What is a SMARTPHONE; Do YOU Need One
WHAT is a SMARTPHONE and do YOU NEED one? I am trying to answer this question for myself and it has been answered to some extent. I have a smartphone and I am in the process of learning how to use it. NO, it is not easy. Will I get to the point of not being able to live without it? Probably.
I think I am correct in this; a smartphone is just a computer that makes calls. Now, I think a computer can also make calls, so maybe there is no difference. A smartphones is adapted to making call and is smaller than a computer. A smartphone has its own internet which is provided by the phone company. A smartphone can also use whatever internet service that is available so you have a backup if your internet is not working at home.
I did say that a smartphone is not easy to use but it does get easier. The hardest part is typing. The thing is very sensitive and it is so easy to hit the wrong key. Every app that you use will take some time to learn. I want to talk, text, get email, Google and use the phone as a GPS. I also want to use the Calendar and weather. Really, there is nothing that I do not want to use. Taking pictures is a snap, and I am tired of saying come and do this for me. I choose to get competent. I have plenty of time, so that is NOT a good excuse.
COSTS of a smartphone, if you already have a cell phone, the cost to upgrade may not cost you anything extra which is true in my case. I can get a free phone and one gig of data for the same price,$50.00 a month. If I want a better phone then I may pay extra for a faster more powerful phone which I probably will. I do not want to have to pay extra for insurance on a phone. I have never lost or broken a phone yet, but then as they say “just my luck”.
I am just giving information and not trying to make a choice for anyone. If some one wants to contradict or clarify, I would appreciate their doing so. The image from my youth of grandpa hollering into the phone comes to mind and I don’t want that to be me. The world is changing and I am going to try to keep up.
I finally got a smartphone because a friend just thought I was too deprived and pitiful without one. I relented and took the plunge. It was not a matter of costs, I was just put off by the darn thing. I don’t love my smartphone, but as I learn its ways and enable it to help me along the way, I probably will love it and find it indispensable and you may also.
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Hello Rose, I have a smart phone, when I first bought it I hated it, I have no interest in techy stuff, I was going back to Tesco’s about three times a week to ask for instructions on what I needed to know, the Tesco techy guy and I became good friends, we are now on each other’s Christmas card list…lol………I asked why there was no instructions with it, I was told there was far too much to learn about them and the instructions would fill a dictionary, I persevered and messed about with it, and now I would be very much lost without it……..there are lots of apps I don’t need and never use, but I also like the fact I don’t even have to type if I choose not to…….and the ask Google app is brill……I just ask whatever I need to know…….but be aware, I recently purchased a 6inch phone but an unknown brand, it is a smartphone but not as smart as my smaller more expensive one, it is rubbish at picking up the internet outside of my home, complete waste of money actually, but there you go, a case of you get what you pay for………xx
Scotty, I din NOT say I was enjoying yet. I am beginning to think that I will soon. I find myself ignoring the thing for long periods of time and missing calls and messages. I am resolved to do better. Scotty, if I remember you are younger than I am and if none of your friends or only one has a smart phone, you may need some new activities that bring you into the world. Forgive me, but I and all of us have to work on staying in the world and with people. There is a strong tendency to just veg. Classes are free to audit and young people need tutoring and mentoring. I have grandchildren, and I had to text or not hear from them. I am lucky to have a friend who LOVES computing devices and he does not do much on them. He just loves them. I want to do much and I don’t love them. I was excited beyond belief when I leaned about the “information highway”. I LOVE being able to have information at my fingertips. So, I hear myself talking myself into loving a smart phones. If I don’t need a smart phone then I may not need a life.
rose………I am 75 at the moment. I live in a retirement community. I have the internet…………I don’t need to be connected to the world on a minute-by-minute basis. I very much enjoy the quiet time that I have. How strange that you would compare having a smart phone to having a life.
I am my own person……….I don’t need directions.
Scotty, Maybe, I am basing it on me and my life. Most of us need to be around people of many ages and types. I had to be pushed into a smart phone. I having been spending too much time at home with my devices. If I were out more, I would be using my smart phone more. I need to be out more, and maybe you don’t.
Starlette, you usually have 30 days to return computing devices so I am learning to jump on them and decide quickly in my grace period. Even on ebay, you get a grace period. If there is no grace period, just don’t buy it. I also favor buying from a merchant with easy returns. We learn as we go and we need to share with each other, and so I thought this subject was worthy of a blog.
I guess I’ve never felt deprived for not having a smart phone. I don’t have any friends that have one, so no one would expect me to have one. I have a cell phone that I rarely ever use because it is so sensitive. Old, shaky fingers and sensitive cell phones are not a good mix. It only costs $7 a month, so guess I’m not wasting a lot on it. Only have it for emergencies and an occasional text message from my only friend that can text. A smart phone is one less disruption I need in this hectic world of technology. It’s just not something I have ever wanted or needed at this late stage of my life. To each his own though. I’m glad you are enjoying your new tech equipment.
If you know how to use an Ipad or tablet ,you will know how to use a smart phone . They are the same thing ,only smaller .
I have a smart phone ,but I think I’m smarter than my phone ,well perhaps not smarter than my phone …but ,Smarter than my phone company ? Maybe …
See I don’t use their internet ,why would I if I can use my phone through my WiFi at home ,and when I’m out I connect it with whatever free service is available ? And these days you can get hot spots pretty much everywhere ,unless of course you live in an isolated area.
I bought my phone outright ,so I’m not tied up to any contracts .
I use a pre-paid system which can be extremely expensive if you use your phone a lot … But I don’t use my phone to have long conversations ,or to make many calls . I mostly use it for texting ,making short calls, check emails. I could google if I wanted to ,but the writing it’s very small ,hard to read ,so I prefer to use my iPad to do the googling ,write emails and send photos. I put some credit on my phone whenever I need it ,which is about $30 to $50 and lasts me two to three months , sometimes even longer.
It all depends how much I use it .
Starlette. You nailed it.I DON’T like technology, NOT at all. I wash clothes, but it took me a long time to get into using all the cycles. I have a friend and grandson who are available to help me, so I have lost that excuse. If people don’t have people around the service companies will help, but they need to learn the basics before they get a phone and then not be able to use their phone as I did before. I even had the friend wanting to give me a phone and put me on his plan. I had a smart phone that was a discard from the grandson. I did not want to make a mistake as you have and spend a significant amount of money on a device and be unhappy with it. I tend to keep phones a long time, but now I have learned I can get on ebay and purchase phones at very low prices. I don’t think I need the very latest phone. I just bought an iphone for my granddaughter for $l60.00. So if you don’t like your new device, you may just want to get what you like. Most of the new phones are at least 5 inches in length. They are bigger. My granddaughter loved her phone and it is bigger than the one she was using which was cracked and small. she has lost and damaged a number of phones, so I got her a real good case, but she knows, I don’t just keep replacing things.
nmod, Thank you for sharing your experience. I don’t have an ipad or tablet and maybe I would benefit from that and a pay as you go plan like yours. I am using a smart phone till my contract is up in June and I see what I am comfortable with.
I have had a cell phone for years and I like the manual keyboard. I do not like the jumpy smart phone keyboard, but I may get used to it. I guess I want to stay current. I don’t want to be like the teenagers and whenever they are a little bored, they whip out the smart phone and ignore people they are with.
nmod, You always have interesting and instructive comments. don’t have an ipad or tablet. I do have a chrome book which is about half the size of a full size lap top and costs half the money. I need a smartphone when I travel by car. Since, I don’t do the driving, I need to function by finding the routes and locating the restaurants and other useful information along the way.
Rose my phone isn’t on contract, if I top it up by £10, Tesco give me another £20 on the top, I also pay for what is know as a bundle £5 a month, this gives me 500 mb so I can use the internet without using up my credit at the full cost……enjoy your phone…xx
Hello Rose, Star is more than one step ahead of us again. I would suggest to her to make the same deal with the wine merchant at fresco’s. That makes sense; a good wine with a good smart phone!
No, I don’t owe or have a smartphone. You see I check 5 Germany newspapers every day plus 2 English ones. With other words I get filled up with bad new every day and I don’t want other to add their rubbish to it. If I was living in a desert, miles away from other people, ok than it would make sense as I believe?
Germany is such a smal country in comparisson to the English Island, the USA or Australia so I can do with two cell-phones, one in my car and one on me for the case of emergency. And I tell you Rose how wonderful silence can be, just try out.
Michael, smart phones don’t work like that. You don’t get 2, you carry it with you. I have two chromebooks, and they share all my information. I really got one for a backup and my spacebar was sticking. Naturally, you can get a lot of news on the internet and it is CURRENT and you get news from your family and other people, bloggers, as you are getting right now. I am in the same boat as many of us. I like paper and I like books, but I don’t want a bunch of books and magazines piling up on me and we are running out of natural resources, like trees.
I am happy for all the comments. Smart phones do cost money. Many people are using a mobile phone and having no land line phone and or no other computer. The young people are into the latest phones, so you may be given a phone discarded and there are many for sale in other places. If you want a phone, figure out the cheapest way to get a phone and a service. My younger sister lives in the country alone and her children make her take her cell phone with her when she goes outside. There are also nifty apps to track your steps and beep when you need to get up and get busy.
Yes Rose I said,smartphone makes sense for many people. Personal me I don’t like to be connected all the time and I need some time of the day I don’t want to be disturbed by others.
So if one feels needing it, ok go and get it.
Michael, everybody makes their own choice. I think I need enough going on with other people that I want to be connected; and if I don’t need a phone, maybe my life needs an adjustment. Most women here need a phone with them when they travel and many use phones for that purpose. You can always just ignore the phone or turn it off.
Hi Rose, in my last 20 years of telephone I only ever had a 4 mobiles two with my company, just to make calls and received from the company. In the last 3 years just have had one mobile I rarely make calls to other people and mostly those with my son, all of the calls are generally from people trying to sell me for more money on the mobile, it would be pointless as I don’t have to time with calls with useless chats. I make calls with a person to make a reasonable point for a valid.
I have a smart TV that I have never known what the reason for it to have connect to broadband TV, my PC does everything I need to have the need for me. The telephone I have this up to last month bill for the phone calls so up to now, a total of £0.95 pence for a month. To be honest if I would not bother with the phone or mobile. I would not it for NHS or Dr, to make patient times and dates. I see the people constant use mobile phones with most of inane talking or text, most people never land-phone texting or talking for hours, their mobile is an extension to the hand they can’t leave it for a moment, toilet, baths, you have to be essential with you always. The times there are times when I have left to a relative or a friend be I have left it behind by forgotten, but when times I got into my car when I noticed I left it home to leave, I never thought for once, I’m not going to go back in to my house just to get a mobile, sorry, its not that important, too might can’t be bothersome just for a mobile.
Life is too fast as it is without all time taking your time away., have some time away from the gadgets and do leave some time that does never need an electrical gadget to with the need to have from an extension arm.
Ted, I don’t answer calls that are not from someone I know. I have a different ring tone for each family member, so I know who is ringing. I have another ring tone for anyone else that decides to ring and I just don’t answer it lol
I would be lost without a mobile service as I live in a remote area. Lucky I get phone reception out here. I don’t have the landline out here that would cost me a fortune. Rose, I bought the Samsung Galaxy note as it is a lot bigger than the little mobile phones and I found the smaller ones to small for my fingers. To learn how to use it if I got stuck on a feature I couldn’t use, I went to youtube and type in how to, and put in your phone brand etc. I found it easier to watch a video on how to do things than read how to do things. As they do step by step instructions. I have a torch also on my phone which I find handy as like I said I live in a remote area and no street lights etc, so if I need to get up in the middle of the night I have my phone next to my bed to use the torch app til I can now hear someone saying, why don’t you turn on the beside lamp, reason being I do not have electricity out here only minimal solar power and a generator so I don’t have the solar switch on at night wasting power. Its my only communication in case of an emergency so I would be lost without my smart phone.
Grandmaj, Your comments are so helpful as your situation is different from many. You did not mention that your phone helps you to feel connected, but it must. Amazing that you can spend 90% of your time alone and still be happy. I think that most cell phones light up and act as a light, which is good and some of us forget to use it. You must have trouble keeping your phone charged and do you keep an extra battery. I think I have heard of it. In any case, you really need a phone with a long, long battery life. I will check out that model. My contract is up in June and I can get a free phone with a signed contract or I can buy a phone and not be tied to a contract. I still dread typing on my phone.
Rose, I do have a small solar system which runs my 12 volt fridge that is a normal size fridge. I have TV but I rarely watch TV anyway. I have gas hot water, plenty of water as I have bore water or maybe you call it a well. So I can charge my phone whenever I want. I have deep cell batteries which are charged up by solar. I have a generator so if it rains for more than 2 days I can start the generator to top up the solar batteries. I have septic flushing toilet lol So its not that primitive out here. The only thing the solar power doesn’t run is the washing machine. If I had more solar panels I could run everything a house does with normal electricity. But for now it does me just fine and dandy. I love being on my own, lots to do here , never a dull moment. I have a daughter that lives only half hour away if I feel lonely. I do my volunteer work at the court house which I enjoy doing. 🙂
grandmaj I recall from my very young life before we left to England when I was at 10yrs previous we life in the country cottage of N.Ireland. Phone, electricity, coal or coke, I’m talking the the kind that you use in burn with. All we have to burn then was in logs, that my parent and her mum was cut logs. a radio was the life we had was use an acid accumulator, which I use to take to the lane to the local shop to charge at that day, this shop seem to be selling everything that had, next day to return back to the cottage, it times to take for ever walk back to the cottage. the only light was several paraffin glass lamps with a long wick, and use always we had candles that always depend for a light, but it was my gran and mum seems to always be happy with that seem simple life. always washing with hot boiled water from a big pot on the log range, and washing from a metal basin. All the food was always wholesome with nourishing, food was fresh from something from somewhere, are we better in the style we are in now today, with all the newfangled gadgets and saving that we had. life just today we are seem to be for ever rushing about, makes you wonder if it is worth it all.
Lovely story Ted, I liked it. I do have a more modern things than your Mum and Grandma had but I love it out here. I don’t lock my doors at night or anytime for that matter. I am out here by myself %90 of the time. That to does not worry me. Just half hour away from town for supplies. I do my volunteer work for the court house once a week. Lots of hard work to keep me busy during the day, but love it.
teddyted, you asked a good question and we all should ask ourselves the same question about what is worth the time and money. I grew up in the country and I was very happy in the city with all the conveniences. I am still in a city. Country life or city life we have to make choices about how we spend our time. People are more important than things but my phone kept me connected to people.