I discovered this newfangled tech. mobile phones with built in computers.

[Captante]

Still using a "dumb" phone ... crappy sliding-keyboard LG 511c. Its showing signs of flaking out and will soon be replaced with one of last years flagship smartphones. Got nearly 4 years out of it so I'm not complaining.

Big part of the reason I've been stalling is the size factor. I really prefer Android and the only phones I can find so far which don't feel huge in my pocket are the small I-Phones.

 

[Stopsignhank]

As Brad Paisley said.

When I was ten years old,
I remember thinkin' how cool it would be,
When we were goin' on an eight hour drive,
If I could just watch T.V.

And I'd have given anything
To have my own PacMan game at home.
I used to have to get a ride down to the arcade;
Now I've got it on my phone.

We all have the newest iPhones. One reason is that my autistic son likes to play games on his phone. I also play the same games. It is great because for one thing it gives us something to talk about. Of course when he grabs my phone and spends all the diamonds I was saving on something I don't need I would get a little frustrated. Until my wife pointed out I would not be playing that game if it were not for him anyway.

 

[IronWing]

It wasn't until the iPhone 6s that I found a touch screen that acknowledged me as a living being. Still don't have one though.

 

[clamum]

Yeah they're extremely handy. I'm not obsessed with mine or have my nose stuck in it constantly but I definitely know its value. My first one was a Windows phone from HTC back in 2009. It came with a stylus too; it ended up being pretty buggy actually but I've had a smartphone ever since.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Yeah but my house and car is paid for, buying an iPhone 6s plus is not going to put me in the poor house. All I bought for it was a white lifeproof case and I am good to go. Maybe you hang around with people who suffer from OCD and sit around clutching thier phones like pearls but I worry not about these things much. Use them and live life, its just a tool.

Wait until you drop a smartphone and crack a screen. It is part of the experience for sure, but a shitty part.

 

[bigrash]

I've always been an early adopter. Had the iPhone 1 the first day it was released, and bought the next 4 iphones on release date too. Now my contract screws me over, but I always buy the newest as soon as I'm eligible.

 

[TwiceOver]

It gets old quick.

 

[Carson Dyle]

OP, how old are you?

My biggest disappointment with smart phones is that my eyes are so poor now up close that I need reading glassed to do anything with one. Only app I ever really use is around the house to control my music.

One thing I can never see myself doing is carrying a mobile phone with me when I leave the house. Screw that, if people expect to be able to call me. And I've yet to experience being somewhere and needing to call anyone right then and there.

 

[Midwayman]

I haven't decided if I am willing to be an early adopter for VR yet. I would feel better if either the Vive or the Oculus would really beat out the other.

Can always pick up a Google cardboard for like $5-6 shipped on ebay. Give VR a whirl. Not the same as a real VR set of course, but it'll give you a taste at least.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Wait until you drop a smartphone and crack a screen. It is part of the experience for sure, but a shitty part.

I dropped my Ipad Air a month ago and had the screen replaced for 99 bucks. It happened because I did not have a case on it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Can always pick up a Google cardboard for like $5-6 shipped on ebay. Give VR a whirl. Not the same as a real VR set of course, but it'll give you a taste at least.

Oh I have one of those and the wife has the Galaxy VR. It's cool enough to make me want more, I just don't want to invest in the Betamax of VR.

 

[videogames101]

I bought my first smartphone this month, a new-in-box Samsung S4 mini. It was on Ebay for $100 so I basically said fuck it. I sort of regret it, the touchcreen keyboard blows.

Upgraded from this:

 

[zerocool84]

Unfortunately as we know with iPhones, Apple will hobble it with newer iOS updates so you're almost forced to get a newer iPhone. So expect maybe three years out of it.

 

[lxskllr]

I was kind of late. Got a smartphone in 2014 for work. Previously I had a prepaid flipphone I quit buying time for cause I got everyone trained to use email to contact me. Now that I have one, I'll probably always have one, even if I don't have it activated. Turns out it's everything I want in a tablet @ 5". What was a waste of space at 7" became perfectly useable/pocketable at 5". For real work I have a desktop/laptop.

 

[Ichinisan]

Unfortunately as we know with iPhones, Apple will hobble it with newer iOS updates so you're almost forced to get a newer iPhone. So expect maybe three years out of it.

iPad 2, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5/5c got a lot of useful years. iPhone 5/5c still have an excellent user experience. Fast and responsive.

iPhone 5s/6/6 Plus and iPad mini 2 are awful because they have less usable RAM with the transition to 64 bit (having 32-bit and 64-bit system APIs loaded simultaneously). An A6 device with 1GB is WAAAAAY more usable than A7/A8 devices with 1GB. The experience with those devices is just awful, even when they were brand new.

A9 iPhone 6s/6s Plus finally jumped to 2GB RAM and it made a LOT more difference in usability than CPU/GPU improvements. I expect the A9 devices to have many years of great usability.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I switched to a smart phone when the 2nd shipment of Nexus 4 came out and still use it. I could do without if I had to, but it's nice to have.

 

[John Connor]

Welcome to the club! Now everywhere you go you have to hold it out like an asshole and use it at stop lights and wait till the car behind you beeps their horn. Extra points if you get them to A) go around you, or B) Open the car door and try to go to your car door and then you step on the gas. :twisted:

 

[John Connor]

I would actually like to have a Blackphone from Silentcircle.

 

[effowe]

Got the original iPhone in 2007 and haven't looked back since.

 

[John Connor]

Got the original iPhone in 2007 and haven't looked back since.

Damn! That's dedication! You still actually use a phone from 2007? :awe:

 

[cronos]

Yeah, I didn't have a smart phone until around 2012. I saw people walking around with their noses buried on their phones and it was irritable. Since then, I've warmed up to the smartphone idea, so much that I actually carry 2 phones - one for work and one for personal use.

I still don't see the reasons why people would bury their noses in their phones.

I was still using this in 2012 - Nokia 6500 (unlocked)

What's not smart about that Nokia? My first smartphone was the Nokia 6620 and it's even older than the 6500. I think I bought it in ~2005. Then I got the Nokia N80 the following year, which is a brick, but was awesome.

I may have gotten one of them here in the AT FS/FT, too.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

What drove you to Apple?

PSA: This is usually good for a vacation on most forums since i am convinced that Apple pays off people to prevent logic from being applied to the Apple pricing model.

 

[Jeff7]

Nah, smartphone adoption is somewhere between 60-70%. Laggards are people who have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the next thing.

Checking in.

1) I dislike touchscreens in general because there is no useful tactile feedback.
2) A tiny screen is quite frustratingly slow to use because of the severe limitations inherent to interfacing with something that has very few physical buttons and has to put a GUI on the tiny screen you're already trying to just use. (Typing at 80WPM+ on a regular keyboard already feels very limiting, and I still wish my lousy hands could consistently go faster.)
3) Crappy battery life.


There have been times I'd think "a smartphone would be really useful right now," but that only happens 1-2 times per week, and I think half of those times it'd be because I would want a camera (with quality and optics exceeding that of a phone's) or a flashlight (which a phone is merely acceptable as, but not good).


And I don't want to have to carry something around with me, unless it is physically tethered to my skeleton. I lose things constantly by setting them down somewhere while walking around. Reverse kleptomania.

 

[John Connor]

What drove you to Apple?

PSA: This is usually good for a vacation on most forums since i am convinced that Apple pays off people to prevent logic from being applied to the Apple pricing model.

QFT.

 

[John Connor]

NSFW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sglZGSwK6ow