To Smartphone or Not to Smartphone, That Is the Question

i have had a basic phone for a good 6 years and this past month i got a smart phone and let me tell you its AWESOME.
I am out ALL the time doing so many things with the kids and I can manage my life with this phone.
Calender, calculator, internet, texting, phone, games for the kids... its awesome!

Ive had an iphone and a samsung android....the gps is great. But,I dont think I'll get a touch screen again because they have both freezed on me, imagine if I needed to call 911?
Try getting opinions on blackberry

I don't want a smart phone.
All I need is a phone for calls and texting - that is IT.
I don't need to surf the net all the time and I don't want to pay for a data plan I don't need.
As it is I sometimes feel too plugged in carrying a cell phone all the time.
Sometimes I (gasp) leave it in the house when I go weed my garden!
(Otherwise I might accidentally bury it.)
But it's getting very hard to find a plain phone with a qwerty keyboard (I can't stand trying to spell using a phone number pad).
They are pushing smart phones (despite networks being over sold and under powered) and fairly quickly other choices are being eliminated.
Marketing, people!
It's there to convince you that you absolutely MUST have something you can definitely live without and then you pay through the nose for it.
I'll put off getting one until there are no other options available.

it just makes people that much more in touch with you. my sister took hers on vacation and kept checking email while family was waiting for her so they could leave. it did not go over well.

I personally cannot use a smartphone. my finger tips are too cold and the screen touches don't register. I have a Kindle and had to purchase a soft pen just so I could use it!

my sweet SIL gave me her iphone 3 when she upgraded. my dh had broken down and got a smartphone (not Iphone) a year or so ago, and both he and my boys swore i'd fall in love.
it's just too smart for me. i don't get all the apps, the browser is slow, the keyboard is maddeningly tiny even if i turn it sideways. i hate texting and i don't like talking on the phone.
but i also think i'm about 78% dinosaur.
:)
my addiction is still right here, at my desk on my mac mini.
the rest of the world says you should get one!
:) khairete
S.

I don't know how I survived without mine! lol. We got our phones for a penny when we signed a contract and it is a little expensive, but totally worth it to us!

It's expensive, J.. And the thing is, if you don't "play" with it to learn how to work it, it's just money down the drain.

I really worry about people using its GPS function while they drive - I think it's dangerous. I won't allow my son who drives to use his - he has to use the GPS (which I specifically bought him because of my worries) that is mounted to the dashboard and is easily seen without looking down, like if he were using his phone. I realize that you can mount it, but I doubt he would because he just thinks he can "do it all". As far as myself goes, I cannot see such a small screen. I need that bigger screen and the "big pink line". I agree with Tracy that having real time GPS would help SO much with detours and construction though...

I have trouble seeing the screen if it's too bright where I am. And yes, it's nice to access the internet, and I've seen people who use it for their jobs and to find out things when they are out and about, and it IS really cool that they can do that. But it seems that everyone is stuck on their phones and paying more attention to them than to their surroundings.

The other killer is how it just eats battery time. A few hours and your phone is dead if you can't plug it in.

I guess that I really prefer a little regular phone that I can call someone, answer the phone, look at call history, and check voice messages. I really don't text, so I don't even need that. I have a much easier time seeing that kind of phone too, without having to put on my reading glasses. These smart phone screens are hard for me to see.

Those are my thoughts...

Dawn

Wishful thinking.

Yes, you will avoid the computer. Using my wife as my example, your total FB time will increase as it is apparently very tempting to check/post all the time since you have your phone handy all the time.

I switched to a smart phone about 3 years ago and would never go back. Work productivity is way up, and it allows me to keep up with my work-from-home gig even at the playground.

You will never look back.
Totally worth it.

I just worry then that if you have access to it at all times, will you be giving the proper amount of attention to your kids/life? (based off your description of always needing to go into the office to check status and being easily distracted).

I still have a very basic phone and it does its job.

With reg to reducing time on e-mail/FB? Definitely wishful thinking. DH is not into social networking, but uses his smart-phone for work-related e-mails, navigation while driving, and some etc. Let me tell you what DH does -

- morning alarm on smart-phone by bedside. Wakes up, checks e-mail lying in bed.
- browses BBC and football updates while doing potty
- comes back from work, steps into home, is removing shoes (we have a no shoes in the house policy..), while checking office e-mail
- evening through dinner through bedtime, checking e-mail/browsing from time to time
- sometimes we have a failure in internet connection, like when the weather is really rough. I am all gleeful that DH will not be sitting at his computer, working. DH will plug in his smart-phone to PC, and work with 4G net. Grrr.

On the other side, DH uses Google navigation while driving, and it is super helpful. When we go shopping, we use the smart-phone data to check and compare prices of articles, read reviews then and there before actually buying some stuff. We use smart-phone to find us good restaurants when we suddenly decide to eat out. While travelling, we check train/bus timings, museum timings, etc on the road. We extensively use the HD camera to take pics, and sometimes share to family right then and there, while vacationing sometimes. And, it is useful to keep DD entertained with some youtube cartoon video while we're on the road, and she gets cranky!

So, if you can keep yourself from getting addicted to the first half like DH does, and start utilizing stuff from the second half, a Smartphone can serve you really well! :)

---------ETA------------
w.r.t Dawn's reply - I agree with her. If you plan to use the smart-phone as a GPS substitute, definitely get the mounting gear. It is dangerous otherwise. DH always uses it. Or, if we're driving together, I hold the device in hand and guide him. He won't take his eyes off the road.

I've had one for one week exactly. I held out for a long time as I didn't want to be one of those people that is constantly checking their messages, etc. but I finally joined in to stay current. I got a Google Nexus S 4G for FREE from Credo Mobile (Sprint). It was rated super high in all of the reviews. So far, I love it. You do have to read the manual, it's not very intuitive if you've never had a smartphone before. But now I'm off and running and I love the convenience. And you know what? Now I am on the computer less often. Interesting fact that my husband just relayed ... one one year alone smartphone use went from 39 million users in the U.S. to 80 million. Wow.

Just got mine and I love it. You can get phones for free or next to it. There are also refurbished phones through AT&T (who i have) and other service providers...they have the same warranty and have been completely worked over.

I am a FB user. I check it, but don't spend tons of time. You have to watch yourself if you are prone to addiction on it...cause it should ENHANCE your life NOT BE your life.

I don't think you'll regret it...I LOVE it!!

Smart phones (I've only ever had an iPhone) are brilliant. I manage my life with it. You do have to set boundaries with it though... I don't like being "always connected"... Never have, and I'm still not. It has been immensely useful though! I will never go back, and I was once stubborn to give up my simple flip phone! lol!

After I got mine, I wondered how I survived without it! Love it and recommend it for the reasons you stated

I want one because I live in a congested area with tons of construction delays. My gps doesn't account for that and will get me into a mess. If I had a smartphone, I could get a mount for my windshield and use real time navigation that will avoid traffic and construction. I also want it for the family locator. I do not want to pay the $30 a month data fee, so I am being stubborn. I'm sure eventually I'll give in.

I make up the extra cost of the service with coupons that are so easily accessible on the phone. That's how I justified it ;)

Once you have it you wonder how you could have ever been without it. I

I don't have one cause I don't want the extra monthly expense. I did get an I Pad that works in WiFi areas. And then got the kids Ipod Touches. with those you can down load any games that can be on an i phone. you can also text people from them if you are a wifi area. with no extra charges. For my son it's been nice because his phone died and he is still able to text his friends when he's home. And it's nice to have the games. If you have any I products they can be linked by the apple ID so you only have to pay for downloads once if it's something you paid for. I would not personaly have an Iphone cause I do't want the monthly service plan can't aford it. but the I pad and pods have been wonderful. My youngest takes his when we go to the store and he sits in the cart and plays it and stays out of trouble.

That's just wishful thinking. My hubby is on his phone on the internet every time we are stopped anywhere. Even if it's just at Walmart. He'd rather sit in the hot car and be on the internet than walking around in the store shopping.

BTW, We both have Samsung touch phones and they were free. US Cellular often has sales where you pay $100 for a phone then after you have kept the phone for 30 days you get a rebate in the form of a debit card. We have the Believe plan and when my grandson threw my cell against the wall and busted it I got a new phone via UPS the next day. I sent my broken phone back in the same box I got the new one in and it got back to them in 2 days. That new replacement phone had a glitch so I let them know it needed to be replaced, it was Friday morning, UPS was at my door the next morning, on a Saturday, with my next replacement phone. They waited while we boxed up the other one and took it with them so it could go back to US Cellular.

I would not have it any other way. I can play hundreds of free games on my phone, play Words With Friends (scrabble), Hanging With Friends (hangman), Gin Rummy, Spades, Angry Birds, and a huge number of other free games. I love my phone and love how the pictures turn out. It's like having a wonderful camera.

The kids do want the phone all the time. I let them earn it often too. I enjoy them playing crazy games and showing me how to do them too.