And people even watch TV shows via their phones. I guess if you really, really must watch your favourite show, but then why are you out of the house? haha.
I hate modern cell phones!
- Thread starter Jayson1
- Start date
I love my smart phone. It's a wonderful palm-top computer. I wouldn't be happy with a dumb flip-phone.
However, you know what I hate? The trend towards non-user serviceable batteries. Yes, that's right. You used to be able to easily replace the battery yourself. If you're a consummate traveler, you could charge up an extra cell battery or two and swap in place whenever you needed to. But now? Now... they're taking that away. Apple lead the charge with the iPhone. I would NOT buy an iPhone mainly for that reason, plus the predatory memory scam they peddle (same exact phone, but you pay a huge markup for higher memory--the b@stards). My last HTC phone had a user accessible battery, but my new one , the M One, is like an iPhone.
Anyway, that's my only real beef at this point.
I do have a dumb phone for a backup. It's an LG Lotus Elite. Mini QWERTY keyboard. Pretty damned cool phone, except for its lack of Internet support. I bought mine used in excellent shape for a mere $15 shipped! Phenomenal price for an easy backup phone. That way if my current one is lost/damaged, I can activate that other phone and not lose my ability to communicate.
However, you know what I hate? The trend towards non-user serviceable batteries. Yes, that's right. You used to be able to easily replace the battery yourself. If you're a consummate traveler, you could charge up an extra cell battery or two and swap in place whenever you needed to. But now? Now... they're taking that away. Apple lead the charge with the iPhone. I would NOT buy an iPhone mainly for that reason, plus the predatory memory scam they peddle (same exact phone, but you pay a huge markup for higher memory--the b@stards). My last HTC phone had a user accessible battery, but my new one , the M One, is like an iPhone.
Anyway, that's my only real beef at this point.
I do have a dumb phone for a backup. It's an LG Lotus Elite. Mini QWERTY keyboard. Pretty damned cool phone, except for its lack of Internet support. I bought mine used in excellent shape for a mere $15 shipped! Phenomenal price for an easy backup phone. That way if my current one is lost/damaged, I can activate that other phone and not lose my ability to communicate.
I keep a Bluetooth enabled speaker at my desk that I can use with my cellphone whenever I feel like it. I just enable Bluetooth on my phone, it finds the speaker (it remembers from last time), and it starts playing music wirelessly from my phone. It's really quite a feat, when you think about it. And it sounds really good, for the size! And yes, I'll look at the phone in all its splendor of saturated technology with the music going and marvel at it... recalling the venerable TOS moments when the landing party would be using their communicators and I marveled at them back then... to think now we've got tech that trounced even Star Trek The Next Generation PADDs.
The smart phone is so damned cool. Transport yourself back to the 70's/80's when you were a teen and think about what we had back then. Not even laptops! And now we've got these incredible devices. It's truly remarkable. We're living in our imagined future and then some. Well... save for the flying cars and world peace.
I have a USB charger that when it is fully charged and I use it to charge my phone, it holds two full charges. It beats the fafth of replacing batteries.
I just want a nice phone that can do 3g 4g and has a an actual keyboard. I'm getting older and the screen on my current phone is very hard to read.
On the battery thing I wish manufacturers would make or allow more replacements as far as batteries go. My current phone is a Lumia 640XL has a user replaceable battery but it's starting to not keep a charge for a reasonable amount of time. I can't find any genuine replacements, and the after market ones are shitty.
On the battery thing I wish manufacturers would make or allow more replacements as far as batteries go. My current phone is a Lumia 640XL has a user replaceable battery but it's starting to not keep a charge for a reasonable amount of time. I can't find any genuine replacements, and the after market ones are shitty.
Trouble is, you need to attach this charger and then wait for it to do its job. A pre-charged battery in your pocket is a 60 second swap-in. But of course, the USB charger is nice to have in an emergency... certainly beats the alternative.
I can't imagine surviving a day in the modern world without a smart phone. To me, it's not a phone, I use it for virtually everything, whether it is the virtual reality experience or scheduling my alarm, or having an in-person conversation in a language I don't know, as well as so many other countless functionalities.
I do agree that making phone calls is an afterthought. I have the Google Pixel phone and making actual phone calls is an ordeal compared to what I remember it was like in the old days (the era of actual cell phones 1997-2007) but still better than the rotary phones of my early childhood. And I do agree that people use them too much when in social situations, just staring and them and often playing games or browsing through instagrams. I get doing that when you're bored out of your mind sitting on your toilet, but why would you meet up with people and still prefer to play a crappy game on your device?
In conclusion, smart "phones" suck as phones, but they're not really phones and the world would be a much worse place without them.
I do agree that making phone calls is an afterthought. I have the Google Pixel phone and making actual phone calls is an ordeal compared to what I remember it was like in the old days (the era of actual cell phones 1997-2007) but still better than the rotary phones of my early childhood. And I do agree that people use them too much when in social situations, just staring and them and often playing games or browsing through instagrams. I get doing that when you're bored out of your mind sitting on your toilet, but why would you meet up with people and still prefer to play a crappy game on your device?
In conclusion, smart "phones" suck as phones, but they're not really phones and the world would be a much worse place without them.
I have a computer with internet at home, and I have a computer with internet at work. In between I do only travel for half an hour by tram. Nobody has yet been able to explain to me why I would need to check e-mails in that half hour. It certainly can wait.
I remember getting lots of long e-mails by friends some years ago, now there rarely are any. It's all only Facebook and Twitter, and mostly mindless conversations too. People post pictures, people click like, often not even a comment. No deep thoughts. I can easily browse through them in the evening. I don't need to see them just one minute after they were made.
People use their phone to look up the time. I have a wristwatch for that. People use it to make pictures. I have a photocamera for that. What else do people use it for?
People in our John Barrowman fangroup complain that he tweets when they are asleep at night, because of the time difference to America. Well, duh, how about switching off your phone at night then? I certainly would not want to be woken every time he tweets. He tweets a lot!
I admit a smartphone can be useful on travels, looking up stuff like the right way or opening times of museums. But if I know I am going on travel, I can easily look that up at home as well and come prepared.
So I really don't need it in my daily life and I won't pay an expensive monthly fee for something I already have.
PS: What about those people in the tram, that while I try to read the newspaper, have lenghty loud conversations on their phone so everyone can hear about their private troubles? Why can't THEY wait until they are home? What has become of us?
I remember getting lots of long e-mails by friends some years ago, now there rarely are any. It's all only Facebook and Twitter, and mostly mindless conversations too. People post pictures, people click like, often not even a comment. No deep thoughts. I can easily browse through them in the evening. I don't need to see them just one minute after they were made.
People use their phone to look up the time. I have a wristwatch for that. People use it to make pictures. I have a photocamera for that. What else do people use it for?
People in our John Barrowman fangroup complain that he tweets when they are asleep at night, because of the time difference to America. Well, duh, how about switching off your phone at night then? I certainly would not want to be woken every time he tweets. He tweets a lot!
I admit a smartphone can be useful on travels, looking up stuff like the right way or opening times of museums. But if I know I am going on travel, I can easily look that up at home as well and come prepared.
So I really don't need it in my daily life and I won't pay an expensive monthly fee for something I already have.
PS: What about those people in the tram, that while I try to read the newspaper, have lenghty loud conversations on their phone so everyone can hear about their private troubles? Why can't THEY wait until they are home? What has become of us?
This is really a silly argument for not liking smart phones.
"Damn, with a smart phone I get to carry two less things around! Next you'll be telling me I no longer have to carry my beeper, PDA, flashlight, credit card, or all these books I'm reading!"
Why use GPS enabled maps on your pocket size device when you can simply walk around with nice fold-out maps, just in case?
Why use alert apps that notify you of ongoing crime to avoid them when you can simply buy a police grade/frequency radios and just strap those to your belt?
Why use Yelp to find a restaurant/cafe with good reviews and food you can eat when being surprised by poor service and low quality food can be an exciting surprise?
Why use car sharing apps, such as car2go, or Uber/Lyft services, to get where you want to go when you can simply hitchhike?
Why use public transportation apps that track your required bus/train geolocation to time your arrival at the station when you can simply stand there for an indefinite amount of time?
Why use instantaneous text/voice translating apps to communicate with people that speak any number of languages that you don't know when you can simply know all the languages in the world?
Why use virtual reality headsets that integrate with your smartphone when you can simply use your imagination?
Why have access to all of human knowledge at your fingertips at all times...
Why use alert apps that notify you of ongoing crime to avoid them when you can simply buy a police grade/frequency radios and just strap those to your belt?
Why use Yelp to find a restaurant/cafe with good reviews and food you can eat when being surprised by poor service and low quality food can be an exciting surprise?
Why use car sharing apps, such as car2go, or Uber/Lyft services, to get where you want to go when you can simply hitchhike?
Why use public transportation apps that track your required bus/train geolocation to time your arrival at the station when you can simply stand there for an indefinite amount of time?
Why use instantaneous text/voice translating apps to communicate with people that speak any number of languages that you don't know when you can simply know all the languages in the world?
Why use virtual reality headsets that integrate with your smartphone when you can simply use your imagination?
Why have access to all of human knowledge at your fingertips at all times...
I did not say that I don't like them, just that I don't have any use for them in my daily life, and don't want to buy one that I only use like 2 weeks in a year. It's too expensive for that, especially with a monthly fee. Why should I pay for something I don't use?
I never carry around a flashlight, what would I need that for? I have one at home and have probably used it twice in the 17 years I live here. There are street lights wherever I go. I'm sorry, I don't even know what a PDA is, so I probably don't have it. I tried to google it but it has to do with giving birth and I don't think that's what you mean? Can you put your phone into a cash machine in London and draw cash with it? If so, good, but a credit card is really not that heavy that it would weigh me down.
And I don't find it very covenient to get down the backpack from my back, open the backpack, get out the phone, switch on the phone just to see what time it is when I can get to the same result by just raising my arm. There's a reason why pocket watches went out of style.
Also I would not want to read books on such a small screen where only one sentence at a time fits on. I'm a very quick reader and would be scrolling all the time. I would rather get an e-reader with a bigger screen for that.
Why not have a friend with you that can do this if really necessary?
But we did find the way to the hostel just fine with my printed out map. It was only down the street and around the corner. Even without the map, I had memorized it. I actually don't dare to fold out maps anymore in London as immediately a helpful passerby asks if I need any help. But then I have been there so often, I don't need them anymore.
That's what you have in New York? Seriously? When a mugging is going on, the police puts it straight into an app? I've never heard about that before. I also never felt unsafe when walking down the street. Even though there are muggings here as well, of course. But far less than my mother wants me to believe. She's reading the wrong newspapers.
When I'm out and about and get and hungry, I'm hungry and don't want to spend hours in trying to find the best restaurant which is at the other side of the city, so the one most closely enough will do just fine. One can see by the look of a restaurant if it is a nice one or not. Do we mayby forget common sense, by only relying on reviews by others?
I did read reviews beforehand about the hostel (after I already had booked it because of the recommendation of a friend, I admit that was a bit foolish) and it said that as a woman you cannot feel safe there, that there are men - not tourists but men that stay there all year long - groping you in the elevator. I was very anxious before going there. Nothing happened. Just because it happened once, years ago, does not mean that it still is happening all the time. Just because a restaurant got good reviews years ago, does not mean that it is still the same. The owner may have changed in the meantime. Also, vice versa.
And whichever information is out in the internet, it's there forever to stay and never gets revised. Not long ago looked up the opening times of the central city post office. Only when I arrived, it was long closed. How do they go and chase after these informations on several other pages? They don't. So how can you be sure which information is right and which is wrong?
And do we really need dating apps to tell us which person to love? Why not just ask her a question and talk to her the old fashioned way?
I don't drive myself. Uber is forbidden in Germany.
I agree that car sharing is a good thing. If I did drive, I probably would use this as opposite to owning a car that again stands around most time of the year and rarely gets used. I'm all for sharing stuff. Which probably makes me a communist...
Again, is that what you do in New York? I'm sorry, I've never been there, but in Vancouver, all they had at the bus station was a phone number. They seriously expect me to phone them to find out at which time the next bus is going? There are no timetables?
Here in Dresden we do have time tables at all stations, telling you all the times each weekday and Sunday and how often per hour the tram and bus is going and how long they take to reach a certain station and which numbers connect from there. And they arrive at the exact minute it is told. Well, sometimes they don't, but that is not the point. You can also look these informations up in the internet. Plus there are electronic signs at the stations telling you in how many minutes the next one will arrive, and whether there is a delay or a detour. You can get the same thing on your phone yes, but the info is still out there for everyone to see. So also the 70 year old woman can see it. Does nobody ever think of the elderly people?
They even put up those electronical signs in restaurants, so you know you have time for a last beer before the last bus is going. And like the London tube map, there are also maps with all the tram and bus lines in different colors. I did miss that very much in Vancouver too. Reading a map (which we also had brought printed from home as none were provided at the stations) where the bus numbers were only written on the street but you did not know where they came from and where they were going was much harder. Suddenly a number would disappear, that's when you had to figure out around which corner it went.
And then there is the question whether an European phone would even work in America? Probably not.
I only travel to the UK and I speak English rather well I hope. And if you mean at home then I am afraid I am of the conservative opinion that someone who chooses to live in a country also should learn the language of that country. That's not asked too much?
Why not look at the real world and its amazing wonders? Why getting run over by a tram because you were so busy looking at your phone and having your earphones in that you did not hear it approaching?
But I do have access? I'm not technophobic. I do love my internet, otherwise I would not be here. I have access 23 hours a day via the internet. Minus the half hour each day that I travel to and from work. In which I read the newspaper, therefore also get knowledge. So far no stranger has yet started an argument with me that only could be resolved by looking it up immediately right there and then in the tram.
You're doing it wrong.
lmao
I completely understand that you can get around without the use of a mobile device, you're describing life in 2005, I was already an adult back then and I remember printing out maps and walking into restaurants based on the research I did at home or by just looking at it. However, having a smart phone is a huge improvement over that.
Not having a smart phone in 2017 and sticking to 2005 technology reminds me of how the Amish community (German-Americans living in Pennsylvania) has chosen 1845 technology as ideal and don't use anything that was invented beyond that year.
There are different apps that report crime, but yes there's one that shows you when a crime has been reported and what the status is. You can set alerts so that you walk around it or just want to be aware of what's happening in your neighborhood or a neighborhood you're going to for whatever reason.
This is actually one of the most frequent uses of smart phones and you need to know what to look for. If we're talking about Yelp or any number of similar apps, you can see pictures, menus, prices, number of reviews, date when the review was written, what the place looks like outside, inside. I cannot overstate how useful this is. It also works for any number of businesses. But you need to know how to use it, obviously don't rely on one review left there 5 years ago. Sometimes you want something specific, for a specific amount of money, a specific cuisine, with a specific ambiance, maybe you want to sit outside or inside, prefer loud music or quiet music, like to be around young people or old people. All this research takes one minute and saves you nerves, money, time... I can't believe not everyone takes advantage of this.
They don't tell you who to love, instead they connect people. Met my girlfriend on Tindr a year ago, we would've never ran into each other without it. I remember dating before smart phones; going to bars, meeting people through mutual friends - what a waste of time that was.
Actually car2go and DriveNow are very popular in Germany. I have the apps on my phone, so whether I'm in NYC, or Montreal, or Munich - one click and I have access to a car that's also paid through by my phone. I don't understand why everyone doesn't do this, it's literally removing the need for a personal car in 90% of cases.
There are time tables but public transportation is often unreliable and is late by a random amount of minutes. Also, do you carry around these timetables with you at all times? Or have them memorized? For instance, I'm sitting in a cafe and I can check on my phone that a bus is going to be arriving in 4 minutes. If I didn't, I have had to go to the bus station, check the time table, hope that the bus is going to be on time, leave and then come back to it. These are little things that make your life easier and most importantly save you time.
Yes, it would. You just need to either temporarily upgrade your plan to international or just have an international plan, which is what I do. I was in Germany last month and just kept on using my phone as I did in the states.
I mostly meant for traveling purposes, but the world is becoming increasingly globalized, everyone runs into foreign people or you're just in a foreign country and want to translate a poster. There's a "google translate" app with which you simply aim it at any text and it visually translates it instantaneously into any other language.
I travel a few times a year to look at the real world and walk around, I don't see why having a little bit of fun with virtual reality means not looking at the real world? Also, no one uses VR headsets outside, you can't see anything when you're wearing one.
Technology is enriching our experiences, not limiting them. Soon we'll have augmented reality headsets that will supply you digitally with information on your real world experiences. For instance, you'll look at a building and it will tell you when it was built (if that's the layer you'll select) or hundreds of other applications.
It seems like you're really limiting yourself by not embracing it. I remember having these conversations around 10 years ago, but it's really curious that some people still haven't embraced smart phones (they're not really phones though) in our times.
Not having a smart phone in 2017 and sticking to 2005 technology reminds me of how the Amish community (German-Americans living in Pennsylvania) has chosen 1845 technology as ideal and don't use anything that was invented beyond that year.
There are different apps that report crime, but yes there's one that shows you when a crime has been reported and what the status is. You can set alerts so that you walk around it or just want to be aware of what's happening in your neighborhood or a neighborhood you're going to for whatever reason.
This is actually one of the most frequent uses of smart phones and you need to know what to look for. If we're talking about Yelp or any number of similar apps, you can see pictures, menus, prices, number of reviews, date when the review was written, what the place looks like outside, inside. I cannot overstate how useful this is. It also works for any number of businesses. But you need to know how to use it, obviously don't rely on one review left there 5 years ago. Sometimes you want something specific, for a specific amount of money, a specific cuisine, with a specific ambiance, maybe you want to sit outside or inside, prefer loud music or quiet music, like to be around young people or old people. All this research takes one minute and saves you nerves, money, time... I can't believe not everyone takes advantage of this.
They don't tell you who to love, instead they connect people. Met my girlfriend on Tindr a year ago, we would've never ran into each other without it. I remember dating before smart phones; going to bars, meeting people through mutual friends - what a waste of time that was.
Actually car2go and DriveNow are very popular in Germany. I have the apps on my phone, so whether I'm in NYC, or Montreal, or Munich - one click and I have access to a car that's also paid through by my phone. I don't understand why everyone doesn't do this, it's literally removing the need for a personal car in 90% of cases.
There are time tables but public transportation is often unreliable and is late by a random amount of minutes. Also, do you carry around these timetables with you at all times? Or have them memorized? For instance, I'm sitting in a cafe and I can check on my phone that a bus is going to be arriving in 4 minutes. If I didn't, I have had to go to the bus station, check the time table, hope that the bus is going to be on time, leave and then come back to it. These are little things that make your life easier and most importantly save you time.
Yes, it would. You just need to either temporarily upgrade your plan to international or just have an international plan, which is what I do. I was in Germany last month and just kept on using my phone as I did in the states.
I mostly meant for traveling purposes, but the world is becoming increasingly globalized, everyone runs into foreign people or you're just in a foreign country and want to translate a poster. There's a "google translate" app with which you simply aim it at any text and it visually translates it instantaneously into any other language.
I travel a few times a year to look at the real world and walk around, I don't see why having a little bit of fun with virtual reality means not looking at the real world? Also, no one uses VR headsets outside, you can't see anything when you're wearing one.
Technology is enriching our experiences, not limiting them. Soon we'll have augmented reality headsets that will supply you digitally with information on your real world experiences. For instance, you'll look at a building and it will tell you when it was built (if that's the layer you'll select) or hundreds of other applications.
It seems like you're really limiting yourself by not embracing it. I remember having these conversations around 10 years ago, but it's really curious that some people still haven't embraced smart phones (they're not really phones though) in our times.
Resistance is futile, eh?
Well, I can confirm some of the older phones do work both in Europe and the US. I have an old pay as you go SLVR "dumb" phone that worked fine in both places back in the day.
I do have a smart phone now (and if I'm visiting somewhere for the first time, the translate function is a "nice to have", at least until I pick up enough of the language) but besides that, it's pretty much just a phone for me with very occasional use for internet. Still wear a watch too.
Certainly is, especially considering that the functionalities associated with smart phones today, are going to be fully integrated into our brains tomorrow.
I think I'll skip that.
Assuming it would be allowed.
Assuming it would be allowed.
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