anyone go back to a dumbphone from a smartphone?

[Fritzo]

And I'd bet 99999% don't get used except zombie destruction games.

Honestly I don't play games on my phone. I'm addicted to reading the answer to every question that pops into my head, getting instant directions to anywhere knowing where the best gas prices are at all times, being able to transfer money from my accounts and check my balances while at the store, keep in contact with the office, and have fun wth social media....it's like an extension of my brain now 😉

 

[bearxor]

I'd love to get an ultracheap internet package that basically gave dialup performance. That would be perfect for most of my uses.

Which provider do you have for internet? A lot of them have a 768x128 or so package for under $20/mo.

 

[lxskllr]

Which provider do you have for internet? A lot of them have a 768x128 or so package for under $20/mo.

I meant on a cell. Dialup would suck on the desktop; Well, it sucks anywhere, but I could make do if I could carry it around in my pocket for not much money. I'm thinking unlimited dialup performance for $5-$10 a month would be a suitable price.

 

[Jeff7]

Does never getting a smart phone count? My wife has one but, I have no need.

Same here.

Maybe if they get down to $5/month. Maybe.

I'd also need USB ports and HDMI ports so I could hook up a keyboard, mouse, and monitors so I could have a usable device. 😛

 

[webdave]

I don't recall seeing smart phones in 2002.

The Palm Treos were around back then

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Treo

 

[shortylickens]

The Palm Treos were around back then

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Treo

Could they get your email over the cell network, or did it have to be USB synced?

 

[rh71]

It's incredible how technology, particularly some mobile related, can affect our attention spans / compulsive behaviours so openly and quicly.

It does take some effort to keep from playing with a toy that is so handy. People aren't going to be social every minute even if they are around others.

oh lookie another person worried about how they look using a smartphone, news flash no one cares whether it's a 90's brick or a new phone, either way it's a phone

Not sure if you're referring to me as the OP but I'm home every day of the week and wondering if I would be better off doing a dumbphone + a Nexus 7 for toying around or keeping the smartphone for on-the-go a couple times a week. I would save $70/month but it's hard to leave Verizon unlimited when I already have it. Like someone said, when you're waiting around outside doing nothing, it is great to have. Another point I didn't realize till people mention its use is the camera which I do use a lot with kids. Flip phone cameras... hmm.

Could they get your email over the cell network, or did it have to be USB synced?

It had internet just like the phones today do but I still remember using calling minutes on Sprint to browse so I didn't have to buy a data plan.

 

[Mixolydian]

I'm very happy with my iPhone 5S. And FWIW there are no games on my phone. I mostly use the web browser, SMS, camera, email, and a very utility/device apps.

 

[Chaotic42]

I never got a smart phone and I don't even keep my dumb cell phone charged. Smart phones are just too expensive for me. I can't see getting $50/mo worth of use out of them.

 

[bearxor]

I meant on a cell. Dialup would suck on the desktop; Well, it sucks anywhere, but I could make do if I could carry it around in my pocket for not much money. I'm thinking unlimited dialup performance for $5-$10 a month would be a suitable price.

Switch to Republic. You won't get away with $10/mo, but you can get $25/mo for unlimited 3G data on Sprints network (300Kbps - 1.5Mbps depending on your area).

 

[Ichinisan]

... But the GSM network in the states is being turned down. So, GSM days are numbered.

😕

 

[Ichinisan]

... CDMA, which is more reliable and more widespread. ...

Wut

Maybe in CANADA.

Maybe.

 

[Ichinisan]

... I loved flip-to-answer 😀 ...

I hated it. Even on my old featurephone, I'd open it to manage contacts / messages / music and it would answer a call that just happened to be coming in at the same time...a call that I would have rejected so I could finish what I was working on. :thumbsdown:

 

[Ichinisan]

but now I see how they turn people into asocial zombies.

I'm waiting for a sociologist / psychologist to write a book about this in the near future.

It's incredible how technology, particularly some mobile related, can affect our attention spans / compulsive behaviours so openly and quicly.

Vintage rebuttal:

Your link leads to a blank image since it doesn't allow remote references. Fixed / embedded.

 

[Ichinisan]

Another reason a dumbphone is still a good idea, with no keyboard texting is close to impossible when driving, heck it's so time-consuming even when I'm not driving I'd rather just call the person who text's me instead..

Troll.

Who seriously thinks it's OK to text while driving? Who?

 

[Ichinisan]

All those phones had internet capability. On the Toshiba, it was a bit funny, as you had to basically dial in to the internet whenever you wanted to do something, kind of like a dial up modem.

It was slow but, at the time, Sprint had the fastest network around since they were 100% digital 1xRTT as opposed to Verizon which had large pockets of analog.

Sprint jumped on data services pretty early. I was using mobile web services on Sprint as early as 1999 to navigate text menus to get news and stuff. But I wouldn't call something like the Qualcomm 2760 a smart phone.

I also had the Qualcomm 2760. It was my first mobile phone. I remember playing around with the mobile "Internet." The display was impractical for that sort of thing.

On another note, I got lots and lots of comments like: WOW! They make phones that small now?

About 1 or 2 years later, I was mocked by at least 2 people (friends and coworkers) for having that "dinosaur" of a phone. 😕

Similarly, a friend-of-a-friend who knows my brother and I as "technology geeks" was flabbergasted when he saw that my brother and I still used RAZR phones in early 2007 ("YOU guys are still using THAT phone?!?"). At the time, I was planning to get a music phone like the LG Chocolate. He was using a Samsung Juke (which I thought was a stupid design and deserved to be mocked...but whatever).

 

[Dman8777]

Had a first gen smart phone and went backwards to a normal cell phone. Since everyone these days has one and can google stuff when you need it it isn't a big deal.

 

[Thump553]

Stylistically I think that clamshell phones are greatly preferable to modern smartphones, especially the oversize ones. They fit into your pocket better and the screen is more protected. Watching movies or playing games on a phone is something I never do.

I really wish someone would come out with modern smartphone features in a clamshell phone.

 

[BUTCH1]

Honestly I don't play games on my phone. I'm addicted to reading the answer to every question that pops into my head, getting instant directions to anywhere knowing where the best gas prices are at all times, being able to transfer money from my accounts and check my balances while at the store, keep in contact with the office, and have fun wth social media....it's like an extension of my brain now 😉

I figured that, I'm just jelly 😉 really it's not paying for the smartphone I'd mind it's the constant $$ for the data plans..

 

[BUTCH1]

Troll.

Who seriously thinks it's OK to text while driving? Who?

No, not a troll post, I've seen people texting while driving, specially younger folk who just have to have the latest 411 on who drop-kicked who last night. My point was with a $35 dumbphone it's literally impossible to text and drive, if I had a teenage child I would force them to use a dumbphone for safety's sake.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Switch to Republic. You won't get away with $10/mo, but you can get $25/mo for unlimited 3G data on Sprints network (300Kbps - 1.5Mbps depending on your area).

The problem with Republic is the $300 phone you have to buy. I'm hoping they come out with a $150 or so phone soon and then I'll think about switching. I went with Ting and a $60 used phone to test the Sprint network out for now.

 

[Ichinisan]

No, not a troll post, I've seen people texting while driving, specially younger folk who just have to have the latest 411 on who drop-kicked who last night. My point was with a $35 dumbphone it's literally impossible to text and drive, if I had a teenage child I would force them to use a dumbphone for safety's sake.

Dumbphones / featurephones with the numeric keypad would actually encourage texting while driving because it's 100x easier to do with one hand without looking at the device.

Everyone knows this.

That said, it's safer than texting on a touch-screen smartphone while driving...but texting while driving is stupid no matter what kind of phone you're using.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wut

Maybe in CANADA.

Maybe.

I work in a NOC. I rarely see CDMA stuff go down, but HSPA plenty. Part of the issue with HSPA, at least here, is that they put the equipment up in the tower (has to do with loss, so they can't use waveguide). Electronics 500ft+ in the air in -40C and colder don't do very well. That said, HSPA is not horrible, either. I switched to a smart phone not that long ago and I can't think of a single time my service was out. I would not pick one or the other just because of reliability as the difference is probably very minor in the grand scheme of things. It's not like I'm seeing sites drop on a daily basis.

OnStar actually uses CDMA though because it's more wide spread. Some places have CDMA but not HSPA. I think CDMA has a longer range too, but I may be wrong on that.

 

[rh71]

Typing without looking is easy with swype or the Google keyboard that allows swiping just the same. It's pretty accurate and you can type from memory of the keyboard pretty much. Or just use the voice button which is OK. But no I don't even have texting.

 

[BUTCH1]

Dumbphones / featurephones with the numeric keypad would actually encourage texting while driving because it's 100x easier to do with one hand without looking at the device.

Everyone knows this.

That said, it's safer than texting on a touch-screen smartphone while driving...but texting while driving is stupid no matter what kind of phone you're using.

Well you must be a very dexterous man, the keypads are tiny and you have to click through 3 times just to type one letter and try and see the result on a "1.5 screen then to send to the proper recipient one has to dig through 2 more menus, good luck, most teens wouldn't be caught dead with my phone anyway, a $35 POS Samsung, imagine the horror of your buds seeing you using the Fred Flinstone phone!! LOL