He's only paying $10 per month if he's on a pay per use type plan and he doesn't use it, or his line of the family plan is only $10 per month and the rest is subsidized by the main line.

I spend about $75 per month, but talk between 2500-3000 minutes per month, send/receive a couple thousand texts and use a few GBs of data. 80% is work related though.

Yea, when I was in the hospital for my hip replacement I was entertained by my iPhone for several days. I watched several movies that I would never waste time on normally. When a nurse comes in for the 2 AM take your temperature wake up. Whip out the iPhone and watch a movie. I have HBO at home and I can watch HBO movies on demand on the phone. Pick a movie, put on the headphones and go.

When I gave up my flip phone and got my iPhone 3 I owned it six months before I knew half of its capabilities. I kept thinking, "I just want to make phone calls." Now - I don't know how I got along without it. It has replaced my point and shoot, my video recorder, my GPS, my (paper) notebook, and it does amazing other things. I just checked the security camera at home to see what my puppy is up to (sleeping).

People on the outside still honestly watch you all with some level of sympathy, and some level of derision. Kinda like non-smokers looking at smokers, they wonder WTH is wrong with you guys.


My flip phone cost $20 new, my yearly bill is $40, 400 some odd minutes, I used it twice last year. It sits in my glove box, turned off, and lasts for months on a charge. Once I texted home that I lost a fan belt and desperately needed help, and once was calling a tow truck after busting the engine.

Even Sammy with his Luddite worldview is a phone snob as far as I'm concerned :D

In the 90s the phrase was "kill your television before it kills you". Guess what it needs to be now...

My wife and daughter have smart phones with all sorts of options and stuff.
To add me to that plan costs $10 a month and I got a free phone out of it.
The main reason I have it is so they can get a hold of me in an emergency. If their car breaks down or something like that.

Sometimes I'll use it to order a pizza on the way home from work but still I bet I average less than 5 minutes a month of use.

Well, you guys have a different sort of lifestyle, I guess. One where you go to work at the same place everyday of your life, (or are retired), and maybe only talk to very few people on a regular basis. Nothing wrong with that quiet life if it suits you.

I leave home in the morning and get back home late in the evening usually and I'm never in the exact same place at the same time from day to day. I have a large family and lots of friends that I talk to on a regular basis, many in other states. A landline phone would be absolutely worthless to me, though I do have Google voice on laptop.

All business communication, as well as social, is done through my iphone- either voice/text/email/social media. It's a great tool for modern business and basically indispensable in many industries.

Pazuzu, I'm guessing that you're quite a bit older and retired. I'm in my 50s living in a big city and I don't know anyone without mobile communication. Even my parents, (in their 80s), have mobile phones though they do not use them as much as a younger person. My mom uses hers quite a bit because we are spread out in the world and there are no long distance charges on mobile plans.

I can understand how strange and confusing it is for older people who lived their entire working life in the 20th century to view modern life, with everyone over-dependent on mobile devices. I believe that technology will soon come up with solutions that make todays devices and use look silly to people in the future. But to completely eschew mobile communication devices plants one firmly in the distant past, might as well take it all the way and drive a mint Ford Grenada and wear leisure suits with a Burt Reynolds 'stache. :)

Um, 40. Work in a hi-tech field, in a major hi-tech city. I just don't need to keep track of the interwebs when I'm at the store, or driving to work, or sitting at the barber. I read the newspaper (yes, actually get it delivered and read it) during lunch instead of sitting at Burger King with my phone making beeping booping sounds annoying everyone.

At home I have a landline, and an actual answering machine (with buttons, and a flashing "1" when there's a message!). I call my parents (on THEIR landline!) when needed. i don't need to chat with my wife 10 times a day, since ...we're going to see each other after work! When we will have dinner and talk about things!
I don't need to check my facebook and twitter 10 times a day because...I don't have them! Don't need them, don't want them, won't get them.

I understand someone who needs to communicate with clients all day while in the field needing a basic phone, but i don't understand needing anything else. It really is like watching a smoker (and i know, I smoked for 20 years)...you desperately surround yourself with other addicts (smokers, smartphone users, whatever) to justify your own addiction. It's OK, people get addicted to smartphones, and when that happens, they become non-people in my eyes. The moment you put your phone between your face and mine while we are having a conversation is the moment that I walk away and find someone else to talk to.


Oh, and to prove that I'm not some sort of "cell phones will irradiate your brain" kinda guy, I had a cell as an exclusive phone for 2 years, because I lived in a place with no phone service. That was in 1998-1999. I was on the front wave of cell phone users!

Cell phones will irradiate your brain, actually. One of my friends worked on a Nokia commercial a few years ago and said that none of the corporate guys from Japan held their phones to their ears, they'd make a call and then immediately set the device down on a table and talk through a corded ear piece. We surmised that they were privy to the REAL studies on brain cancer...lol. I never put this thing up to my face unless I'm on a voice call in a really noisy place, which is extremely rare.

Wow, you still use a land line? That is so old fashioned. I don't have that service turned on at my place.

I was holding my 1/2" ratchet today and I thought, 'wow, this thing is going to outlive me, and probably my son who's going to inherit it. It just plain works, I never need to upgrade it or replace it.'

How did we get trained to get on the upgrade cycle so quickly?

The camera rocks. I really like the iPhone 5S
the learning curve is tough, but worth it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1383194715.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1383194812.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1383194955.jpg

Imagine Snap On came out with a ratchet that connected to the internet and instantly knew what size socket you needed and adjusted to that size from 4 MM to 2 inch, short or deep with or without an extension and the exact torque setting and would not ever over torque a bolt and had an built in impact drive and it played high quality music and you could make a phone call with it would you maybe upgrade?

I resisted smart phones. I did not understand the usefulness of them. I took a sip of the Kool Aide and I can't go back. No one cares if you upgrade or not. It is your choice.

The company bought me an iPhone 5. They asked, I said why not. Not sure it was the right response. It's bringing out the curmudgeon in me. I'm not impressed, plus I'm tired of having to relearn something every 2 years. I just want to get my work done.
I don't like the candy colored icons on the screen and the default background is awful. White type on light blue - who uses that? Who can see that? So first thing was to waste time looking for a background that let me read the info at the top of the screen.
I liked my iPhone 3 just fine. Learned to like the 4s just fine. I suppose I'll learn to like the 5s just in time for them to come out with the 6. When they ask again I'm saying no thanks. I've got upgrade burnout. Every five years is frequently enough to upgrade a phone. I think it's just a racket to sell more phone.

Yeah, imagine if they did, and you wanted to torque your wheels, but the wi-fi router was down - no wait! - the router is fine, its the internet provider that's out of whack and it will be a couple of days before they get the cable up an running again. Or the software has to be upgraded, but you forgot your password and had to get on line and get it changed, but your computer is at the office and - geeze. Give me one of these:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1384179266.jpg

Technology revolutionizes, tools just evolved.

But the upgrade phenomenon is certainly a marketing success especially for Apple.

I was in a restaurant the other evening and a fellow, 60ish wanted to take a picture of his wife on her birthday. He couldn't find the camera app on his iPhone. It was pretty funny watching him try to figure it out. Turns out his son had set the phone up for him and put the camera app in another folder. I was able to help him out. Once he took the pic he couldn't find the picture on the phone. More laughter from the audience.

The camera, as well as the photo and video folders, should be on the home page/desktop of the phone as well as all other frequently used icons. All icons should be organized from most to least frequently used. His son hosed him. :cool:

i dont get the "folder" thing. i refuse to use them. it takes more time to find and use apps that way. just organize your apps by screen and type, geez..

Who is my Mother? I'll take annoying family members for $400, Alex.

But seriously, my sister convinced my mother she needed an iPhone. I had my old 4S laying around, so we took it to AT&T to switch it to her. Long story short, she is now using a Samsung Rugby III, aka a flip phone. It was more than she needed or wanted. My father is happy that they shut off her data plan and saved $40/mth.

Sorry, I should have said "app", not folder. I'm not all that sharp myself, gadget-wise, and I find Apple stuff easy to use.

My loving wife has an iPhone and I do all the updating. If I borrow it she usually has 15 or so apps that need updating and messages she doesn't know are there. She never downloads any pics because she says it drains the battery and basically just uses it for calls and mail. Drives me crazy but what the heck, she's happy with it.