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

[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.

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).

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:



Clock

[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

[OakLeaf]

Looky, Google cycling maps now on Android. http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/...kes-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! 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.

[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.

[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??