I'd like to enter the 1990s--could somebody explain smartphones to me

[wiegie]

I am a "late-adopter" (read: "cheap-ass mother f'er").

 

I am, however, considering taking the plunge and getting a smartphone. I suppose mostly I would use it to check my e-mail and surf the web.

 

What do I need to know and how much should I expect to pay (particularly for service plans)?

 

(How much would I pay for unlimited everything?)

 

Thanks in advance.

[SheikYerbuti]

I am a "late-adopter" (read: "cheap-ass mother f'er").

 

I am, however, considering taking the plunge and getting a smartphone. I suppose mostly I would use it to check my e-mail and surf the web.

 

What do I need to know and how much should I expect to pay (particularly for service plans)?

 

(How much would I pay for unlimited everything?)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

For just one phone, Sprint charges between $60 and 70 a month for unlimited everything. If you're a new customer you can get a smartphone for between nothing and $50. You can pay more and get one of the insane new phones, but if you're just doing web browsing, email and apps, you should be fine with whichever one they're offering.

[BeeR]

You need to know it's retarded and a waste of money. Honestly - surf the web on a 2" screen? wtph for? If you're that bored, take up tennis or something.

 

:dinosaur roar:

Edited June 15, 2010 by BeeR

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

I find them very useful and would not want to go back to just a cell phone. From using google maps with the traffic feature, to checking countless email accounts, to googling something while you're out and about, it's great. And then of course they can now double as an MP3 player, video player, etc.

 

Those automobile things will never catch on either BeeR.

[BeeR]

I never said they didn't catch on. They're all the rage thanks to the truckloads of sheeple out there. People buy lots of stupid chit nowdays.

 

That said, the google maps thing is a good point, I can see the use there (that is if your car - gasp- doesn't have GPS). But I will never get the fascination with checking email/etc on a phone.....but to each their own.

[kpholmes]

I never said they didn't catch on. They're all the rage thanks to the truckloads of sheeple out there. People buy lots of stupid chit nowdays.

 

That said, the google maps thing is a good point, I can see the use there (that is if your car - gasp- doesn't have GPS). But I will never get the fascination with checking email/etc on a phone.....but to each their own.

 

As a college student, having e-mail on my phone was immensely useful; If I was on campus for the day without my computer I would get e-mails regarding class cancellations later in the day, or changes to reading, office hours, etc... that I wouldn't have been able to receive otherwise. Wait a few hours only to show up and find a class has been canceled? No thanks. I'm sure people in a business environment find the same use for it.

 

But yes, I also use it to keep up with FF all day as well - IMing and replying to trade offers, etc...

[wiegie]

I never said they didn't catch on. They're all the rage thanks to the truckloads of sheeple out there. People buy lots of stupid chit nowdays.

 

That said, the google maps thing is a good point, I can see the use there (that is if your car - gasp- doesn't have GPS). But I will never get the fascination with checking email/etc on a phone.....but to each their own.

the GPS is one of the reasons I am thinking about getting one

 

I'd also like to be able to check out prices and reviews when I am out shopping for whatever.

 

I use e-mail a lot for my work, so that would be useful too.

[wildcat2334]

the GPS is one of the reasons I am thinking about getting one

 

I'd also like to be able to check out prices and reviews when I am out shopping for whatever.

 

I use e-mail a lot for my work, so that would be useful too.

 

 

I use the GPS on my iphone all the time- it is great. I have/need one for work and am reimbursed for it, that being said I can't imagine not having one and would pay for it if I had to.

 

my iphone plan runs about $130 including all the bs taxes - unlimited talk, 1500 text and unlimited data (although I heard they were changing the data plan for new customers with a tiered pricing model)

[Egret]

the GPS is one of the reasons I am thinking about getting one

 

I'd also like to be able to check out prices and reviews when I am out shopping for whatever.

 

I use e-mail a lot for my work, so that would be useful too.

Take a look at an Android phone from Google. The Google shopping features are very cool. The program can scan an item in a box or a bar code to compare prices with online retailers. It can be very handy. I have Sprint, and they can have the cheapest plans. As a GVSU employee, you should get a percentage discount off each month for your plan. I think we get 19% off each month.

 

We bought our phones through Best Buy. They take the mail in rebate price off the top of the phone so you don't have to worry about it. The downside was that they couldn't enter in any discounts. That was still worth not having to deal with mail in rebates.

[Caveman_Nick]

I am a "late-adopter" (read: "cheap-ass mother f'er").

 

I am, however, considering taking the plunge and getting a smartphone. I suppose mostly I would use it to check my e-mail and surf the web.

 

What do I need to know and how much should I expect to pay (particularly for service plans)?

 

(How much would I pay for unlimited everything?)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

If you want the most dummy-proof smart-phone, get an iPhone. Wait until the new one comes out in a few weeks.

 

It's very easy to manage through iTunes and it's very easy to use. Too bad you didn't get the mac laptop, but you can get iTunes for Windoze.

 

I am not sure what the plans cost. I get mine through work. I would guess you can find that information out pretty easily online, or that someone here could fill that gap in.

[SEC=UGA]

Think of the old phone as a PHD in Economics and the smart phone as a PHD in Physics.

[Jimmy Neutron]

I use my BB for email and rare web browsing like checking the movie schedule while at dinner. I've used the GPS function once and found it pretty lame and archaic, but useful if you don't have a genuine gps unit handy.

 

It does make a reliable alarm clock.

[wiegie]

my iphone plan runs about $130 including all the bs taxes

yeesh, I can't picture paying $1500

 

Take a look at an Android phone from Google. The Google shopping features are very cool. The program can scan an item in a box or a bar code to compare prices with online retailers. It can be very handy. I have Sprint, and they can have the cheapest plans. As a GVSU employee, you should get a percentage discount off each month for your plan. I think we get 19% off each month.

 

We bought our phones through Best Buy. They take the mail in rebate price off the top of the phone so you don't have to worry about it. The downside was that they couldn't enter in any discounts. That was still worth not having to deal with mail in rebates.

you are happy with sprint?

If you want the most dummy-proof smart-phone, get an iPhone.

I said I'm a late-adopter, not a momo.

 

Think of the old phone as a PHD in Economics and the smart phone as a PHD in Physics.

in grad school we used to joke that the best economists were people who failed out of grad school in physics. (And actually, two of my classmates were former physicists--one used to be a nuclear physicist for the USSR and another had been a physics prof in China.)

It does make a reliable alarm clock.

actually, that would have been usefull for me two weeks ago when a hotel failed to give me a requested wake-up call during the first day of a conference and I missed the whole first morning of events--I then didn't sleep well the rest of the trip for fear that I would oversleep sessions at which I had to present.

[Azazello1313]

motorola droid for 20 bucks

[rocknrobn26]

Wiegie going high tech!

Did anyone else feel the earth tilt?

[Gonkis]

Good to know that the Nuclear Physicists from the USSR can find work again.

 

There is an adjustment if you learn Physics in China, too... everything falls up over there.

 

I have a Motorola Q still and am waiting for the new Windows Mobile software to come out to compare it to the Android software. I need a full keyboard due to the large number of e-mails I send. The IPhone will never be a serious business phone.

 

I use mine for e-mail a whole lot, 4 e-mail addresses sync to it. I read Reuters or ESPN while I am waiting for a kid to come out of school, so I like access to the web. Calendar syncing is critical (Outlook exchange at work) for me, so the crackberry was out of the running when I got the Q.

 

I have a 2100 minute plan and 3 other lines (4 total). All lines have unlimited texting, I have unliminited data($50), 1 kid has a $9.99 plan on an LG, all have insurance ($5 each per month)..... $250 a month for everything through Verizon.

[SteelBunz]

I use the GPS on my iphone all the time- it is great. I have/need one for work and am reimbursed for it, that being said I can't imagine not having one and would pay for it if I had to.

 

my iphone plan runs about $130 including all the bs taxes - unlimited talk, 1500 text and unlimited data (although I heard they were changing the data plan for new customers with a tiered pricing model)

Whether you or your work pays for it....I still can't believe anyone has managed to convince people that $130 per month sounds...reasonable.

[twiley]

I'd say get an iphone but I know you're a tight ass so look into the droids.

[rocknrobn26]

I'd say get an iphone but I know you're a tight ass so look into the droids.

[rocknrobn26]

I'd say get an iphone but I know you're a tight ass so look into the roids.

[Caveman_Nick]

 

 

 

This must have been posted from a Droid.

[wildcat2334]

Whether you or your work pays for it....I still can't believe anyone has managed to convince people that $130 per month sounds...reasonable.

 

 

well, the reality is I use my iphone for everything, home and work, so I would have unlimited minutes regardless, and with texting is right around $100 or so

 

so they stick it to you for the $30 data plan, which I use all the time so no big thang

[BillyBalata]

DON'T DO IT!!!!

 

It's all a gov't conspiracy. How do you think they get those chips into people? It's these new fangled so called smart phones.

 

 

I tried to warn ya!

[Big John]

DON'T DO IT!!!!

 

It's all a gov't conspiracy. How do you think they get those chips into people? It's these new fangled so called smart phones.

 

 

I tried to warn ya!

But the question is: Will it be smart enough to open your car door?

[twiley]

This must have been posted from a Droid.

Exactly.