Fighting obsolescence..... - do you REALLY use a smart phone, and if so, how?
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So, I'm talking to a friend who needs to give me some source code... he doesn't want to email it, so I tell him to burn it to a CD. He gives me the :wtf: look, and asks if I have a USB drive. First I laugh, then I start to whimper. I realize I am stuck in a time warp - pre USB drive era. Now, I have 4 of them in my pack, it's not that I don't use them, it's just that I scared myself thinking 10 years ago. So..., I get CP's newsletter and see all of the flashy announcement of the Android app contest. Hmmm, sounds cool. I go out to Dell's site to look at their new Streak. Mind you, I am NOT a smart phone lover. In fact, unless it's a customer, I really don't like cellphones. But perhaps a smart phone would be useful, etc. :omg: $549 for a 5" display and the privilege of a long term contract? I'm guessing the other Android phones are priced accordingly, and I know about the iPhone. Seriously - do any of you techies actually USE your smart phone for something useful? Hell, I remember when the next big data driver for the wireless companies was video. So every phone now has a camera. The magazines I read indicate that laptops are sooo old school, and that the growth area is all in mobile apps on these little machines. So, I'm looking for some practical examples.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
I use to think "I'll never want a cell phone, I don't necessarily want to be that connected". Now I cannot live without my Android phone. I use it more then my home computer, and I use it every day what seems constantly. I have Samsung Vibrant and here is what I use it for: -I check traffic on Google maps on my way to and from work. -I take HD video, 720p, of my family, and of jobs sites if I need to take the info back to the office (I am an IT guy) -I can stream any pictures and video I take to any computer and some TVs for people to see. (The HD video and still pictures look GREAT!) -I listen to my MP3s from the phone (replaces my MP3 player, and I can listen to Pandora if I am in the mood for new, random music. -I can take a physical document, take a picture of it with my 5 MP camera, and make it into a PDF (looks just as good as any scanner) -I send/receive my personal (gmail) and business (Exchange) email. -I am a baseball fan, so I can LISTEN to ANY and EVERY MLB game using the "At Bat '10" application (it even lets me choose which teams radio team to listen to, home or away) -I use the heck out of the calendar, setting up what activities I do every day, and reminders are a life saver! -I can tell my Direct TV DVR to record a show I forgot about or just heard about from anywhere. -I can keep tabs on my ebay bids or items that I sell, and never need to worry about forgetting them cause my phone will let me know if there is any new activity -If I am at Best Buy and I see a product I know is over priced, I can scan the bar code, and find a better price locally or online -I can check for the closest gas station when I look down at my fuel gage and notice that it is on Empty! -If I am at a site where the Internet is down and I need to download a file to fix the situation, I can download it to my phone, connect to the internal wifi or USB on a PC, and transfer the file over. -I can RDP into my PC at home or a clients server. -I can download and read a book. These are just some of the things I do on a daily or weekly basis. there is more I do. This thing replaces my MP3 player, my point and shoot camera, my camcorder, my USB drive, and my cell phone. It does all these things, in a small package, and I can look up anything on the Internet at anytime, anywhere I wanted! If you have one, you will not be able to live without it!!!
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I'm king of in the same boat as you guys. However my thinking is this: Nearly all the smartphones out there have Wi-Fi built in. This means that you do not have to use your cell provider's data plan whenever you are w/in range of a wi-fi hotspot. So, why am I forced to buy said data plan just to have one of these phones? I have every intention to hold out until data plans become part of the normal charge to your cell bill, and at much less than $30/mo (I, too, am on VZW). I just think it's ridiculous that they force you to have X plan if you want Y phone, even if Y phone can avoid using X plan altogether. :mad:
I am with you. I wanted to have a smart phone but did no want to pay the $30/month that AT&$ ask gor just having one. So what I did is registered my phone in my account as a Motorola Razor (not smart phone) and use a Nokia Express Music (a very smart phone) When I needed the internet I used a wifi spot (found everywhere). It is not worth to have the internet unless you use the phone as a modem for your laptop when not at home as I do now (paying the $30)
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I am with you. I wanted to have a smart phone but did no want to pay the $30/month that AT&$ ask gor just having one. So what I did is registered my phone in my account as a Motorola Razor (not smart phone) and use a Nokia Express Music (a very smart phone) When I needed the internet I used a wifi spot (found everywhere). It is not worth to have the internet unless you use the phone as a modem for your laptop when not at home as I do now (paying the $30)
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interesting workaround. i am told, however, that VZW maps phone model to ESN and therefore when you activate they know what you have :( no fooling them. haven't tried working around it in this manner though.
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It is possible. But I used an old Razor phone when I changed the phone profile. They never question. Later I switch to Sprint to have a Android Hero (wonderful phone). Sprint has mucho better reception in my area than AT&T and was tired of their abuses.
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I have an iPhone and use it constantly for: - Email (triaging emergency emails, quick replies, and social chat only. Serious email on the desktop) - Taking, swapping and viewing pics. Far, far more than I realised I would - Reading the news (Aussie news, gadget news, weather news, PhysOrg - endless news!) - As an iPod while cycling - For directions while (often) lost via Google maps - For weather reports so I can determine how wet and potentially fried I will get while cycling - Occasionally I use the 'phone' function that I discoverd not long ago. I can talk to other people on my iPhone! Cool.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
weird is walking around Dunedin using the free wireless and using Skype holding the thing up so i can hear it properly, yes miss it DOES look like an oversized iphone Bryce
MCAD --- To paraphrase Fred Dagg - the views expressed in this post are bloody good ones. --
Publitor, making Pubmed easy. http://www.sohocode.com/publitorOur kids books :The Snot Goblin, and Book 2 - the Snotgoblin and Fluff
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your post starts saying "it is possible" in ref to me wondering about VZW, then you talk about being sick of AT&T... you did this on which carrier?
I don't know the carriers can tell which type of phone you use. I used the Nokia smart phone for almost a year without AT&T internet. However I was able to use the wireless interface where available. I did not like AT&T to tell me that, because I had a smart phone, I have to pay $30 extra.
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I'm king of in the same boat as you guys. However my thinking is this: Nearly all the smartphones out there have Wi-Fi built in. This means that you do not have to use your cell provider's data plan whenever you are w/in range of a wi-fi hotspot. So, why am I forced to buy said data plan just to have one of these phones? I have every intention to hold out until data plans become part of the normal charge to your cell bill, and at much less than $30/mo (I, too, am on VZW). I just think it's ridiculous that they force you to have X plan if you want Y phone, even if Y phone can avoid using X plan altogether. :mad:
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norm_fox wrote:
This is exactly why I have a basic cell phone/plan and an iPod Touch.
I'm doing exactly the same thing. Basic phone and iPod Touch. I had a couple of smartphones over the last year or two and found that I was paying $30/month for access to data that I was already paying for (through my home router) or got free at the office or other WiFi spots. It was "cool" to be able to do a Google search or something when out and away from everything or even check e-mail (which I don't get a *lot* of anyway). I quickly grew tired of paying the extra $30 and trying to make up reasons to get online when all I needed to do was go to my PC or get in range of a WiFi. I'm not a road warrior - my work doesn't require me to be "online" constantly, particularly when I'm not at one of my keyboards. The iPod has tons of stuff on it that I don't need to be online for and when I do, I just get to a WiFi for the 1 or 2 minutes I need to exchange some data. Now Verizon is talking about carrying the iPhone. I am really pleased with my iTouch and it has occurred to me to switch to an iPhone but, then again, I'll just be throwing away $30/month and gaining what? Practically nothing. As "cool" as the idea sounds - I just can't sell myself on it. I think I'll just buy another "basic" phone with a good texting keyboard on it and leave well enough alone. -Max
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I miss plain old PDAs. I don't need a phone. I have one already that makes calls and only costs me an average of $10 per month. Now, if I could get a smartphone with just the data contract, I could handle that, but I refuse to pay iPad prices for an "unlocked" phone. Right now, I have an iPod Touch (it was from my card's rewards program), which is sorta what I'm looking for, but I'd love to have a data plan with it so I can use it everywhere. Right now, it's mostly used for reading (Kindle and Stanza), and music. Sometimes a few games, but nothing major. But, honestly, I'm looking for something closer to this[^] device running either WM6.5, WM7 or Android. Of course, for the price, I could live with the limitations of WM5. :-\ Flynn
Flynn Arrowstarr / Regular Schmoe wrote:
I miss plain old PDAs. I don't need a phone.
I find my iPod Touch (3rd Gen, 32GB) to be all the PDA that any of my Pocket PC's ever were. I have every bit of the software I had on the PPC and it was actually cheaper to equip than the PPC was. -Max
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Nope. No cell phone either. Hate the damn things.
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norm_fox wrote:
This is exactly why I have a basic cell phone/plan and an iPod Touch.
I'm doing exactly the same thing. Basic phone and iPod Touch. I had a couple of smartphones over the last year or two and found that I was paying $30/month for access to data that I was already paying for (through my home router) or got free at the office or other WiFi spots. It was "cool" to be able to do a Google search or something when out and away from everything or even check e-mail (which I don't get a *lot* of anyway). I quickly grew tired of paying the extra $30 and trying to make up reasons to get online when all I needed to do was go to my PC or get in range of a WiFi. I'm not a road warrior - my work doesn't require me to be "online" constantly, particularly when I'm not at one of my keyboards. The iPod has tons of stuff on it that I don't need to be online for and when I do, I just get to a WiFi for the 1 or 2 minutes I need to exchange some data. Now Verizon is talking about carrying the iPhone. I am really pleased with my iTouch and it has occurred to me to switch to an iPhone but, then again, I'll just be throwing away $30/month and gaining what? Practically nothing. As "cool" as the idea sounds - I just can't sell myself on it. I think I'll just buy another "basic" phone with a good texting keyboard on it and leave well enough alone. -Max
I recently went on holiday and while my family waited patiently to start our trip I was stuck in my office trying to upload a large file to a client. I finally gave up so we could get going, having no real idea of how I would solve the problem. I had my computer with me, but our rental house had no Internet connection of any kind. I was able to get the file from my laptop to my new Droid Incredible via USB cable. The Droid has built-in VPN so I connected to my client with just a couple of tries. Poking around in the Android Market I found a free FTP app that allowed me to send the file, and a free RDP app that let me remote control my client's server, map a network drive, move the file to the proper folder, and unzip it. All ready to go. This was an important client, so I could almost justify a year's worth of Verizon charges with just this single mission. -David