My Next Phone

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rsp1202
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Post by rsp1202 »

I'm interested in tech but have never seriously considered smart phones/tablets and the like as a must-have. I bought my first laptop this year and figured that's plenty of communicative power. I don't understand half of what is being talked about. (Heck, I thought I just wanted a new-old clamshell phone with camera so at least I have something to take pictures with when I sell shaving items here.) So this and similar threads have definitely piqued my curiosity and hope they continue. And when I buy my first whatever, I'm sending the bill to you guys.
Ron
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Post by changabang »

BullGoose wrote:I switched from a Blackberry Bold to an Iphone 4S about 11 months ago. Only 13 months to go before I can switch back to Blackberry. I can hardly wait.
I find this very interesting. I wish I could justify getting into a contract that features the BB, (especially before they are no longer available), but I'm too cheap to switch from Tracfone and their semi smart phones. A fixed retirement income has its disadvantages. Check that: EVERYTHING about it is disadvantageous. :(
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jww
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Post by jww »

rsp1202 wrote:I'm interested in tech but have never seriously considered smart phones/tablets and the like as a must-have. I bought my first laptop this year and figured that's plenty of communicative power. I don't understand half of what is being talked about. (Heck, I thought I just wanted a new-old clamshell phone with camera so at least I have something to take pictures with when I sell shaving items here.) So this and similar threads have definitely piqued my curiosity and hope they continue. And when I buy my first whatever, I'm sending the bill to you guys.
Over the past 24 months, my wife has gone from a desktop computer and a flip phone for calls only to texting on a Nokia C3 (a kind of not-too-terribly-smart-smartphone), her second laptop (from a HP budget-whatever to a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge) and is now awaiting the arrival of a new iPad Mini. Oh -- I also bought her a sewing machine last year for Christmas and she bucked at the spending of the $$ all the time -- that is until she realized how much value there is in making family heirlooms (her home made quilts are popping up all over our home and under the tree this year). She now sees the advantage of this stuff. The iPad order took place after she asked me whether I thought that this would be like the sewing machine all over again -- I just smiled and winked, and she ordered up the Mini.

So -- we can have the discussion about the resistance is futile, but ...... :lol:

Me -- I'm simply a gadget nut --- and it doesn't have to be technology either.
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

Let's just get one thing clear: The fact a smartphone is a "phone" is somewhere down the list, in fact making calls has become so secondary that cell providers are giving minutes away and charging mostly for data. What it is foremost for me: Mobile internet platform, mobile computing platform, text/photo/video messenger. GPS/Maps. Decent camera always in my pocket. Games, movies, music. Apple TV remote. Online banking. Check the weather. Reminders, Calendar. Ordering pizza. Finding restaurants/anything while out and about. Time waster while waiting for doctor/dentist/government offices etc. e-reader (in a pinch when I don't want to bring my Kindle). Entertainment for the kids. Using Find my Friends the phone tells me when my wife leaves work so I can have dinner ready at just the right time. When my wife works late she can say good night to the little ones using FaceTime (video chat). Apps for stores that remind you when anything on your list goes on sale (great for tools that you want but can wait --I'm looking at you Canadian Tire) Just amazing. The list goes on and on.
Richard
rsp1202
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Post by rsp1202 »

I'm an un-reformed gearhead with eyes bigger than my wallet. I started with stereo and video a-way-back, and when computers came on the scene, well . . . I used Macs exclusively for years, at home and at work, until my last job that required PC's, Windows, and WordPerfect (c'mon, man, who uses that c***? Bunch of neanderthals), so had to switch. Luckily, I discovered Linux, so losing my Mac link didn't hurt so much. But I still want a Retina Macbook Pro, an iPhone, iPad, i'mBroke.

I understand the point about cell being just a single app amidst a whole variety of others, and as I noted above it's got me thinking about expanding my own little bubble of existence into greater realms.

Keep truckin', y'all, I'll catch up eventually.
Ron
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jww
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Post by jww »

Richard, you forgot to add to your list Stickman Golf --- love that game!
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

jww wrote:Richard, you forgot to add to your list Stickman Golf --- love that game!
I'm hooked on Carcassone right now. What a beautiful game.
Richard
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Post by brothers »

Following up, this evening I was informed that my upgrade will involve an SIII.
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RazoRock
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Post by RazoRock »

I'm currently using the Samsung S2X T989... great phone, but a few complaints... battery could be better, and I can't stand that Samsung takes so long to update the Android OS, that really bugs me.

Two weeks I bought the Nexus 4 and will be selling the Samsung. For $359, and after using a buddies, it's simply the best phone on the market and you get all the Android software updates right away. Plus, I can still get $250 for the T989, so the upgrade cost is very small.

What you can do is... get the SIII, unlock it and sell it for $350-400 new and buy the Nexus. SIII is a nice phone, I've played with it, but the late droid updates really bother me and I love pure vanilla android.
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maskaggs
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Post by maskaggs »

jww wrote:
rsp1202 wrote:I'm interested in tech but have never seriously considered smart phones/tablets and the like as a must-have. I bought my first laptop this year and figured that's plenty of communicative power. I don't understand half of what is being talked about. (Heck, I thought I just wanted a new-old clamshell phone with camera so at least I have something to take pictures with when I sell shaving items here.) So this and similar threads have definitely piqued my curiosity and hope they continue. And when I buy my first whatever, I'm sending the bill to you guys.
Over the past 24 months, my wife has gone from a desktop computer and a flip phone for calls only to texting on a Nokia C3 (a kind of not-too-terribly-smart-smartphone), her second laptop (from a HP budget-whatever to a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge) and is now awaiting the arrival of a new iPad Mini. Oh -- I also bought her a sewing machine last year for Christmas and she bucked at the spending of the $$ all the time -- that is until she realized how much value there is in making family heirlooms (her home made quilts are popping up all over our home and under the tree this year). She now sees the advantage of this stuff. The iPad order took place after she asked me whether I thought that this would be like the sewing machine all over again -- I just smiled and winked, and she ordered up the Mini.

So -- we can have the discussion about the resistance is futile, but ...... :lol:

Me -- I'm simply a gadget nut --- and it doesn't have to be technology
either.
I wonder about my own relationship with technology. I absolutely love my iPhone - I don't leave home without it, to be sure - and get tons of use out of it, both productive and leisurely. But then I think about the absolute essentials that I need for technology - a computer with an Internet connection and a word processor would actually suffice in the vast majority of use cases. But the rest of the bells and whistles - note taking, archival, photography, communications apps and the like - seem like they make life much easier. I just can't decide if it's actually less work-intensive or simply another kind of work!
Regards,
Mike
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fallingwickets
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Post by fallingwickets »

Two weeks I bought the Nexus 4
Youre one of the lucky ones :lol: nex 4 is sold out and nobody has any idea when supplies will become available again......a goog disaster of massive proportions

clive

p.s. uber jealous
de gustibus non est disputandum
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joe mcclaine
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Post by joe mcclaine »

rustyblade wrote:Let's just get one thing clear: The fact a smartphone is a "phone" is somewhere down the list, in fact making calls has become so secondary that cell providers are giving minutes away and charging mostly for data. What it is foremost for me: Mobile internet platform, mobile computing platform, text/photo/video messenger. GPS/Maps. Decent camera always in my pocket. Games, movies, music. Apple TV remote. Online banking. Check the weather. Reminders, Calendar. Ordering pizza. Finding restaurants/anything while out and about. Time waster while waiting for doctor/dentist/government offices etc. e-reader (in a pinch when I don't want to bring my Kindle). Entertainment for the kids. Using Find my Friends the phone tells me when my wife leaves work so I can have dinner ready at just the right time. When my wife works late she can say good night to the little ones using FaceTime (video chat). Apps for stores that remind you when anything on your list goes on sale (great for tools that you want but can wait --I'm looking at you Canadian Tire) Just amazing. The list goes on and on.
I suppose I'm the polar opposite.

My monchrome Nokia 1200 is for making and receiving calls and sending and receiving texts - costs me about £5 a month.

I seem to be able to survive without the other essentials.

My kids, my wife, my brothers and sisters and even my parents LOVE their iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids ... they must do, they're never off the bloody things.
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Kyle76
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Post by Kyle76 »

joe mcclaine wrote:
I seem to be able to survive without the other essentials.

My kids, my wife, my brothers and sisters and even my parents LOVE their iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids ... they must do, they're never off the bloody things.
Vinny, I enjoy technology as much as anyone, but it's disturbing to walk into a restaurant and see everyone ignoring each other because they're all busy on their separate devices. To me, it's totally rude to ignore the people you are with because you're texting or emailing someone else, yet it's become perfectly acceptable. You can have lunch with someone and never exchange a word. Selfish and rude.
Jim
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celar36
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Post by celar36 »

Kyle76 wrote:
joe mcclaine wrote:
I seem to be able to survive without the other essentials.

My kids, my wife, my brothers and sisters and even my parents LOVE their iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids ... they must do, they're never off the bloody things.
Vinny, I enjoy technology as much as anyone, but it's disturbing to walk into a restaurant and see everyone ignoring each other because they're all busy on their separate devices. To me, it's totally rude to ignore the people you are with because you're texting or emailing someone else, yet it's become perfectly acceptable. You can have lunch with someone and never exchange a word. Selfish and rude.
I strongly agree with you. My wife is Chinese and I'm European. For her playing her iPhone while we eat was perfectly normal because thats how they spend time in China. Thou after while she notices how badly she annoys me. I kept saying I am eating dinner with her not her stupid phone... she stopped :)

Pardon me slight off topic :)
Jack
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Post by jww »

rustyblade wrote:
jww wrote:Richard, you forgot to add to your list Stickman Golf --- love that game!
I'm hooked on Carcassone right now. What a beautiful game.
+1 -- I have only played the board game, but really enjoy it a lot.

Now -- back to phones -- I appreciate all the comments on phone etiquette. Funny how it used to be considered rude to take a call on a mobile while you were in a meeting, at dinner, etc. Now, people walk into each other without as much as an apology because their heads are buried in the device in their palms.

I think I have pretty much counted out the iPhone 5 now due to price -- I simply don't want to spend that much money when I know I'll replace it in a year. The Note II and SIII are neck and neck ..... but I admit to being leaning ever so slightly to the SIII because of size --- and then I think of Jelly Bean on the Note II and I start to lean that way again. :wink:
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

fallingwickets wrote:
Two weeks I bought the Nexus 4
Youre one of the lucky ones :lol: nex 4 is sold out and nobody has any idea when supplies will become available again......a goog disaster of massive proportions

clive

p.s. uber jealous
No LTE though.
Richard
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Post by rustyblade »

RazoRock wrote: I can't stand that Samsung takes so long to update the Android OS, that really bugs me.
This is a huge issue with Android. Manufacturers and Carriers all want to put their dirty fingers into Android, software skins, bloatware/crapware, you name it, so updates don't get rolled out at the same time (if at all). Steve Jobs managed to get the carriers to keep their grubby hands off iOS/iPhone and stop them from putting their awful logos on the hardware. When Apple update, the updates are available instantly and support hardware going back three years. When Google does an Android update you either wait and grow old, or wait upgrade your phone in 6-12 months. Or mess about with custom ROMs.
Richard
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Kyle76
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Post by Kyle76 »

IMO, Jobs got it right. Control the user experience from start to finish. Many disagree, but for my purposes, the Apple ecosystem is preferable to open architecture.
Jim
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Seamaster
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Post by Seamaster »

It doesn't matter how you cut it, there's iPhone and there's the rest.
RazoRock
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Post by RazoRock »

rustyblade wrote:
fallingwickets wrote:
Two weeks I bought the Nexus 4
Youre one of the lucky ones :lol: nex 4 is sold out and nobody has any idea when supplies will become available again......a goog disaster of massive proportions

clive

p.s. uber jealous
No LTE though.
au contraire...

http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/11/23/nexus ... ork-video/

all my buddies have the LTE enabled on their Nexus 4s... some are getting 70MB download and 25 up.
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