Scarp: Can you outsmart a smartphone?

5 comments:

• Arizona Willie posted at 8:54 am on Sun, Sep 30, 2012.

  Posts: 1913

  Mark, like you, I am no Luddite. I build my own computers and use them all day long. I have a desktop, a laptop, and a tablet.

  So I fear not the ubiquitous machines.

  And, like you, I have only a regular cellphone. Mine doesn't even take pictures. < gasp >

  As much as I love computers, and I do, I see little to no use for one in my life.
  I am almost always in reach of a wireless network and my tablet ( which I take everywhere ) can fetch any info I need.

  The data fees for smartphones are outrageous!

  My simple little cell does the job quite nicely. I don't need to see the person I am talking to ... and they most certainly appreciate not seeing my mug, especially before noon.

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• rdavis922 posted at 12:49 pm on Sun, Sep 30, 2012.

  Posts: 2

  There is one good reason that I have a smartphone. I use Boost Mobile. I only pay $45 a month for unlimited everything, and the price would not be any different with a regular cell phone. I bought the cheapest Android that they had, while it was on sale. I only paid $100 for the phone.

  If not for the fact that there are no longer that many pay phones, I would not even have a cell phone. I rarely use it, but as I drive for a living I need a way to contact people in an emergency.

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• Arizona Willie posted at 7:37 am on Mon, Oct 1, 2012.

  Posts: 1913

  rdavis922 ... I got my cell for $20 at Fry's and get free minutes for buying some of our groceries there.
  I pay $5.47 a month for some fee but that's it.
  For $5 a month I have a cell phone that gets and makes phone calls which is all that is required.
  I can get along without playing games on the phone -- that's what my tablet is for :)
  As long as I'm in range of a wi-fi hotspot ( free ) I can access the net with the tablet ... don't need to do the same thing on the phone too.
  And, if I'm not in range of free wi-fi at the moment -- it'll wait.
  

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• rdavis922 posted at 1:46 pm on Tue, Oct 2, 2012.

  Posts: 2

  Like you said, you get free minutes when you shop at Frys, but you didn't say how many minutes. I don't shop at Frys enough to get more than 20 minutes a month. My phone is unlimited in the amount of minutes, data and text that I send and receive. I could easily have gotten a cheap phone and paid for minutes, but I don't like being limited on how long I can talk when I need to. Especially considering that I'm driving for a living, I can't rely on a telephone that, if I need it, will tell me that I'm out of minutes.
  
  If it was a cheap phone with unlimited minutes, I couldn't find a service that is cheaper and also has as wide a coverage area.

  Plus, even cheap tablets cost more than I paid for my phone.

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• Arizona Willie posted at 7:23 am on Wed, Oct 3, 2012.

  Posts: 1913

  Yes, it just depends on a persons needs.
  I don't make a lot of calls and I'm usually at home 95% of the time anyway. So my need of a cell phone is much less than many people.
  I have it just in case of an accident while out or if I need to call home for some reason or if Da Boss wants to call me.
  Some months probably go by that I don't make a single call.
  Which is why a $5 / month deal is ideal for me and why I don't need a $50 / month smartphone.
  If, like you, I was driving all the time I would probably want something better. Not necessarily a smart phone but with unlimited minutes.
  Just whatever a person feels they need.

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