one. He stays in touch with the family using messages, emails, phone calls, and also uses it to read up on things he is interested in on the web.

 

[grsthegreat]

If it wasnt for the fact that i need it to take credit cards and link up with ipad for my generac programs, id much prefer the old flip phone. My new galaxy s8 cost over 750 bucks. Thats nuts. Its nearly too big to fit comfortably in my pocket.

 

[Xfaxman]

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

 

[Ford850]

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]

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.

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]

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]

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

 

[downsizingnow48]

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]

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

Working guy. ☝

 

[Ford850]

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]

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]

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]

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.