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Honestly, I'm shocked by all the comments here from people without smartphones or only flip-phones, in what's supposed to be a community of technophiles. Perso

by magduf 8y ago

Honestly, I'm shocked by all the comments here from people without smartphones or only flip-phones, in what's supposed to be a community of technophiles. Personally, I'd be lost without my phone. I don't understand the "addiction" bit at all, it's just a tool to me that is extremely useful, mainly because of a handful of apps. The phone part (for talking) really isn't that important, because I don't talk that much on it. Here's what I use my phone most for: 1) navigation. Seriously, why the heck would I want to go back to the inefficiency and danger of paper maps when I have a navigator telling me when to turn and keeping me on track as I concentrate on paying attention to other drivers? 2) calendar. My calendar is online so it's easy to keep myself organized with it, and my phone gives me reminders. 3) texting. So many people text now that to communicate with them you have to text too. The nice thing about texting is that you don't have to interrupt what you're doing right that second to respond. Also, there's more to texting than SMS: there's many apps like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, LINE, etc. which can offer more reliable and better user interfaces (such as read receipts). 4) calculator. I don't have to carry around an old HP RPN calculator, because my phone has an app that does the same thing. 5) notes. Instead of taking notes on easily-lost pieces of paper, I have an app for writing random bits of information down. 6) socializing. Meetup.com and various dating apps are quite helpful in finding events and meeting new people. How else is a single person supposed to meet dating partners anyway? (No, I don't drink, so don't tell me to go to a bar.) Web browsing is actually not something I do that much on my phone, because the screen is small and the UI for it sucks, so I generally save that for my PC. It's nice to have the capability now and then, for instance if I want to look something up on Wikipedia really quick when I'm out, but it's not something I spend a lot of time on.

magduf 8y ago
Oh yeah, I forgot a really big one: 7) camera. Instead of having to carry a separate camera around just in case I see something I want to photograph, I already have one built into my phone that's pretty good (though admittedly of course not nearly as good (particularly for low-light conditions) as a serious DSLR or other good camera). My new phone even has dual lenses, a 16MP regular lens with OIS and an 8MP wide-angle lens. Considering I carry the phone around all the time anyway for the other functions, the camera is a really nice bonus. Along with this is 8) Banking apps, with check-deposit functionality (enabled by the camera in #7). No longer do I have to take time off from work and waste my time and gas going to the bank when someone sends me a paper check; instead I just take a couple photos on my banking app and it's deposited.

by magduf 8y ago

magduf 8y ago

Oh yeah, I forgot a really big one: 7) camera. Instead of having to carry a separate camera around just in case I see something I want to photograph, I already have one built into my phone that's pretty good (though admittedly of course not nearly as good (particularly for low-light conditions) as a serious DSLR or other good camera). My new phone even has dual lenses, a 16MP regular lens with OIS and an 8MP wide-angle lens. Considering I carry the phone around all the time anyway for the other functions, the camera is a really nice bonus. Along with this is 8) Banking apps, with check-deposit functionality (enabled by the camera in #7). No longer do I have to take time off from work and waste my time and gas going to the bank when someone sends me a paper check; instead I just take a couple photos on my banking app and it's deposited.