Smartphones

[Binnatics]

I've been playing with the idea of buying a smartphone for almost a year now. First time when the idea sprung to mind was when I was a night out with some old friends that both had one, that distracted them every now and then from our conversation. I realised that they were part of some ongoing online presence where they could easily find eachother and make appointments to drink a beer or have a chat or whatever, something that I was missing in a way in my life. I am still a guy that calls someone every once in a while when I feel like drinking a beer and then try to make an appointment. One thing of adulthood that I hate is that you always have to make appointments to be able to speak with eachother; we are always busy and we have to fine tune our spare time to find an opportunity.
I thought that a smartphone would make an end to that loss of liberty and innocence and that I would automatically lift up my social life big time.  :-D

Slowly I began to interest myself in smartphones and people who use smartphones. I realised soon enough that I would definitely not use a smartphone the way most people use it; check every movement of eachother the entire day long, using facebook, twitter, whatsapp and whatnot to be sure not to miss anything. I did not have an exact idea of how I would use the device, but I would certainly be different ::)
I was very shocked when checking the people around me walking like zombies, especially when I occasionally used public transport, and even being in their own world on parties, checking or sharing digital fun on their phones instead of having a good chatter.

The smartphones though did have some attraction to me, especially the iPhone versions. Those things look marvellous and brilliant. The ease with which they make a photo and add it to any online content really made me long for holding one with me myself, and be able to share whatever bullshit I come along in my life. I don't have a photo camera with me all day long, and even if I had, it wouldn't be so easy-accessible and distributable as like with an iPhone (or whatever other smartphone of higher quality).
Than came the moment I sort of had decided for myself that I wanted such a device. I started to seriously orient myself on different models, prices and possibilities. Now I got another shock; those devices may be very charming and tempting, but are very expensive, very big and have a very short battery-life-span. I knew the prices for such intelligent and smart devices couldn't be too friendly, but I was really shocked when I checked the actual price of a new iPhone 5s, a model that fits sort of my desires; over €600,- with only the lowest specs, and additional money for more memory etc.
Something else that REALLY bothered me was the size of most smartphones. They are like small tablets; not really what you want to use when calling someone up. Like that sony experia blah blah. It's like putting a cement trowel against your cheek without the use of a proper hand-grip :o

I've been reading a lot of product reviews to check differences between high end models, medium range models, different brands and budget models that made me realise that I would have to charge the battery of these devices very often. I like to charge my phone only once a week. And if I use it a lot, once every 5 days. Not every day, or every two days. That was a downer. I decided that I didn't want to spend much on a phone. The best model was far too expensive, and the rest was just way to big. The only model that seemed to fit my needs was the Samsung Galaxy S III mini. Nicely small, acceptable specs and a good price; MediaMarkt had a special new years offer €169,- without any contract involved with whatever kind of provider. I could even spend my €100,- gift cards I've been saving so it would cost me only 69 euros, nice ^-^

I went to the store yesterday to search for the special offer. After a few rounds in that tech warehouse I found an empty shelve with the special offer drawn above it. I went to a shopkeeper and asked him about this not-so-nice surprise. He had to ask a colleague, and after a while he came back and explained me that they had expected a delivery of that model today, but it hadn't arrived. "Well", I said to him, "this special offer starts today ends this week. When will they arrive so that I have a chance of purchasing one?"
The sorryass ba$t@rd looked up to me and explained that he was afraid that there wouldn't be any other deliveries this week. I said I was very disappointed, and felt tricked, which made him stutter that he was sorry and that he could understand about how I'd feel (of course he did because the schmuck was so young I could imagine he had to w@&k 2 months to be able to obtain the device himself) but he didn't bring any solution

I went back home with a weird feeling. Finally I had made the decision to join the world of smartphones and there was I; standing in a megastore looking at an empty shelve. Disappointment. Notbelonginess to the mass. Angry. f@#k those bastards wanting me to buy a device like that which is merely a glance of decadence, a promise of botherless distraction, a let's-make-them-even-more-dependant-thing >:((


Well, that blurry schmuck in that fucked-up warehouse held me back from buying a smartphone. I decided to leave the whole concept for at least long enough to be able to give it a new thought. For now, I feel happy again with my old Samsung call-sms-device :)

[Art Blade]

I like your zombie analogy. When I look at kids and youngsters and hipsters these days, they all have two things in common: the same posture that looks as if they were dragged around by a magnet in their hand which they are scuffling after and said magnet in their hands that turns out to be a handheld device such as a smartphone.

Sometimes you see a bulk of people standing around next to each other as if it was a group meeting yet rather than talking to each other their eyes are fixated on the display of their smartphone. The only things that move are their thumbs performing some wiping movements up or down all the time or occasionally they start to use both thumbs, hacking into the screen in turns and at an impressive speed when they are texting someone. If you watch individual people, every other moment everyone check their smartphones because they might have missed out on something (probably "Bob is in the bathroom" and a virtual friend named Peter gave it a thumbs-up because he needed to "like" it so that Bob knew Peter was following him on facepalm, err, book)

Many moons ago I freed myself of television (and radio) so I had my life back and didn't have to expose my brains to commercials and reality shows or some such any more.

I won't hand over that freedom (nor my money) to those marketing geniuses who created a zombie nation. I have a cute, small, foldable mobile phone that has served me well for about four years and I have  a spare one in my desk's drawer, still in its original packing, plus a second spare fresh original battery along with it.

I'm all relaxed.  :-D

[PZ]

Are you sure they're not more properly called "dumbphones"?

I have a so-called "smartphone", and while it has features that are sometimes useful, the best part is the large font size for my old eyes.  As to charging, sometimes it holds a charge for a few days, sometimes less than a day.  Sometimes it does not charge at all for a while.

On the plus side, I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy Note, which is one of those big ones - almost tablet sized, but still fits into my shirt pocket.  The most useful feature for me is the ability to take meeting notes - built-in stylus that is extremely precise.  I've had a couple of iPhones as well, and none are better than others in my opinion.

I have my current phone because it cost me $99 with the 2-year contract.

[Abletile]

I got my GF to get the S3mini. It's a great little phone. I confess I have the Iphone 5s and the 4s.
The main downside is, as you say, the frequency of the 'recharge'! I have to do mine every 2 days! :D
I wouldn't be without a smartphone now though  :(

[Binnatics]

I finally made up my mind about this phone-thing. I ordered an iPhone 4s yesterday. The price was low enough to make it a good deal and I had the desire to finally join this new way of enjoying the internet. I am happy with my choice because I know the quality standard of what I get with an iPhone is just what I expect, and I like the handsome size. It's small enough to my taste; it fits in any small pocket and I can hold it in just one hand, plus it has a great design.
I am warned though about the downside of these devices. I don't want to be lived by the multimedia apps, I just want to use it to my own benefits. I guess that's going to take some time for me to master. Both to get familiar with the possibilities and to make the right choices between which of these I prefer to use and which I don't. ;)

I'll keep you posted. And if you got any tips for me, let me know :-D

[Art Blade]

have fun with it :) I am still without any desire for one of those.

[Binnatics]

Today I retrieved my package. Wonderful small box with all I need packed away quite clever and user-friendly. I had a little struggle opening the sim-case, but youtube helped me out. Then I realised that my old fashoned sim is far too big to introduce to my phone.  :-\\

I decided to call customer support of my provider (a red komma symbol, you know which ;)) and they explained to me I can easily obtain the right size at the local service point, which happens to be 5 minutes away from my home. Lucky me I'll pay them a visit tomorrow, so that I can get started ^-^

Just to be sure I wouldn't have any nasty surprises when I start surfing the net with my new gadget tomorrow, I checked if it was correct that I have 500mb data monthly in my contract, and then the guy told me I have 2gb :o I stumbled that this may be a mistake, and asked when this had changed. The guy told me I have a so called "red" contract and I have limitless calling plus the earlier mentioned data limit, since may this year. Wtf ??? Well, very nice, and he could also verify that I still pay only €8,60 for that amount of data access. Lmao

I wouldn't know how I'd ever reach that limit; currently I call maybe max 40 minutes per month and send probably like 4 SMS text messages per month, and don't use any data at all. The guy I spoke with said to me he was surprised to see the super-special offer I had made as well, and told me he wanted to have the same contract I have which costs him €33,- monthly, so he got kind of jealous :-() The funniest thing was I never made a deal; they just gave me a notification that the content of my contract had slightly changed due to the old content / package not being available anymore. Turns out they gave me the biggest package for the same tiny price I'm used to :) :-X

I didn't think I'd ever say something like thus, but; God I love my provider ^-^

[Art Blade]

nice :-() :-X

[Binnatics]

I checked my administration, and the guy was right. They did change my contract, I found the letter. The funniest part; "Based on your average usage of your mobile phone during the last 4 months we chose the best fitting new contract for your needs"... they gave me the biggest data limit possible based on my average 40 minutes calling, and they gave me a lousy 75% discount to approach my monthly costs

I love my provider :-X :)

[Art Blade]

I don't know whether they're really clever or really stupid businessmen  But good for you, congratz on that deal  :) :-X

[mandru]

Binn, you'd said you checked your administration.  Is your contract negotiated through your employer?

Sometimes the group bargaining power that sort of arrangement has can pull a deep discount that no one else has a hope at achieving on their own.

It's also possible if you've had your account with your provider for an extended period the combined price and package may be a perk given to you for loyalty of sticking with them instead of plan hopping.

Either way sounds like a sweet deal.  Congrats.  :-X

[Binnatics]

I think you're right Mandru, about the loyalty offer. I am with this provider for a long time already, probably like 10 years or so. It's strictly personal, hasn't got anything to do with the company I w@&k for. Anyway, just nice indeed ^-^

[fragger]

I love my provider :-X :)

My dream is to be able to say that and mean it :-()

Nice deal you got there Binn, I'm very happy for you :)

[Binnatics]

I am curious what will be my usage the upcoming months. At home I have excellent wifi connection and in 1,2 million locations all over Holland I can connect to so called wifi spots of my other provider. Oh man, I feel so connected

[fragger]

Oh man, I feel so connected

That's because you're now plugged into the Matrix :-D

[mandru]

I almost laughed my guts out this morning when I came across a post (on another site) that made the astute observation that when cell phones first became available there was a strong trend (due to customer demand) towards smaller and smaller phones.   That lasted until high resolution screens became available with the ability to watch porn and now the trend has reversed towards larger screens.

[Art Blade]

 

I'm almost ashamed to say that I've got two 27" monitors for my PC.

[mandru]

 

[Binnatics]

I'm almost ashamed to say that I've got two 27" monitors for my PC.

Don't be; It's what's always on a man's mind screen ^-^

[Art Blade]

I probably shouldn't mention my 50" plasma TV, either. But there you go.  :-D

[fragger]

Art, if you keep mum about your TV, I won't mention my new 42" one with sound bar either 8-X

But good observation, mandru :-X My little old Nokia mobile slips easily into a non-reinforced pocket. I can't watch porn on it, but it doesn't affect my posture :-()

[Art Blade]

 

I too got a little Nokia mobie, I can't watch porn with it, either, but it's a centre fold. :-()

[Binnatics]

That gives quite a detailed look :-D

[PZ]

 :-X

[Binnatics]

I too got a little Nokia mobie, I can't watch porn with it, either, but it's a centre fold. :-()

That gives quite a detailed look :-D

That was a funny coincidence. I replied to the 50" screen and hadn't seen the other replies after that. Now look what we got :-[ :-D