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Do You Really Need a Smart Phone?

Posted by timothy on from the all-depends-on-the-context dept.

Roblimo writes "My phone is as stupid as a phone can be, but you can drop it or get it wet and it will still work. My cellular cost per month is about $4, on average. I've had a cellular phone longer than most people, and I assure you that a smart phone would not improve my life one bit. You, too, might find that you are just as happy with a stupid phone as with a smart one. If nothing else, you'll save money by dumbing down your phone." I stuck with a dumb phone for a long time, but I admit to loving the versatility of my Android phone, for all its imperfections.

29 of 851 comments (clear)

  1. Another way to save money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can not own a television.

    1. Re:Another way to save money by lexman098 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And now if you just stopped gaming and watching movies, you'd have so much more time to spend coding and hanging out with friends etc!

    2. Re:Another way to save money by BoberFett · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have an LG Optimus V on Virgin. The phones are $150ish, $25/mo (think it's $35 now for new subscribers) gets 300 min, unlimited text and data. It's not the flashiest phone around but I'm just too cheap to pay $80/mo or more for a phone. I had a dumb phone until April 2011, and now that I've gone to a smartphone I'd hate to go back.

    3. Re:Another way to save money by arekq · · Score: 5, Funny

      obligatory: If you stopped hanging out with friends and etc., you'd have even more time to code.

    4. Re:Another way to save money by Chysn · · Score: 5, Funny

      You should stop coding, too, which would free up more time to do nothing. You'll soon get bored of doing nothing, but that's what TV is for, amiright?

      --
      --I'm so big, my sig has its own sig.
      -- See?
  2. Shocked. by AuralityKev · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Man who does not need bells and whistles says bells and whistles not needed. Story at 11.

    1. Re:Shocked. by PT_1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agreed. For many people, perhaps a dumbed-down phone would save them money. However, for me, for example, the amount of time I save in being able to access email, corporate systems etc., whilst on the move means that the cost and added complexity of a smartphone is more than worth the it.

    2. Re:Shocked. by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Man who does not need bells and whistles says bells and whistles not needed. Story at 11.

      Some of us not wanting the bells and whistles aren't doing it out of lack of desire for the bells and whistles, but because the costs of plans are, to our way of thinking, a sudden and large monthly expense.

      I've been observing people who make a fraction of the pay I do and they go about with these things, sucking $80/mo on up. Good for them. They don't have all the expenses or it's simply their choice to hand over that kind of money each month. Very few of these people have any genuine need for these things, i.e. not an EMT or Doctor, it's their little luxury.

      I was an early adopter of mobile phones, having one back in the 1980's (where a mobile phone had range, though wasn't tiny. After a few phones and plans I grew to despise the 2 year leech-like plans and gave up mobile phones. After a cycling injury I decided to get one again, pay as you go, no contract. It works and keeps me in touch when I want to be. Other times it's turned off to save battery. Maybe some day I'll get a smart one, but for now I'm content and watching things develop in technology and businesses.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    3. Re:Shocked. by grub · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Bingo.

      To add, I rarely use the actual phone part of my iPhone and my Android set has a data-only plan for VoIP. It's more accurate to say I have a portable computer which has a seldom used telephone app.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    4. Re:Shocked. by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To me it's sort of the opposite for the same reason: the amount of personal time I save in not being able to access email, corporate systems, etc. whilst on the move means that I'd pay extra for a non-smart phone...

      --
      10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    5. Re:Shocked. by raygundan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every time I hear a person say this, I wonder why the person feels like they have to access all of those things against their will.

      It's your phone. Don't want calls? Don't pick up. Don't want corporate email? Don't even set it up. Don't like to ever be bothered? Only turn it on when you want to use it. I can see situations where a person has no need for the features of a smartphone, or doesn't want the expense... but I don't understand this particular philosophy-- especially if you could use and appreciate the smartphone features for yourself, but don't because you would feel compelled to answer every call from your office.

    6. Re:Shocked. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every time I hear a person say this, I wonder why the person feels like they have to access all of those things against their will.

      It's not about "their will". When you put a leash on a dog, it's so someone can hold the other end. When you put an electronic leash on a person, it's so someone can tug the leash on the other end.

      You can say "just don't pick up" or "just don't set up the corporate email" but when you have the capability there is a natural tendency to use it. More important, there is a natural tendency for other people (business or personal) to develop expectations based upon your capability. The boss sees you with a smartphone, he assumes you're always on duty. Because he can. Because YOU can.

      I don't have any problem with people whose lives are enhanced by being plugged in 24/7. But I have a big problem with people who develop expectations for other people based upon decisions they have made for themselves.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  3. Slashdot... by tacarat · · Score: 5, Funny

    News for luddites?

    --
    "Common sense will be the death of us all"
  4. Pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the most pointless post ever to appear on the /. front page.

  5. Avoided for this reason by rbowen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I avoided getting a smart phone for a long time, even though I'm surrounded by people with smart phones, because I knew that as soon as I had one it would become indispensable, just like my Visor did, and my Palm, and my iPod, and ... so on.

    Now, I have an iPhone, and it's indispensable. Sure, I could manage without it, but I use it all day, every day, and I feel I would be lost without it. And while I know that's an illusion, I also know how my brain works. ... which is why I don't have an iPad yet ...

    --
    Apache guy, Open Source enthusiast, runner
  6. Necessities often create themselves by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As with most things, you only need a smartphone once you have it.

  7. Many smartphone alternatives by Mean+Variance · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are many alternatives besides the premium plans and phones (iPhone, high end Android).

    T-Mobile via WalMart: Android phone for less than $200. 100 mins talk, unlimited data and text for $30/mo.

    Pageplus: Bring your own CDMA phone. My kid has a Palm Pixi. If you don't abuse data or use wifi for data, it's cheap.

    iPod Touch: That's the way I went. I have a cheap prepaid phone that costs less than $10/mo for my light usage of calls and texts. My iPod is in a wifi zone much of the time where I can leverage apps including free texting.

    I'm on the waiting list for Republic Wireless who is trying an iteresting business model for $20/mo. The phone has to have a home zone of wifi. When wifi is available, it uses it. Otherwise data will be used. The phone is a basic Android.

    It just takes a little effort and research.

    I'm amazed at what people will pay for iPhone plans. Some use the value, but I know plenty who still just use it to call and text mostly paying almost $100/mo.

  8. Opposite by MBGMorden · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not actually sure if I actually need a phone at all. I spend several orders of magnitude more time on my phone doing other stuff (email, listening to podcasts, general web browsing, GPS navigation, etc) then I do actually using it as a phone.

    As such, I'd lose the "phone" long before I lost the "smart".

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  9. no need for a cell phone by bcrowell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't feel any need to own a cell phone, smart or dumb. I have a landline at home. I have a landline at work. I don't need to talk to people on the phone when I'm in my car (and I don't want to endanger myself or others by doing it when I'm driving). I don't need to talk to people on the phone when I'm walking down the street, or shopping, or hiking or riding my bike.

    --
    Find free books.
  10. Water? Pshaw. by Moridineas · · Score: 5, Informative

    My phone is as stupid as a phone can be, but you can drop it or get it wet and it will still work.

    My two-year-old dropped my iPhone 3gs in the dog's water bowl. From the time I heard the *ploink*, realized what I had heard, and ran to the kitchen and pulled out the phone out, it was completely submerged in disgusting dog water for at least 15-20 seconds.

    The touch screen was so wet that I couldn't swipe to unlock in order to power down. The phone was on at least another 1-2 minutes. I finally turned it off (obviously can't pull the battery with an iPhone) and let it dry out for a couple days. On day 2, I put it in a ziploc baggie with some silica gel packets. During the drying process it would occasionally--randomly!--turn itself on with no interaction from me.

    After 2 days of drying, it was good as new. Fully functional, no visible damage, screen fine, touch response fine, etc.

    I was very impressed.

  11. Things I don't need: continued by spacepimp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A car. I could quit my job, or bike to work and arrive a sweaty mess, or move to a city, or take mass transit for an hour vs 25 minutes of commute. A radio. Music is a luxury nothing more. A home phone. People can write letters like we used to did in my days as a kid. A TV. News is only entertainment and the entertainment isn't even entertaining. Electric lights. Candles work, and who needs to be up after dark falls? Plumbing. There's an outhouse down the block. None of these are necessities, unless you want to have a career. Personally my Job mandates I have a smartphone. (IT). So I need one, as without one, I wouldn't be able to afford food, shelter and clothing right now. Past that there is no place for a Smart Phone on Maslow's hierarchy of needs unless it helps to achieve one or more of them. A cell phone is not very useful when what you need is clean drinking water, but then again not much is.

  12. Do you really need a Freudian slip ? by billcopc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Replace "phone" with "vagina" in the summary, and bask in my glorious wisdom.

    Hey, I don't need expensive hoppy microbrews in my beer fridge, but that doesn't mean I'm going to replace my premium beer with cheap megaswill. If luddites are happy being luddites, good for THEM. Also, get the fuck off my internets.

    --
    -Billco, Fnarg.com
    1. Re:Do you really need a Freudian slip ? by smellsofbikes · · Score: 5, Funny

      OK, I did that. So what is a 'smart vagina' as opposed to just a 'vagina'?

      It only accepts incoming connections from trusted sources?

      --
      Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
  13. Re:For some, yes by TheSpoom · · Score: 5, Funny

    Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others!

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  14. Sometimes it saves money and frustration by DMUTPeregrine · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had a choice: Buy a $200 bagpipe tuner (the cheap chromatic tuners are all equal tempered, and thus don't work for just-tempered instruments like the great highland bagpipe), and a ~$100 GPS and a $100 ipod and a $20 metronome... or buy one android phone, install gStrings, mobile metronome and PowerAmp (under $10 total) and get more total functionality for the same overall price. That's ignoring the phone aspect, obviously. And the camera. And the e-mail. And the text messaging with a full dvorak keyboard. And the mobile web browser...

    --
    Not a sentence!
  15. Needs differ. Duh. by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I ride the bus to and from work every day. I could carry a dumb phone, plus an mp3 player, plus a netbook, I suppose... but instead I have an original Droid, and it gets all that done in a much smaller and more convenient package, along with GPS navigation, flash drive file transport, encrypted password wallet, and a cheap camera.

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
    1. Re:Needs differ. Duh. by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 5, Informative

      You can try to read a book. A real book. A fiction book.

      Holy crap! I have never in my life done that before! I had no idea such a thing was even possible!

      (Or, just maybe I load them onto my phone. And save the dead-tree stuff for bedside at home.)

      --
      PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
  16. Makes parenting much easier, and better by Pausanias · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can't tell you the number of times my iPhone has allowed me to take the kids to the playground while tending to work stuff. The kids can play, and I can spend 90% of the time playing with them, and 10% answering emails.

    The alternative would have been the kids stay home and don't get a workout.

    Do I *need* a smartphone? No. But has it saved time enough for everyone in my family to make it worthwhile, and improved family life? Yes. absolutely.

  17. Re:Me too. by Fnord666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    my phone told me where to go.

    My phone tells me where to go too, at least when I'm talking to my wife on it.

    --
    'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables