| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_a |
My trusty old Samsung Rugby flip phone can no longer support my 90+ hours of music. While there is still some free space, the playlists no longer load, and going through the menus manually is painfully slow. I have a Galaxy S4 coming with an additional 64 gigs (80 total). So, I'll have a phone with much faster processing speed, more ram, better resolution, more features, and almost as much storage space as my tired old PC (it is assembled from parts scavenged from other dead PC's). To survive getting wet in a backpack almost daily a Seidio Obex waterproof case should be shipping for it soon, as well. I'm a little excited. With a phone like that I don't see much need for a computer, or camera, or stereo, CD's, notebooks... A refurbished phone became available for $30. I could not pass that up. I resisted assimilation as long as I could. I reckon I'll be spending a lot of time getting used to the thing. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
You'll soon be addicted! I said about 5 years ago I wouldn't ever get a smartphone but when my old Motorola flip phone quit, my carrier gave me a Blackberry as a free upgrade. I've been hooked ever since. I'm eligible for an upgrade now but I don't know if I want to give up my Droid Bionic & unlimited plan. | ||
| Roderick |
If you are on Verizon, like I am, if you pay full price for the new device, you will keep your unlimited plan. That is what I plan to do to keep mind. I just have not settle on which next device and budget out for it. Roderick | ||
| Pwnzor |
yeah... welcome to the smartphone world, the S4 is everything you thought a phone could be plus more. Verizon unlimited 3G.... sucks. I finally gave up my unlimited plan because it became too damn slow to stream anything. So now I have 6 gigs of 4g data, and honestly we never get close to using it all. I used to be a data hog until the novelty wore off. | ||
| Teeps |
I got a Samsung Brightside "feature phone." It is as close to a smart phone as you can get without having to sustain a data plan (verizon.) | ||
| Rick_a |
We use AT&T. The data plan was only an extra $20 a month. We already have WiFi as default from our ISP so the data plan is likely largely unneeded. My main purpose for a phone is music storage/playback and a portable camera. This will be much better in all respects. I guess having email and internet access throughout the day can't hurt. I just don't want to be one of these people with my face buried in the phone all day. I make a few texts and may actually use the phone once throughout the day. I really like the idea of the S4 Active, but the camera isn't as good, and from reviews the waterproofing doesn't work too well, either. The screen is also unprotected. That one is currently going for $200. The standard S4 with case and SD card still comes in at $40 less. My first cell phone was a Sony music phone. It's still around and still works. The kid likes using it for music. I tend to treat my belongings well and things tend to last a lifetime. This phone should serve me well for at least a few years. I may have to keep the kid away from it. He figured out how to download games on his mothers iPhone and it is quite full of them. I'll be damned if mine becomes a kids toy. | ||
| Etennuly |
My Samsung flip phone is so old it has a pull starter. I am dangerously close to getting the Iphone S4. I don't know about all of this data sharing free flowing information crap. I am a product of the Cold War era. If the CIA or FBI had the information in 1957 that one Iphone holds, that we all carry around like nothing, they could have won the Cold War in a week from their own home. But.....if it is essential to just voluntarily give ALL of our personal information to the phone companies and banks like our government asks us to......what the heck, we can trust them because they said so in a contract we cannot read. I had some uncles who fought in WWII who would tell you how stupid all of personal information sharing this is, and that it will come back around to bite us in the ass. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I have Verizon 4G unlimited data, 450 minutes free evenings & weekends. I pay $55 a month and if I upgrade, it's going to cost a lot more. | ||
| Notpurples2 |
welcome to the hoard  | ||
| Rick_a |
The phone company doesn't ask for all your personal info. People volunteer that to their favorite social networking sites. One thing I will need to do is format most of my music in higher quality since I will have the storage (most ripped from CD's). That will be a daunting task. I foresee many sleepless nights  | ||
| Aesquire |
Just got a 96 cent Samsung 3G from Sams Club. First smart phone for me too, and I'm learning the OS now. My Sis & Bro-in-law both went from iPhone 4's to the 4G. Faster processor & higher rez screen than the 3G. I'll upgrade..... later. After I learn to use it and by then it's going to be a 6G. I didn't see any sense in tossing a couple hundred at a phone I can lose way too easy. I'm not a total Luddite, I build PC's for fun, but I avoid "social media" ( mostly because I don't think anyone cares what coffee shop I like, or what I'm doing, partly because I'm regretting not starting the company that saves Facebook, etc. pages so they can sell your video of running a shopping cart with a Beer bong down the waterslide........ to your prospective employer. ) I also haven't seen a tablet/nook/kindle I really like yet. Trying to read a book on a phone is pushing me towards one.... I read too fast for the screen size. Now shopping for the right case. Opinions? Then.... I gotta get one of these! http://inteliscopes.com/ | ||
| Rick_a |
LifeProof would be my choice. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Do they do a widget that fires the gun from your i-phone too? I'm sure the tech exists, don't think the supposedly "competent authorities" would be too keen though. The machines are taking over! where's that damn tinfoil hat when you need it? | ||
| Aesquire |
What you want is a phone controlled turret. The geniuses In France make a bitching drone. http://ardrone2.parrot.com/ So a remote controlled defense system is possible, but no one in their right mind would make one. Liability. It is stone illegal in the US to set a trap to kill a human. Like a shotgun or crossbow in a vise aimed at a door with a string to the trigger. That's murder. I imagine that shooting someone with your phone ap and some remote set up would be nigh impossible to defend yourself for. Self defense? You were 2 towns over at a café! The "phone sight" thing, OTOH is brilliant. It lets folk with vision issues still defend themselves/hunt/target shoot. Some people can't deal with scopes or iron sights for a variety of reasons. Like Macular degeneration, or cataracts. I've seen some experiments with cameras that worked pretty good, it's not a surprise a phone camera would do the job. ps. First thing I thought of when I saw the Parrot AR drone, was the movie "Animal House".  | ||
| Ourdee |
I left Vzone and went to Sprint. Went from blackberry to samsung s4. I am one happy camper. | ||
| Rick_a |
SD card is here. Just waiting on my fancy case...  | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Cool, congrats on your upgrade, great cameras in those phones. I did the same recently, and got a Galaxy S3 through their refurb program. I kept it for a weekend and took it in to a local storefront AT&T by midweek to get rid of it.Could not get clear of it fast enough! Perhaps I am a Ludite, I really didn't want to deal with a learning curve. I was considering the Rugby flip phone when things came up to push the smart phone alternative... I fell like I have too much other stuff going on to have to spend hours figuring all the neat little bells and whistles on a new phone. I found a iPhone 5 as a refurb through AT&T about a month and a half ago for a killer price ($75), I'm so much happier with it, music player, podcast accessibility and the camera are more than adequate for my needs. I was considering the S4 Active for my wife, she wants something bomb proof, so your info on their particular shortfalls is useful Rick, thanks. | ||
| Rick_a |
My disinterest in new stuff was overrode by my need for a mobile host for my growing music library. Heck, just getting my current music/playlists on there in a higher quality format will be nice. This is the third time I've re-done my music library (done it for the previous "feature" phones) and hopefully will be the last for some time. My wife loves Apple products. I'm more interested in outright storage space. She'll probably be getting an iPhone 5 as soon as refurbished units become more available. We'll probably be replacing our current laptop and PC with an upper spec MacBook Pro. Our laptop and computer are old...so old  . I'm amazed our PC still works at all. I was speaking of the days of Atari and Commodore 64 to some young folk the other day. They all just looked at me blankly. As an aside, I have an Atari emulator program on the PC. Of all the modern games he has to play, my kid calls the Atari games the "hard games." | ||
| Littlebuggles |
The i5's are available on the AT&T online store, there must have been a special on the white ones for me to have gotten such a good deal. Have your Mrs. keep and eye on their prices, mine showed $149 until I actually added it to the cart, then there was a 50% discount, and I ran with it! I was/am still anxious about storage for my music as well. Still trying to get all my music (mostly ripped from personal cd's) from the various hard drives, through Apple's music software and onto my phone. There were some great games on the the old Atari consoles. I enjoy a few game apps on the new phone too. | ||
| Aesquire |
http://www.liquipel.com/ Considering this, and I'm picking up a screen protector today. After I make breakfast. I resisted "smart phones" not because I'm a Luddite, but because I feared I would surf at work, and lode track of time. There is some real danger of that. But I'll just apply the same Iron Discipline I use to keep in awesome shape........Lets see how that's going, mirror please. Oh. Well, a Sphere is an awesome shape, right? | ||
| 86129squids |
Rick- do tell about that Atari emulator! heck, I grew up playing ALL those games, including the Williams ones (Defender, etc.)... my mom would go grocery shopping and give me a $5 bill to blow at the arcade next door while she shopped. I doubt there are many games I've NOT seen or played. Back then the games were wildly creative, now they're all about racing, fighting, or some kind of warfare. Booooring. Back OT: I've got a Google phone, bought used from a Verizon guy when I got back from vacation and a swim in the Gulf with my old phone in my pocket  ... so far I've been surprisingly pleased with it. I don't do much beyond calls, a few texts sometimes with pics, and oddball times I need to hit the internet- I should take the time and learn more about its capabilities... but of course, life gets in the way. When I view today's folk and their dependence on "smartphones" in a sociological context, it is truly fascinating. Last week I got to wait on my old marketing professor along with 7 of his guests- I've wanted to have lunch with him and discuss things like this for some time now. As it turned out, he and his party had about a dozen bottles of very good wine to pour/decant along with dinner, so all I really got to do was work... but hey, it is good work and he's a great guy nonetheless. It's been past time for me to head to a good bookstore and look up some new books on this and a few other subjects... | ||
| Satori |
I think it took me at least 2 years to really start using and figuring out the abilities these phones have. I have the Samsung S3, and have really liked it. Some apps I have that I have found useful; Torque- turns your phone into an OBD2 reader/Data logger (you need an ELM327 dongle) you can get those on ebay or amazon 10-15 bucks. Puregas- helps you find gas stations that carry non ethanol gas-and its free, no advertising either. I think the one that has made me a star to my family though is the fact you can easily sync outlook to the calendar on the droids. I haven't forgotten a birthday or anniversary since. Enjoy finding apps that actually are useful for yourself. (disclaimer- I have no financial interest in the above programs) | ||
| Rick_a |
For the emulator I'm using Stella: http://stella.sourceforge.net/ For games, I believe I got 'em all here: http://atariage.com/system_items.html?SystemID=260 0&ItemTypeID=ROM | ||
| Rick_a |
To update I am now fully "integrated." It is shocking how quickly my email, browser, and wifi were set up. Typing on this will take some getting used to. The screen is pretty vibrant and the case, while bulky should keep it alive and well. I'm still working on clearing enough drive space on the pc to have my expanded music library set up. | ||
| Kevmean |
Don't forget to download the ecmdroid app and then you can use your phone to tune Buells as well  .... you just need to get or build yourself a bluetooth dongle to plug into the bike. | ||
| 86129squids |
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| Rick_a |
It won't be tuning mine. It's mechanical advance. I've got a few games and use a few apps, but haven't gone crazy with it. In fact I've spent a lot of time disabling and deleting needless stuff more than anything else. The only annoyance thus far is the free Metal Slug II game hitting me with an add on the status bar every now and then. I don't feel like rooting the phone just to get rid of that. |
