My beloved Samsung egg is dying. It’s the only cell phone I’ve ever owned. I bought if off my son when he graduated middle school (he’s a junior in college now). It now receives texts only when it wants to, in batches, when something tickles its little antenna just right. So I need to get a new phone. And I am paralyzed by indecision about whether to get another flip phone or go for the slab phone. Either way, I’ll stay on my current no contract/buy minutes as you need them plan (for now, anyway). So if I get a slab phone I won’t have cellular internet, but will have Wi-Fi. So I am mulling the pros and cons, as I see them:
Flip phone advantages:
I love the size and shape of a flip phone. Fits the pocket just right.
Familiar features means virtually no learning curve for the new device.
Battery charge good for 3 days or so
Flip phone disadvantages:
No video
No internet
Slab phone advantages:
Shiny!
Internet in my pocket (though only where there’s Wi-Fi).
Video capabilities.
Apps that might be useful or fun although I am ignorant of apps currently.
Slab phone disadvantages:
I’ll have to learn a new OS (I’m not afraid to, it’s just a hassle).
I hate the size and shape of slab phones in the pocket (although I might get used to it).
More frequent charging.
I guess the thing that’s causing paralysis is the idea that while I don’t see any need for internet access on my phone right now, once I have it I might think it’s the greatest thing since spliced film. I’m sure I would be happy enough with a flip phone (LG450 is what I would probably get), but it would basically replace my current phone with no new features. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m stuck in old technology mode and missing out on new things.
Both my son and girlfriend recommend I get a flip phone, but they don’t know me like you do. What do you think?
I was late in getting a cell phone. I finally got one about ten years ago since I needed one back in my workshop, but no cordless phone had the range to reach it. I settled on a nifty little flip-phone, eventually with unlimited talk and no internet. I never text and rarely get any text messages. Flip-phone fit well in my jeans “watch pocket”.
But after ten years, the battery started running out of grunt. The talk time kept going down until a full charge was only good for about 20 minutes until it started chirping at me to give it a recharge.
A new battery was going to run me about $25-$30, and I felt I was paying Verizon too much for what little service I had, so I decided to look into a more “modern” smart-phone.
Boy, am I glad I did.
After seeing another Doper mention TotalWireless in another thread, I checked them out and found that they had a simple unlimited talk/text service with 2.5g data for $50 less than what I was currently paying. The new phone cost me no more than a replacement battery would have for the old phone, so I couldn’t pass the deal up.
Now I have 8-10 hours of talk time again, I can do most phone related internet activity in the house and use my wifi and save the data bandwidth, and I can check my Gmail, bank and UPS/USPS tracking all from my workshop at a moments notice.
The phone will do a ton more stuff than I will normally use it for, but the extra capabilities and upgrade made this a good decision for me. Though it sticks out a bit, the phone will still fit my jeans pocket, and I am seeing new possibilities with it all the time.
I still won’t do any texting, though. Fat fingers.
They just don’t want you to get a new phone that’s fancier than theirs. Go for the newest, shiniest thing possible, just don’t be too embarrassed to ask them how to use it - that might make them feel useful.
After a few months, you’ll wonder how you got by with such a small screen and no internet access. You’ll like a truly “smart” phone.
You are stuck in old technology mode and missing out on new things. Get the smartphone. Those older phones are slowly going to lose support. Don’t worry about charging. If you just use it for phone calls, it should be about as good as your old phone.
If you do any texting, you’ll learn to love the voice input. Takes a little practice, but so much quicker than typing!!
This is incorrect. You have full net access wherever you have a decent wireless phone signal, but that net access uses up your monthly data allowance. Smartphones can also access the net via wifi (assuming you have access) and there are no wireless data charges for that access.
Flip phones are appropriate if you are
1: Impoverished and liable to sell your smartphone for drugs if you start jonesing
2: A very old person confused and frightened by post 1970’s technology
3: Making some fetishistic point about how cheaply and simply you can live. You also re-use dental floss.
4: A government agent in secure facility where no camera phones are allowed
I had never heard the term slab phone for smartphone. I thought you were choosing between a flip phone or a simple phone that was likethis
I finally made the jump from a slideout keyboard to a smart phone less than 6 months ago. I bought a used (pre-loved ;)) iPhone5 and I LOVE IT. I don’t use many apps, don’t check Facebook on it much, but I can Google stuff I need to know right then. I text 50+ texts daily and it is awesome.
Go for it!
Get a smartphone. It’s the shit.
No one here will be able to overcome your prejudices but I resisted mightily in getting a slab smartphone. I feel silly for thinking that now. The huge advantages of having a computer in your pocket far outweigh any disadvantages you can think of.
what’s your phone going to be bumping into, rubbing against, etc. How important is durability to you? Almost everyone I know that has a pocket pc has problems with the hardware getting damaged more easily than a flip phone. Not a reason to shy away just something to consider.
OP mentioned needing it in his workshop as well. So it sounds like dirt/sawdust etc could be an issue. This wouldn’t be cause to shy away from a smart phone, but it would influence what case you get for it. I spent a smallish fortune on a case and protective screen sheild for my phone. But the phone was a $600 something investment. I would have to throw my phone with some good force to hurt it. A simple drop doesn’t hurt it at all. I have a Galaxy S5 and it’s my inderstanding that it is water resistant (the claim is up to 30 minutes submerged at 3 feet. I would think that sealed against moisture would also make it somewhat sealed to dirt.
I clung to my flip phone for years, only moving to an iPhone a year ago at my employer’s insistence. I wouldn’t go back for all the tea in China.
That last point is out of date. There are phones marketed to seniors that have bigger buttons, etc. But other than that, it’s nearly impossible to buy even a cheap flip phone that doesn’t have a camera. (For low-quality definitions of “camera.”)
My husband resisted giving up his flip phone until late last year. It didn’t take him very long at all to be happy with the change.
He carries it on his belt buckle.
You’ll love it in no time, I bet.
Note also that there are many, many other applications. It’s not a phone any more. Or a way to cruise the internet (which IMHO they are poor at).
Do you read on a Kindle? I have my smart phone tethered to it and its great to be able to read from the phone. No need to carry a book or the Kindle around.
GPS and other mapping programs are very handy.
Email? It’s right there. Need a flashlight, well there you go. A calendar to remind you of things? Bingo. A quick calculator? A timer for cooking? And on, and on and on.
Two more data points:
My wife is absolutely non-technology, and has resisted almost all attempts to get her in the 21st century.
Several years ago I replaced my iPhone and thus had a spare iPhone that I planned on selling back, but I asked her if she wanted to try it for a few days, just to see what it was like. I swapped her SIM card into it and…she never looked back. A week later I suggested that I was going to take the old iPhone back and sell it, and she resisted vigorously.
Second data point: For a rugged environment get something like an Otter Box. That’s the case I use and I drop my phone all the time and it stays intact. Very good cases.
I can assure you that Arrendajo is none of these things. After weeks of hearing him discuss with us (and himself) the pros and cons, while mostly hearing resistance to Smartphones, I just want him to get something, anything, that he’ll receive my text within seconds of me sending it and not 5 hours later! Learning new technology is not the problem here - he has a recording studio at home for Christ sake! And has recorded his own music for years. He knows as much about computers, and various programs as any young person today who grew up with one.
You got the majority Doper vote, querido. In the end it is up to you. Just do it. Next week. I’ll go with you. We’ll have a RIP ceremonial for your beloved “egg.”
And, I’ll send you a naughty pic to your “shiny” new phone, hee hee, joking. 
I finally bit the big one and got a cell phone recently: a smartphone.
Haven’t really used it as a phone, but the pocket computer+ WiFi aspect is great. This is what you’re going to want it for, most other stuff is secondary.
Yes. When we get new phones we get a new Otter Box. My wife got one of the first iPhones and didn’t have any protective case. The dog knocked it out of her hand and it hit the sidewalk and cracked the screen. Always get a good protective case when you get a phone.