How do you feel about smartphones?

[Ultima]

This topic has been inspired by Tenebrae.

Feel free to complain about or praise smartphones here.

[Myssterry]

I love my little smartphone. :wub:

It came into my life only a short while ago, and replaced an unloved phone I hardly ever used. Since then it has never left my side. It sleeps by my bed, it travels everywhere with me. It takes lovely pictures for me, sends emails when we are out and about, and lets me see what AVEN is up to.

I have the sound turned off, so if anyone rings me I won't know, but texting is easy.

I think I am in love. :) *sighs*

[Robin L]

Everything is good in moderation. It's when people use their phones all the time that it gets annoying.

I love my smartphone.

[aceymcaceace]

My smartphone's pretty crappy. The screen's cracked and it crashes quite a bit but it still hold all my music and makes calls and texts when I want it too! It's still a huuuuge step up from my last one.. :)

[poindexter]

I have an iPhone 5C atm. It is brilliant and I don't know how I ever managed without one. I don't really use the phone or messaging as much as most people as I communicate mostly through emails, but having the internet is so useful when out and about (Google Maps is amazing), and I enjoy listening to music and audiobooks on there, as well as playing games and checking AVEN of course :P

Before I had one I thought it seemed like a waste of money. Now I'm like "take all my money, my precious!!!" I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea.

[Guest]

Don't have one and don't need one. When you leave home as rarely as I do, a desktop PC and terrestrial phone serve all your needs... a smartphone would just be superfluous to me.

[Piotrek]

I've never owned a smartphone and so far have no inclination to buy one. I don't like that they have to be re-charged so often; there's this girl where I work and I see charging her IPhone most every day and I feel it's way too often to bother. Of course, you could disable certain energy-hungry fuctions or don't use them which would make batteries live longer, but what's the point of owning a device if you don't use its most vital functions? Also, I keep hearing how fragile those things are and that deters me even more. When I drop my present cheap phone the only problem is that the back panel falls off together with the battery, so I just put the battery back inside, slide the panel back in place and the device is usable again. No broken displays to worry about.

Data theft also seems to be a problem from what I hear.

I totally accept the fact that these devices can be extremely useful for some, but I don't think I'd have a use for one based on what I hear about them. I wish people thought more about what they buy and whether they really need it.

(Also, I didn't vote, because there's no option I could agree with, i.e "I don't have one, because I don't need it". I mean, who am I to say unequivocally that something is useless?)

[njosnavelin]

I never had a “smartphone” until 2007 with the iPhone. I got a iPhone 4 when it came out. I loved everything about them. I was impressed with the hardware and the software.

In 2014 I haven grown annoyed with my own habits on the phone and everyone else's. No one is looking at the world around them anymore. They see the world instead through the glass of the phone. I become conscience of that. They see the world in the mindset I have to share this, I have to capture this, I have to check my facebang. People are missing what is right in front of them. Everyone everyone is looking at their life their world now through the view on a piece of glass.

I realized all I was doing on my iPhone 4 was playing with the psychics of the OS in boredom. I would check this app, check the next app, check the weather. It become a nervous tick to check check check. Except for the people at work no one called me. No one really texted me.

I was wanting the iPhone 6 since May to get a new phone. A month and a half ago my iPhone 4 died from liquids in my bag. I can’t express to anyone how liberating it has become. I decided to not get a phone.

[Ultima]

I never had a “smartphone” until 2007 with the iPhone. I got a iPhone 4 when it came out. I loved everything about them. I was impressed with the hardware and the software.

In 2014 I haven grown annoyed with my own habits on the phone and everyone else's. No one is looking at the world around them anymore. They see the world instead through the glass of the phone. I become conscience of that. They see the world in the mindset I have to share this, I have to capture this, I have to check my facebang. People are missing what is right in front of them. Everyone everyone is looking at their life their world now through the view on a piece of glass.

I realized all I was doing on my iPhone 4 was playing with the psychics of the OS in boredom. I would check this app, check the next app, check the weather. It become a nervous tick to check check check. Except for the people at work no one called me. No one really texted me.

I was wanting the iPhone 6 since May to get a new phone. A month and a half ago my iPhone 4 died from liquids in my bag. I can’t express to anyone how liberating it has become. I decided to not get a phone.

I have never owned a smartphone and I may never either. Honestly I do not understand the obsession.

[njosnavelin]

I never had a “smartphone” until 2007 with the iPhone. I got a iPhone 4 when it came out. I loved everything about them. I was impressed with the hardware and the software.

In 2014 I haven grown annoyed with my own habits on the phone and everyone else's. No one is looking at the world around them anymore. They see the world instead through the glass of the phone. I become conscience of that. They see the world in the mindset I have to share this, I have to capture this, I have to check my facebang. People are missing what is right in front of them. Everyone everyone is looking at their life their world now through the view on a piece of glass.

I realized all I was doing on my iPhone 4 was playing with the psychics of the OS in boredom. I would check this app, check the next app, check the weather. It become a nervous tick to check check check. Except for the people at work no one called me. No one really texted me.

I was wanting the iPhone 6 since May to get a new phone. A month and a half ago my iPhone 4 died from liquids in my bag. I can’t express to anyone how liberating it has become. I decided to not get a phone.

I have never owned a smartphone and I may never either. Honestly I do not understand the obsession.

You won’t understand it until you have one. It will slowly creep in.

By far the best thing about any smartphone is Google Maps and QWERTY period.

[Piotrek]

By far the best thing about any smartphone is Google Maps and QWERTY period.

I don't know about Google Maps, but (physical) QWERTY is also to be found in traditional mobile phones. In fact I've been thinking about getting one with this sort of keyboard.

[Jamesasaur]

smart phones are very useful if you know how to use them to get the most of your money. If you don't then there is not much poitnt in getting one as you will find it difficult to use.

My grandad got a smartphone and needs me to help him with it. He couldn't even use the search on GooglePlay or change the locations of the icons.

[Ultima]

smart phones are very useful if you know how to use them to get the most of your money. If you don't then there is not much poitnt in getting one as you will find it difficult to use.

My grandad got a smartphone and needs me to help him with it. He couldn't even use the search on GooglePlay or change the locations of the icons.

I actually know how to use smartphones (even fix them to a degree) but I still do not want one because they are bulky, easy to break, and I can do everything a smartphone can do with my netbook.

I will admit that the smartphone has helped my sister get her life together a little. She is very disorganized and has a poor memory.

[Rising Sun]

I will admit that the smartphone has helped my sister get her life together a little. She is very disorganized and has a poor memory.

This is one of the reasons why I've got a smartphone. I tend to forget a lot of things, especially appointments and also administrative tasks, and Google Calendar and its alarm clock is very useful. I also have daily alarms to take my medications. My sense of direction is a disaster, and the GPS on my smartphone is another important application. I wouldn't be quite autonomous without my smartphone.

Other useful reasons to own a smartphone :

- you can access a phone book even when you're not at home ;

- you can play and stop getting bored when you're in a waiting room or if you can't sleep at night (not all games are stupid, some actually train your brain) ;

- unlike any other phone, you can blacklist annoying people and spam ;

- if your SO, your family or your best friend is in another country, Skype changes your life. You can call them (including video calls) or chat with them for free at any time if the day (as long as you let them sleep :P ). It's the other main reason why I bought a smartphone.

[Valja]

lol I am at college between people who own smarthphones and iphones and I have an old phone. I worked and gave the money to my parents, they said go buy something for you, a brand new phone, me: nope, I like this kind of phones but I would feel selfish to buy one for me. I know, I'm helpless

[Chemic]

I've always had a basic phone, but working on getting a smartphone (long story short, I asked my dad for one during my last year of college and he was like "nope" and then buys himself one a year later >.< ). I like the idea of having one because I'm currently studying for the GRE and there are many apps that'd let me just study on the fly while I'm taking a break at work, waiting for an appointment, etc. Also, when I'm shopping, I rely (probably too heavily) on reviews. I like the ability to do comparison shopping so I know my mom and I are getting the best deal on something and not buying something that has a lot of issues.

The downside to it is that my mom and grandma treat me like their personal tech support (both recently got smartphones). I've rarely played with smartphones yet it seems I'm the only one out of the 3 that has enough common sense to figure out how to solve their problems without looking it up online.

- unlike any other phone, you can blacklist annoying people and spam ;

I'd like to point out, it really depends on your carrier. I have verizon and they actually do let you block numbers, regardless of phone type. You have to log into your account online and put the number in, and I think you have to re-update it every few months, but it works like a charm (I've had to block a few spammers a year ago that were texting my basic phone).

[littleheartsofjoy]

I've never owned a smartphone and so far have no inclination to buy one. I don't like that they have to be re-charged so often; there's this girl where I work and I see charging her IPhone most every day and I feel it's way too often to bother. Of course, you could disable certain energy-hungry fuctions or don't use them which would make batteries live longer, but what's the point of owning a device if you don't use its most vital functions? Also, I keep hearing how fragile those things are and that deters me even more. When I drop my present cheap phone the only problem is that the back panel falls off together with the battery, so I just put the battery back inside, slide the panel back in place and the device is usable again. No broken displays to worry about.

Data theft also seems to be a problem from what I hear.

I totally accept the fact that these devices can be extremely useful for some, but I don't think I'd have a use for one based on what I hear about them. I wish people thought more about what they buy and whether they really need it.

(Also, I didn't vote, because there's no option I could agree with, i.e "I don't have one, because I don't need it". I mean, who am I to say unequivocally that something is useless?)

I really thought that all smartphones have to be charged on a daily basis, but that's not true at all. It strongly depends on the phone. My phone is charged every other day, because I do make calls, and do various things with my phone. I have a battery saver thing, and I can still use my phone just fine. Again, it depends on the phone. All that my battery saver does, is when it is in that mode, I have to manually update app info, rather than it updating itself.

For me, having a smartphone has been SUPER useful for me in various situations. I have gotten lost in the city (and general hell detours) and being able to see the map to get to where I want to go, is great. Especially since I had an appointment on one of the days that I had to take a general detour without having a choice. I have to agree with Rising Sun on the block feature, amazing! With a regular phone, you have to call the company to do the block for each number you want to block. There are too many examples when I have gotten an email right on time for me to reply to it, and get the information that I needed just in time. Even in class, it has been useful for me. I have a professor who randomly wants us to look up things and there's no computer lab around or even in the classroom, so you either look it up on your phone or tittle your thumbs hoping for someone to share the answer with you. lol

[argar]

I'm actually a little frightened of all this new technology.

I read a book once that said the worse things to happen to America were automobiles and television.

When you think of air quality, ecological disasters, advertising and obesity, and the misinformed masses all based on these technological wonders, you can see his point. I can't really argue to strongly because I am a product of these things.

Now we have things like smart phones, which in a way equates a diminishing of our own personal intelligence in a way. We build all these devices to make life easier, but really it just seems to make life more complicated. I know I have this flaw as well. My internet went out last week and I had to do things the hard way. I felt frustrated and stressed, which is the default setting for using technology when it fails. I had to go to the university to work on a paper, afterward I felt better because I got off my duff and did something. The walk through the university also did wonders for my stress.

I like and use technology, it is just becoming too much a part of life that we miss things that I think later in the future will come back to bite us in the behind. I work with students, and they will gullibly believe just about anything they read online. I dislike the phrase "Google it" for something that should be common knowledge. We have lost credibility when really anything we usually see on the internet is based on sensationalism and not truth. I don't really have anyone to blame, we have just gotten used to things having flash and no substance. Look at cell phone commercials, instead of valuing what you have, you need to go to extremes to get rid of what you have and get the latest newest shiniest whatsit.

So no, I do not like the smart phone, to be honest I've never had a phone. I am not social so I really don't need a phone to contact anyone. When I am working I am working, not at all concerned about staying connected. If I have to wait I'll have a book handy, or strike up a conversation with someone if the mood strikes. I'm used to keeping my friends at arms length, so not all that worried, I can always contact them later.

Eh, sorry about the rant, the question set me off. To all those that have phones I am glad you enjoy them, to me it's like owning a motorcycle I have no interest in riding.

[deltaX]

I have a smart phone, and I do think it is useful, but I mostly just use the smartphone part of the phone as a convenience when I need to look something up quickly or am too lazy to go get my laptop. I could definitely do without it if I had to.

[AmethystKitty]

There's really only three things I need a phone to do: text, call, and type things.

[ShyFeather]

I have a basic phone and I don't see myself getting a smart phone in the near future. I do have an iPod touch that I use for apps and such. The reason for this is the cost of data packages. They can be really expensive and I don't see why I should pay those monthly fees when most places have free hot spots I can use when I need to. But of all my electronics I use my laptop and kindle the most. I would like a tablet for doing art, but I don't have the money for it.

[Amy Ghost]

I have a smartphone and honestly I'd be like without hands now if I lost it somehow.

[Spotastic]

I don't have a smartphone, but my wife does. We really only need one in this house, and it's mostly used for our online business. I didn't really know what to put for the second option, since I do think they're useful, but just don't think it's useful for ME to have one at this time.

[Skycaptain]

I have a smartphone, which comes in extremely useful at times. Even though I also have a tablet the phone often has a signal where there is no Wi-Fi. Now if only they'd make them drop-proof , and last the length of the contract before packing in

[WhenSummersGone]

I have one and think they are useful. I use my phone more than my laptop.

[HermioneGranger]

I'd be lost without mine. I need to be able to work from almost anywhere and I get twitchy when I go for too long without being connected.

[Sally]

You need another option:

I do not own a smartphone because I don't want to get obsessed with one.

[eeriesilence]

I was just walking around NYC yesterday, and I'd have been completely lost without one... even as a Jersey-gal whom visits all of the time. Sure, there are such things as maps... But can a map tell me where the closest macaroon shop still open at 2am is? Me thinks that's a resounding "no".

With that said... I don't actually ever have my phone on me unless I am in such a situation.

I hate texting and talking on the phone. Oop.

[R_1]

It's useful, yes, but I still like my desktop over my smartphone. It's useful for communication, browsing internet, and traveling around, but that's about it. It's not a replacement for work that are more on the business level and especially for tasks that requires lots of power like industrial modeling.

[AccountKiller]

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