Last Person on Earth to get a SmartPhone - what are your likes/dislikes

I am finally considering making space in budget for a SmartPhone.

I have held off for many reasons.
Since I am currently not working outside of the home, I didn't see the need (although surprisingly there is one which I can totally work around - I have other parents text me when there are last minute activity changes on the fly) and wanted to spend the $$ on other things. Also, I wanted to wait for the technology to improve & prices to get cheaper.
I am getting ready to get ready to get back into the workforce (both kids will be in school full-time in the fall) and SmartPhone Technology, Apps, etc will come into play in my field and I don't want to appear to be the complete Luddite that I really am at heart. And I really would like to consolidate my music, calendar, and all the other nifty things you can streamline to one device.

We are on Verizon and have been for over 10 yrs - I am happy with them (enough).

I want a phone that takes Good Photos & Keep Battery Charge a long time.
I am a phone person and what my Grandmother always called a "good talker", so ease of use of the basic phone function and how it feels in my hand is also important to me.

I use a PC and have never found anything Apple/MAC to be intuitive to me.

My questions - and there are probably a million more I don't know:
- What kind of phone should I get?
- Do you like yours? If so, which one & why?
- Do you have one you DONT like? If so, which one & why?
- How much do you pay for your plan? With whom and what do you get?
- Or just any thoughts you have regarding your smartphone....
- Is there a good review website for the Tech UnSavvy?

And I know there are tons of us that don't have them, if you want to chime in with why you don't, feel free!

I had a Samsung briefly, and liked it. I'd consider the Samsung Galaxy or Note.

You aren't the last person to get a smart phone. I don't have one. I don't currently have a personal situation where I need one, but that could change, and then I would buy one. I'm usually either home or at work, and both places have internet and phone access. When I'm driving, I have voice/phone access. When I travel, I have both a tablet and an itouch to check mail, use apps and the like with wifi. There are few places I go where wi fi is not available SOME time during the day, and I have no one who needs instant access to me other than my spouse.

If you don't really want one, don't get one. Your kids can reach you a dumb phone too. Or if its just the technology you want to play with, you could get an itouch and not have to pay a monthly plan fee.

I had a Kyocera Rise for 24 hours last fall and it froze up on me several times those 24 hours and the Internet connection seemed unreliable and the learning curve involved seemed very annoying so I took it back for a refund and now proudly have a dumb phone - a Samsung Array slider phone, which is a step up from a flip phone and gives me unlimited talk and text which is all I really need. Personally I see myself keeping this phone for awhile, unless I should leave for a seasonal job - out in the middle of nowhere if you want a working cell phone you usually need to be with Verizon. Or if I start a small business of some kind and it takes off - I could see myself needing a smartphone then - otherwise, no, no, no!!!!! Don't need the learning curve and additional complexity in my life!!! Rob

There is a Great thread over on Money Mustache about this topic and keeping the costs down, way down. Go read it and it will answer a lot of your questions.

'Our new $10.00 per month iphone plans' is the name of the thread on Money Mustache.

I have a Motorola Droid Bionic, which I got through Verizon. The 4 GB data package costs $30 monthly, additional to whatever one's verizon phone voice package is.

I got a smartphone because I would travel and have my motels reserved ahead of time. But then if I was caught in rain and stopped early, I would have to find a different motel. I ended up with a dumpy motel one time. Now that I have the Smartphone, I can look up motel ratings while on the road. I also got the phone for work, and work emails.

The good features are: camera, shopping list/to-do app, weather app, radio app for long distance travels.... Oh! I can deposit checks to my credit union through their app by taking a picture of the checks. That is so great! Also, I can look at Word or Excel docs, e.g., all my travel checklists etc.

When I was investigating what phone to get, I looked online, and went to the Verizon store a couple of times. But finally I just ordered the exact one my bf had! :laff: He had let me try his, but it seemed weird and foreign. But once I got my own, it took no time to figure stuff out. Allow yourself a 2-week time when you first get it to be mesmerized, fascinated, sometimes frustrated, but mostly amazed.

Um... I don't get commission on this:).

But it can simplify things in your life by having everything in one little spot. I'm more about simplifying, than complete frugality, so take that into consideration when reading my 'review.' ;)

On Edit: I got the Droid Bionic instead of the Razr because a person could get a longer life battery for the Bionic if they wanted (but not the Razr). My bf bought the longer life battery for his phone.

We are an Apple family, so my next smartphone will be an iPhone. The iPhone fits neatly into many of the paradigms and hardware pieces we already have; for me, it's an easy choice. You don't have that, so the value of that fit is diminished. If you do happen to have a lot of DRM-protected content you've purchased from the iTunes Music Store, though, you might still want to consider an iPhone because it will have no issue playing that content while other phone operating systems may not.

My current smartphone is a Nokia E73 running the Symbian operating system. It's three years old and working just fine. Symbian was designed to be resource-efficient. I can easily go three days on a full charge before I have to juice up again. Call quality and signal strength also are above average, and the phone still feels like it was carved out of a single chunk of aluminum. However, Symbian as an operating system is dead, so updates are no more. The good thing about that is that there won't be new software screwing things up. And I still have email, Web access, and a GPS. There are Facebook and twitter and YouTube clients and apps for all kinds of purposes. I can connect securely to a computer network that accepts the VPN on the phone. I can view and open PDF and Microsoft Office files. There's even a Shazam client for Symbian. But I know my next phone will have to be something different.

I'm using the phone on T-Mobile. If you're never in deeply-rural or -mountainous areas, it's a good carrier. They're moving to 4G and LTE and are adding high speed GSM service in the same bands as at&t, so you could move an unlocked at&t phone to T-Mobile and use their cheaper rates. We have a family plan that translates to about $60 a month for this phone; it could be cheaper, but DW and I are waiting out the plan (early 2014) and then we'll do something else -- prepaid, maybe; maybe move DW to a prepaid because she has almost no use for a phone herself. DD will be on her own.

In the end, though, I think your choice will be either iOS (iPhone) or Android. I think Blackberry is pretty much dead, partially because it took them way too long to modernize and partly because none of the cool kids are carrying Blackberries anymore and -- sorry -- that has a chilling effect on the market. (Don't think so? What major improvements have been made to "dumbphones" since smartphones became > 50% of activations). Windows Phone is not bad based on what I've seen of it, but Microsoft has had a long history of making hash out of portable operating systems -- updates that left out recently-released phones, big paradigm changes between versions. In fact, I just read that Microsoft will be making 18-month updates to Windows Phone and not worrying that older phones can be upgraded. Given that most phone contracts run 24 months, well, I just don't see the point of it from the consumer's side of things.

Android is a good operating system, though it could be much more efficient. I think part of the problem there is that the OS is licensed for whoever wants to make an Android phone, so the OS has lots of hardware variation to deal with, and that's hard to make efficient. I also have a concern about Google (Android's owner/licenser). I know darn well any wireless carrier wants to monetize the daylights out of me. I know Apple keeps track of every song I buy or every book my wife downloads. But they're not tracking my Web queries or scanning my emails like Google does. And I don't want to encourage that kind of behavior by buying an Android phone. But other people have no worries about that at all. Your choice.

Since my iphone is my work phone, I use it nearly 7 hours a day - on a corded headset - and I love it. I can email on it when I'm on the road, though I prefer my ipad, which is my office-in-a-box. The two are indispensable to me. The photos my iphone 4 takes are good. My DH, who has a part time professional photography business, uses his iphone for some of his work. He uses specific development programs to process them; I can find out which ones if you're interested. Here I am in my home office, taking a break to converse with y'all, waiting for my 11:30 meeting -- oops! that's now! -- and snapping this goofy pic on my trusty ol' imac desktop! Bye!!!

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I have been happy with my choice and surprised myself by how much utility I discovered in the smart phone. I got a galaxy nexus, but BF got the iphone and I wish we were on the same platform. However, two of my children are android users too, so I got some good user advice from them. Anyway, I didn't expect to like it so much, and I really didn't expect it to make things easier or simpler but both things have happened. Worth the money for me.

I don't have a smart phone, just an old pay-as-you-go flip Tracfone that has texting and internet capabilities so I can check e-mails. I also have an old laptop that I rarely use. Both work fine so i will keep them but I will upgrade to a small (7") tablet computer soon - partly for the cameras on them. I find that they are better than a laptop & camera when travelling. No plans to get a smart phone at this time. Don't see the need as I rarely go online, talk or text. But then I don't even have home internet - well I do because my sister has it set up in her bedroom but I've never gotten around to getting a wi-fi router so can't use it. I go online at free hot spots most of the time because I'm rarely home anyways (outdoors in a beautiful place right now!). I like it like that so not only am I probably the last person on earth without a smart phone, I'm probably the last person on earth without home internet.

Ditto herbgeek. If you don't want one, you probably don't need one. (And many who do want them, don't need them!)
You could get a texting-friendly phone if that's how your kids like to communicate.
No phone takes photos as good as a real camera can.

I haven't read the rest of this thread, but my phone is an old one, and it's a TELEPHONE, and that's all I use it for, and I seldom use it. (Well, it does other things, but I don't use any of them since I don't even know what they are.) It even has an antenna! I can text, but it's a nuisance, since I have to hit the keys multiple times to get the letter I want, so I've let everyone know not to text me. DH has a "phone" that does everything you can think of, and he loves it. He can watch TV on it, and who knows what-all else. I don't care about any of that. I think he'd have an implant of some kind if he could. Ugh. When I need a new phone I will get one that's easier to text, but that's as far as I'll go. :~)

What is a SmartPhone?

"smartphone

A cellular telephone with built-in applications and Internet access. In addition to digital voice service, modern smartphones provide text messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, still and video cameras, MP3 player and video playback and calling. In addition to their built-in functions, smartphones run myriad free and paid applications, turning the once single-minded cellphone into a mobile personal computer."

Credit to PC mag for definition

I had an old dumbphone that had lasted about 7 years. I kept saying that I'd upgrade when either sprint got iphones or the old phone quit working, whichever came first. Well, the iphone came to sprint first, so SO got me one for christmas last year. For the most part I love it. I can get online when I need/want to when I'm out and about, it's easy to text from, call quality is quite good, and the camera takes great pictures. The only thing I don't totally love is the size of the screen. If I were shopping today I'd probably consider one of the android phones with a bigger screen. Before doing that, though, I'd want to make sure that my iTunes purchases would be transferable.

I'm glad to see from the responses here that I'm not the last person in America without a smartphone. My dd and dgd1 (!) both have them. My old Samsung makes and receives calls that I usually don't answer, and it texts. I don't need anything else, so there doesn't seem to be a smartphone in my future. And I find them too wide to hold comfortably (small hands). Dsil doesn't have one, either, but that is because he is always dropping them and breaking the cheap phones he uses now. And he can barely operate just the basics. So he and I get the cheap phones, while the other two get the pricey ones. But the price of these phones is really coming down. Dgd1 just recently dropped and broke her phone past repair. She bought it at Target, and Virgin Mobile, her carrier, sent her a Target gift card for $100 to replace the phone. When she went in to do so, the phone only cost $50; it had dropped $50 since she bought it in October! So she is one happy little girl!

I forgot to mention that my business phone is a Sony-Ericsson flip phone that I purchased unlocked. That left me able to add Java apps to it so I've added a better Web browser and GPS software along with a couple of better utilities. I get 80% of what I get from my smartphone without a data plan (albeit with an even smaller screen). For as much as I use the business phone, it's fine. But it's not a path I would recommend to someone who just wants to plug in a phone and use it.

I still don't have a smartphone, but I'm wavering. It would be very convenient to be able to check email while out, and it's also a phone, camera, and music player all in one, which appeals to the minimalist in me.

No, no and a thousand times no. It's enough bother checking emails when I'm at home, why would I want to do that to myself when I'm out?
I'm with you Domestic Goddess - we must resist this enslaving invention..

hee hee dogmom. I agree. Count me in as a member of your subversive group.

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Originally Posted by Blackdog Lin

hee hee dogmom. I agree. Count me in as a member of your subversive group.

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Hehe! I'm also the only person in the world who has never sent a text!

No smartphone for me. I don't plan on getting one anytime soon either. Hate how absorbed people are in their phones these days. It's sad in my opinion. They're missing out on so much, like interactions with other human beings and communing with nature. I also don't want people being able to contact me 24/7. We have a basic cellphone for emergencies, and that's it....

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Originally Posted by dogmom

Hehe! I'm also the only person in the world who has never sent a text!

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I've never texted either! We're dinosaurs! ;)

I have a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus. Cost is $55 per month for unlimited phone, text and web. I don't have a land line anymore so I chose the unlimited plan. I LOVE that woman that lives in my phone that navigates me to places. She has NEVER made a mistake. I don't have GPS so that is handy. My son likes to communicate with texting so it is helpful to have that. I occasionally use it to get my email when I'm out and about and waiting for something. I love having my address book always handy. When I was traveling and I used MAPS all the time for local bus routes in different cities. It was great. I'd also use it to find places I could use my credit union ATM without fees -- there is an app for that. I love it.

Neither my husband nor I have smart phones. We share 1 simple tacfone between us which actually gets used about twice a month.

I know of at least 12 other people on earth who don't have smart phones: my 12 sponsored kids in developing countries. Some of them don't even have running water or proper sanitation much less the latest electronic geegaw. Not to rain on anybody's parade but folks who have smart phones are a small minority of the global population. Just something to keep in mind.

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Originally Posted by dogmom

No, no and a thousand times no. It's enough bother checking emails when I'm at home, why would I want to do that to myself when I'm out?
I'm with you Domestic Goddess - we must resist this enslaving invention..

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I just have an old pay-as-you-go tracfone not a smart phone but I actually like the fact that it comes with a web browser and e-mail capability so that, if I'm expecting an important e-mail, text or call, I can be out and about doing other things (playing in the woods or at the beach!!) and not be "enslaved" in my house waiting. I turn it off or don't even look at it otherwise. No more waiting breathless all day at home by the pink Princess phone waiting for the dreamboat to call anymore :-)!

It mostly just costs too much money (the monthly bill). I mean sure it would be nice to have if it was free ...

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Originally Posted by MaryHu

... Not to rain on anybody's parade but folks who have smart phones are a small minority of the global population. Just something to keep in mind.

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Not for long, I bet. I edited an on-line course on PDAs and smart phones in 2000, when Asia was way ahead of us in technology and market saturation. Africa's smart phone use has exploded, and is now the fastest-growing market worldwide. According to this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...inance-farming, half the population of Africa owns one. Certainly, smart phones were key in the Arab Spring movement. It looks like the "global village" we've heard so much about will be connected by 4G technology--and I find that pretty exciting, even if I don't have a smart phone and probably won't. I'll likely just hang onto my basic cell and get a tablet eventually.

It is so much easier in developing countries to put up a few poles and have everyone go cellular than it is to run a wire to each house. So many industrializing economies are bypassing the wireline phone altogether in favor of cellular communication.

Related, I saw a statistic from the U.N. that stated, in 2009, there were more than four billion cell phone subscriptions in the world. The "more developed" countries tend to have more mobile phones than people, as one might expect. But the ITU study states that mobile-phone penetration rates were approaching almost one-third of Africans (again, back in 2009ish). Those appear to be "dumbphones", however, since mobile broadband penetration was around 1% in the developing world. The world is getting "smarter".

We go through iWireless, which does pay-as-you-go cell plans, and they sell their phones at Kroger stores - or, in our case Smith's.

It's not as good a deal as it should be because you have to refill your time every three months, even if you don't use your time. The bill for our cell phone use last year was just shy of $300 for two phones. That feels like a ripoff for cell phone use. We only use ours a couple of times a month, but still, it's better than an iPhone plan.

Our phones are not particularly smart. They're flip phones that aren't even offered by the company anymore. Because my daughter lost my wife's at a track meet, I've ordered two of their Sanyo Taho phones. They're not here yet.

I'm tempted by Republic Wireless's deal. They offer a middle-of-the-road Android smart phone for around $250, but then they charge $19 a month for unlimited text, talk, and data. They try to keep their costs down by making the calls over wireless internet when it's available.

But honestly, we have iPod Touches for smart phone type stuff. And I don't even use that very often. And I use the cell phone even less. But if I spontaneously felt like jumping on the smart phone bandwagon some day, I would probably go with Republic Wireless. It's hard to beat $19 a month in that arena.

Edited to add: Just in case anyone wants to look into what I'm talking about, iWireless's website is here: http://iwirelesshome.com and Republic Wireless is here: http://www.republicwireless.com

I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback on this question. I am learning a lot. My purchase is still a few months away and this has been very helpful!!!

We still don't think we're clever enough yet for smart phones!:|(

I have been resisting getting a smartphone too but I caved yesterday and ordered one. I didn't want a big giant one or anything too fancy so I went for the Samsung Galaxy Fame: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_gala...s6810-5279.php

It will only cost £3 more per month than my current plan, which isn't bad. My main motivation for getting one is being able to receive and respond (more or less) instantaneously to emails regarding potential translation work. I have missed out on at least two jobs in the last couple weeks because I didn't see the email in time.

I hope I don't end up glued to it like so many other people :(

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I'm tempted by Republic Wireless's deal. They offer a middle-of-the-road Android smart phone for around $250, but then they charge $19 a month for unlimited text, talk, and data. They try to keep their costs down by making the calls over wireless internet when it's available.

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Good deal. Maybe if i take a class in android development :laff: The tech classes I usually take are much more boring and big biz than that though, and much more targeted, but it's not actually helping me much either (I miss working for small companies and start ups but it's not the year 2000 anymore either). And the cell phone I have is dumb as bricks and so therefore cheaper than that (like $10 a month).

We use Ting as a carrier (Sprint network) and have been very happy with their pricing and service. For now they do not support i-phones, but we're not Apple folks anyway. We were able to bring all our own devices (BYOD) when we switched because we were with Spring before and Ting uses the Sprint network. Our previous bills with Sprint were averaging $280/month (5 lines, talk, text, data). The first 3 months with Ting have averaged about $85. There is one less line on the current plan than before because we told married DD that if they could buy a house and a new car she could pay for her own phone. Now if we could just get her off our insurance....

Gregg, Did you have to cancel your Sprint plan and deactivate your phone before having Ting activate the same phone number?

Smart? phone!?!

I was forced, by the phone company, into a cell phone. Since I used PAY phones for my job (I do running/errands/pickups for work) I would be able to call them, when they weren't completely sure, or had options they needed to decide between. I like some of the idea of Android (Linux, hackable/cutomizable), but they have horrible battery life and all I do is make calls.

I have NEVER texted, nor do I want to. I canceled my home phone (50% taxes, two months at around $30 after taxes, cost more then my phone costs a year), and saved quite a bit. Most of the people I call, are LUDDITES, several, don't own, or know how to use a computer (some of the ones who do own one, don't know how to use one). I use an old Nokia, candybar style phone, where I get about a week on a charge. For my next phone, I am thinking I might go with a Jitterbug, and use it on my (T mobile) network (prepaid and my use costs me around $56 a year).
If your wanting one, due to work, wait until they provide it and pay the bill, IMHO. If it is for work purposes (a leash) you shouldn't be paying for it.

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Originally Posted by dogmom

Hehe! I'm also the only person in the world who has never sent a text!

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Nope, I'm older so can claim text-free for longer than you:D