# Time portal to 1935 is opening in 30 minutes. What do you download to your smart-phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915 "2014-11-29T21:58:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/21 "2014-12-02T18:51:51Z")
> [@ebb](#): > > I think I know how this story ends up. And that’s why **TruCelt** has no delta brain waves. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/22 "2014-12-02T20:23:43Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I don’t have a smartphone or tablet. Thanks for making me feel left out. Me neither. Hopefully we both have enough in our heads to keep us off the Russian Front. And I’m bringin’ a shit-load of dimes! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/23 "2014-12-02T20:30:23Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Any objects touching only your body and air come with you. Well, then, as the approaches, I guess I’d be “hanging around” from something waiting for the jump. I like my shoes. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/24 "2014-12-02T20:42:46Z")
Why would I take something that, as soon as I arrive, I have to worry about the battery dying? Even if I can bring a charger, that just pushes the problem back a year or so… until the cord frays, until the charger gets fried because of a surge, something. Since I have 30 minutes, I’ll leave the phone, run to Barnes and Noble, and grab an almanac. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/25 "2014-12-03T22:12:06Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Why would I take something that, as soon as I arrive, I have to worry about the battery dying? Even if I can bring a charger, that just pushes the problem back a year or so… until the cord frays, until the charger gets fried because of a surge, something. > > Since I have 30 minutes, I’ll leave the phone, run to Barnes and Noble, and grab an almanac. So get a charger that runs on D batteries. Those were standardized back in the 1920s. Power supplies for mobile devices have some fancy electronics in them these days, but all they really do is produce a steady supply of DC current at a specific voltage and amperage. Powering these devices (perhaps with the help of one to disassemble) is well within the capabilities of 1935 electrical engineering. The amount of information they can hold, not to mention their enormous computational power, would make any such devices more valuable than most anything else you could bring with you. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915/26 "2014-12-03T22:32:47Z")
Until it breaks. Or the screen stops working. But seriously… the 1930’s had [charger ends](http://www.pc-adapter.net/files/images/USB%20multifunction-1.jpg) that would fit into 2010-era cellphones? I had no idea. But to answer the OP, if I had infinite bandwidth, I wouldn’t worry about downloading documents… they’re still available, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-portal-to-1935-is-opening-in-30-minutes-what-do-you-download-to-your-smart-phone/705915.md?page=1)