View Full Version : I Ditched My Smart Phone Last Night
decemberlov
12-19-12, 11:57am
I had an upgrade on my phone and decided to use it as a downgrade instead :~)
I was getting really tired of the bill...not to mention being so "connected" all the time.
So far I don't miss it...I'm sure I will though, I did use it for so many things: my GPS, recipes, word searches, a calendar, etc etc etc. I honestly felt it was becoming an addiction...a way to fill time..bored?...Just hop on facebook >8)
I'm excited to get back to the old way of things...checking email once a day, using my pocket planner, just like old times.
Anyone here decide to get rid of their smart phone? It was easy for me to say "nah I don't need one of them" when I didn't know what I was missing. It was a little harder since I got use to all the convenience of it. But regardless I'm happy with my decision and feel a little more "free" today :)
Never had a smart phone. But I did have a TV and I got rid of it and cable in the same day.
You will be over the loss in about 1 week.
The types of things you say you are getting back to are things I've been afraid I'd miss or avoid if I had an iPhone....so I've never bought one. I feel like I function fine without one.
shadowmoss
12-19-12, 3:36pm
I got rid of my IPhone when I moved to Honduras because I was told I would just have it stolen down here. Haven't really missed it.
awakenedsoul
12-19-12, 4:20pm
I don't have one. I know what you mean about it getting addictive. I canceled my landline and just have a Jitterbug cell phone. It's very inexpensive and easy to use.
Gardenarian
12-19-12, 7:17pm
Cool! Let us know how it goes. I feel like a high schooler - I want an iPhone! Everyone else has one! Maybe you can convince me it's not a good thing.
I feel like a high schooler - I want an iPhone! Everyone else has one! Maybe you can convince me it's not a good thing.
You know, this time last year I was gleefully making fun of everyone with an iPhone. This year, my company went from Blackberry's to iPhones and now I feel guilty. They're awesome!
I've been trying to convince my wife that she needs one too, but she's a little less enamored with being cool. :cool:
Gardenerian--I think you should make your decision based on whether or not you're hindered trying to live your life without one. I mean really hindered. Not just that you want it or it's cool. (Unless not being cool is hindering your life.)
iPhones are expensive and the data plans are also expensive. I'd probably price it out for 2 full years before I made the decision.
When I consider it for myself I think that it would be a cool and fun toy--but primarily it would be a toy and so I don't want to spend that kind of money (and be committed to spending that kind of money) for what is essentially a toy.
fidgiegirl
12-19-12, 9:11pm
It's worth remembering that it's hard to use a typical phone with a hearing loss and that in that case an iPhone could also improve communication with others present and distant.
decemberlov, report back in a bit! Will be curious to see how you feel.
I avoided getting a smart phone all together. I just don't want to be that connected.
SteveinMN
12-19-12, 11:08pm
I avoided getting a smart phone all together. I just don't want to be that connected.
I've carried a smartphone for years and a moved to a cell phone exclusively years before lots of people dropped their landlines. I've never made instant accessibility part of the deal. We still control technology. Not that you need a smartphone. But the limits on technology should come from us, not the blinking box.
I agree with SteveinMN. I've had an iphone for a year now (SO gave it to me for Christmas last year). I'm no more 'always accessible' than I was before, which is to say not at all. Most evenings I get home from work and set it down in the den by my computer and then go spend the evening in the living room with SO. Any calls or texts or emails can wait. Maybe I'll check it before bed. Maybe not. But my friends know me well enough to not expect instant access to me just because of the phone.
The big plus for me is that I travel a lot, both for work and pleasure. Having the iphone allows me to maintain the same connectedness that I have at home. I certainly don't need to be able to find the answer to any question that pops into my head in a few taps of the thumbs, but I like being able to. And sometimes it's genuinely useful in that regard. Such as when we were visiting my very elderly dad over Thanksgiving and I needed to reprogram the speed dials on his aging landline phone. (the buttons on it are unreliable and he can't hear well enough to tell if they've registered so he has trouble calling people due to frequent misdials.) A quick internet search on my iphone turned up the owners manual to his phone and 5 minutes later every number he might need to call was saved in his phone.
Our cell phone provider called and offered me a deal: a smart phone for free plus $15 off my monthly cell bill for more minutes, more texts, and data for the smart phone. I went ahead and took the deal, since we were just about up on our contract anyway (so it's a new, two-year contract). We haven't made the phone conversion yet; we're planning to do it sometime next week.
We aren't sure how/whether we're going to use it, but it seems like a decent idea. LOL Mostly, it was 'free.' Or less expensive anyway.
The only things on my smart phone I use are the camera and google. But google is more of a luxurious convenience than anything else. I don't have a camera.
fidgiegirl
12-20-12, 9:06am
jp1, your post reminded me that in some ways, I'm LESS accessible than before . . . as I age, I grow to hate talking on the phone more and more! And that wouldn't matter if it were a dumb or smart phone! :)
When I train people on devices at work I find myself occasionally reminding them that they do not HAVE to set up their e-mail on their home phone or that they don't even have to let it ding at them every time they get a message. I like to "fetch" my messages, personally. I spend a lot LESS time on e-mail than I did prior to having a smart phone. I dunno - it works for me. And not for others! To each their own.
pinkytoe
12-20-12, 10:31am
I am tempted since it seems that is the only way young people communicate anymore....even my own dd. It makes me sad when I walk around campus and it seems like the majority (faculty included) have their heads down and eyes on device. As such, there are no verbal greetings or eye-contact. But then I guess what we are doing here on the forum is the same thing. The days of front porch and fence talk have just morped to another way.
I dream about simpler things, yet doing them is another. SO good for you and those that did not get or got rid of the iPhone. I know mine is habit more then need. Why would I need to see who emailed me as I am biking? Texting is the worse, yet double sided sword as I do want to hear from my sons and that is how they tell me things it seems. I keep my iPhone/macbook and iPad and will probably upgrade as needed over the years, because I watched my folks miss the electronic age totally and now in the 80s it is impossible to teach them it seems. It would not be bad if they still lived in a world where a nice person picked up the other end of the dial wall phone and helped them with questions and such. Alas, it is easier to just hit the site and find the answer, which I do daily for them it seems. I know things will continue to change and not a techie or anything, I hope to stay current and not suffer like my folks. If that is possible???
decemberlov
12-20-12, 10:45am
I didn't want this to come off as smartphones are a "bad" thing. It's definitely a personal decision and what's right for one may not be right for the other.
In my case, I have children (10 & 13) that need my attention and I found myself more times than I would like to admit getting an email or message from someone that turned into something way more like, oh since I'm already on my phone maybe I'll check facebook. Or get sucked into a game on my phone. Not to the point where I would neglect them but I just didn't like it. If I wanna play a game I'd rather ask the kids of they'll join me in a game of Scrabble.
And I could have obviously decided that when I walk in the door that my phone goes away until the kids are in bed or till the next morning but then if I'm going to do that what's the point in paying the ridiculous cost?
DH and I talked about it quite a bit and just discussed some of the things that we notice so much in this "age of technology". It seems rather than these communication devices connecting people more often than not they are making people anti-social: I see people standing at the bus stop almost always, all of them on their phone..not making small talk with others - who knows maybe they have something important to share or even know someone we know...but we wouldn't find that out because were too busy in out own little bubbles. And I see this everywhere - at the doctors, at the supermarket. Parent's checking their phones in line at theme parks when they could be talking to their children and on and on and on....
Don't get me wrong there were so many things I loved about my phone: listening to Pandora while in the shower, any answer I need just a click away. But over all I think the pros of not being so connected will far out weight the cons :)
decemberlov
12-20-12, 10:47am
It makes me sad when I walk around campus and it seems like the majority (faculty included) have their heads down and eyes on device. As such, there are no verbal greetings or eye-contact. But then I guess what we are doing here on the forum is the same thing. The days of front porch and fence talk have just morped to another way.
sure has changed, hasn't it :(
pinkytoe
12-20-12, 11:25am
Sometimes not having a smart phone feels about as "un-mainstream" as voluntary simplicity was when I first became interested in the concept many years ago. I get the strangest looks when people find out I don't use one - like what kind of weirdo are you. No doubt, I will cave into the herd one of these days.
SteveinMN
12-20-12, 4:12pm
I didn't want this to come off as smartphones are a "bad" thing. It's definitely a personal decision and what's right for one may not be right for the other.
Absolutely -- I know people who very much value being able to see and talk with their family and friends and the world. For them, a device you can carry around in your pocket for that is like Dick Tracy's wrist TV or a Star Trek communicator. It's magic and they'll have one as long as they can afford one. Me? It stays as long as the convenience outweighs the cost.
HumboldtGurl
12-20-12, 10:45pm
We just fell victim to the smart phone disease when Verizon started giving iPhone 4s away in September. I justified the move because it's for our businesses, and it really has paid off in that aspect. However I do feel like an idiot for paying more each month, that part kills me. I'm still torn about it. Good for you for ditching it!
simplelife4me
12-22-12, 8:44pm
If I could right off alot of the iphone for business, I would have one.
...I see people standing at the bus stop almost always, all of them on their phone..not making small talk with others - who knows maybe they have something important to share or even know someone we know...but we wouldn't find that out because were too busy in out own little bubbles. And I see this everywhere - at the doctors, at the supermarket. Parent's checking their phones in line at theme parks when they could be talking to their children and on and on and on.... ..
I spent hours and hours of my life, it seemed, waiting at bus stops, and I was always in my own bubble--lost in a book or magazine or my own thoughts--long before there were smart phones. In fact, unless I'm with a friend, wherever I am, I bring my bubble with me.
I'm with Jane. 8-11 years ago when I took public transportation daily, you quickly learned to NOT make eye contact. To do so always seem to attract the attention of a weirdo. I always had my nose in a book or magazine.
I love my phone - Samsung Galaxy S3. I use it as the replacement for a lot of things - checkbook register (I have one in app form on phone), books (Kindle app), reading newspaper (NY Times and local paper - I have digital subscriptions), music (although I have to admit Apple's gadgets do music the best). I got unlimited talk and text. I'm using the text a ton. Friends and I go back and forth. I probably surf/email more on my phone than on computer, except for when I'm eating at home. :) If I have to type a longer email, etc., I will do it on the computer.
ToomuchStuff
12-23-12, 3:09am
Dumb, prepaid phone, that cost me around $50 this year (and should again next). No text, in fact I asked them to block it, after receiving one for the previous owner of the phone number (and drug deal junk to boot). Picked it up due to no pay phones, and before I move to that as internet/Smart phone, costs are going to have to drop, with no caps, and I am going to have to be able to hook it to a keyboard and monitor so it is actually useful (would also like to be able to print).
.I love my phone - Samsung Galaxy S3. I use it as the replacement for a lot of things - checkbook register (I have one in app form on phone), books (Kindle app), reading newspaper (NY Times and local paper - I have digital subscriptions), music (although I have to admit Apple's gadgets do music the best). I got unlimited talk and text. .
Tradd - if you don't mind saying, what's your monthly bill for this?
I dream about simpler things, yet doing them is another. SO good for you and those that did not get or got rid of the iPhone. I know mine is habit more then need. Why would I need to see who emailed me as I am biking? Texting is the worse, yet double sided sword as I do want to hear from my sons and that is how they tell me things it seems. I keep my iPhone/macbook and iPad and will probably upgrade as needed over the years, because I watched my folks miss the electronic age totally and now in the 80s it is impossible to teach them it seems. It would not be bad if they still lived in a world where a nice person picked up the other end of the dial wall phone and helped them with questions and such. Alas, it is easier to just hit the site and find the answer, which I do daily for them it seems. I know things will continue to change and not a techie or anything, I hope to stay current and not suffer like my folks. If that is possible???
ctg, your post definitely rang a bell with me. My mother, who passed away 6 years ago at age 74, decided in the late 90s that she wanted to get a computer and learn how to go online. She'd heard enough about it and was fascinated. For the remainder of her life I was in more frequent contact with her than I ever had been since I graduated college. We emailed, and occasionally IM'd constantly. When she passed away one of the first things dad asked my sister and me to do was to take the computer away. He'd never touched it and was truly afraid of it. To this day I wish he had also embraced computers. Not a day goes by that I don't see something online that I think he'd find interesting or funny, or I just have a quick thought to tell him. I try to remember these things when I call him, but it would be so much easier if he were online the way every other person in my life is.
I'm with Jane. 8-11 years ago when I took public transportation daily, you quickly learned to NOT make eye contact. To do so always seem to attract the attention of a weirdo. I always had my nose in a book or magazine.
I'm with you and Jane also. I've never had a desire to make smalltalk with other people waiting for the bus or train. In reverse chronological order the progression of avoidance method has been iphone, ipod touch, old school ipod, cd walkman, books or magazines. Once in a while I'll find myself on transit without my phone, or at least without the headphones, and feel completely naked and exposed.
Tradd - if you don't mind saying, what's your monthly bill for this?
Do you mean for monthly cell service? About $115 a month. That amount is only two months old from when I got the new phone. I'm with Verizon, which is the most expensive, but also the best service. I had an iPhone with AT&T back in 2009, but the phone side of the service was so bad I ditched it after a year.
When you use the kindle on the smart phone, it's not an internet connection, right? it's just something that it has, like the clock? :)
When you use the kindle on the smart phone, it's not an internet connection, right? it's just something that it has, like the clock? :)
I think that would depend on whether you were storing books, etc. in Amazon cloud storage or they were stored on your device.
I think that would depend on whether you were storing books, etc. in Amazon cloud storage or they were stored on your device.
You actually need to download Kindle books to whatever device you're reading them on (whether a Kindle, iPad, smart phone, or your computer). So, you use an internet connection to get the books onto the Kindle, but once there, you read them from device's memory. It's not "streaming book" like streaming music from Pandora. I *heart* the Kindle app.
All my Kindle books are in the cloud. There's an extra step to store them on my PC, and I haven't done so yet.
All my Kindle books are in the cloud. There's an extra step to store them on my PC, and I haven't done so yet.
Hmm...I wonder if it's different if you're reading on your computer than on a mobile device. When I had a Kindle, you *had* to download any books you wanted to read to your Kindle. Same with iPad and smartphones/iPod Touch. You can "store" your books on Amazon's servers, but to read, they have to be on your mobile device/Kindle. You can delete a Kindle book from a particular device and redownload as many times as you want. It's a different thing to totally delete a specific book from your Amazon account.
Hmm...I wonder if it's different if you're reading on your computer than on a mobile device. When I had a Kindle, you *had* to download any books you wanted to read to your Kindle. Same with iPad and smartphones/iPod Touch. You can "store" your books on Amazon's servers, but to read, they have to be on your mobile device/Kindle. You can delete a Kindle book from a particular device and redownload as many times as you want. It's a different thing to totally delete a specific book from your Amazon account.
i think it might be.
Hmm...I wonder if it's different if you're reading on your computer than on a mobile device. When I had a Kindle, you *had* to download any books you wanted to read to your Kindle. Same with iPad and smartphones/iPod Touch. You can "store" your books on Amazon's servers, but to read, they have to be on your mobile device/Kindle. You can delete a Kindle book from a particular device and redownload as many times as you want. It's a different thing to totally delete a specific book from your Amazon account.
It's hard to say anything definitively in a discussion involving technology. Kindle now has a web app called Kindle Cloud Reader, which allows pc users to read books directly from the cloud or to download for offline reading.
Some info on it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_cloudland_access?nodeId=200732260#accessing
Cloud storage makes me think the 16g instead of 32g Kindle Fire, for example, might be the better deal. Not that I need one, of course...:)
I remember back in '95, when I was holding out for a great big, state of the art 1g hard drive. In a $3000 computer as big as a doghouse...
Cloud storage makes me think the 16g instead of 32g Kindle Fire, for example, might be the better deal. Not that I need one, of course...:)
Personally, I hate depending upon outside services for my stuff. I use my iPad as an eReader and store all of my books on my own personal server at home. There is a freeware e-book management system called Calibre (www.calibre-ebook.com (http://www.calibre-ebook.com)) which has a built-in web server. Using my hardware and this software, I am able to access and download everything in my library from anywhere. When I finish a book on the iPad, I delete it from the device while still maintaining it on the home server, eliminating the need for high storage capacity on the device.
simplelife4me
12-24-12, 9:24pm
Good tip Alan.
Wildflower
12-24-12, 10:12pm
No smartphone for me. I don't want to be "connected" all of the time. I know people in my life that are literally addicted to their damn phone. It's sad... I think they are missing so much in life - like interacting with "real" people, enjoying nature, listening to music, connecting more with their kids and/or pets, noticing the unusual and beautiful things around them...
DAILY I notice the unusual or beautiful things around me, then I take a picture of the beautiful or unusual thing with my smartphone and share it with my husband, friends, and co-workers. It's no different than a proud gramma showing off pictures of her grand kids with a photo album.
If radio communication is not working at work, I text instructions to all of my employees on a case by case basis as needed. That way I know they receive the instructions and they are very good about acknowledging my instructions with a return text or email.
If I am in an unfamiliar town and don't have a map, I call up Google Maps on my smartphone and enter the address that I'm looking for......then I have it "track me"......that way I can see right on my phone if I'm going the right way or not. (This helped a lot last week when I turned the wrong direction on a street and could see on the screen that I was getting further away from my destination than closer.)
If I need to call the bank or my doctor, I have several avenues of communication at my finger tips. Phone reception is bad? Send an email. Or a text.
If my car breaks down on the interstate or on a back road and I need to give road service my address? Just have GPS on my phone "locate me", that way I can give the mechanic or wrecker driver my exact address, OR even my GPS coordinates.
My kids are late and I don't know where they are? Just have my phone locate THEIR phones and I know exactly where they are in about 2 minutes tops. I can see where there would be times when this could be life saving. You can tell rescue or police where the phone is, and your child's last known location.
I can call up nearest gas station from my position if I'm nearly out of gas. If I'm not sure that is a working station, I just have to call the phone number that comes up and ask for their hours of operation.
I have an HTC Titan Windows phone and use a Smart Talk SIM card. Monthly unlimited talk, text, and internet browsing is $45. It's a good deal and I really don't understand why I went so long without purchasing a smart phone. I purchased the phone itself on ebay for $200 so I wouldn't have to be trapped by 2-year phone plan. I am pretty darn frugal and I resent being trapped by any mandatory plan. I felt that if I didn't like my phone after trying it for a month or so, I could just go ahead and re-sell it on ebay. I am SO happy I bought this phone, it's made my life much easier and I talk to friends and family much more often than I did before purchasing it.
My husband and mother in law now have the same plans and they are happy with their's too. :)
Ignoramus here. I am machine-illiterate to the extent I don't know how to work a cell phone of any sort and don't know what the other kinds, like smartphone are. No problem so far.
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