Crossed over to the dark side

For 10 years, I have held out, swearing that I would NEVER use a smart phone. And then a major Southern retailer went out of business wand everything was 90% off on their last day. Including phones. So I bought two 60 dollar Verizon phones for 6 bucks a piece. That was almost 2 months ago. I'm still figuring some things out, but I've been absent from all forums since I dumped Suddenlink and this phone is now my only online connection. I finally discovered the topic-it app for forums, so that should make it easier for me to browse. So, yeah. That's what I've been up to.

Welcome to the world of personal 24/7 computer-communication dependency.

I once said, "I will never text."  Then I was forced into it by work.

I still hate texting.

yeah, with work they are pretty standard these days. I held out for a long time too and kept a flip phone. Then I upgrade to a non-smart phone with a slider keyboard. It finally died and I saw a Motorola smartphone for 10 bucks on black Friday one year and made the jump over to smart phones. have had several upgrades since then (now a Motorola G6 but it lags after getting the Android update). 

As a family we pretty much HAVE to have phones now for medical reasons.



We use it to monitor our youngest daughter's blood sugar using the Dexcom Follow app. It's a blessing and now we couldn't live without our smartphones.

As for texting I prefer it over making phone calls for the most part.

I way prefer texting my work partners over calling them...I can get off the phone faster.
I don't like texting my kids though, because it actually takes longer than just calling them. 

I had to get one this year to look for work, everything was dependent on having a cellphone and now I have to have it for work. I reluctantly joined the 21st century.

I had a flip phone for a lot of years as my old employer Bridgestone wouldn't allow us to have a phone with a camera on it inside the factory.

When I went to work for the school system, I tried out a semi-smart phone (you could only get apps from the phone maker).  Then, I got a Samsung Galaxy S4.  I have had a smart phone ever since.  I upgraded from there to the Galaxy S5.  Then, I moved to Motorola and got my current X4 which I have enjoyed more than my Samsungs.  The Moto phones are really well built!

For carriers, I had Verizon with my flip phones.  I moved to Straight Talk in 2009 and haven't looked back.

What I really want to know is; were there cookies?

Here, where I from we don't text anymore.
We use Whats App.

rockerVu2 wrote:

Here, where I from we don't text anymore.
We use Whats App.

Why does the Netherlands find Whats App superior to SMS/MMS? What happens if the person doesn't have that app installed? I personally hate having to install apps despite being an IT person of sorts.

topshot rhit wrote:

rockerVu2 wrote:

Here, where I from we don't text anymore.
We use Whats App.

Why does the Netherlands find Whats App superior to SMS/MMS? What happens if the person doesn't have that app installed? I personally hate having to install apps despite being an IT person of sorts.

Same here.  I don't mind an app if it does something that my phone doesn't do like my word games, Shopkick, etc.  To install an app to make the phone do something that it already does just seems redundant to me.

I personally never understood the aversion. I've always been gung ho to get the latest piece of tech. We got beepers when they were affordable in the mid to late 90s, then I got a Palm Pilot (which made me the MVP at the pharmacy I worked at since I was the only one with all the answers to medication and insurance billing right in my back pocket), soon as I could afford it, I got a cell phone with a big old cool antennae in 2004.. I was already trying to figure out how to make it do more than just phone calls. I've gotten a new smart phone every 2 to 3 years since. I love having the world at my fingertips and can't imagine being without it. No apologies   . My mother is the one who's kicking and screaming into the new Millennium  - she refuses to bend her knee to any new technologies. Sigh

I first got a cell phone (or a mobile phone as we call it) back in 2004, and then finally got a smart phone about 5 years ago.  It does feel like we're slowly sinking in technology!

Next year I'm getting this pretty cool thing where you stick a microchip in your wrist and it opens doors, pays for stuff and the government can track you if you get lost.  Someone said it is the mark of the beast, but then this impressive, red-eyed dude from Europe told me not to worry as it's all fine.

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I personally never understood the aversion. I've always been gung ho to get the latest piece of tech. We got beepers when they were affordable in the mid to late 90s, then I got a Palm Pilot (which made me the MVP at the pharmacy I worked at since I was the only one with all the answers to medication and insurance billing right in my back pocket), soon as I could afford it, I got a cell phone with a big old cool antennae in 2004.. I was already trying to figure out how to make it do more than just phone calls. I've gotten a new smart phone every 2 to 3 years since. I love having the world at my fingertips and can't imagine being without it. No apologies   . My mother is the one who's kicking and screaming into the new Millennium  - she refuses to bend her knee to any new technologies. Sigh

Like I said, for me it was never an aversion to technology.  Where I worked wouldn't allow us to have phones with cameras.  So, you got a basic flip phone even when the rest of the world was getting smart phones.  I didn't text for a long time because it took so long on a flip phone keyboard.  Plus, I thought it was dumb since you could actually call someone.

Now, I use the phone for a lot of things like shopping, social media, a few games, my GPS, and used to use it for geocaching.  I rarely have the newest model of phones as they are too pricey.  Being on Straight Talk means I can either buy their phones that cannot get system updates, or get my own.  So, I shop around for weeks (and months on my current phone) to find the closest to flagship phone I can find at the least amount of money since I will have to purchase it outright.  While the world may not think so, I actually like my Moto much better than my Samsungs.  It feels more durable and does everything that the Samsung Galaxy S9 does.  Yes, I know there is a 10, but it hadn't been released a year and a half ago when I got my Moto X4.

Moto actually gets high scores for an inexpensive phone. It's what I have and it's great.

Love my Pixel 3a, my Dell laptop, Samsung Nexus 10, and Dell PC.

Topshot, What's app is free, for a text you have to pay here.
You can make an addressbook for What's App.
You can make groups in What's App, we have a What's App with the kids, one with my broter and sisters.
So you can keep in tyouch with your kids and family.

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I personally never understood the aversion. [...] I love having the world at my fingertips and can't imagine being without it.

Having the world always at your fingertips means you are always at someone else's fingertips too. Don't like being at the beck and call of someone else, all the time. I like being untethered. I know you don't have to answer or respond right away, but avoiding even the interruption is nice.

ChristTrekker wrote:

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

I personally never understood the aversion. [...] I love having the world at my fingertips and can't imagine being without it.

Having the world always at your fingertips means you are always at someone else's fingertips too. Don't like being at the beck and call of someone else, all the time. I like being untethered. I know you don't have to answer or respond right away, but avoiding even the interruption is nice.

This!

Meh, technophobes 

Fundy wrote:

...

Next year I'm getting this pretty cool thing where you stick a microchip in your wrist and it opens doors, pays for stuff and the government can track you if you get lost.  Someone said it is the mark of the beast, but then this impressive, red-eyed dude from Europe told me not to worry as it's all fine.

 Ummm....don't do it Fundy....I have a feeling it could be bad. 

rockerVu2 wrote:

Topshot, What's app is free, for a text you have to pay here.

I see. There are phone plans like that in the US, but it seems a majority of them offer unlimited texts.

I said I would never have an iPhone. Last summer it became the logical choice.

That topic it app is for the birds. I would much rather bookmark this page and view the web version. But I digress. I'm not constantly tethered to my phone. My wife, on the other hand, has not been able to put hers down since I installed bingo and farkle apps on hers.

Fundy wrote:

I first got a cell phone (or a mobile phone as we call it) back in 2004, and then finally got a smart phone about 5 years ago.  It does feel like we're slowly sinking in technology!

Next year I'm getting this pretty cool thing where you stick a microchip in your wrist and it opens doors, pays for stuff and the government can track you if you get lost.  Someone said it is the mark of the beast, but then this impressive, red-eyed dude from Europe told me not to worry as it's all fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yrsfzps5zw