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

[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.

[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.