[Faust]

As the title says - I really don't get the whole smartphone fad. I realise I'm out of step with millions of other people but there it is. Let me explain a little further - I love computers, worked with them since Windows 3.1 have ever gadget under the sun, own an iPad and even have a mobile phone, but the whole smartphone concept I just cannot seem to get on with. My daughter is currently in the USA on business so she has lent me her Galaxy S2 while she's away (has her business Blackberry with her) in an effort to persuade me I'm wrong about smartphones and that I should buy one.

Well two weeks into the experiment and I'm less convinced than ever. I can see the benefits of my iPad as a more convenient alternative to waking up my iMac all the time. However, the Galaxy - well, it's too small to be of any real use as a computer and it's too large for a mobile phone. I can see they are handy for mobile business users, however, for the majority of ordinary consumers - really?

[ajh94]

I really have to disagree, would never look back now!

[Faust]

Originally Posted by ajh94

I really have to disagree, would never look back now!

Look back to what though?

[Matt D]

I wouldn't be without one. I have an iPad, but unlike my phone I don't carry it everywhere I go, so it's extremely handy having a phone that can also be used for email, web, apps, etc.

[noise747]

Kind of agree to a certain amount. I got a HTC wildfire and while I know it is not top end by any means I thought it would be a good first step into modern smartphones.

Good points.

I find it easier to write a text on the touch screen than a normal phone keypad.

Nice to be able to send and receive email.

Music player and radio is great, but i did have a mp3 player on my old phone.


useful to be able to use Facebook.

GPS was use full once


Bad points.

Battery life is awful, but that is normal for smart phones.

Screen is far too small and awkward to do any real serious browsing. i even tried a Iphone and a couple of other phones with larger screens and found them the same.

Take longer to start up and more prone to crashing, saying that mine have been pretty good in reliability.

not as tough as older phones.



will I get another? not sure to be honest, contract comes to the end around March next year, planning to go for sim only and keep the wildfire, i can't see the point in getting another phone if the wildfire is still working.

[jabbamk1]

It just puts everything your ipad or computer can do into a tiny device that fits in your pocket.

e.g-

Phone- Small and fits in your pocket
Text- Allows you to message people you know on the go
Camera- Saves you having to buy/carry around a huge camera to take HQ Shots/recording
Internet- Allows you to browse the web whenever/wherever without a huge PC/Laptop
Social- Allows you to connect with friends on the go. Facebook/twitter
Music- Can store and listen to music without a traditional iPod/Mp3 player
Radio- Listen to radio without needing a physical one wherever you go.
Videos- Can store and watch videos on the go without mp4/computer/tablet player
Games- Can play small games on a small device without needing a PC/Laptop
Email- Allows you to easily reach into your pocket and read email on the go without a pc
Apps- Hundreds of apps for different things (e.g train times/calculator)
Sat Nav- Can be used as a satnav without needing to carry around a bulky unit from Garmin/tom tom
Files- Access all files on your pc on the go.

Basically smartphones are everything you need in one. Its nice and small and fits into your pocket. Thats the reason why people buy it. Sure a tablet or pc can do the same but its not small and hard to carry around all the time. Plus you look a bit stupid recording video/taking pics/using sat nav/taking a call on an ipad.

Besides you say the S2 is too big, the Galaxy S or Galaxy W are smaller phones and more like the size phones used to be. Plus phones like the Galaxy Pro and Motorola Pro + are smart phones but with that 'blackberry' design.

There is a perfect design out there for everyone. The S2 probably isn't for you. Or its a size you might get used too.

[neo_wales]

As an Apple user your brain is pushing you away from the S2 but you'd like an iphone lol.

I came to smart phones after my lad gave me his old HTC G1, now I've got an S2. They are handy things to have, make a call, quick look at emails, GPS can be handy too. They are good on long journey's where you can listen to some music or watch a film to pass the time and thats a big bonus for me.

That said, I'd not loose too much sleep if all I had was my old Nokia 3310.

[TheBigM]

In the same way you use your iPad as an alternative to your PC, there's a lot of things I find more convenient to do on my phone e.g. Email inbox triage. I use my PC much less now.

Its handy for things like whatsapp and Skype to keep up with my friends all around the world. You can't use whatsapp without a smartphone.

[alan1302]

If you are happy without then that's fine with me

[Stig]

Originally Posted by Faust

My daughter is currently in the USA on business so she has lent me her Galaxy S2 while she's away (has her business Blackberry with her) in an effort to persuade me I'm wrong about smartphones and that I should buy one.

Well two weeks into the experiment and I'm less convinced than ever. I can see the benefits of my iPad as a more convenient alternative to waking up my iMac all the time. However, the Galaxy - well, it's too small to be of any real use as a computer and it's too large for a mobile phone.

The Galaxy S2 is part of the current fashion for large screen phones. Frankly, 5 inch screens are getting ridiculous IMO as the phone will shortly be too big to fit in your pocket!

The iPad sized tablet is a great PC alternative for web and email. I too find typing/browsing on a phone irritating, but it is handy for reading the occasional email.

I have been using 'smartphones' since the 90's so I am fairly clear on their uses and drawbacks.

[FamilyMan_UK]

I've been using Smartphones since their creation to the mass market with the XDA's. HTC was 'unknown' then as the phone was being marketed as an "O2 XDA". I liked the device because it was a phone, had a qwerty keyboard, allowed me to browse a relatively similar internet to a PC and the all important music player.

By the time I got to the HTC HD2, smartphones were an integral part of my life and I couldn't live without the services it provides. For example, if I hadn't been able to use Google Maps, i'd probably never have left the house to go for a cycle as often as I did. If I didn't have the net, I would be bored faceless in an array of doctors/dentist/etc appointments. The benefit of a smartphone, to me, is that it can do everything a phone and personal computer can do. I have the S2 and the camera has impressed me a lot - especially coming from the HD2. It's created epic pictures where memories just wouldn't do it justice.

[misar]

[quote=Faust;58087253
I can see they are handy for mobile business users, however, for the majority of ordinary consumers - really? [/QUOTE]

I thought the same as you until I got a company Blackberry - which many would consider a rather poor smartphone. Leaving aside the main company use (emails), as a consumer I have found it really useful and would hate to go back to my old Nokia even if it means spending my own money.

The secret is to use the smartphone as a truly mobile pocket device which also happens to be your phone - not as a replacement for a laptop, tablet, etc. Using the Google Maps app with the GPS is fantastic to find locations, directions, etc anytime and anywhere in the world. Beyond that you have instant access to all the information on the Internet almost anywhere. Apps or mobile-oriented web sites in the browser let you do live checks of bus (in London), train or flight times when travelling. And so on. If you use the Internet regularly on a PC as an information source you will find a smartphone invaluable.

[DANCE OF DEATH]

Originally Posted by Faust

As the title says - I really don't get the whole smartphone fad. I realise I'm out of step with millions of other people but there it is. Let me explain a little further - I love computers, worked with them since Windows 3.1 have ever gadget under the sun, own an iPad and even have a mobile phone, but the whole smartphone concept I just cannot seem to get on with. My daughter is currently in the USA on business so she has lent me her Galaxy S2 while she's away (has her business Blackberry with her) in an effort to persuade me I'm wrong about smartphones and that I should buy one.

Well two weeks into the experiment and I'm less convinced than ever. I can see the benefits of my iPad as a more convenient alternative to waking up my iMac all the time. However, the Galaxy - well, it's too small to be of any real use as a computer and it's too large for a mobile phone. I can see they are handy for mobile business users, however, for the majority of ordinary consumers - really?

I was basically like you, until I took the plunge and got myself an Apple iPhone 3GS and have never looked back. I can get e-mails to my phone at anytime I want instead of loading up a laptop. Get Facebook messages without loading up a laptop and also take nice pictures on my phone without having to carry a camera around with me.

[d3nium]

How can you love computers/technology yet dislike smartphones? It doesn't make any sense, to me at least.

[Scotty2012]

This is why I love my HTC One X

[Anika Hanson]

I love smart phones and now I couldn't be without one. I use it for so many things, i.e sending and recieving emails on the go, browsing the net, online banking, setting my sky plus to record whilst on the go, buying things over the net. The list is endless. I've had various different types of smart phone over the years, the first was a sony ericsson PDA circa 2004/5. Since then I've had androids, iphones, blackberry's and windows mobile devices. I had my iphone stolen about 2 months ago and although I had an upgrade due in just over 2 months I couldn't bare to be without a smart phone even for a few months. So I went out and bought, an albeit entry level android smart phone just to keep me going. Even then I was always thinking that it was useable but had shortomings compared to the high end phone I was used to using and couldn't wait to upgrade.

[finbaar]

Originally Posted by Faust

As the title says - I really don't get the whole smartphone fad. I realise I'm out of step with millions of other people but there it is. Let me explain a little further - I love computers, worked with them since Windows 3.1 have ever gadget under the sun, own an iPad and even have a mobile phone, but the whole smartphone concept I just cannot seem to get on with. My daughter is currently in the USA on business so she has lent me her Galaxy S2 while she's away (has her business Blackberry with her) in an effort to persuade me I'm wrong about smartphones and that I should buy one.

Well two weeks into the experiment and I'm less convinced than ever. I can see the benefits of my iPad as a more convenient alternative to waking up my iMac all the time. However, the Galaxy - well, it's too small to be of any real use as a computer and it's too large for a mobile phone. I can see they are handy for mobile business users, however, for the majority of ordinary consumers - really?

The browsing experience on a S2 or an iPhone will be less than good due to thier small screens. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note and its web experience is excellent thanks to the 5.3" screen. As for the S2 being too big, well it seems way too small too small to me. I can get the Note in all of my pockets and that is the real test. I mean what is YOUR better way - cary a phone and an iPad around? In what way is that more convenient? Or not take the iPad? Again, in what way is that more convenient. OP, you are coming across as a right old stick in the mud - smart phones and mobile computing is the way things are going and at a rapid pace.

[spendleb]

Kind of agree, my SGII was brilliant until I bought a tablet, I now rarely use the SGII for anything other than texting or maybe a quick internet check (it now seems so small!!) if I am out and about, saying that I know I will still spend months researching my next phone when it comes around to renew, it's an addiction!

[dragonrapide]

I felt exactly like you, but after my son in law got the iphone 4 I just had to have one too.

Its easy to use, quick to use the internet, and text or email. You can also facetime people who also have the newer apple devices which is such fun, although at first I felt nervous about it. Then there are the games, I like Spider, Sudoku and Majong. The apps are fun, such as currency converter, weather, news, travel, just to mention a few of my well used selection. I can play music on it, listen to the radio (only if I am on wifi as it eats data). I use the timer for when I am cooking which is great. I use the camera more than I use my 'real' camera too.

One of the things that has really suprised me is the calendar which I use all the time. No need for a diary now, and I can back it up to my google account calendar as I don't have a mac computer.

[neo_wales]

After having the S2 a screen as small as the Apple just seems....well...rubbish to be honest, no offence meant but they are just too small after using the S2.

I'd not mind a Galaxy Note but the screen is too small to fill the role of a tablet platform which will be my next purchase and its just a tad too big to be a phone (for me).

Role on Windows 8

[alanwarwic]

I use mine as a smartphone generally few times a day.
I therefore got my Nokia 3410 back into action, bought a new battery for it but it was still rubbish for battery life. (I forget what I used to get with a decent battery)

I then bought a cheap 70 gram in weight modern dumb phone and it still has a full battery nearly 2 weeks later!
So I now carry two phones and sometimes just the one.

I won't be upgrading the smartphone for a year or two yet but the Galaxy Note type is certainly the way I'll head.

[grumpyoldbat]

Where a smartphone holds its own rather than a laptop or a tablet is when you're out and about and don't have those with you. A lot of apps are then invaluable. Yesterday I had a train connection to make and I didn't know what the final destination of the train was. The National Rail app allowed me to look up my connecting train, and it even told me which platform it was going from.

I was meeting a friend at a large shopping centre I'd never been to before. The Mall's own app had a map so I could discover which floor and which end the meeting point was. It just saves me having to look all this stuff up before I go and carry a notebook with reminders in.

These are just two examples, there are dozens more.

[Faust]

Originally Posted by d3nium

How can you love computers/technology yet dislike smartphones? It doesn't make any sense, to me at least.

Well let's expand on that one a bit. I have a 15 minute commute to work, I'm now office based and use a PC all day at work. We go out maybe twice a week for a meal or the theatre etc. I have my Tom Tom for the car, I have zero interest in social media, have my DSLR for photography and a HiFi for my music. Now what real use do I have for a smartphone?

I asked some of the girls in my office what they used their smartphones for. Their answers ranged from playing angry birds to a quick look on social media sites. However none of them used them to a fraction of the phones potential and were paying £31 per month for the privelage. I suspect that is the case for a significant number of non enterprise consumers.

[Faust]

I will say one thing about smartphones, if I am ever tempted then I would opt for Windows Phone7. As an OS it's streets ahead of anything from Android or iOS. Why even Steve Wosniak is using one.

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by Faust

I will say one thing about smartphones, if I am ever tempted then I would opt for Windows Phone7. As an OS it's streets ahead of anything from Android or iOS. Why even Steve Wosniak is using one.

I do like the look of Windows Phone 7 but it needs more apps.