Does anyone not have a smartphone by choice?

Regy53 said:
it does annoy me when people you are socialising with or talking to start to operate their smartphone at the same time as nodding along to you talking to them. Happens all to often too
Click to expand...

I find myself doing this, but only with boring work colleagues that I don't really care about, not with friends. If I was talking to someone and they did the same, I'd know I am being not very interesting and change the subject.

I have a galaxy S3. Do I need it? Of course not. Do I like it and does it make my life a lot easier than the guy that doesn't have it? Yes!
 
You don't have to buy an iPhone or Samsung. There are several budget smartphone offerings from companies like Huawei and ZTE (Orange San Diego). They aren't super fast but they are adequate for the light user.

Huawei G300 (or newer model) = £80-100
SIM only contract with Three mobile = £6.90 per month (200 mins / 500mb data)

In fact, I got that contract with £50 quidco cashback so £6.90 x 12 - £50 = £2.73 per month. There are always offers to be had on contracts.

Having the ability to check train times if my train has been delayed has saved me many hours of hassle. I'm able to find an alternative connection without wasting precious minutes watching information screens on the platform or asking for assistance.
 
Battery life is what stops me from overusing my phone, but i do tend to use it more for e-mail, IM and as a general tool for getting information i may need while out and about.

But, i am also using a fairly old smartphone which is still in good condition.
HTC HD2, NativeSD Android 4.0.2, i've had the phone since it was released.
I'm hoping it'll keep for another year at least.
 
Don't have a phone at all, besides mainline.

Just seems rather pointless until they actually have all the features that I desire, why bother with anything leading up to it.

:)
 
I too dislike it when people sate glued to their phones instead of properly engaging with whoever they are taking too.
So I keep my phone in my pocket in social situations, easy enough, and it means that unlike you I haven't given up my smartphone for times when I'm alone.


Posted from my phone, in my bed.
 
I know I sound old fartish for someone in their early 20's, but I think that smartphones are just another trade in our times.

In the 80's and to an extent the 90's, you would get up from work and go home. Unless there was something absolutely critical you'd be "safe". Meeting up with people had value because (even when i grew up with a phone) if you got things wrong you were stuffed!

Whilst I appreciate mobile phones for the simplicity in contacting friends, and whilst I enjoy my time using a smart phone (not any more alas), I think that we're ending up carrying computers around with us all the time essentially and work is expecting us to do so.

Even at my university, they take it as red that you WILL read your email and that any failure due to not reading emails in time is your problem.
 
sports_brah said:
Meeting up with people had value because (even when i grew up with a phone) if you got things wrong you were stuffed!
Click to expand...

This is one downside (perhaps not for some people) of living in a connected world, people can be very laissez-faire about making plans and leave it all until the last minute, or cancel/change plans much more freely. Nowadays people just rely on being able to contact each other anywhere, anytime whereas it used to be that you'd plan things out in advance and in general stick to the plan unless something serious came up.

E.g. last weekend I was in London to watch the football and met a friend after the match. During the week I tried to get out of her where she wanted to meet but ended up not finding out until during the match, which meant I then had to work out the best way of getting there (look up pub on a map, find the nearest tube to, plan out a route working out which tube was best to go to at my end etc). Which wasn't ideal especially as my mobile internet is extremely flaky at the Emirates stadium for some reason. Had I had the information the day before, I could have worked it all out beforehand.
 
Every time I upgrade to the new iPhone I sell off my current iPhone about a month before the new comes out and use an oldish Nokia for that time period. The first thing I'll notice is how light it is, and how excellent the charge is on the phone. But, it never takes more than a couple of hours to start "missing" certain features from my iPhone. The ability to text quickly, the ability to check emails, twitter, Facebook, Overclockers, play decent games, have a decent camera and video camera, an mp3 player and loads of other tiny little things which in my opinion, make life that little bit easier and nicer.

Having said that, I could live without the phone, of course! I could live without many of the novelties I consider a requirement when purchasing only to lie to myself. But in truth I enjoy having everything in my pocket, and my online social life at my finger tips wherever I am.

I read this whole thread and wrote my post from my iPhone, too :)
 
I could afford anything I like but I got over gadgets in the 80s to be frank. Other than knowing it was one of the first touch screen phones I remember little else about it. Same with my watch - £15 and has told me the time reliably for years.
 
Smart phones have proved invaluable to me over the years, checking addresses, Google street view so I could see if I could get down places with a lorry before I went, quickly looking up a company website before I went in on a prospect call, picking up and sending emails with pictures of accident damage, or with quotes or invoices attached.

Even video calling has proved useful on the odd occasion.
 
I hate the bloody things but almost cannot be without one. It's incredibly handy for my job when I can't get to a PC.

But I also have a cheap old Nokia. Sometimes I swear the battery indicator is broke as it just doesn't run out. I love that about the old phones.

So I have two phones.
 
I got a cheap pay as you go phone from morrisons. I put in about £30 a year so its a bargain really. I only need it for emergencys or if im gonna be late for something.
 
Devrij said:
I find the maps on my phone invaluable. The amount of times they've gotten me out of a jam is unreal. Also saves me a lot of time finding places, getting postcodes for the satnav etc.

Pros outweigh the cons for me.
Click to expand...

So do I. Until 4 years ago I was of the school that a mobile phone was 'its a phone, it rings & I answer it' then I decided to get a QWETRY phone in order to reply quickly to my sister's often frequent text messages, I had to reply quickly otherwise a stroppy text message would follow the original message, asking why I hadn't replied. I got a Nokia E71 which now use for work but a workmate said get a android phone, so my next upgrade was a Sony Arc which I still have & find the maps so useful. It also as my portable media player too. Next upgrade will probably be a Nexus 4 or its equivalent when I upgrade again later this year.
 
I really bloody hate smartphones. I have a nokia C1-01. It does Internet but I dont use it. I only have this model because its about the cheapest one with bluetooth (handy if your in the car for hands free). I use it on a £6 a month contract and the phone cost £35. Ideal for me.

I have a few friends who sit glued to them. If I go round for a cuppa, they will barely speak, just sit on their phones. Going to the pub for a pint? First thing they do when they get there is put their phones on the table. Im not a boring person to be around! But it just seems whenever im around these people, they sit glued to the bloody things. Its so annoying!

Frienss / work colleagues laugh about my oldish phone but im either at friends, at work or at home, all of which have internet access via a pc if I need it. I have a tomtom for finding my way around, so dont need a smart phone. I think some of the contract prices for them are insane. I remember whenthe iphone 4 came out, my mate got one ona £50 a month contract over 2 years!! :eek:

Sod that!
 
Another one of the no phone brigade.

One of those things i never grew up with, ofcourse if i had id probably be one of the can't live without's.

Only downside is the boss ragging on me, doesn't like the fact he can't get hold of me 24/7 when he likes.

Shame that:)
 
I do have a smartphone. It was an impulse buy two or three years ago. Since then I've used the actual 'smart' features on only a handful of occasions. The only time it really came in useful was when my bike wouldn't start after I'd been shopping in Asda and I used the AA app to call them out to come get me back on the road again.

Can't stand people that spend all their time texting/farting around with their phones, especially if they've supposedly come out to be social.

If/when I get another mobile, I will probably just go for something cheap and cheerful that can make and receive calls.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom