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So, my wife is insisting that we get smart phones

cpwill

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Basic Problematic Premise: I am a natural luddite, and strongly suspect that smart phone technology is going to help usher in the AntiChrist.

BUT we are in the market for new phones/providers, and she wants to be able to do the skype video chat thing and/or download the map ap that tells you where to go in your car.

So. If we need basic smart phones that can do those basic things (and also take and store and send pictures, which she likes to do), but that aren't complicated and won't make me want to throw them out a window and won't cost me a friggin arm and a leg for a stupid cell phone which you can totally get for a few bucks if you... anywho...

What should we go with and why?
 
I splurged this year on a top-of-the-line Samsung, so I can't advise you on a model. But I will tell you that they can be addictive as hand-held computers. I describe mine to friends by saying "and it's a phone, too!"
 
Oftencold said:
I splurged this year on a top-of-the-line Samsung, so I can't advise you on a model. But I will tell you that they can be addictive as hand-held computers. I describe mine to friends by saying "and it's a phone, too!"
Click to expand...

Crap. That is precisely the last thing I need.
 
If you want a decent smartphone for an impressively low price given the specs, Google just launched the Nexus 5, contract-free - though there is probably a short waiting period given how popular the last one was (which spent about half a year sold out). Speaking of which, I would guess that this means eBay will soon be flooded with people selling it's predecessor, the Nexus 4 - my current phone, which does everything I could ask for and quickly too. It also runs stock Android, without any of the extra bells and whistles that most manufactuers add on.
 
I have a smartphone and my one rule is to not put any games on it. I use it purely for phone calls and taking pics of info I need or storing stuff, but no games.

Also if you do, get android.
 

Stick to your guns. resist and fight.

I deplore the cell phone and did not own one. I have a home phone and if people want to get hold of me they know how to do it. I have email and they can get me that way also.

Three years ago I got a new job as chief of staff for a member of the Michigan legislature. So I bought my first cell phone. I used it perhaps a half dozen times in three months and threw it away in anger and kept making the payment on a 2 year contract.

I hate these things.

My vivid memory of their importance is watching a man in a grocery store in a conversation on his phone which went something like this:

I'm at the store.

I'm in the vegetable aisle.

You said I should get some corn.

No no no - the vegetable aisle where the stuff is in cans.

Did you want it to have corn on the cob?

Thats what I thought.

What kind do you want?

Just corn or creamed sytle corn?

What size can should I buy?

One or two?

I don't know if its on sale or not.

Any special brand we get?

Okay - I have the can of Niblets 12 ounce.

Anything else?


I told my wife about this and asked that she please shoot me if I ever did this having reached the nadir of intellectual ability being forced to go through such inanity.

The other thought I about these toys from Hell is a photo of a whole room filled with young teens at a party and everybody with heads down texting on their cell phones. Nobody making eye contact. Nobody actually talking to each other. Nobody actually partying. Just texting in a room with other texters.

Of course, maybe in 20 or 30 years somebody will discover a way to actually TALK to people on those devices without having to type and read?

Resist. Fight the power!
 
My Wife[who works in high-tech R&D] lost the battle to peer and industry pressure.

She's now the obsessed owner of a Samsung Galaxy S III. She got it free through Sprint after signing a 2 year contract and gets 20% off the Data part through her company.

Her supervisor[who also never owned a smart phone before] also capitulated.
 
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You could get the samsung Rugby.

Milspec phone. Waterproof, shockproof, no need for a case. "Normal" size.

My boss resisted for a long time, but he's hooked on the Rugby.

He can text by voice, and the gps works better than any standalone he ever had.

ALL smartphones have the drawbacks you mention. No getting around it.
 
I have the S4, and I really like it. However, it is like having a fully functional computer with high speed internet on your hip at all times. Some addiction potential there.
 
None of them are really complicated. It's just a matter of learning how to use them. Smartphones aren't the anti Christ, but they are a tracking device.
 
If you are new to the smartphone world, go for an iPhone. They are simple and easy to learn. When you get the hang of it, move up to Android. They are not as simple, but the features of the Android far outweigh the iPhone's.
 
My phone makes and takes calles, pics too. But I have rarely found anything worth taking a pic of.
 

She could have texted him a pic of the can of corn, and that would have negate the need to talk. :mrgreen:
 
Helix said:
I have the S4, and I really like it. However, it is like having a fully functional computer with high speed internet on your hip at all times. Some addiction potential there.
Click to expand...

I'm planning to get one, but I read it's a battery killer.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
My wife and I are looking into a thing called straight talk that Wally World has. No contract and unlimited minutes.
Click to expand...

Sears sells a plan with simple phones for old people called Consumer Cellular. My parents got that. :lol:
 
American said:
I'm planning to get one, but I read it's a battery killer.
Click to expand...

actually, i haven't had any problems. i make it through the day, and i've forgotten to charge it at night a couple times and still had juice in the morning. as with all smartphones, it depends on :

whether there is a manufacturing problem with the battery in the unit

and

what apps you use.

4g coverage. if the phone spends all of the time looking for a signal, that drains the battery.

walk around with GPS and Bluetooth on all of the time while playing angry birds and listening to tunes and you'll drain it, most likely. however, this one is comparable to the extended battery that i put in my droid x.

my plan is to just buy another stock battery as a backup so i'll always have a charged spare. however, i keep forgetting to do it because i haven't needed it yet.
 
You know, you don't have to get the same phone your wife gets.

She can get a top-of-the-line smartphone and you can get one that just makes phone calls.

Unless your comment about the wife wanting to Skype meant that she wants to be able to Skype with you.

If that's the case, and I were in your shoes, I would simply tell the wife that I have no interest in Skyping with anyone and while you respect her right to do so you'll be going with a brand spanking new dumbphone, thank you very much.

You'll prolly piss her off, but I would hazard to guess that it will be neither the first, last, nor most serious wife-pissing-offense you've ever commited and that she'll love you just the same despite your firm stand against hip pocket technology.
 
I have not read the whole thread so if this is redudant again, sorry. I am 54 years old next week. This is my third marriage and it has lasted 20+ years. It took me a while and a couple of houses, cars etc to figuer out, IF SHE WANTS THE DAMN SMART PHONES JUST GET THEM. My goddnes man, you can always get rid of them, but wives are so much more expensive.
 
cpwill said:
Basic Problematic Premise: I am a natural luddite, and strongly suspect that smart phone technology is going to help usher in the AntiChrist.
Click to expand...

Well, look at the owner of google, kursweil, and others... Read what they SAY/ write (and I don't mean when they are giving public speeches, that's where they give the positive spin), and you will probably think that much more strongly that this is the case.



No matter which one you go for, you will have the same primary functionality. That is; a music player, camera, maps, Internet access, calculator, and more...

Then there are thousands of apps available (100's of them useful) that you can use to add more specific functionality as you see fit.

It's at the point where they are all very comparable with similar interface, however the software is continuously improved so, I would recommend going for the newest models within the price point you are willing to go for... If that's just the cheapest one in stock it will still serve its purpose...
 

I've had an iPhone for about 2 years and have not had any addiction problems. I do have a few games on it which is nice for when I'm sitting on an airplane or something but other than that the screen is too small to actually do work on so my primary use for it is as a plain old phone, a travel alarm clock and a daily planner. It is kind of cool to be able to just talk into it and schedule an appointment or take a note. It also makes a pretty good GPS for when I'm traveling. Would I be lost w/o it? Hell no! But it is a handy tool from time to time.
 

You can always start out with AT&T GoPhone plan or Pure Talk, which have month to month basic $10 plans with 120 minutes, 150MB of data and 200 MMS. But if you plan to do any amount of texting don't get a cheap flip phone. You'll need one with either a touchscreen keyboard or qwerty pad because the others are a nightmare to use online or for texting.

The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is a pretty simple phone running Windows Phone OS.
 
They are not all the same by any means. For example, you can't download third party apps or install third party software on an iPhone (without jailbreaking it), you can't even put music on your phone from your computer without itunes. But an Android platform allows you to download whatever you want, even download free music straight to your phone. Apple wants to con you into buying every song for a dollar.
 
Probably a general idea:

Cheap Android Phones (September 2013)

Basically, unless you want to revolutionize how you communicate with people (which I do, but carriers don't), a few basic applications is probably all would find handy. I make use of banking apps, shopping apps, and for recreation things like IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Google Maps.
 
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