I love dumb fones

M

Mindoculus

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 2, 2003
Messages
264
after a nightmare experience with the samSuck Behold II, i took to reminiscing
about the pleasures i had holding some of my old SE and Nokia handsets, and
recalling how they fulfilled all my needs with nary a complaint.

i found smart fones to be too needy and too complex for their own good. not to
mention their piss poor battery life, lousy aesthetics, and more artificial benefits
than any single product craze deserves.

anybody else love their dumb fones ? I am looking to purchase an SE Hazel
Greenheart (J20i) in the near future.
 
I am on AT&T contract, had a 3g ($200), sold it, dropped my data plan and went to a "dumb phone"(for 1 month), then, got the "dumb phone" withdrawls (including shakes), bought a 3gs ($250), and went back on my data plan ($25/month). Best $25 per month that I have re-spent.

.
 
No way man. Got my first smartphone in the HTC Incredible 3 months ago, no way I could go back to just a "phone"

Just too many tools in one package. Email for all my accounts, Outlook calendar sync, fully functional wireless internet, decent camera, google maps and gps navigation, free tethering to my pc for internet, mp3 player for my car, games/movies, and tons of other uses, even makes phone calls and texts as well lol.

Things are a lifesaver for me at work, I'm out in the field all day so it keeps me connected.
 
BeavermanA said:
No way man. Got my first smartphone in the HTC Incredible 3 months ago, no way I could go back to just a "phone"

Just too many tools in one package. Email for all my accounts, Outlook calendar sync, fully functional wireless internet, decent camera, google maps and gps navigation, free tethering to my pc for internet, mp3 player for my car, games/movies, and tons of other uses, even makes phone calls and texts as well lol.

Things are a lifesaver for me at work, I'm out in the field all day so it keeps me connected.
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QFT, I cant stand dumbphones, I need my captivate....All the things i can do with it....
 
No I'd rather have a smartphone. I'm not the type to carry around multiple devices. I just want to carry around one thing and thats my smartphone. If I want to read a book, browse the web, check email, listen to music, or play a game away from home I have one device that can do it. I can also make perfectly fine phone calls on it too. Its going to be great for school as well. Pop up an ebook and read for 10-15 minutes before class starts or toss some music on and take a few minutes to relax and look through the chapter that a test is on.
 
I've been using a dumb phone for most of my life. It suits my needs. Right now using a Samsung Convoy. Ugly ass phone.
 
I build cell towers for a living and got by just fine with a dumb phone forever. Finally nabbed an Evo though and while I love it, I still hate having all of that connectivity some times. I don't get a lot of down time and the constant temptation to check email sucks.
 
Oldie said:
I build cell towers for a living and got by just fine with a dumb phone forever. Finally nabbed an Evo though and while I love it, I still hate having all of that connectivity some times. I don't get a lot of down time and the constant temptation to check email sucks.
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Heh. My X has a green light that constantly flashes when there is an email. Assuming I don't hear it say "Droid" when one pops up. So I don't need to constantly check.
 
Derangel said:
Heh. My X has a green light that constantly flashes when there is an email. Assuming I don't hear it say "Droid" when one pops up. So I don't need to constantly check.
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Well I get about 150-200 work related emails a day, so when I say check, I mean read/respond. :p
 
There are simply too many things my phone can do that, while not entirely necessary, make things easier. Even little things like the UPC scanner can be handy, whether to do further study of a product later on, or to compare prices. And that's just one application of dozens. While some aspects are superfluous, like games, having email and internet on the go can be very handy in just so many ways, even if it is simply to keep up on the news without having to be on a computer or in front of a television.
 
I agree with the hype to an extent, but if you get a smartphone just be sure to get one with a removable battery where the slot can also accept 3rd-party extended batteries and you'll do just fine.
 
Life is better with a phone that has a decent web browser. I could do without apps just fine, but being able to get on the web practically anywhere at practically any time...no, I don't think I'd enjoy going back to a dumb phone.

I tend to get 2.5 days out of a single charge on my phone, so I really have nothing to complain about battery life-wise. When it gets low, I charge it. Takes half an hour or so. Really not a big deal at all.
 
Derangel said:
No I'd rather have a smartphone. I'm not the type to carry around multiple devices. I just want to carry around one thing and thats my smartphone. If I want to read a book, browse the web, check email, listen to music, or play a game away from home I have one device that can do it. I can also make perfectly fine phone calls on it too. Its going to be great for school as well. Pop up an ebook and read for 10-15 minutes before class starts or toss some music on and take a few minutes to relax and look through the chapter that a test is on.
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I can't for the life of me begin to think how people can READ a book on a phone.
 
mobusta1 said:
I can't for the life of me begin to think how people can READ a book on a phone.
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It is not that bad as long as you keep it to short time periods (ie on the toilet lol), or like the guys said for 10-15 mins before class to just pass the time. I takes longer to read the book but that is because you don't sit down a read the whole book for hours on end.
 
my job gives me a phone, first one was a blackberry and took me over a year to actually start using anything besides voice and email. Now I can really appreciate some apps and used my iphone 4 like a mini computer when I moved and was without internet, but if I was footing the bill theres no way I'd pay the premiums for a smart phone.
 
mobusta1 said:
I can't for the life of me begin to think how people can READ a book on a phone.
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I couldn't do it on most phones, but the Droid X has a good enough and big enough screen to make it work for a few minutes at a time. Its not going to replace physical books, but its nice to have a small collection of public domain stuff on hand to read if I want to kill some time and don't want to play a game.
 
mobusta1 said:
I can't for the life of me begin to think how people can READ a book on a phone.
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I've been doing it for years... What's the problem?

Just figure out the colors, lighting and text size that works for you, and off you go. I've never had a problem with eyestrain, just battery life or being in the middle of a good part of the book when you hit initial descent and they make you turn it off.

With as much crap as I carry around anyway, it definitely had helped me drop a few pounds.
 
Just moved (temporary) to a dumbphone, what I like compared to a smartphone is recharging it once a week and not worrying that it's in the same pocket with my keys. But I miss GPS, ability to make quick notes and FM radio.
 
I'm not nostalgic enough to care about dumb phones. Smart phones and Internet connected devices are the way to go!
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
I'm using a Nokia N79 right now, dunno if u can call this a dumb phone but I miss the apps on my Iphone. Oh yeah, I read my star wars books with kindle on my phone. Not really that hard. Saves me from the mess of books lying all around.
 
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I've had my droid for 6+ months now and can never go back. Battery life is the same as the crappy Nokia I had and I can stream my entire music collection from my house at the bitrate of my choice, not to mention having a nice web front end for everything along with the Android client (Lulaby).

If you want to check out the web app its called Ampache and its open source and completely free.
 
I dig dumbphones. :D I'm presently kicking around a RAZR (V3t), and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of these in the mail any day now:

motofone.jpg


I've had one before, so I know how gimped it is even when compared to dumbphones from the 90's. I've gone through a fair share of smartphones, so I know what I'm missing/giving up. I may go back to smartphones at some point when I deem that I actually need the functionality (i.e. professionally), but until then, a thin, flat, light, and energy-efficient piece of plastic that I can use to make and receive calls and somewhat text with is more than adequate. :p
 
Call me a luddite if you will, but I only want my phone to be a phone. I don't want to be connected to the net and email 24/7 and I'm not into text messaging. I mean, I'd rather make a two-minute voice call to get a straight answer than spend half an hour texting back and forth.

Last week I finally upgraded my ancient off-contract LG C1300 and switched my individual line to a family plan with new Nokia 6350's for me and hubby, since he no longer has a cell from his work. I specifically said we don't want a data plan - no net, email, texting, nothing that could cost us a penny more than the basic plan.

So they blocked all that and it was still a matter of having to dumb down the phone from all the default settings and there a lot of ones you can't get rid of, you can just move the options you actually use (like the address book) to the top of the list.

It's pretty decent for a "free" phone (cost $40 in tax for two), hubby likes the bluetooth 2.1, it has a 2 megapixel camera and video capability (I just have to figure out how to use it). Have ordered a cable to transfer stuff to PC so I don't have to use email to send pics/vid or remove the data card to transfer.

But it seems "simple" phones are getting harder to find and will probably be even rarer in the future. When an unlimited data plan doesn't cost me any more than one for basic phone service, maybe I'll consider it.

BTW, I still have a landline. Have disallowed long distance on it (can call my mom on the cell weekends and yak all I want for free), but it pays for itself in the time I'd otherwise spend in minutes on hold with 800 numbers like TWC when we have issues with our cable internet and such.
 
I love seeing so many people carrying MP3 players, their phones, and other crap around while my Galaxy S does everything ;)
 
applebook said:
I love seeing so many people carrying MP3 players, their phones, and other crap around while my Galaxy S does everything ;)
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BINGO. That's the main reason I finally broke down and got a smart phone. I used to carry a cellphone but refused to pay $6 a pop for sucky games to pass the time on it. I got a little MP3 player for music. Then I got an iPod touch for games, pics, email, and watching TV episodes on the road.

I would carry all three sometimes, as well as perhaps a book to read. Then my wife needed a Windows Pocket PC for some investing programs she needed to run. I got her (regrettably) the Samsuck Omnia. She hated it. So I took it, and her data plan. The thing actually worked great as a tethering device. Even made a killer wi-fi hotspot. But because it was so slow and sucked so bad at everything else, I would turn it on as a hot spot and browse the web on my stupid iPod touch while on the road.

My new every two came up on my line, so I used it to snag an Eris. Another big regrettable "oopsidaisy." Don't get me wrong. Internet browsing on the Eris is GREAT. The GPS works good. The games are fun. Reading books is smooth as silk, and I read on it a lot. The music apps run choppy, but the music plays good. And there's nothing like Pandora radio on my 30 min commute. Doesn't skip even once!

But boy does the Eris SUCKS as a phone. SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. It was enough to drive one crazy, if I wasn't already.

So here I am waiting for the device that will finally do everything. (Droid X ordered - ships 9/10!!)

It really is nice to have one device in your pocket that does it all. And when you need internet to get work done in a pinch, or look something important up, as long as you've got reception, you're good to go. Verizon really puts out fast internet these days, most of the places I go to anyways. And a lot of them are rural. My Verizon internet on my phone is often faster than their crappy DSL out in the country. It really has been nice for work, play, and school. Will be worth every penny when I get a device that also functions well as a phone.
 
Had the Sanyo Katana as my first phone under my name. Yes the original Katana. Prior to that it was a dumbphone Audiovox freebie on my parents' Verizon plan.

Now I'm on a Moto Q9c. I am hopefully changing that in December, as this phone, while it has faithfully put up with my shit for the last 2 years, is on its way out.

I love having it all in one device. What I don't love is that some connectivity leaves me unable to truly make it an all in one. (e.g. still a 2.5mm connector. And no I'm not shelling out the cash for bluetooth headphones!)

Otherwise it has served me well and while I wish it was better in some respects, now that I have a taste of what a smartphone can do, I'm ready to step up to the current gen.

I sincerely cannot go back to a dumb phone willingly. I talk, text, and browse the web too damned much, on top of do too much stuff otherwise. The only reason I don't do even more is because, quite frankly, this phone's hardware fucking sucks.

But I've toyed around with the HTC Evo 4G, and holy crap man...I cannot wait to step up to that kind of phone! I'm eyeing the Samsung Epic 4G as we speak, but I'm still kind of holding off to see if Sprint will have a WP7 phone out and how great the final product will be.
 
Ever since I bought an e71 in december of 08 I haven't been able to tolerate dumb phones. And I've been through quite a few phones since then...
 
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