No smartphone, no problem ?!

[mrstrong]

Whilst reading this thread

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-chat/215630-paper-maps.html

 

was surprised that some edugeekers don't have a smartphone.

 

So my question is why and how do you manage without one ?

[Steve21]

After reading that thread I wouldn't say people (or at least many, I think unix mentioned no phone) don't have smartphones, but that when they don't have signal/battery etc you need something to rely on?

 

Unless I've missed some posts in my reading!?

 

But in terms of actual day to day use, most things you use a smartphone on could be done on an alternative device or once home etc. It's just down to whether you're happy carrying things about (Take proper DSLR etc), or don't feel the need to have things like music/social media with you all day

 

Steve

[StevieM]

As far as I can see, there's only two of us (on that thread at least) who don't have smartphones. I have a basic mobile, but @unixman_again doesn't have one at all.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'manage without one'. Manage to do what?

[dhicks]

So my question is why and how do you manage without one ?

 

I have a non-smart phone I bought maybe 15 years ago, I just haven't got around to upgrading it. I do have a smartphone, but I bought that to test VR applications on. I finally got around to adding a SIM to it when I visited Los Angeles last year - it turns out that there you pretty much can't eat or catch a taxi without a smartphone. I live and work in London, where I'm either at home (with assorted computers around), at school (with assorted computers around) on the tube (where there's no signal) or walking somewhere in between (and I generally know where I am).

[titch]

I've been wanting to ditch my smartphone due to annoying myself that I check it too much. I have access to a computer most of the day so really only want it to call/message.

 

I always feel so guilty when toddler daughter tells me to put my phone away becuase shes trying to tell me something!

 

I'd ideally like a feature phone that I could use WhatsApp with and has a OK camera. That would suit me down to the ground!

 

Any examples of such a phone would be greatly appreciated!

[mikes]

I do have an android smartphone but it is ancient, I use it mostly for whatsapp with my friends, plus the occasional app that needs testing - but it's too old for a lot of modern apps.

I use a computer at work and spend time on my computer at home too, so I never really sit and fiddle with a phone. Why would I want to mess with a tiny little device when I have a core i7 with a 48.5" LCD panel I can use?

 

Also being an IT tech in a school my salary Sucks, I'm poor so didn't want to spend a lot of money monthly to pay for one I'll barely use. I am on PAYG at the moment but I basically barely ever top it up as I use wi-fi. Problem is if I am stuck in traffic my data costs a fortune, so I am tempted to switch to a Data Only PAYG if one exists. I'd like it mostly for the Google Maps Live Traffic data, plus also whatsapp on the move.

Oh I use mine as an alarm clock too which is useful.

My dad is upgrading his phone soon so I might get a nice new smartphone with the rounded edges unless he decides to sell it off...

[Davit2005]

I got my first in 1992 in my early twenties, I think, it was a NEC P4. I even managed to get hold of a proper car kit for it off an old manager who was getting rid of his current car so was real flash. I still have photos of the thing mounted to the centre console of the Range Rover I had around that time.

 

I can get on without one but it has been handy in a number of occasions specially when hiking with a group of young teens across moors and mountains as I did back then :-), there were only a few of us that had them.

 

I could probably go without one most of the time these days but having been stranded in the middle of nowhere in my late teens on a Sunday night without one I won't go too far without it.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Davit2005

[mrstrong]

That paper maps thread just made me wonder how many edugeekers don't have a smartphone.

 

I got one very late in the day as didn't see why I would need one but am now a convert !

 

I think I would really miss it now. Got used to using it for so many things in addition to calls/texts e.g.

reading the news, listening to radio/music, taking photos, recording audio, checking weather, emails,

maps/navigation.

 

I do have a slight niggle at the back of my mind e.g. I managed for so long without

one quite happily but have now come to rely on it, maybe a bit too much. Not sure

if that is a good thing ?!

[StevieM]

I've realised I didn't answer the 'why' part of your question.

 

They just annoy me! Seeing people constantly staring at their phones instead of looking where they are going/concentrating on the road/talking (and listening) to people/noticing the world around them/etc./ad infinitum... really winds me up. I mean, what is SO important on a phone that needs instant and constant attention?

 

I've had a couple of Windows phones in the past and, yes, I did find the satnav helpful, from time to time, and I could take reasonable photos and videos. I could browse the Internet and know if anyone had sent me an email, but I began to find it all rather unnecessary. When my last phone stopped charging properly, I decided that I would go back to basics. 19 months on, I still don't want another smartphone. I don't need (nor want) emails popping up on my phone; they'll still be there when I decide to login and check. As for WhatsApp (which I never used), the constant pinging of group messages that neither concern nor interest me would drive me crazy!

 

I wouldn't bother with a mobile at all, apart from the fact that it is much cheaper than using a landline (£5 a month for unlimited calls and texts) and also in case of emergency.

[mrstrong]

Also I think there is some debate/concern esp. for youngsters who've grown up with mobile phones

that it may be "rewiring their brains". To be fair though mine could do with a good rewire!

[paulkerton]

I've had a couple of Windows phones in the past

Well, there's your problem right there!

[StevieM]

Well, there's your problem right there!

 

Joking aside, you're possibly right - but not in the way that you mean. If Windows Phone hadn't been pulled, I would have been more likely to get another one (although still probably not). What I wasn't going to do was commit myself to Apple's enclosed eco-system, or allow Google to sprunj even more of my information by getting an Android.

[witch]

I do have a smartphone but I have my mobile data switched off (I don't have much) unless I am on holiday or need it for maps when out walking the dog.

At home I use it for WhatsApp and other messaging platforms. I rarely use it for anything else, as I am either at home or work using wifi

It costs me £15 a month and that's fine

[StevieM]

I do have a smartphone but I have my mobile data switched off (I don't have much) unless I am on holiday or need it for maps when out walking the dog.

At home I use it for WhatsApp and other messaging platforms. I rarely use it for anything else, as I am either at home or work using wifi

It costs me £15 a month and that's fine

 

Now that I could possibly live with, but I'd want the maps available offline (like Windows Phone used to) and no WhatsApp. I'd also stick with my current tariff and pay £5 per month, plus any data at £1 per GB, charged by the MB - so still a fiver a month.

[witch]

Now that I could possibly live with, but I'd want the maps available offline (like Windows Phone used to) and no WhatsApp. I'd also stick with my current tariff and pay £5 per month, plus any data at £1 per GB, charged by the MB - so still a fiver a month.

 

You can download the maps so that they are available offline. As for WhatsApp - it is the best thing ever for me - we have a family group and I have a friends group and it is lovely to be able to see what my children are up to, and watch them interacting and joking with each other, as well as posting pics of flowers etc for my friends.

[blueday]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7, but because it's now a few years old, I've paid off the handset, so it costs only £7/month. When I was driving into work I'd plug it into my car system and listed to music or podcasts. Now I'm home working, I go for an hour's walk every lunchtime and use it to listen to podcasts. At night, I play a Sleep Sounds app (the Ocean) and that helps me sleep. Plus WhatsApp, and the ability to use Google maps on holiday to work out where to go. I even make voice calls occasionally! So I definitely wouldn't be without it.

[E_G_R2]

Like witch I have a smart phone but don't have the data on unless i want it and also keep it in battery saving mode so that im not always worrying about charging it. My LM laughs at me when i say my battery can last all week

[elsiegee40]

I do have a smartphone but I have my mobile data switched off (I don't have much) unless I am on holiday or need it for maps when out walking the dog.

At home I use it for WhatsApp and other messaging platforms. I rarely use it for anything else, as I am either at home or work using wifi

It costs me £15 a month and that's fine

 

You need a new contract! £15 a month will buy you a lot of data!

 

I am paying £9 a month for 8Gb of data on a 24 month SIM only deal.

 

Or pay less and get the data you have now..

[witch]

That includes the phone though

[elsiegee40]

That includes the phone though

 

Should go down when you have paid for the phone then

[jthompson]

I rarely look at my phone (Android) whilst walking around, eating lunch with my wife, etc. but I use it a lot at work for referring to email, calendars, tasks, docs, etc. when away from my desk. I also use it to control the Chromecast most evenings when in front of the telly. I'd say about 98% of our TV watching is from iPlayer, Netflix and Plex via Chromecast, so smartphones are our remote controls.

 

I consider the social media industry to be the new tobacco industry, so I've made a concerted effort to scrub those out of my life. I suspect they account for the lion's share of most people's smartphone usage.

[elsiegee40]

While I now have 8Gb of data on my phone, I rarely use as much as 2Gb.

 

The apps I do use when I am out aren’t heavy users of data or don’t use it all.

 

The data allowance is less important than what I use on the phone.. and that requires a smart phone.

 

Having bought the Collins Bird Guide app, I wouldn’t be without it on my phone. It uses no data and is a darn sight more convenient to carry than the paper version which is heavy and doesn’t fit in a pocket!

 

Since lockdown, I have paid for everything except pay at pump petrol and a transaction at the Garden Centre with Apple Pay. There is no contact required and no limit on how much you can pay with Apple Pay (except at the garden centre [emoji849])

 

All my loyalty cards are in the Stocard app, so I can just bring up the bar code and scan that. I don’t need my purse at all.

 

Our local supermarkets, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, both have apps for self scanning your shopping, so I use those and don’t handle the shop scanners. (I avoid using a trolley if I can as well and scan straight into bags that I have brought with me.

 

My smartphone has been one of my most useful lockdown tools.

 

EDIT

My phone is also my camera!

Edited June 11, 2020 by elsiegee40

[FishCustard]

Should go down when you have paid for the phone then

@witch it should go down, but often mobile providers won't reduce it automatically, you'll have to call up and ask.

 

Good thing is this is the perfect time to negotiate. Say "well, my contract is up, I'm thinking of moving to $otherCompany because they have cheap deals".

 

They should offer you something halfway decent. Then you can keep pushing if you want, if they just say "okay, fine, I'll cancel", you can say you need to discuss it with your other half/your cat/whatever and will call back.

 

I got a serious discount out of EE by doing this.

[witch]

Yes, I did that last time. Actually it is 13 quid a month

Nowhere near the end of contract now though. I dont really want to go SIM only as I love a new phone!

 

I could have got a cheaper deal but not with a halfway decent phone - not a top of the range or anything, just an Honor

[FishCustard]

It's often cheaper to just buy a phone SIM-free (especially second hand) and then get a SIM-only contract. That way you can upgrade whenever you like.