They feel useful right now, because any time I want some information from the internet I just ask “do you have your internet connectivity device handy?” (and they always do) then they look up what I want to know. It’s like having a big meaty voice activated smart phone sitting beside me!
Also music. I think you can store quite a bit of music on most smart phones, but I could be wrong. That would be another really handy thing to have.
!!! I hope scootergirl never realizes that I kinda liked receiving her texts 5 hours late. Took the pressure off having to address whatever she wanted because by then it was too late.
OK peeps thanks for all the replies and advice. I had been leaning towards a smart phone anyway, and this seals it that I was right thinking.
I am sure that I will learn to use the damn thing. One thing I hate about smart phones is their extreme touchiness. Up to now every time I touch one it does something I don’t want it to do. Typical of this experience was when my friend handed me her smart phone to show me a photo and I instantly deleted it. Just by touching the phone. Something like that happens every time I have tried to use a smart phone, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
Thanks everyone!
I have a flip phone. Using a coupon I had, it cost me $5. No camera, tiny screen, no calling plan - I’m on the AT&T go phone plan. I can text, but it’s the old-school way, and I rarely bother.
I’m not a technophobe - I just don’t want a smart phone. When I’m out and about, I see people everywhere with their faces turned down, staring at their phones. No thanks.
It’s a phone. I use it to make calls. Works fine, lasts a long time.
I missed the part about the workshop in the OP. That would be even more incentive for me to ditch the flip phone. I had a flip phone up until last year and it was FULL of dirt, all the time, because of the buttons/keypad. I took my dogs to the doggy beach once a week for 4 months at a time and you would think I buried my phone in sand once a day for a year.
A smartphone by itself will collect much less dirt than a flip phone. A smartphone with a case will be much stronger than any flip phone.
I am hard of hearing and wear a hearing aid and have no idea what kind of cell
phone will work with my HA or even I will be able to hear on it. I am going to ask my audi when I see him again.
You’re proving my point. That is a highly specialized phone that no average person would even consider buying (even assuming they knew it existed, which is unlikely).
The reason nobody except the OP uses such a term is because it’s not a comparison that has ever needed to be made. Flip phones were cool for a few minutes decades ago when they first came out and smartphones didn’t exist. As soon as companies started making smartphones, the advantages were so obvious and abundant that everyone (who had a choice) instantly and intuitively embraced the new design and forgot flip phones ever existed. The “slab” design just became the default for what a phone is expected to look like, so it’s never needed a description.
I’ll add that I have almost 32 Gb worth of music on my phone. It is also a guitar tuner, sound meter, fret calculator, ruler, magnifying glass, compass, gps, camera, and a handy reference text for, well, pretty much the sum of human knowledge plus a host of other things.
Why are you even considering a flip phone, really?
Some of you may be familiar with my cell phone stoopid but please bear with me. Are there such things as smart phones with buttons? I had a smart phone and could not get the hang of the touch screen. I understood where to find things and how to do stuff but could not manipulate the screen Texting was impossible( and I only have small woman hands, people). No doubt there was operator error involved, but could I also have had a model that just had a sucky interface? I did show it to a few people and they thought it was a pain in the ass also (the brand was a Huawei). I’m working up the nerve to try again but if I’m just a dumbass that can’t use one, I’ll just stick with my old push buttony phone (hey, at least it’s not a flip )
Amazingly, there are still companies willing to attract customers with physical keyboards, like the BlackBerry Priv which has a slide out keyboard.
Samsung makes a snap on keyboard accessory for some of its phones, but it’s a kludge and it takes up half your screen, so what’s the point of having a nice big screen if you’re going to pay to cover it up?
Huawei manufactures the Nexus 6P for Google, so they know how to make a decent phone, but if other touchscreen-aware people thought your previous Huaweis touch responsiveness sucked, then maybe you did get a lemon or perhaps it was a cheapo low-end model?
I’d suggest going to an Apple store or even a Microsoft store if there is one around you, and trying out the demo phones there with the assistance of a staff person to help you along and show you how it works. That way you’ll know for certain if touchscreens just aren’t for you.
That’s the very thought that was holding me up on the idea of carrying the internet in my pocket 24/7. I’m on the internet all day at work, and have Wi-Fi internet at home, and unless I am out alone, I am with someone who has a smart phone. It seemed like the times when I am out and need internet at my fingers were so few that it just wasn’t a pressing need.
Because my flip phone did what I asked it to – send text messages and make phone calls – and was easy to use and handy to carry. I never felt the need for the other uses you list, although I have no doubt they could be handy, especially the sum of human knowledge part. I have tuners for my musical instruments, a camera, and several portable digital music devices already. I have the feeling that once I start using a smart phone, though, I’ll wonder how I ever got along without it.
Last two times I bought an electronic at Best Buy (Canon camera 5 years ago, GalaxyS6 and new provider last year), they were great. Last year I had an Android guy go over what I wanted with the Galaxy and there was an Apple gal who I let try to switch OS because I was curious. While I didn’t get convinced enough to change, I was impressed enough with the service to recommend them whenever it applies. Besides they have all the phones, so for someone who isn’t sure, it’s the place to go to see all of what’s available instead of a brand or two.
Chess, Pokerstars, Poker Calculator, An actual RPN calculator, Google Sky Map, Aurora forecasts, Transit (bus and train schedules), Gas Buddy, Rest Areas, National Parks/Monuments, Universal Translator, Free topo maps, podcasts, etc.
And twitter. Twitter never made sense until I got a phone.
