Thread: Smartphones Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
What do you use yours for most?

Me - I use it to check the weather forecast more than anything.


 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
FB, Chess, Strava, Weather forecast, Ebay...
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
[missed edit window] I almost forgot - occasionally I make phone calls and send texts.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Phone calls? you are so adorable, grandfather.
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Yes, it's this marvellous technology that allows you to talk to people in real time like they were right next to you, even if they're the other side of the world. It's amazing!

It'll be the next Big Youth Fad, you mark my words.

[ 15. February 2013, 11:38: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
 

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Posted by seasick (# 48) on :
 
Email, diary, cloud, twitter/fb and web in general.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Texting and talking are up pretty high on my list of smartphone uses. It's really for maps, games and checking the Ship when I'm away from my laptop! The important things, you know.

[ETA...and for beating Kelly in Words with Friends...]

[ 15. February 2013, 15:39: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 

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Posted by ToujoursDan (# 10578) on :
 
Email, Texting, Facebook, mobile banking, weather. I almost never use my phone to make phone calls (which is something I dislike anyway.)
 

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Posted by Mama Thomas (# 10170) on :
 
Calendar, GPS, notes, lists, sometimes fo say the Mass, reading, listening to music, texting, emailing, talking, games, looking things up on google, news, FaceTime, Skype, torch or flashlight, scanning qr and bar codes, banking, paying bills, depositing cheques, Soundhounding and Shazaming, FB and Twittering, YouTube, Morning and evening prayer, calculator,Star Gaze, calculator, tip calculator, four square, buying tickets, and many more.

When out and about of course. Most of those I do on my iPad when at home. Word processing at the office on a desktop PC, and major downloading on a home lap top, and most reading on a Kindle.

If I were fashionable I read books and listen to records, but being retro is kind of cool too!
 

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Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
Looking at blogs, and things like the Ship. Also checking maps, bus timetables, and other things.

Facebook. Lots of facebook.

Finding out football scores of other matches while you are at a match.

Catching up on work email before I arrive at my desk so I can give my boss the impression that I am paying attention and know what's going on.

I have a Bible and a bird identification guide and a couple of keys to wild flowers. And starmaps.

Looking at infra-red, natural light, & x-ray photographs of the far side of the Sun. And today a lovely picture of the aurora over a snowy wooded valley in Norway. Thank you NASA and the European Space Agency!

I avoid talking on my iphone. It wastes the battery, and its not a very good phone anyway. If I have to phone someone - a thing I have always disliked and hate more and more as I get older - I use a five-year-old cheap nokia to do it. Actually talking on the phone is so 1980s.

But I do read a lot of poetry on my iphone. Lovely free poetry app fropm The Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine. You can "spin" and you get a random poem. Lets give it a spin now:

quote:

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Lines composed a few miles above tintern abbey, on revisiting the banks of the wye during a tour. July ...

[Poem removed. App or not, it's probably just as much copyright as a poem posted on someone's web page. Link, by all means, but please avoid cutting and pasting entire poems from other sites. Thank you. - Ariel, Heaven Host.]

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[ 15. February 2013, 17:13: Message edited by: Ariel ]
 

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Posted by busyknitter (# 2501) on :
 
Reading and writing emails, checking my calendar, facebook, twitter, listening to podcasts, taking cute pictures of my kids or knitting, showing people cute pictures of my kids or knitting, checking the weather forecast, news headlines, looking at train times, checking out routes with the map, Google reader, Bible (I use Olive Tree), Common Worship daily prayer, storing knitting patterns, using the knitting pattern row counter that links to my Ravelry projects, taking notes on the move (Evernote), checking my bank balance, reading files from my Dropbox.....

Not to mention phone calls and texts.

You would have to prise the thing from my cold, dead hands.
 

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Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
emails, reading books, playing games, facebook, quick internet checks, check ship or yeah and now and again text.

It some times rings (well it's not a ring, but...), however i'm an antisocial person who doesn't do phone calls.
 

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Posted by Aravis (# 13824) on :
 

I don't have one.

I don't have an i or smart anything.

I am considering getting something technologically up to date (probably not a phone actually) but I am completely and utterly bewildered by the options and don't know where to start.

 

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Posted by Mama Thomas (# 10170) on :
 
Well, Aravis, if not a phone, just wait a bit for the next iPad mini. It will be cheaper than the big one and can do anything an e-reader or tablet or smartphone can do except talk (which you will be able to through Viber, etc anyway.) it will soon became your vade mecum.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
I don't have one either.
I don't have an i or smart anything.
I am not considering buying anything technologically up to date.

I have a mobile which cost about £25 from Argos. I text on this (mainly to my kids) and make occasional phone calls because they are free with the package I got from giffgaff.

For checking the weather or news there is the BBC or a newspaper; for emailing and internet there is my pc; I read proper books not a kindle; for music there is YouTube, CDs or the radio.

I do not use twitter and have never heard of shazam or whatever it is...

How on earth did you people manage before techy stuff??
 

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Posted by Niteowl (# 15841) on :
 
Aside from a phone's normal purpose I text, check the ship, browse the news, read books and occasionally browse the net. I especially love being able to use the phone as a computer and book reader when I'm in a situation where I have to wait for long periods of time - like in a doctor's office. In addition to having a battery saver app (cause smart phones are battery hogs) I carry an extra battery with me so I can do everything without worrying about the battery.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
Serious question: don't people find it irritating to peer at the screen, or having to scroll along to read something? My daughter shows me stuff on hers (eg Facebook, emails, websites) if we're chatting about something, but I could never use it myself, it would drive me mad!
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I'm not sure if mine is a smartphone. It doesn't have a touchscreen. I use it to check the time, make phone calls, send texts, read the news on the internet, get the travel news if needed and check (but not send, because it's too complicated) email, mostly in that order.

I could do a whole lot more, like take pictures, but I don't really want to, I have cameras for that.

I accidentally once left it behind at the office one Friday evening so was without it for the weekend, but didn't find I missed it much.

To be honest I'm a bit fed up with keypads, logons, menus, scrolling, glowing screens and electronic this, that and the other. It's nice to have real things: talk to real people, read real books, etc etc. It's all virtual stuff and a bit intangible otherwise, and difficult to get much sense of reality from it.

[ 15. February 2013, 18:15: Message edited by: Ariel ]
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
My phone has all these apps, but if I turn on the data access most of them need, the battery ebbs like water down a plug hole.
 

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Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
My Nokia N900 is mostly next to my bed - useful to email checking, browsing and the odd bit of Facebook or Twitter.

I know I'll have to upgrade at some point - but as I've been housebound with cellulitis - which is continuing to heal... most of the time I'm on my laptop or netbook...
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
For checking the weather or news there is the BBC or a newspaper; for emailing and internet there is my pc; I read proper books not a kindle; for music there is YouTube, CDs or the radio.

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quote:

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Originally posted by balaam:
For news there is the BBC News app. YouTube and the radio are also on the phone.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Dal Segno:
what is this Facebook thing of which you speak?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
So no-one gets fed up peering into this little screen, then? (second time of asking.)

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quote:

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To tell the time I look at my watch. To check the calendar I look at my diary, a proper paper one with actual pages that I can write on with an actual pen.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
So no-one gets fed up peering into this little screen, then? (second time of asking.)

To tell the time I look at my watch. To check the calendar I look at my diary, a proper paper one with actual pages that I can write on with an actual pen.

And what on earth are 'Vimeo, Instagram and Wimp.'?

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Toujours Dan is right. Vimeo is an artsy YouTube. Wimp is a more organized YouTube, videos of things like cats falling off things and so on. Instagram is also kind of artsy, photos and comments. Most often really good shots of things--often beautifully staged rather than snaps of friends in a booth with somebody's thumb blocking a waiter.

And Pine Martin, all those things you said you do on different devices, viz., watch,calendar/diary, etc., are much easier on one simple device. Not only have I stopped wearing a watch, but I've got this doohickey on the back of my iPhone that is merely a millimetre thin, yet has a pouch to carry a driving license, (which is the default ID card in the US), a credit, a charge, a debit card and a screen cleaner. So I rarely carry a wallet anymore either. Just grab the phone the keys. All set!
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
...until the thing gets lost, and then you can't do anything and are completely buggered!
 

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Posted by Niteowl (# 15841) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
...until the thing gets lost, and then you can't do anything and are completely buggered!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
...until the thing gets lost, and then you can't do anything and are completely buggered!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Ariel:

quote:

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Originally posted by Pine Marten:
...until the thing gets lost, and then you can't do anything and are completely buggered!

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Yes, that and the privacy issues would be my cause for concern.

When I was younger I'd have absolutely loved this sort of thing and would have been inseparable from whatever gadget I was able to afford. Now I'm just fed up with the technological rat race. You get one of these things, it's always superseded by a newer, flashier model within months. You need batteries, upgrades, anything the manufacturers can think of to keep you spending and dependent, and people have come to take it for granted that what they have is a short-term thing that they can and should expect to replace (at further expense) in a short while. Nothing is built to last any more.

Yes, they're useful, but it worries me that people are as obsessed with them as they seem to be. Look around any public place and you'll see most people aren't talking to anybody: they're immersed in playing with a phone that's used for just about anything and everything - except, from what I can see a lot of the time, actually talking to people in real time.

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I'm with you, Ariel - nothing is built to last, and people don't expect it to... <sigh>

I'm not convinced, I'm afraid. I love my watch, my proper diary (which is in my bag) and my CDs. Anything else can wait until I can look it up properly. I don't use online banking but I do sometimes book theatre tickets online, on my pc, and I frequently buy stuff off Amazon. That's about it for techy stuff. We obviously live in different spheres.
 

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Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :
 
E-mails, face book, maps, weather, notepad, read books and games, if waiting somewhere, take pictures, google and now and again make a phone call.
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
For me the major one is Diary. Work insists I use an electronic diary (it is now Google calendar). So as I can't work with separate home and work diaries, I have tried, I have gone all electronic. The move to google has meant that I can keep my home appointments out of my work diary and block time if I need to keep it free. As both home and work diaries are just different google calendars, then I only have to worry if Google collapses, not if I loose my smart phone.

Otherwise, weather, facebook & twitter if I am not by a computer, occassional prayer (Iona Thought for the day, and also Sacred Space plus a bead labyrinth), train and bus times, directions to new places, time (I destroy watches), notes, messages and as a phone.

Jengie
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
In case anyone's interested, here's an article on smartphone addiction.
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Yes it is an interesting article Ariel.

I understand it too, because I'm like that with my laptop. I can't get into surfing on the phone 'tho, it's too small for me. Like I said in the OP the only thing I check is the weather. My friends have got used to the fact that I'm really poor at replying to texts and if they want an answer they have to phone me.

Here is a great idea to cure the social problem of checking phones.

(My friend plays cornet in a brass band and, in rehearsals, he checks his phone during rests! He's so good on his instrument he's never missed a beat. My husband [the drummer] is constantly astounded by him - he's not a youngster either!)
 

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Posted by Desert Daughter (# 13635) on :
 
I am an extreme introvert, a bit of an apprentice hermit and prefer the written to the spoken word. I use my phone to receive calls from friend (one!) and family and otherwise communicate via text messages.

It took me some hard work to "de-smarten" my Wave III.

1. Banished all those silly icons of chatter functions from the main screen.

2. Switched off calendar function. I still use a leather-bound filofax to keep track of my -luckily rather modest- "agenda"

3. Downloaded detailed operating instructions from Samsung's site to find out how to block incoming phone calls. First numbers to be blocked were those of my employer -this is a private phone, and my job (Professor) does not require me to be reached out of office hours.

4. Assigned nice ringtone to friend and family and something ghastly to other incoming calls, so I can exercise discernment before even picking the phone up.

5. Switch off roaming. It just costs money. I prefer a good book or the company of my own thoughts ( ) to the internet.

6. Fit phone with large storage SD card and upload hours and hours of intelligent podcasts and classical music on same.

7. Indulge oneself. I admit to having uploaded one, and only one, game.
The only reason I got myself a touch-screen device in the first place is the sad fact that I am quasi-addicted to Fruit Ninja
 

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Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
I don't have one. I have the sort of phone that Noah used and it texts and makes calls, which is all I require of a phone. For the internet I have my desktop computer. For a diary I have a paper one. For reading I have books and my Kindle.

My experience of smartphones, with other people, is that they seem to become surgically attached to one's hand and you can't go anywhere without them. They should come with a health warning.

I am, however, contemplating a tablet (which, until recently, I thought meant deciding whether you were going to take paracetamol or Nurofen for a headache). I'm surrounded by iFamily so it will probably be an iPad so that they can show me how to use it.

Nen - techno-learner.
 

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Posted by Niteowl (# 15841) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
Yes it is an interesting article Ariel.

I understand it too, because I'm like that with my laptop. I can't get into surfing on the phone 'tho, it's too small for me. Like I said in the OP the only thing I check is the weather. My friends have got used to the fact that I'm really poor at replying to texts and if they want an answer they have to phone me.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Nenya:
I don't have one. I have the sort of phone that Noah used and it texts and makes calls, which is all I require of a phone. For the internet I have my desktop computer. For a diary I have a paper one. For reading I have books and my Kindle.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Abigail:

quote:

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Originally posted by Nenya:
I don't have one. I have the sort of phone that Noah used and it texts and makes calls, which is all I require of a phone. For the internet I have my desktop computer. For a diary I have a paper one. For reading I have books and my Kindle.

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This is me exactly - except that I don't have a Kindle, and would add: "for taking photographs I have a camera". Occasionally someone will say to me accusingly, "I phoned you but your phone was switched off" and look astonished when I reply, "Yes, it usually is". I check it for texts most days and if people want to get hold of me in between I have email and a land line.

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I don't take photos, but in other ways we are obviously kindred spirits; I have to keep my phone on divert and silent when at work and that's the way it stays most of the time, unless there's some crisis that I need to be on hand for. If something's urgent people can leave a message or text. I just don't need or want to be that available.

Nen - who does love her Kindle.
 

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Posted by Robert Armin (# 182) on :
 
I got upgraded a few months ago. There must be all sorts of stuff I could do on my phone, but mainly I text e-mail and talk. For anything else, like trying to read the Ship, the screen is so small it's frustrating. Certainly I wouldn't want to try to read a book on it, assuming I knew how to try.

However, I would like to ask a question to all of you who understand these things. I was given a Blackberry, and it looks pretty nifty to me. But I'm led to believe Blackberrys are now very last decade. What's seen as the problem with them, and why are other phones meant to be better?
 

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Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I still use a four year old Blackberry. It works well and I dread the day that I will have to learn how to handle a different phone. The learning curve was steep as I didn't know much about cell phones when I got it.

The are many more apps available for iPhones and android phones and people seem to like that. They also like touch screens. I have never been very comfortable with those and I like having the keyboard.

[ 17. February 2013, 22:27: Message edited by: lily pad ]
 

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Posted by Mama Thomas (# 10170) on :
 
There's that new BB which just came out. I switched fromBlackberry into iPhone and though I clearly remember hours learning the BB and the Android, the iPhone was easy. It doesn't even come with a manual! It really is intuitive, so don't worry about the learning curve (well, unless you go to an Android).
 

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Posted by HenryT (# 3722) on :
 
Robert,
BlackBerry once had huge market share,from inventing the smartphone, more or less. They've had lots of bad press, only some of it justified.

As a software development manager, I had to recommend against developing for BB because they didn't really have a platform. You didn't develop for BB before 10; you had to develop for particular devices. Thereby they substantially missed the boat for a lot of apps.

I think they started to get their act together with BB 7; they had to fire the founders todo it.

I carry a version 7 BlackBerry and it's pretty capable.
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
No smartphone. Just a very basic, pre-paid phone. Doesn't even have a camera. I have it mostly for running-late calls, emergencies, and a backup for my landline. (Yes, I still have one!) Suits my needs.

I rarely text. I keep in touch with friends by e-mail--from home, using a desktop PC.

I'm not against smartphones, but I tend not to adopt new technology until I both need and can afford it. Plus they don't usually have keyboards; I'm not overly fond of touch screens; I get a little motion sick from even a regular computer screen, and all that touch-scrolling... and I suspect smartphones break easily if dropped.

FWIW.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I am not important enough to have smart-phones, but apparently my brother is: he is self-employed and is nearly always on the go! He virtually never answers his land-lines; nor do I unless I know who it is and just want to speak to them. Mostly, my lowly Kyocera Virgin Mobile flip-phone is for emergencies, calls about work and in lieu of hotel telephones. It costs me only five cents a minute!
 

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Posted by ecumaniac (# 376) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Armin:
However, I would like to ask a question to all of you who understand these things. I was given a Blackberry, and it looks pretty nifty to me. But I'm led to believe Blackberrys are now very last decade. What's seen as the problem with them, and why are other phones meant to be better?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Vulpior:
I don't take the tablet to church, so use the phone to look up bible texts during the sermon (contextualising the lectionary selections, for example)

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mama Thomas:

Soon, I hope there's an app that will show the whole service, including all hymns and lessons and prayers by just a tap on an icon. Say, a priest feels the King James is perfect for the Xmas Gospel, or a mid-20th century Ancient & Modern hymn inexplicably missing from subsequent hymnals will tie in perfectly with the sermon, etc-all going with Common Worship Supplement Prayer K, all easily chosen from an office computer or tablet.

When worshipped come in, they tap there phones or tabs and off we go! Hope there will soon be an app for that.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
This is a very telling photo re: smartphones!

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Yes, a sign of the times. Mr Nen and I usually go to the pub once a week and we're amused to see a crowd of lads sitting round a table, not talking to each other or making a row, just playing on their smartphones.

Nen - now the proud owner of an ipad.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I don't have one. I use the computer a lot and it is quite refreshing to leave the house (for the day, or when I go on holiday) and leave it all behind, to do something quite different.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
I completely understand your POV, but, for me, a smartphone is liberating. I can wander, free from any schedule. If what I decided to do falls short, I can find something else easily. I have always liked exploring, my smartphone makes this easier, it expands my world.
 

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Posted by Amorya (# 2652) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:
This is a very telling photo re: smartphones!

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It wasn't comparing like for like though:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/post/about-those-2005-and-2013-photos-of-the-crowds-in-st-peters-square/2013/ 03/14/aaf1067a-8cf9-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_blog.html
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I think it was - in the (comparable) 2005 photo people had cameras and camcorders. In the 2013 photo smartphones are everywhere.

You only need to go on a train to see that.

[ 26. March 2013, 12:01: Message edited by: Boogie ]
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
It depends how you define 'idiots' but here is another telling photo!

We were having a meal at home with my son and GF yesterday evening and I was struck by the fact that, during conversation, where (in the past) we would be rushing for the maps and encyclopedias - now we just get the phones out to Google the info we need. Smartphones don't prevent conversation in our case - they enhance it.


 

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