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 ).

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 . 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 - 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.


____________________
*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...001160_pf.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/...fightContent.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.

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

[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!