Please tell me it's worth the cost to get a smartphone!

[ny biker]

After 5 years with my regular flip-style cellphone, I am thisclose to upgrading to a smartphone. Due to Verizon's superior coverage and the fact that their website says I qualify for new-every-two, I'm seriously looking at an HTC Incredible. (The Incredible's amazing reviews are also pushing me in that direction, and of course HTC'S sponsorship of both a men's and women's cycling team doesn't hurt.)

But, I'm stuck on the significant increase in the monthly cost that is necessary for a smartphone. It will be more than double what I am paying now, what with the added cost of the data plan and texting.

I can think of situations where it would be handy to have web access right in my pocket -- like when I was out riding my bike last summer and saw a huge black cloud in the sky despite the utter lack of rain in the forecast. It might have saved me a soaking if I had been able to check a weather map to see what direction it was going and how fast it was going there. And when the electricity went out at work the other day, people with smartphones were still able to send email to let our clients know that we weren't just ignoring their attempts to reach us. And back to bike rides, how nice would it be to have a phone and camera all in one, since that would be one less thing to cram into my seat wedge when I want to take pics on a long ride.

But still, it will hurt to see my monthly bill go up so much. Can anyone out there tell me how great they are and that they're totally worth the added cost?

Thanks!

[marni]

I refuse to get a smart phone. I have a three year old cell phone that can take pictures after a fashion but I carry a cell for my convenience, not the convenience of others. I have an answeringg machine at home and the few people who DO have my cell phone number can also leave a message as I won't answer it if I am riding. It is handy to have in case of emergency, and often call dh on it simply because it auto dials. People can also send me an email and I will tell them if and when I plan to be home if they need to talk to me in person or my phone.
If I need to get on the web, I will wait til I get homme where I can use my big computer. As for predicting the weather, carry a rain coat and take your chances. Like a pessimist I am prepared for the worse and hope for the best.

I am also opposed to technology that intrudes into our lives, like drivers constantly on the cell phone or texting. It only takes one brush with a careless driver to make a non believer of cell phones under all circumstances except for while standing still on the sidewalk or at the offic or home.

marni

[Zen]

It's not worth it.

You already know this.

[ny biker]

No, I'm going to get one. I'm just looking for people to tell me some of the reasons they like theirs.

[Tokie]

We ditched Verizon and a monthly bill of $80.00 month (with no texting) and are quite happy with our Net 10 pre-paid phones. No monthly fees, texts are 3 cents, and calls are 10 cents a minute. We are saving a bunch of $. Our service is t mobil, and is just fine. tokie

[OakLeaf]

I don't have one yet, but DH has an iPhone, and he uses it all the time for weather, stock quotes and traffic updates.* It's also really, really nice to be able to use a search engine to find a business, etc., when you're in town and wanting to accomplish another errand rather than having to go home or find a WiFi hot spot to look them up. He has a standalone GPS, but for finding something on-the-fly rather than pre-programming it, it's a lot quicker to use the iPhone than find something in the GPS.

Or just simply to be able to look up a phone number when you're not at a WiFi hotspot, to make a phone call, without having to pay $1 for 4-1-1 (or going through the interminable ads on Free411 and then getting the wrong number anyway :rolleyes:).

It's also nice that he doesn't have to have to haul around both a phone and a PDA. Standalone PDAs are nearly impossible to find now. Really, the only one I'm even aware of any more is the iPod Touch, and I don't consider that a workable PDA since it doesn't have a useful alarm. I have to set separate alarms on my basic phone. If the alarm on my ancient Palm hadn't died around the same time as someone gave me my iPod Touch as a gift, I'd probably still be using the Palm.

On a short trip (one or two nights) it's perfectly adequate to leave your laptop at home. That's a huge bonus right there. Again, the iPod Touch or whatever standalone PDA you use now probably has the same browser and email capabilities as long as you have WiFi.

I wouldn't consider any smartphone but the iPhone and the Motorola Droid, just because of screen size. More of an issue for my aging eyes, maybe :o. But I've felt that way for at least ten years, way before smartphones with big screens ever came out. It's a lot of why I've stayed with a standalone PDA all these years, rather than get a Blackberry or Treo.

The downside, other than the cost, is that you don't have to haul around two devices :rolleyes: - and so you do have to haul around one large one in situations when you'd normally leave your PDA at home, like running or cycling. An iPhone is a big stonkin' brick to have to stow in my SpiBelt.

DH's experience confirms all the AT&T network problems you've heard about with the iPhone. Out in the country, connectivity can be weak and 3G service isn't available in a lot of places ... in even a small city like Columbus, Ohio, network traffic can make it just interminably slow.

My contract with Verizon is up next month and I still haven't made a decision. But I'd have had an iPhone the last time my contract with Verizon came up for renewal, had I not dropped my old phone in a portajohn three weeks before the iPhone 3G came out. :eek:


____________________
*Before you say anything - when he uses it for traffic updates, it's when I'm in the car and working the phone - or if he's on the moto, when he's at a gas stop. He doesn't surf and drive/ride, I promise!

[ny biker]

Thanks Oak!

re: iphone call quality, while the power went out at work the other day, we had a teleconference scheduled with a group of clients and other developers who were located all over the country. Our phones were out, so we went into the conference room and the manager called in from his iphone. Over the course of a 90-minute call, with the phone just sitting on the table, the call was dropped 3 times. I was pretty surprised -- it's not like we were moving in and out of areas with varying cell coverage.

For Verizon, you should definitely look at the HTC Incredible. The screen is big and the reviews really are great. Also I'm hearing that LG is going to introduce a Verizon smartphone soon, like maybe this month, and it will have slide-out keyboard which I know some people prefer. I think the LG phone will be called the Ally, but I'm not 100% on that.

Here are some links on the Incredible:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001160_pf.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-droid-incredible-verizon/4505-6452_7-34064029.html?tag=prizefightContent.0

http://phones.verizonwireless.com/htc/incredible/


It's interesting that your husband still uses a separate GPS -- I have a Garmin and I figured I would wind up giving it away after getting the new phone. But I'll wait and see how I like the gps features of phone. It would definitely be handy to have access to google maps, but Garmin's "what's nearby" feature is superior, at least around this area.

Another thing is the texting, which I don't do much of now (I only just unblocked texting on my phone last month). But it's inevitable that I'll need to communicate that way more, since it's the only good way to get in touch with some of my relatives. A big chunk of the higher monthly fee will go toward unlimited texting, including pictures and videos.

I do think having web access on my phone will also make me more comfortable do bike rides alone in more areas than I ride now. I have no family to call if I need help when I'm far away from home or car, so currently I need to look up phone numbers for local cab companies in advance and put them on my cue sheet before I leave home. It would be nice to be able to know I can just look up something like that as needed, no matter where I am. And I keep coming back to that ride last year when I got caught in the unforecasted rain storm and had no idea where I might find a public building where I could take shelter for a few minutes. There were schools and stores not far away, I just didn't know that at the time...

BTW a couple of weeks ago I was out with some folks, and one of them was able to watch a major league baseball game live on his iphone. All I could think was, how cool would it be if I could watch the TdF live on my phone when I'm not at home. It might not (probably is not) available now, but someday...

Oh and I just saw your ps and remembered -- my car is bluetooth enabled, but my current phone is not. I avoid talking on the phone while I'm driving and will continue to do so, but there are times (like when I'm stuck in endless traffic on a long trip) when I need to call ahead and tell someone how late I'm running. So a phone upgrade to take advantage of the bluetooth is long overdue.

[maillotpois]

I wouldn't give mine up for (just about) anything.

It is absolutely essential for my work. I am out of the office several days of the week, yet I am always able to respond to client emails. I am still able to respond when I am on vacation. Sure, that may not be what everyone wants to be able to do - be always available even when on a trip - but I run my own one-woman business in a highly competitive field. Being accessible and responsive is hugely important.

It's also very helpful for the work I do with TNT.

It's so nice not to be gone all day and return to 75 + emails which all need a response. I will have dealt with most of them by the time I get back and they can be filed away.

I have had a smart phone with email for over 10 years. I started with an early Palm version and now am on a windows mobile version. I toy with the idea of getting the iPhone, but I don't know for sure that it would sync with my Microsoft Outlook, which is critical.

[Crankin]

I don't have an I Phone, but DH does. We have never had any problems with dropped calls/ATT. We use the GPS function, if we are in my car (no GPS), but he still has both of his Garmins and doesn't intend to give them away.
I guess if you need to be in contact with clients all of the time and don't want to wait to do emails, it's worth it. Neither of us text, although DH will respond if he gets one from someone at work.
I have a small flip phone with a camera that i don't use. I have tried to figure out how to un-enable the text function, since if I get one, I have to pay for it. My dentist sent me a text (drumming up business) and unless I responded to it that I didn't want to get texts, it would stay on my phone...
I am like Marni in regards to all of this stuff. I have a feeling, if I had an I Phone, I would just be on TE all of the time! In my job, we can't send any information through email (confidentiality), so it wouldn't do me any good there.

[Ana]

Google also offers a free 411 service (1-800-GOOG-411).

[owlice]

Really, the only one I'm even aware of any more is the iPod Touch, and I don't consider that a workable PDA since it doesn't have a useful alarm.

Ummmm, the iPod Touch does have alarms; I use them all the time! Both the Clock and the Calendar (built-in) apps offer alarms. I use the Calendar app to remind me to take my weekly vitamin D supplement, that I have an upcoming doctor's appointment, the kid has a dental appointment, and the like; I use the Clock app to wake me up, remind me to feed the meter, go to a meeting, and so on.

I used to set alarms on my phone, but the iPod Touch is so much easier to set alarms on, I use that for all alarms instead.

[OakLeaf]

How do you get it loud enough??? Mine is so faint I can't even hear it most of the time.

[ClockworkOrange]

Oh, my turn, my turn. :D

I got an Apple iphone 3 last weekend and it is fabulous. It was a belated birthday pressie under the circumstances with the ol' broken back.

Being able to wake up and check emails in bed, or check out ebay etc brilliant, for my situation at the moment. That said, I can be anywhere and keep in contact with my friends.

Must confess to love all the different Apps you can download (that's applications, I only found that out last week). :rolleyes:

For weeks I said I did not need one and what was the point but I gave in just to keep my partner happy and am I pleased that I did.

She is just sooooo sexy:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y272/Missbe/abf017dc.jpg

Clock

[Kano]

I have had a smart phone with email for over 10 years. I started with an early Palm version and now am on a windows mobile version. I toy with the idea of getting the iPhone, but I don't know for sure that it would sync with my Microsoft Outlook, which is critical.

FWIW, iphone does NOT sync with Outlook 2010 yet, but then, the 2010 version is still in Beta, which probably has something to do with that.

I DID have it set up to sync with the Outlook 2007 calendar function. iTunes tells me it will sync with the contacts, e-mail, etc. in outlook too. I don't remember if I did any of the other sync functions with outlook 2007.

I think that with a subscription to "Mobile Me" the iphone and your outlook stuff will keep synced all the time via the "cloud" -- I'm not sure how that works!

Karen in Boise

[maillotpois]

Kano - thanks!

[VeloVT]

nybiker, if you do get the Droid Incredible, please give us a review as I am due for an upgrade from Verizon and seriously considering the Incredible. I have a Blackberry Pearl currently and I have found the smartphone capabilities useful. For instance, my parents and I visited my sister in California in January. My parents both "thought" they remembered how to get from the airport to her office, but neither of them really did, so they kept driving around in circles, bickering and getting lost. Annoying. So I pulled out my phone, fired up Google Maps, typed in the business name, and my phone automagically gave use directions from our current GPS location to her office. On the same trip, I also wanted to call someone to keep an eye on my house, but I didn't have the number in my address book, so I was able to search the internet for him, highlight the phone number in the search results and automatically add it to my contacts. I also use it for email, and I sync my phone calendar with Google calendar (which I use a lot). I use the notes application to keep track of important information, and I have occasionally used the voice-notes application for things like remembering where I was parked in large garages (hospitals, hotels, etc).

Also, foursquare & twitter :).

[Veronica]

Can anyone out there tell me how great they are and that they're totally worth the added cost?



It's only worth the added cost if you need/want the added features and are going to use them.

Thom has a smart phone. I don't. He can check our security system, call up pictures from the kitty cam, get directions, all that sort of stuff. We use it a lot.

He has a 90 minute commute each way into San Francisco and rides about half of it on his motorcycle. I like that I can check to see where he is on iGoogle. I use that feature M - F to decide when to start dinner. Some mornings Ii check it, if he hasn't e mailed me, just so I don't worry.

If I were still doing long unsupported rides or even double centuries regularly, I'd probably upgrade just so he could track me. Maybe next year when I'm eligible again.

Veronica

[OakLeaf]

Any progress on Droid phones syncing with iCal?

That's one thing I keep checking on. I really don't want to use Google Calendar. I'm well aware that there's no real privacy in this world any more and generally not too worried about it, but given Google's express privacy policy, I'd just as rather not give them the names of my doctors, my appointment times, hotel and flight confirmation numbers, etc., etc., etc.....

[Aggie_Ama]

I have a Blackberry but only pay $5 a month to T-Mobile for basic internet. I can't get outlook email (thank god!) but I can get onto any website the will support mobile use. So I can check how big a thunderstorm is on weather.com, check in on TE, check my hotmail and reply, etc. FWIW, Google offers a free text for phone service. Just text what you are looking for the GOOGLE. Works awesome and since I have unlimited texts I love it!

[Tuckervill]

I have a Droid, and it has one major drawback. I can't scale the fonts on email or text. Very annoying, and a serious oversight on Google's part. I hope they change it soon.

I love having it. Like it better than my Blackberry Curve.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

Ummmm, the iPod Touch does have alarms; I use them all the time! Both the Clock and the Calendar (built-in) apps offer alarms. I use the Calendar app to remind me to take my weekly vitamin D supplement, that I have an upcoming doctor's appointment, the kid has a dental appointment, and the like; I use the Clock app to wake me up, remind me to feed the meter, go to a meeting, and so on.

I used to set alarms on my phone, but the iPod Touch is so much easier to set alarms on, I use that for all alarms instead.


OIC, I didn't even realize there was a new Touch with a real speaker and volume control. You must have the new one then.

[Zen]

. I use the Calendar app to remind me to take my weekly vitamin D supplement, that I have an upcoming doctor's appointment, the kid has a dental appointment, and the like; I use the Clock app to wake me up, remind me to feed the meter, go to a meeting, and so on.


For those calendar things I use a datebook and my email calendar. Both are free.
Except for the alarm, I use my brain to remember stuff. I know there are naysayers but it's pretty reliable.

Still working on my alarm function.

[Adventure Girl]

The OP didn't ask about a specific smart phone or for a comparison, but I have used the iPhone and Droid Incredible side-by-side. I have an iPhone. Robert just got a Droid Incredible last week. They both have their own strengths.

The iPhone is much more intuitive.
Very easy to navigate through screens.
Can go online while you are on the phone.
More available aps.

The Droid loads pages MUCH faster.
It works with Verizon (in my opinion a big advantage).
The camera is much better.

I really like my iPhone but the phone itself isn't that important to me. I don't make that many calls and I work in an office situation. So I have access to a land line for the bulk of the day. Robert depends on his cell phone for his
business. He is out in the field for hours at a time and NEEDS a very reliable phone and network.

So we each have a phone that works for us.

[Catrin]

Zen let me know if you get that alarm function working - I need some tips on that :p

[OakLeaf]

Looky, Google cycling maps now on Android. http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/05/google-maps-for-bikes-is-mobile/

[WindingRoad]

Dang it you guys! You are making me want to let my phone do all that fun stuff! I have a Samsung Impression (not fancy) but apparently a 'smart phone'. Since I'm getting ready to move it would be very cool to have internet on the fly (i.e. the bike) for when I'm trying to figure out routes through the city. I'm hesitant because of the cost and for the fact that last time I was in Chicago my GPS wouldn't pick up crap! Made me so mad it would only work in the middle of the countryside! Like I needed help there, there's one road, follow that! :rolleyes: Anyone live in Philly or nearby that can tell me if AT&T has decent coverage for GPS there? It may have been the GPS program sucked too??? I would probably just use google bike maps or something similar.

[ny biker]

The OP didn't ask about a specific smart phone or for a comparison, but I have used the iPhone and Droid Incredible side-by-side. I have an iPhone. Robert just got a Droid Incredible last week. They both have their own strengths.

The iPhone is much more intuitive.
Very easy to navigate through screens.
Can go online while you are on the phone.
More available aps.

The Droid loads pages MUCH faster.
It works with Verizon (in my opinion a big advantage).
The camera is much better.

I really like my iPhone but the phone itself isn't that important to me. I don't make that many calls and I work in an office situation. So I have access to a land line for the bulk of the day. Robert depends on his cell phone for his
business. He is out in the field for hours at a time and NEEDS a very reliable phone and network.

So we each have a phone that works for us.

I'm staying with Verizon, so the iphone is not an option for me.

One concern I have about the Droid Incredible -- every review says it's very hard to see the screen in direct sunlight. How bad is this problem? If I can't see the google maps while I'm out riding my bike on a sunny day, it's kind of worthless. I'm assuming you can just turn the phone or turn your body or whatever in order to see the screen, but maybe I'm wrong about that??

[kjb]

Well, isn't this timely? I just got an iPhone through work, which is fantastic. I love not having to pay $100 for it on my own. I'm all synced up with my work Outlook account and my GMail account. I get regular notifications from both. I also have my work calendar and my Google calendar synced on one iPhone calendar. Both are pretty useful to me. I also like that I can take care of work stuff while I'm taking the train into the city in the morning. I really wasn't a fan of doing work outside of work hours, but the iPhone makes it much easier.

I'm a complete Apple junkie, so I'd wanted to get an iPhone since they were introduced. A few drawbacks for me, though: i really don't like AT&T's service. I live right in Chicago, and i don't always have service bars, let alone 3G access. I never had any trouble with my T-Mobile service that wasn't caused by my POS phone. Also, the battery life isn't all that great. I have to charge every night, and leave it on the charger all night. It's kind of annoying, but . . .

If work didn't pay for it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have an iPhone. I've thought about getting the unlocked version and using it on my T-Mobile account, but it wouldn't have a lot of the features that make it so cool.

[ColoKate]

It pains me to pay $120+ per month for my iPhone - especially because I never talk on the damn thing - I just can't give it up because I love it to death! I love texting or emailing pics on the fly to my family and friends. I love to read my emails and news on the bus to and from work. I'm totally obsessed with Words with Friends, a free scrabble app. I use the GPS daily as well as the various run/ride trackers. I use my free wine app when I'm at the grocery store. I bookmark recipes online while I'm watching Food Network shows. In fact this is my all-time favorite use of the entire device: I've always got it in the kitchen with me, either reading recipes from webpages or watching youtube clips from cooking shows. I'd always wanted to be able to do this and now I can! When I'm on the way home from work, I love typing in an ingredient I've got at home - I can get ideas for dinner before I even make it to the grocery store. I use the mobile versions of ebay, craigslist, pandora, google, google earth, yelp, facebook, online banking/billpay, groupon and others - making it unecessary to ever be tethered to my laptop whether at home or traveling. Can't imagine life without it.

[channlluv]

+1 -- love my iPhone

Roxy

[Tuckervill]

I have the Motorola Droid, and it is very easy to see in the sunlight. That was not the case with my Blackberry. I really like it.

Karen

[sundial]

Tuck, I thought you had an iPhone.

I use my iPhone as my computer on the go when I travel. Guess that's why I am not in a hurry to get an iPad.

[Becky]

Has anyone tried a NexusOne (http://www.google.com/phone)? I'm intrigued....

[ny biker]

Okay, decision made and order has been placed. I should get the new phone around June 1 or so. I think it will be fun and useful.

In the meantime, I printed out the user manual and am reading it to familiarize myself with the phone's features. It's 206 pages long!! 206!!! And you don't even get to "how to make a phone call" until page 39!!!

Thanks everyone for your input!

[sundial]

Good grief! Are there any tutorial videos you can watch?

[ny biker]

It's a fast read, plenty of white space. Actually pretty well written for a tech user manual.

I printed it double sided, two pages per side to save on paper.

[ny biker]

Update -- the phone arrived last night and I activated it today! I still am figuring out how to do everything. But I know how to make a call, answer a call, and send a text message. And surf the web. And look up addresses in google maps. And take photos and upload them to facebook. So I'm already well on my way.

[7rider]

Do you have the same #?

[ny biker]

Do you have the same #?

Yes.

I need to get a good ringtone. The ones that come with the phone are boring. My old phone had a train ringtone that was awesome -- I miss it already.

I might download a ringtone from the Formula 1 website -- so I'll hear engines revving whenever anyone calls me.

[northstar]

I have a Palm Pixi, and I love it. I just made the switch to a smartphone and it makes things so convenient! GPS, email, my calendar, everything. It was quite inexpensive (as an upgrade through Sprint) and I'm trying to get my mom to get one. :)

[indysteel]

Until 2006, I didn't have a cell phone of any kind. Now I have the Blackberry Curve. I mostly use it for e-mail and calendaring. I got to the point two years ago that I was forgetting a lot of appointments because I was so busy all the time, not all of which I wanted on my work computer, so I opted for the Blackberry. I also didn't have and didn't want a home computer, so it filled in the blanks there, too. I really like being connected with work 24/7. My job isn't THAT intrusive as it is, so the fact that I'm always reachable isn't a big drawback for me. It's also helped me feel less anxious about being out of the office since I can still stay in touch. I really like having it when we travel. We can look up directions or restaurants or check the weather.

I can't answer for you whether it would be worth the extra cost. For me, it is.

[ny biker]

So, the new phone is already paying off.

I drove up to NY for the holiday weekend. Driving back to VA on Tuesday, I crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge only to find that 295 S -- the route to I-95 -- was completely closed. (Really, Delaware should change its motto to "The perpetual road work state.") And the detour to get to I-95S was poorly marked, well technically there were no signs at all. No problem, I have a Garmin Nuvi to keep me from getting lost. But I quickly realized the Garmin would put me on 95 right before the toll booth, and I refuse to pay that toll -- especially when they can't be bothered to properly sign such a major detour.

So I pulled over at a gas station, turned on the phone's internet connection (I keep it off when I'm not using it to conserve the battery) and fired up the google maps. It found my location, and I was able to scroll around and figure out how to get to Rt 4 south so I could bypass the toll and rejoin I-95 in Maryland. Score!!!

I also had fun taking photos of my sibling's dogs and uploading them to facebook over the weekend. I played with making videos, too.

For my next experiment, I will try out the Navigation app on some local trips to see how well it works.

I've also spent some time playing Teeter, which came with the phone. But I'd like to download one or two other games for those times when I'm stuck somewhere with time to kill. Can anyone recommend a droid app for crossword puzzles or scrabble? Or any other good games?

BTW, merely browsing through the available apps is pretty entertaining. Under the "lifestyle" category, you can find various bible and other religious apps. But the same category also includes multiple versions of the kama sutra and something called "Car Sex Positions." :D

[OakLeaf]

LOL - I call it "car sex" when people drive their cars drive side-by-side in adjacent lanes, blocking all the traffic behind them.

FWIW, my DH is just learning to use the "detour" function on his Garmin (he's been a Garmin user for a decade) and finds that it works really well. Still, the live traffic function on the phone doesn't cost you anything extra, while Garmin's traffic subscription is pretty steep I believe.

I just ordered a Droid Incredible. They're backordered for three weeks. It was the last straw on Wednesday when I had to go into town early before the club ride, and literally minutes after I left, everyone else posted to the forum that they weren't riding. :rolleyes: - so after I'd done my errands, I waited around until just before the ride was supposed to start before I called DH and asked him to check the internet for me. :p

I'm not 100% convinced it's the phone for me - but I've got 30 days to return it if I don't like it. I reallyreallyreally don't like the idea of syncing everything through Google Calendars, even though I'm perfectly well aware that there's no privacy on the airwaves and never has been.

I did just read in the paper this morning that all the service providers will be using the same 4G protocol and frequency - so there's still that tantalizing fantasy of a Verizon iPhone in the future. :rolleyes: Which is probably exactly how Apple strings people along, figuring the next best thing to people buying iPhones is keeping them from buying other smartphones... :cool:

[ny biker]

Just an update -- I'm soooooo glad I got this phone. I love being able to check google maps when I'm out on a ride, or check the weather radar map when I'm way out in Paeonian Springs and it looks like it's about to pour down rain.

I like the camera and camcorder. The photo quality is good and it's very easy to upload photos directly to facebook, picasa, or flickr, although the transfer is a bit slow and for photos above a certain size you need a wifi connection because it won't go over the 3g network.

Yesterday my car stereo died -- naturally these things happen at the start of a holiday weekend. I need music when I drive, so I just transferred a bunch of songs from my pc to the phone's sd card so I can play them in the car. Of course the sound quality won't be nearly as good as a real stereo, but it beats listening to the car engine for hours.

Also, I found a great word game that's kinda sorta like scrabble without the scrabble board. It's addictive.

I'm still playing with some of the voice-activated stuff. There's a voice search -- you say what you're looking for and you get a google page with whatever you just said. I tried the voice dialer but it didn't work well -- need to try that again. Also need to test the voice-to-text.

I do think it's hard to see the screen when you're outside in bright sun, but this is not nearly enough of a downside to make me regret getting the phone. It's such a great tool. I love this thing.

BTW I did download a Formula 1 engine for my ringtone. It's hilarious.

[OakLeaf]

Have you been able to play music in your car?

I can't do it with my brand new Droid Incredible and DH can't do it with his iPhone. He explained it to me just a little bit ago - the jack in a phone, unlike the jack in an iPod, is for a combined microphone/headphone, so it takes a different plug from the stereo cable that you can easily find in male-to-male. Cables are apparently available but kind of expensive. I suppose we could fabricate one pretty easily with parts from Radio Shack.

Loving the Incredible so far, after four days, but it's way too big to run with and borderline for cycling. I'm thinking I'll put my old phone on a pre-paid plan, if that's possible, for running - although it is nice having access to weather radar on the bike.

[ny biker]

I haven't tried to use it through the car stereo. But I can take the earphones from my mp3 player and plug it into the phone and listen to music through them. Isn't that the same kind of plug?

[ny biker]

I would just like to say that technology is so cool.

My new favorite album (Foo Fighters Wasting Light) goes on sale in 2 days. They made it available early to listen to for free on their website, but it's not possible to download it yet for storage on a hard drive or memory card.

So today I fired up the browser on my Droid Incredible, went to their website and pressed the "play" icon. Then I started up the car, turned on the stereo, plugged the phone's power cord into the outlet inside the car console, plugged the phone's earphone jack into the Aux-in port inside the console, and cranked the volume. I was listening to music from the internet in real time through the car stereo speakers while driving around northern Virginia. Awesome.

(BTW I'm able to use a standard male-male plug from the phone earphone jack into the aux port. I got it cheap at Target.)

[Aggie_Ama]

I am ridiculously addicted to my Blackberry Torch. Never understood the obsession with the smart phones with internet. Now my email box is cleaner, I can check the weather on the fly and I get directions if I am without my Garmin. Plus I gave into Facebook when my closest of friends got lazy with email but will check Facebook daily, I love how easy it is to use. I really hate how much I like my Smartphone. :o

[Irulan]

FWIW, iphone does NOT sync with Outlook 2010 yet, but then, the 2010 version is still in Beta, which probably has something to do with that.


Iphone 4 syncs with Outlook 2010 just fine, I've been doing this since Xmas.


Have you been able to play music in your car?

I can't do it with my brand new Droid Incredible and DH can't do it with his iPhone. He explained it to me just a little bit ago - the jack in a phone, unlike the jack in an iPod, is for a combined microphone/headphone, so it takes a different plug from the stereo cable that you can easily find in male-to-male. Cables are apparently available but kind of expensive. I suppose we could fabricate one pretty easily with parts from Radio Shack.



I use my iPhone 4 as a music player just fine through the male/female auxiliary jack in my car. No problems here. The cable cost $7.95 at Radio Shack. It is the same kind of plug as earphones.

As for cost, we have a family plan. Once we got the phone ( upgrade, saved a lot of money) it added exactly $15/month plus fees to our plan. I discovered right away that I didn't need the unlimited plan. You only need that if you are streaming Pandora, streaming Netflix etc.

One can be a smug Luddite all they want (I have an answering machine, who needs a smart phone) but they are very useful tools, aside from the fun stuff. I'm sold.

[GLC1968]

One can be a smug Luddite all they want (I have an answering machine, who needs a smart phone) but they are very useful tools, aside from the fun stuff. I'm sold.

You ain't kidding! I've been a smartphone hold out for years. I even work for a company that makes parts for smartphones and yet, refused to give in. I hardly ever used my dumb cell phone - why would I even need a smarter one?

Two weeks ago, I got an iphone 4. Granted, it's paid for by my work, so I'd probably not have ever bothered otherwise but I am convinced. Seriously. I have NO patience for technology that doesn't work (again, pretty funny considering that I'm an EE by trade) and this thing has seriously impressed me. I absolutely LOVE it. I don't update facebook on it, I don't text, I don't take and share photos or face talk with anyone...but I definitely use the GPS, the browser, the email, and many of the apps. I never would have expected to say this, but I seriously LOVE my iphone! I love that now when I run I can take ONE device. It's my watch, my gps, my phone and my music (if I want it) - no need to carry a bunch of other little things. I will take it on my bike with me as well once I'm riding outside again.

It plugs into our new surround sound system, so I can play my music through our TV/stereo in the house (while it charges). It will plug into our new car (once it arrives) so that I can play my music or talk hands-free (while it charges). It plugs into my little stereo thing in the kitchen so that I can listen to music when I'm cooking, cleaning or canning (while it charges). It's so simple and yet so powerful.

My only question for myself is: Why did I wait so long? :p

[Crankin]

Still a Luddite....
Don't play music, don't use GPS, don't need or want to check email when I am out and about, don't text. Take pictures with a camera (a nice one), but I have no idea how those pictures get into the computer...
I'm not being sarcastic, really, but I can't really think of any reason I would get a Smart Phone. Perhaps it's because in my field, we don't and sometimes can't (because of confidentiality) use technology much in our work.
I keep asking myself why so many people feel the need to be in touch all of the time. I often watch people on the train and count how many are using some kind of electronic device. It's just interesting, to contrast that with how many are reading, not on an I Pad or Kindle.
Just a comment and casting no judgments on anyone.

[GLC1968]

I often watch people on the train and count how many are using some kind of electronic device. It's just interesting, to contrast that with how many are reading, not on an I Pad or Kindle.
Just a comment and casting no judgments on anyone.


My husband and I laugh about this all the time. The other morning, we met for breakfast at a cafe and for the first couple of minutes after we ordered, we were both doing something on our phones. I looked up at him and said 'put it away' and we both did. Then we looked around the restaurant and saw entirely too many families where every single member was doing something on an electrical device and no one was even speaking to each other! I'm not a parent, but if I was, that would NOT fly in my household.

Anyway, I love how handy the smartphone is when we are running errands or doing things on the weekends and having email and a VPN on my phone means that I can attend to my work things without having to lug a laptop home. But yeah, I don't feel like I need to be 'connected' all the time. I don't even carry my phone with me when I'm working on the farm as it just isn't that important to me. The smartphone means I can connect when I need to, but it doesn't mean that I am ALWAYS connected. Of course, that's more my personality than it is my electronics. ;)

[ny biker]

Don't play music

I would be miserable without music. The stereo is always on in the car. I always have an mp3 player (used to be portable cd player, walkman) at the gym. It just makes me happy.

[OakLeaf]

I wouldn't be able to get along without some kind of handheld calendar, address book and check/debit register. For confidentiality issues, you probably wouldn't want an Android phone (since it's all Google stuff), but a Blackberry is as secure as anything out there (including paper, that's too easily lost and can't be locked), and iPhones aren't far behind in terms of security.

I was fine for years with a separate PDA and regular phone, but it's so much handier and less bulky in my purse having a single device. It's true it's more bulky to run and ride with - situations where normally I'd carry only a phone, not the PDA - but I deal with that.

I'm old enough that the paper thing was my only choice for years. Spent way too much time manually entering everything in two or three different places and never being 100% sure whether something had been "synced up" or "backed up" or not. Never looked back.

I have my Garmin for navigation on the bike - but the phone is great in the car where I can plug it in, and I can't count the number of times that it's saved me from having to pull over and dig for a map that I might or might not even have.

[ny biker]

I have my Garmin for navigation on the bike - but the phone is great in the car where I can plug it in, and I can't count the number of times that it's saved me from having to pull over and dig for a map that I might or might not even have.

I love maps, and I have no problem reading a map. But I once paid a homeless guy in Philadelphia $5 for giving me directions when I was horribly lost in a not-very-good neighborhood, because I didn't have the right map with me. With the smartphone, I always have a local map and built-in gps to help me reach my destination.

It's also handy for running errands, when I know how to get to a certain store from my home but don't know the best way to get there from another location that I visit first. And for the kitchen renovation it was truly useful. I was looking for cool white wall tile, found something I liked in one store that was charging a high price, was able to look up the manufacturer's website, then find other tile stores in my area that carried it, then looked up their hours and used navigation to get to them before they closed. It would have taken much longer if I'd had to go home to look all that information up instead of doing it in my car while parked at the first store.

[Bike Writer]

Hopelessly in love with my blackberry. I come from a paper planner background and have used the Franklin Covey system of planning for years, they have software that integrates with Outlook and just makes Outlook a cooler version of itself and it operates on my blackberry too. I honestly have so many appointments and tasks related to work that I'd be lost without something to keep track of it all and the BB happens to be smaller and handier and do more things besides just be a planner.

I don't really use my smartphone to it's full capacity and rarely surf the net with it unless I need to find something and I'm away from my computer but I have been using it for mapping driving routes as a GPS.

The added plus is that it's also a phone and that reading what some of you use your smartphones for gives me ideas about how to realize a greater potential from it.

I'm not addicted to the point of it taking precedence, when I am face to face with others it takes the backseat and I don't inturrupt face to face interactions with it's intrusion. I love modern technology and appreciate the simple life just as much. Like so many other things it can be carried to excess. I don't enjoy watching people letting technology interfer with social things like dinner time, time out with friends, family or a spouse etc.

Meal time has always been reserved for family time without a TV on where I grew up and still practice that today, even when dining alone.

[Crankin]

I don't even use the address book function in my email... just let the auto feature work there, you know the thing that starts typing in an address when you do. I use a day planner, not the fancy kind, just a paper notebook I bought in the college bookstore. I started using Outlook for a while at work this year, but I stopped, because I hated those fricking sounds going off, the reminders, etc. And the idea of letting someone else see my calendar creeps me out. I could never work in the business world. Truthfully, I find stuff stays in my brain if I write it down, like in write, not type. Yea, I have the radio on in the car, but I could definitely live without music. I never know who is singing what anyway, and so I am not interested in buying the newest stuff, because I don't know what the stuff is!
As far as maps, I have very little occasion to have to drive somewhere that I don't know my way to. If I do, I use Mapquest, print it out, study it, so I have it just about memorized and leave it by me in the car. DH has a built in GPS in his SUV, which although we buy the updates for, sometimes is a little off. He bought a portable one for when we use my car or his Miata, which I think I could figure out, if I had to.
Can you guess that I am not very adventurous? While I do travel and go out to eat, etc. quite a bit, usually someone else is doing the planning. I do have a good sense of direction, though and most of the time, it's me that gets us out of a "lost" situation when the GPS has sent us off in the wrong direction.
Truthfully, I have a lot of trouble remembering how to use anything electronic or mechanical; it's like that part of my brain doesn't work. If it's language mediated I'm fine, but symbols or numbers, forget it. I've always wondered who makes up icons, because if they are supposed to be intuitive, they think really differently than me.
I know I'm in the minority on this list, as it seems like most cyclists are very gadget oriented and mechanical.

[ACG]

I have a work provided blackberry. It has saved me countless times at the office or when I'm home and something comes up from the office.

I have a me provided Droid. Work doesn't have this number. The map/gps has saved me countless times when I'm riding and I find construction, need a shorter way home or can't find a Starbucks.

My BF has a 2 hour commute each way, we text eachother. The best was when I was in Italy and we texted. He does not have a smart phone, doesn't want one.

We do not have phones at dinner.

My adult daughters are out and about and I need to know where there are so there is usually the "alive" text I get from them. Both are in school and I need to know they are in fact alive.

We have a pretty good deal because we are on a family plan.

This like anything else is a personal decision. There is no right or wrong here, it is how much money is it worth to you?

[emily_in_nc]

Still a Luddite....
Don't play music, don't use GPS, don't need or want to check email when I am out and about, don't text. Take pictures with a camera (a nice one), but I have no idea how those pictures get into the computer...
I'm not being sarcastic, really, but I can't really think of any reason I would get a Smart Phone. Perhaps it's because in my field, we don't and sometimes can't (because of confidentiality) use technology much in our work.
I keep asking myself why so many people feel the need to be in touch all of the time. I often watch people on the train and count how many are using some kind of electronic device. It's just interesting, to contrast that with how many are reading, not on an I Pad or Kindle.
Just a comment and casting no judgments on anyone.

I'm pretty much like you. I do have an old-timey (first generation and not made by Apple) MP3 player, which I listen to at the gym (only way I can tolerate the treadmill!), but aside from that, I just have a simple cellphone. I have taken only a handful of photos on it in the 2 years I've had it. Like 5 photos. I don't use the internet on it, and have only sent about 5 texts.

When I take the bus to/from work, I read a newspaper or paperback. I am in the minority as most are on their smartphones or Kindles/Nooks. I am on the laptop so much while at home (and online all day at work), it's actually a nice break not to be tempted to go online every minute. I don't care to be "always on".

Editing to add: I am a techie - a software engineer, and I still don't want technology taking over every part of my life. In some ways, I think it's gone too far in our lives. I have seen so many of my friends get practically addicted to their Smartphones after never even knowing they "needed" one before.

[Geonz]

I had serious problems getting my Sprint phone to keep working -- between phones and chargers, I kept returning 'em (and lost two chargers along the way)... and a friend of mine offered to sell me his smartphone so he could upgrade. My phone worked for several weeks running but I realized that I'm out riding on the wild open prairie (incoming goose!) often enough that I want to be able to see those big dark clouds and check the radar. I even did it last week at the grocery store and shopped with leisure 'cause they were just clouds, not a storm...
I want to try to figure out a way to get a to do list on it... but I've never in my life been able to do that with any kind of planner, so that's a long shot. (If I even remember I have a list, I usually don't know where it is. I'm accustomed to cleaning out drawers and finding forgotten evidence of Some Organizing Attempt...)
$25/month gets me 300 minutes a month and all the INternet I want. I generally don't check email... but it will be nice to be able to when I'm doing GITAP and on the bike for a week. Battery life isn't so great -- but lots better now that one of my students showed me the "kill the battery sucking automatic update apps" app.

[Irulan]

I want to try to figure out a way to get a to do list on it... but I've never in my life been able to do that with any kind of planner, so that's a long shot. (If I even remember I have a list, I usually don't know where it is. I'

There are apps for that. I just use the notes feature built into the iphone.

[OakLeaf]

For comprehensive content and task management, the best software I ever used was ACT! (http://www.act.com/)

It's been years and they've been through a couple of changes of ownership (in fact, the reason I stopped using it was they stopped supporting the Mac :() - so I can't really speak to how it is now for sure, but I loved that software.

It's designed for salespeople, but it was enormously customizable to the extent that it was just perfect for a solo law practice.

And they do have a mobile app that works together with the desktop.

For just basic to-dos, at this point I put them into my regular calendar, and either make something an all-day event with an alarm during the daytime, or assign a particular time to it even if it doesn't need one.