Violet1956 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 ‘im indoors seems to think that I need to change my rather ancient 6303c Nokia on a Vodafone contract for a smartphone. I fear I am not possessed of the smarts that are necessary to work these newfangled pieces of technology. Whenever I try to use his smartphone I fail to tap the keyboard in the right place and end up with gobbledygook or being redirected into some other app that I don’t understand, need, or want. That said, maybe I am losing out on what smartphones have to offer. They are bloomin' expensive in my view. Am I losing out or are smartphones overrated pieces of kit that no one really needs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Violet1956 - 2018-09-04 4:10 PM Am I losing out or are smartphones overrated pieces of kit that no one really needs? They are basically data collection machines. In exchange for a few useful applications you agree to open yourself up to junk / scams / invasion of privacy/ having your movements tracked / having your preferences collected and noted/ etc etc Unsurprisingly a lot of people are now going back to more basic phones. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 malc d - 2018-09-04 4:54 PM Unsurprisingly a lot of people are now going back to more basic phones. :-| Never left :D .......... My new one got big buttons and the battery lasts a week B-) .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I share your views on this to a degree Veronica. I recently replaced my 15 yr old Nokia with a TTFone which has a larger screen display and buttons. Smartphones are effectively a pocket sized computer and camera but i couldn't get used to the swiping/scrolling business. However so many folk have them now and i can see their advantages, eg such as instant translator. This year in Bosnia i was desperate for a meal, spotted a small restaurant but nobody spoke any English. No problem, one guy whipped his smartphone out and used it to translate. Decent ones certainly aren't cheap and as tempting as contracts may seem i'd avoid that and buy payg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 They are useful in business but 99% of the apps are gimicky and useless (well to me they are). Ive had iPhones for years but I stopped at an iPhone 4 as I felt there was no need to go bigger and now they are huge. I just want something that easily fits in my pocket but I can still easily catch emails, do a quick google or as Bullet says google translate is useful. Whats really useful about mine is I can use it as a wifi hot spot so if I cant get online with the iboost on wifi in the van I can just turn on the wifi hot spot and everything in the van can use it. Laptops etc. I get a generous data allowance from Vodafone of about 18gb a month I think for about 12 quid including unlimited calls and its the same abroad (For now *-) ) I smashed my screen recently and got a replacement iPhone 4s off ebay for twenty quid so if you go for something older like that Veronica and dont like it then it wont break the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3526602 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Hi, All I want is a phone that I can switch on, press the BIG keys, and speak to a friend, then switch off. I might accept a digital directory, also with big keys, to go in my other pocket. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancepar Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I think they call em "Dumb phones" https://tinyurl.com/ydbzoygo They can only make calls and send Texts, is that what your are talking about? or https://tinyurl.com/y9rtlykw B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I'm afraid what I consider the easiest to use smart phone OS is dying a death, this is windowsphone 10, and funny enough nearly all the phones where made by Nokia. And just for Dave, if I only use my smart phone for calls and texts it easily last a week between charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3526602 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hi, My phone is PAYG ... my wife tops it up with £5, about once a year. Could somebody fit my mobile phone with the gubbins from a clockwork radio? 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet1956 Posted September 5, 2018 Author Share Posted September 5, 2018 Enjoyed reading everyone's take on this. I've succumbed to pressure and the OH has ordered a smartphone for me. It's a Samsung thingamajig but a refurbished one so my cheapskate tendencies have been respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Violet1956 - 2018-09-05 4:46 PM I've succumbed to pressure and the OH has ordered a smartphone for me. . My condolences. Just don't stray too far from a charger. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 malc d - 2018-09-05 5:02 PM Violet1956 - 2018-09-05 4:46 PM I've succumbed to pressure and the OH has ordered a smartphone for me. . My condolences. Just don't stray too far from a charger. ;-) That was the main reason i got rid of mine after just two weeks! A charge only lasted two days at a max where i get a week with my flip phone. I stuck it on ebay and sold it for seven quid more than i paid despite posting the link showing where i'd bought it and price i'd paid! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAJay Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Gosh I thought I was one of a minority that did not have a I Phone. Mine is 20 years old, and does all I need . PAY as you Go . spend about £20.00 a year. Probably less , now we don't have van! I do not want to be contacted all the time. I keep mine for emergencies, and only switch it on Occasionally Nice and small, easy to use,' I have enough trouble trying to swipe an I Pad. OH gave me his old one.! I spent most of my working life on calculators before computers, then on the early ones, where the tape was larger than a dinner plate My grandchildren visit and spend most of the time on their phones , and they are all adults! I could not believe my eyes, the other day, a beggar was sitting outside Tesco begging, while using his I Phone! PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Bulletguy - 2018-09-05 6:11 PM malc d - 2018-09-05 5:02 PM Violet1956 - 2018-09-05 4:46 PM I've succumbed to pressure and the OH has ordered a smartphone for me. . My condolences. Just don't stray too far from a charger. ;-) That was the main reason i got rid of mine after just two weeks! A charge only lasted two days at a max where i get a week with my flip phone. I stuck it on ebay and sold it for seven quid more than i paid despite posting the link showing where i'd bought it and price i'd paid! :-S Two days is pretty good. They are like little computers so you cant expect them to stay charged all week. Mines switched on 24/7. Easy enough to charge though as they are usb so in the car, side of the laptop, plugged into mains USB charger late at night. I use mine as an MP3 player so have it plugged in and charging while playing through the car radio when driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 I've just found another use for my phone, in fact I feel a bit old and past it not even considering that it might be capable of this, I can now use it as a translator, scan a document, speak into phone, or just point the camera at a sign or document and it will translate it. This should be handy as although my French is pretty good, my Spanish and Italian is very basic, and my German is very poor only knowing a couple of phrases, and next trip is to Germany. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 colin - 2018-09-12 6:35 PM I've just found another use for my phone, in fact I feel a bit old and past it not even considering that it might be capable of this, I can now use it as a translator, scan a document, speak into phone, or just point the camera at a sign or document and it will translate it. This should be handy as although my French is pretty good, my Spanish and Italian is very basic, and my German is very poor only knowing a couple of phrases, and next trip is to Germany. :-D The Google translate app is about the only App Ive found thats really useful. It can be great abroad if you need to deal with say a mechanic or a specialist shop where nobody speaks English and you dont speak their language. Last year we had a call out to the van when we had a steering problem and the breakdown guy used it. Just spoke into his phone and it translated an vice versa. I often use it when in Museums etc for translating text and information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet1956 Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 The new smartphone is driving me a bit nuts and perhaps into the realms of paranoia. I fear that there is a plan laid by some bots to take over my life and make me conform to a New World order which I doubt can be trusted to be wholly benign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Violet1956 - 2018-09-17 3:49 PM The new smartphone is driving me a bit nuts and perhaps into the realms of paranoia. I fear that there is a plan laid by some bots to take over my life and make me conform to a New World order which I doubt can be trusted to be wholly benign. Smartphones are designed to be used by school children naive in the nasty ways of the real world. Far from not being wholly benign that same real world is inhabited by lots of very nasty greedy money and power grabbing people and entities. If they were not all out to get me I would not need to be paranoid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet1956 Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Tracker - 2018-09-17 4:02 PM Violet1956 - 2018-09-17 3:49 PM The new smartphone is driving me a bit nuts and perhaps into the realms of paranoia. I fear that there is a plan laid by some bots to take over my life and make me conform to a New World order which I doubt can be trusted to be wholly benign. Smartphones are designed to be used by school children naive in the nasty ways of the real world. Far from not being wholly benign that same real world is inhabited by lots of very nasty greedy money and power grabbing people and entities. If they were not all out to get me I would not need to be paranoid! Too true. 1984 arrive a bit late but it is way more spooky than George Orwell imagined it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Violet1956 - 2018-09-17 4:15 PM Tracker - 2018-09-17 4:02 PM Violet1956 - 2018-09-17 3:49 PM The new smartphone is driving me a bit nuts and perhaps into the realms of paranoia. I fear that there is a plan laid by some bots to take over my life and make me conform to a New World order which I doubt can be trusted to be wholly benign. Smartphones are designed to be used by school children naive in the nasty ways of the real world. Far from not being wholly benign that same real world is inhabited by lots of very nasty greedy money and power grabbing people and entities. If they were not all out to get me I would not need to be paranoid! Too true. 1984 arrive a bit late but it is way more spooky than George Orwell imagined it. That analogy is pretty much spot on. Smartphones are a godsend for intelligence authorities as they are tracking devices which can be used to monitor your movements literally anywhere in the world.....all from a place in Harrogate, Yorkshire which has the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. It's long been common knowledge UK is one of the most heavily surveilled countries in the west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in fer me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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