I finally got a smart phone

[Omaha Steve]

After years of bragging about I only want a phone that makes calls. Not even texts. While at a meeting Wednesday night I watched as people were looking up info during a heated discussion. So I got a smart phone with wi-fi. Just turning it on was a challenge. Culture shock.

OS

[Freddie]

1. Enjoy

You'll pry my iPhone out of my cold dead hands. Easy to read/comment/post on DU too.

[Lex]

2. Quick access to information on the 'net is essential

for my job. The map/GPS app also helped me out greatly more than once. Love my smartphone.

[Honeycombe8]

13. I have a gps in my car. Why use a smart ph for that? Also, it's too small to see clearly. nt

[Lex]

14. Umm, because I don't always travel by car. Heard of walking in cities?

In new places when traveling?

[Honeycombe8]

26. No, I don't do that. I hate to travel. nt

[Omaha Steve]

15. I have GPS (OnStar) in my car too

But that doesn't help in a meeting outside my car.

[bettyellen]

18. it give you public transportation options and schedules in maps too. AWESOME!

why would I buy a GPS for my car when I have both every map and timetable in the world available in my purse?

[Honeycombe8]

27. Because you can see it? I wouldn't be able to see a map on my phone w/o a super duper

magnifying glass. Hence, the awesome gps in my car that talks to me. I don't need to look at it, but when I do, I can see it. And it's free! (well, it was wrapped into the price of the car. No monthly fees.)

[bettyellen]

35. my free maps talk me through the ride!! If I'm super unfamiliar I put on location services and

it tracks me on the map and verbally warns me a minute or so before I will have to make a turn, it's super easy.
Also, it provides exploded views of the map for each step of the trip if I feel I must look at it- but the verbal prompts are so good- I never really do.

[Honeycombe8]

48. The phone gps talks, too? Sweet. But even with zoom, I couldn't see it. Your eyes

must be better than mine!

[EOTE]

44. GPS is free for everyone.

It's basically a public service. You can have a smart phone with no service and you'd still get GPS capability. And most smartphones are in the 4" to 5" range. If you can't read the 5" screen on my S4 without squinting, you're probably very close to being legally blind.

[DontTreadOnMe]

3. Smartphone Rule #1

don't text a photo of your peepee to anyone unless you also are prepared for it to be on the internet for all to see

[DJ13]

4. ... and if you do, make sure its not a little Weiner

[Honeycombe8]

28. If one has a little weiner, then be sure to use someone else's in the pic & say it's yours...

let's see...who's nice sized weiner pic could be used? Hmmmmm.

[Honeycombe8]

12. I can do that with my prepaid LG Tracfone touchphone. No smart phone needed.

But of course I'm too SMART to do such a stoopid thing!

[clydefrand]

6. I don't want to buy a 'smart' phone, because

I'd be afraid I'd turn out to be to dumb to figure out how to use it.

[customerserviceguy]

7. What operating system?

My first smartphone was a Windows one, big mistake, but I still have and use it. The one I got over a year ago has Android, and I really like it. I do pack both of them around on belt holsters like some sort of ubergeek.

[Omaha Steve]

9. Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate Android touchscreen

I'll be recycling TWO old dumb phones.

We had dinner plans for a week with our neighbors. Mom & pop place with no wi-fi. But it has been on

http://joetessplace.com/

[customerserviceguy]

10. Samsung makes some good stuff

I just bought a small Lenovo tablet, but only because the price was an absolute steal. I may live to regret that!

Really, it'll change your life. You will be able to find out anything you need, practically anywhere you are. That's a game changer. I'd have to say that the easily portable Internet-connected device will have as much effect on society as the printing press, if not more.

[randome]

8. I don't think they're called 'smart phones' anymore.

They're called 'phones'.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[KentuckyWoman]

50. Actually it's helpful if those of us with "dumbphones" differentiate.

As soon as I say "fancy phone" all the co-workers roll their eyes and know they can't email me the link at midnight for whatever the latest YouTube viral hit might be.

[Honeycombe8]

11. A tablet would've been better for you to research quickly, I think. Or a pc.

But a phone is one-stop researching, I guess...phone and researching, together.

They're very expensive, both the initial cost & the monthly.

I don't go to mtgs where research is necessary, so I'll still with my prepaid Tracfone. I spend $200 a year, my minutes roll forward, and I use the same cell towers that the smart phone users do.

I also don't turn my phone on most of the time. I don't WANT people callingme when I'm in my car or at a store.

[IDemo]

17. Ditto on everything you said

I did make the change from a flip-phone to a 'feature phone' last year. It has a somewhat useless camera and can store tunes. No GPS, and not missing it.

[Honeycombe8]

24. Hey...that's the phone I have! It's a small world, after all! I have Tracfone, too. nt

[Omaha Steve]

21. We have a new lap top with wi-fi

The meeting was where there was no wi-fi. It doesn't have cell capability that I know of. Our granddaughters tablet has 20-30 mins of battery. Not an option either.

[Honeycombe8]

25. Ohhhh. Bummer. I need wi-fi for my laptop, too. A friend has a plug-in hotspot.

She can use her laptop anywhere. I checked it out, but I don't want to pay the monthly for that, esp since I don't really need it.

[LWolf]

16. I got one last November.

I still can't figure out how to do much with it.

I hate swiping. Still.

I can't figure out how to get the pics of the phone without emailing them, one slow email at a time.

I can't figure out how to turn off the internet to save my minimal time without turning the whole phone off.

Not that I use the internet much; the screens too small to read, or, if I enlarge it, there's not enough to read to make sense of.

I don't text; I hate texting. And my keyboard is so small that this 60+ wmp touch typist can't type a few words without errors.

So far, the only useful thing its got that my old "dumb" phone didn't is the navigator. Which, of course, I can't use while driving.

[bettyellen]

19. usually, I just turn off the wifi part to save power. Maps now come with verbal instructions so you

don't have to look at all. You would have to link and synch with a computer to download pics. Very easy.
And as much as you hate swiping, it helps a lot when you enlarge text to read it.

There are great resources on the net- you could spend 20 minutes looking for demos or top tips and really learn a lot. I bet there are 4-5 features or programs you never knew existed that you'll find really helpful! Good luck!

[oregonjen]

29. What is a good app for maps with verbal instructions? Pardon my ignorant question.

I have an iPhone. Does Google maps work that way?

[bettyellen]

36. I'm ignorant! I had no idea it could do this till I recently needed to use the GPS a bit and then

searched for a route home (it's linked to contacts too) It just started talking to me, LOL.
On mine it's the apparently untitled MAPS that came loaded on the I phone? The last upgrade added the voice thing. I was dubious at first, but it was correct on my location the whole way home, every exit and turn. And the guide has a nice reassuring voice too!

[Le Taz Hot]

37. coolest ap yet?

Get the free flashlight ap. Can't tell you how many times I've used that one.

[bettyellen]

41. True- the flashlight is great too!

[madokie]

20. Soon to do the same

Our phones are antiques. I'm 65 now and I got a letter from AARP telling me I can get a phone plan that is much cheaper than the one we have now so we're going to look into that and possibly get smart phones.

I'm sure my 6 going on 10 year old grand daughter will have to help me figure it out. funny how that works

[Omaha Steve]

23. Found this DU post on Dem apps etc

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018191156

And yes I've been learning about my phone today.

[catrose]

30. My smart phone is smarter than me

[southerncrone]

31. Got mine in Dec.

Did not take me long to realize that I was not smart enough to own a smart phone! LOL
I still don't know what all it can do, or how to do much on it. The only thing I can do that I couldn't w/my old phone is access the internet. My learning curve is steep.

Hope you are a faster, or more interested learner.

[ecstatic]

32. I resisted for a long time too, but folded back in 2011.

Only problem is, it's a computer first, phone last. I can't tell you how many times I've had to restart the phone before making a call. How disastrous would that be in an emergency?

Unless you plan to buy a backup phone and keep it charged, don't go crazy on the apps. More apps (especially running in the background) might translate into a delay in answering or receiving calls during an emergency. I turn background, sync, and mobile data off at night and that helps a lot.

[Jenoch]

33. My 81 year old father

has had a cell phone since they were the size of a brick. He's had the same cell phone number since 1997. He still won't get rid of his landline.

I resisted getting a cell phone until 2005. Mine is still a flip phone. I don't want to send or receive texts. I have an iPod Touch that handles the smart phone stuff where wifi is available. I'm also cheap and don't want a huge data plan that comes with a smartphone.

(I wrote this post on an iPod Touch. When it craps out I'll likely get an iPad.)

[duffyduff]

34. Some of us have to use prepaid phones

That's what I will stick with. I don't really care about an iPhone or any of those anyway.

[HiPointDem]

38. i will never get one. i don't care about cool 'apps,' i don't want to text, don't want to have

phone access everywhere i go, don't want others to have access to me.

i don't understand people who do.

[duffyduff]

42. I just have it mostly for emergencies

I can't even understand why people would have them in place of a computer; the screens are too stinking tiny.

I don't text either; it is more trouble than it is worth.

[B Calm]

39. First thing I did when I retired

was do away with my cell phone! No regrets at all and I'm saving a ton of money!

[Savannahmann]

40. Now the NSA/FBI/anybody else who might take an interest will have a better profile of you

That should save time when your name comes up in the future.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

43. Almost a year later, I'm still waiting to be wowed and impressed by my Iphone.

I like the camera.

That's about it. The rest is just phone calls and texts, which I could do from my old phone.

Overrated.

[Omaha Steve]

46. The wi-fi net access is great

My granddaughter showed me how to use voice recognition to send my texts, goggle searches, etc..

[whttevrr]

45. Mr. Burns: "Exxcccelllent..."

We now can track you... go ahead, press the pretty pictures.

Oh, and search for things.

We like when you search.

[backscatter712]

47. Welcome to the Dark Side! We have cookies!

My advice: Take some time, learn your way around your new phone, play with the software.

Think of it as a handheld computer that also makes phone calls. Like learning to use a PC, there's some learning required to use a smartphone, but they're in general pretty user-friendly.

A lot of us (especially me) find them to be incredibly addictive toys. Have fun with it!

[Omaha Steve]

49. I got my first 2 apps, a game, and a memory card today

I forgot to order the screen protector when I ordered the 32 gig memory card.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftDMHM&hl=en

Description

Gru’s loyal, yellow, gibberish-speaking Minions are ready for their toughest challenge in Despicable Me: Minion Rush. Play as a Minion and compete with others in hilarious, fast-paced challenges in order to impress your boss, (former?) super-villain Gru! Jump, fly, dodge obstacles, collect bananas, be mischievous, and defeat villains to earn the title of Minion of the Year!

ALL THE HEART AND HUMOR OF DESPICABLE ME
• Enjoy unpredictably hilarious Minion moments
• Perform despicable acts through hundreds of missions

[Omaha Steve]

51. A plus about my phone

https://www.consumercellular.com/Info/PhoneDetails/483/Samsung-Galaxy-Exhilarate

As a bonus, it's an eco-friendly device and one of the few to have earned an Environmentally Preferable Platinum certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL).