[blm]

Well I went to my provider the other day to check out some new phones. The one I am using now is a flip phone aprox 5-6 years old. I text only occasionaly and it is kinda manual on the flip phone. But I realize smart phone has so many features that my current phone does not have.
Kinda on the fence about even upgrading to the smart phone. Do you use all those features? What is the best feature? Do you wonder how you got by without a smart phone before? I actually don't even talk onn my current phone that much but it is a necessity. At present I only have to charge my phone about every 5 days. I understand the smart phones require quite frequent charging. What are the pros and cons of using a smart phone. One I can think of off the top of my head is their physical size. How do you carry it around with you? My current phone fits in my pocket and I hardly even know its there. By the way the phone I am considering is the LG Viper.

 

[larrygk]

Brad- Like any other piece of technology it's all about the applications that the user really needs. Otherwise its' just another device. The explosion of smart phones really came from (at least) 2 areas: apps, and the convenience of being able to do web browsing and email (although non-smart phones can do the email portion OK). So you gotta decide what apps you "need", and how valuable the convenience is for you. Voice minutes have dropped for most given the fact you can text and do some of these other functions without actually talking. But remember now you have to subscribe to a data package which is at least $30/mth. And yes the beauty of those big screens and computing power requires frequent charging...no free lunch.
Then you get into the Android vs. iPhone choice, both of which are great and have thousands of apps. I prefer Android based but that doesn't mean anything necessarily. Either are good. I have always liked LG built products on non smartphones through the years...they have lasted. Just my experience. And in general I always know when a person is talking to me on a smartphone. For some reason the audio is "tinny" sounding and more shrill than a non smartphone. Could just be my experience.
As a smartphone user do I use my laptop a little less? Yeah a bit less but when I have the real work to do (Microsoft office apps) or long emails to write, I go to my laptop still.

 

[blm]

Well I already have a data package for my phone even though I don't have a smart phone. Reason being, my kids have smart phones so when they got their phones we elected to get the data package for all our phones as all are on the same plan. Now however the provider has smartened up and if you upgrade to a smart phone they charge you an additional $10.00 per month for that particular phone. If I did get the smart phone I would attempt to fight the ten dollar charge as I already have a data package. But that may be a losing battle.

 

[cheveslakr]

I climbed on board a year ago and am mostly satisfied. I find new apps all the time which are nice and convenient yet I got along fine without them. I use the gps, day planner and of course keep track of ebay. Kinda staggering seeing the amount of data min. on the bill.

 

[Tegguy]

I don't know who your current carrier is but Verizon is releasing a new plan structure the end of this month. Basically it's the family shares everything on a family plan. So instead of paying 30 dollars per line it's all lumped into one some of data and is shared across everyone. I will probably be switching because it will save money over the current plan I have (3 smart phones).

As for the phone itself it depends on what you use. I'm young (26) and so I like to be connected and also I depends on my phone for e-mail and texts regarding work information. I also love the GPS and nav functions in it. I don't use a whole lot of apps mostly just e-mail, forum, nav, maps, and text but I wouldn't go without a smart phone again. I love being able to pull it out and google search something really quick or scan a bar code and find out prices online for something.

 

[Daren71]

I've got a Blackberry, it's my second one. I like them for the BBM, email, and texting. I don't surf too much. It's slow, and the screen is tiny. They can be very useful for lots of things, they are becoming almost a pocket computer.

Apps are just about unlimited. If you think you might need an application for something, chances are its out there. Games, unlimited for sure. If you need to be in touch with Facebook or twitter, it's available. It's also very easy to blow over your data plan, just have to be aware, everything uses data to some degree or another.

Batteries are getting better, but again, if you are using the phone constantly, battery life will shorten. At home, if I have half a battery left, it can go 2 days, at work, it will probably shut down on my way home. Supposedly, because there aren't as many cell towers at the airport. I'm not using the phone more, it's just looking for the best signal. I do have a DC charger nearby at work.

Good luck, Daren.

 

[dreis454]

Among other things I use my phone(Android) for browsing (like now) as well as the calendar function to manage my many Dr. appts & keeping track of my blood sugar #s,weight & blood pressure all of which get emailed to my Doctors before appts.

 

[SS Shaun]

i had a blackberry for about 4 years and finally time for upgrade i went to a droid bionic and let me tell you a WORLD of a difference! makes my black berry look like a giant stone! i cant express it enough if you get a smart phone the droid is the way to go no matter what phone you get make sure it had the Droid OS on it!

 

[wiredawg]

Been using various smartphones for many years. Should mention I work for one of the big providers and test most of the phones before they go to market. Droid and iPhones are both excellent phones but you'll usually pay slightly more for the data package for the iPhone. If you're already paying for the data go get a smartphone, I think you'll be happy you did. There are apps for everything now. I mainly use the standard stuff like texting, email, facebook, GPS, and weather (handy when out at a car show or cruise night and want to glance at the local radar) . I also have a Fantasy football app and a few small games. Good luck.

Pat

 

[Sid Coleman]

It's an expensive toy. Do you need one? No. But, it's nice to have immediate internet access, GPS mapping & directions, voice to text capabilities, live photo & video uploading, streaming live radio-the apps are endless. It's all a 'what's it worth to you' kinda question.

I've got the Droid Rezound. Love the phone. Pissed that Verizion won't release the software upgrade (coming soon-again!) that they promised 1st quarter. IF you go droid (my pref-more apps) I'd recommend the latest & greatest running the 'ice cream sandwich' operating system. I think the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is one of the top dogs, but there are others just coming out that are awesome as well. Good luck!

 

[Beaux]

If you are a geek and into all the fluffy apps, social networking, texting and such then they are a gold mine.

If you are like me and not into all the fluffy social networking, tweeting, facebooking and other waste your time / drain your mind stuff then its a waste of money. There are some useful apps but then you can do like me and just have your wife or kid run it for you. I find uses for these phones very few and far between. But I am pretty anti social in the real world and really dont have a serious jonesin for playing "angry birds" while I am waiting in line at the store.

I have a blackberry but its all business and no fluff, disabled the fluff by policy updates and service books across the business I support. Just email, phone, calendar, contacts and thats it.

Really depends on what you do, what you like, etc. Maybe borrow the kids phone for a day / couple hours and see how much of it you would really use? Sit down and go through it with them, see if it has - REALLY has - stuff that you would either need or if you want the constant access to stuff that would entertain you while you walk down the street, ride the bus / train / plane and such.

There is some neat stuff. But per my findings in use and watching these smart phone addicts there is rarely stuff that is TRULY useful. It appears (to me, just my opinion) that its mostly just a time killer and I have a personal theory that smart phones eventually lower a persons IQ. Not trying to talk trash to you die hard users but I have yet to meet anyone that impresses the hell out of me with their analytical, critical thinking and communication skills that also was a smart phone addict....and I think there are more smart phone addicts than there are crack addicts.

I digress.

My vote is take one of the families phone for a serious test run to really guage if its worth it and would be for you.

 

[Sid Coleman]

LOL @ Beaux! Yeah, but there is 1! very good smartphone app! Instead of paying $69 for an OBD2 reader, I picked up a bluetooth connector for $18 and downloaded an app called "Torque" for $4.99. Works wonders when working on modern cars.

 

[Brian_d]

I have a droid incredible that Ive used for the last 2 1/2 years. Yes - once you have a smartphone, you will never go back. Yes - they can burn through a battery Damn quick. These things are like our muscle cars - don't pass a chance to get more "fuel"! Plan on having multiple chargers for wherever you are. As far as carrying it around - I keep mine in my pocket with no problems. It's probably wider & taller than a flip phone, but it's not as thick so it slips right in my pocket. Once you get a smartphone, download an app called "Dino dino". It uses the phone's G sensor to tell you how fast your car is.

 

[Philip]

I resisted but finally gave in a year ago. At first it really seemed like a waste but after learning how to use it it has become a great tool. I am 63, but still get a lot of texts. Love the navigation and ability to have the web everywhere. The new app I use is Pandora Music.
We have 5 phones on the account with Verizon, 3 smart phones, but will upgrade to 4 when we switch to the new share everything plan next month. The 5th phone may just be dropped, my 94 year old dad has it, used 5 minutes in the last 4 months. With the new plan it goes from $10 to $30 per month.

 

[658Chevy]

Just don't become one of those shuffling, hunchback zombies that walk straight into me on the street -- I stopped getting out of the way of those idiots a long time ago. It's amazing how they will walk directly into you, and then express contempt and disbelief that you didn't jump out of their way.

 

[73guna]

Sorry, Im not a smart phone user but I was in your situation a while back and your usage sounds about like me, here is what I did about 6 months ago.
I was actually set on getting a smart phone.
I had a plan in mind of what I wanted and went to the Sprint store all geared up and excited that I could finally be one of them smart phone people.
I walked in the store and saw about 50 people waiting for help and about a 100 different styles of phones scattered through out the store.
I turned around, walked back to my truck, went to Best Buy and bought a cheap track phone or net 10, whatever they are called.
They cancelled my Sprint contract for me too.
No more surprises on my bills, no more outrageous cell phone bills.
And not to mention the money saved, oh what a relief
Id save your money.

 

[ScottC]

They are so much better at some of the more basic things like voicemail. It's nice to have a graphical interface there and be able to go forward and backward and pick which message you want to hear.

As for apps, there are a million and most of them are worthless, but I really like Shazam - it's the one that listens to a song and identifies it. It's magic.

I do agree that they dumb people down, though. We're going to get a point where a satellite goes down and idiots won't be able to drive to work without their turn by turn navigation.

 

[ScottC]

Just don't become one of those shuffling, hunchback zombies that walk straight into me on the street -- I stopped getting out of the way of those idiots a long time ago. It's amazing how they will walk directly into you, and then express contempt and disbelief that you didn't jump out of their way.

Also, if you get an iPhone, don't become one of those geeks who thinks it's funny to ask all kinds of stupid crap to Siri. Having a conversation with the phone itself is weird. I can't stand those John Malkovich commercials.

 

[Bow_Tied]

I have a lot of the same reasons as Justin but I have 15 years on him.

I have an iPhone. I almost didn't get it as I have not been impressed by apple. But using a friends phone changed my mind.

Smartphones in general have fantastic user interfaces compared to phones of just 5 years ago. Graphical and intuitive and linked. By linked I mean there is interaction built in. Google a restaurant and the phone number and it calls. Scan certain things and you will be prompted for other actions. The cameras are good and getting better. What sold me was google anywhere. Shopping for a used truck I found i could scan for check engine codes and then check to see what they were. Instant info for bargaining.

Initially I wanted an android. Talked with enough people who had to reset their phone or even removed the battery to deal with crashes. iPhone's aren't perfect but 99.9% of the time they work. They just work. I have enough reliability issues with windows on my laptop I wanted a phone that above all didn't piss me off. Haven't powered my phone down in months iPhone, one year now, never disappointed. It also fit my hand comfort wise better than the larger android phones.

As to battery life just get a spare USB cord from the dollar store to charge from you laptop and get a 12v charger and yet good.
HTH

I recommend an Otterbox Defender case if you don't mind the added bulk.

 

[berner]

I got an iPhone a year ago. I didn't use the web browsing until I went camping a couple months later. Now I use it all the time. I even view this forum on my phone with the Autoguide app. The radio apps like TuneIn are pretty neat, music from all over the world. They're a data hog though so you need a wifi connection or an unlimited data plan. I use the banking app, kijiji and play scrabble with friends and relatives from all over.

The camera on the new iPhone 4S is an 8 mexapixel. The wife has one, takes pretty good pictures/videos.

I know people with iPhones, Blackberries and Androids. Everybody seems satisfied with them all. The people with both prefer Blackberries over iPhones for business use and iphones over BB's for personal stuff.

I bought a Lifeproof case for my iPhone. It's waterproof to about 6'. I've dropped it on the garage floor a few times with no damage. Expensive case but worth it to me.