I carry a lot of devices with me. I never leave home without my Macbook Air, and often have either my iPad or Nexus 7 tablet with me as well. Then there's my smartphone...
I'm between upgrades, and my old Samsung Galaxy S has seen better days. The power button no longer works so I have to rely on the screen time out to turn the phone off. The phone restarts at random, the battery lasts well under a day, it's getting old fast. of course I could go shell out the cash for a new phone, maybe even the iPhone 5, but is there really a need?
The benefit of a smart phone is absolute portability. A smart phone is really the ultimate pocket computer. Right now though my phone is terrible, and without being able to justify purchasing a new phone outright, I've had to make do without and so more often than not these days I just leave my phone at home.
Of course I still need to make and receive calls and text messages, but I've found ways around this. On my iPad and my Nexus tablet there's a fantastic app I recommend called TextPlus which with a free download gives you an add supported number for text messages in the area code of your choosing (Canada and U.S). The app also offers really affordable minutes for making and receiving voice calls with the number, and despite a bit of lag the voice calls are fairly dependable over wifi.
On top of that, I've got Skype, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and FaceTime all of which let me supplement phone use over IP. I use a mobile hotspot to keep my laptop connected when no wifi is available, and I still keep my phone charged at home to make sure I'm not missing any calls at my old number, (though most of my friends, co-workers and clients have gotten used to my TextPlus number).
Though a tablet might seem like a less than perfect solution to making a call (since you don't really want to hold a tablet like a phone), the addition of a Bluetooth device makes the process a bit more elegant. I've even considered maybe picking up the new iPod Touch to supplement my need for a more portable device and camera (at $299 it's cheaper than an early upgrade) but so far using my other devices (which are always with me anyway) have mostly filled the gap left by my phone.
More and more I wonder if I even really need a phone. With all these connected devices, and ways around relying on cellphone coverage I've gotten by without too much trouble. I've even costed out the difference, and technically between my hotspot and the minutes I bought with TextPlus, I'm still spending less than I am on my phone. There are a few caveats (portability is a big one), and of course the convenience of a smart phone can't be denied, but generally living with a "phone" hasn't been nearly as frustrating as carrying around a phone on it's last leg.
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If you're considering $299 for an ipod touch, the Galaxy Nexus is $350 unlocked for ATT or TMobile, if you're on Verizon they're even cheaper off contract. The price could go down when the Nexus 4 is announced on 10/29.
I've never seen anyone use such varying companies of electronics. I have wanted to get some form of tablet for personal use, movies that kind of thing. Based on the your broad range what do you suggest?
I curious why you have an ipad and nexus. What makes them so different? I'm not techie at all.
Thanks
Why do people think they need to be connected at all times? What is so important that it can't wait?
I've always said (no offense intended to anyone) the only people that need to be connected at all times are doctors and um, er...Ladies of the Night.
Two tablets, but you can't afford a phone? Seems shifty. I carry my phone only, which replaces the need for a tablet. I guess you could argue that the tablet replaces the need for the phone, but it does seem WAY less convenient. I use Skype, Whatsapp, iMessage, and Facetime to keep my text and voice usage low, and I connect to wifi as often as possible to reduce my data usage.
I still use my Samsung Rugby flip phone. It's ridiculously tough, and I don't see the point of upgrading to a smartphone with the huge price difference between plans. Plus, I have a Samsung Tab, the first version, that if I want to stay connected I can buy a plan for cheap. I love technology, I just never see the point of owning devices that basically all serve the same function. I agree with LyonStill and also, its almost freeing in not being connected all the time
If you are still paying for a cell plan, why don't you just get a $20 cell phone from a big box store? You would be able to talk on the phone without relying on lagging audio, hotspots, bluetooth, bulky devices, and all these other complicated services and workarounds which I've mostly never heard of.
If you are lugging around all these other devices anyway, I certainly don't see the need to add an expensive smartphone to that mix to duplicate most of what your tablet(s??) already provide. I got a cheap phone a couple of years ago after losing my previous phone, and honestly have never wanted for anything more. It is smaller, more durable, and has much better reception and battery life than the various expensive iPhones my family members have gone through in that time. I have to carry a Blackberry for work, so I can use that for emails and web access in the rare event that I need it while I'm away from my computer. I still haven't found a real use for tablets other than streaming video or entertaining the kids with games while we're out for dinner or on a car trip, etc., although my husband uses one for his work and likes it. I was very tempted to make a "firstworldproblems" comment upon reading the title of this post, but maybe it's more aptly termed "so-called problems that somehow everyone on the entire planet survived just fine until 5 years ago."
What's the point of having two tablets?
@ LyonStill - Being connected at all times is very important to me. I like having access to information whenever I need it. Like today, I realized that I had no idea where my polling place was and had no idea how I was going to get there on election day. Not only that, I had no idea what time my polling place opened or closed. So while I stood around waiting for my train, I looked up all of that information and formulated a plan for myself.
I don't have a smartphone. I get whatever cell phone is too old for my PARENTS when they get an upgrade. My last one was a 2006 Razr. My dog just chewed it up and I've been without one for a week. In fact, I'll usually keep it uncharged, or forget it somewhere anyway.
I know it' s not possible for everyone to be as disconnected as I am, but I find that I don't want to get a smart anything just because it seems to open all those doors of expectations you can't always close. At least not easily.
And I do have an office job at a Director LEvel, I guess I am just clear from the beginning that I'm on-call.
It's an interesting balancing act, a genuine need to be connected vs. desire and habit amid a barrage of marketing messages that tell us we SHOULD be connected (and accessible) 24/7 and we're pathetic tech dinosaurs if we're not. I have an older pay-as-you go cell, not a smart phone. Just returned from several days visiting family and friends--time away when I chose not to lug any connective devices or use my hosts'. And those were the most relaxing few days I've had many a moon. I told clients and others I'd be away and offline. No problem. In fact, it was such a pleasure to disconnect from electronic leashes that I plan to do it more often and spend more time outdoors as an antidote to tech overload. But to each his own, of course. Just another voice here.
Get a cheap cell, and don't put your clients through the hassle of having to remember "oh, I'm supposed to use his text plus number," or "oh, now he has his regular phone again, I think" etc. etc. It seems to me you do your clients (and thus, your business) a disservice when they can't consistently reach you at the same number.
I have a smart phone, not because I need to stay connected all the time, I mostly use it to grab emails, occasional text messages and the rare phone call. I got a smart phone mostly because of what it can do in various situations, like entertain you in a pinch (like playing Angry Birds), but being able to look up something online, check your bank balance, again, online via a dedicated app - and when necessary, it can help you get your bearings when trying to figure out how to get one place to another in an unfamiliar area, and that is when I use Google Earth's sat to lock in my location, and then by swiping, I can move around until I find a familiar landmark, and go from there, it's times like that, when you need something like it, it comes in as a Godsend.
So for that, I use it as a tool, not necessarily as a must be connected to everyone kind of thing as I don't always get a chance to sit at a computer at work, checking emails.
Also, when a family crisis comes up, it comes in very, very handy for that, as it is right now with issues with my Mom after recovering from back surgery.
This also helps reduce the need to carry around multiple devices, and one expensive phone is preferable than it, and an expensive tablet etc, floating around in a bag.
I can see a tablet being handy for some things, as its larger screen makes it easier to read electronic books, if you are into that kind of thing. Personally, I prefer the actual book whenever possible.
I also don't see these devices being replacements for the computer for many tasks that a small tablet or smart phone can't touch.
This includes writing via a word processor where you'd have to also carry along a keyboard, when a laptop can do it all in one device. Also, for some computer related tasks, 2 screens are preferable, and that can't be accomplished with these small devices and for heavy data processing, such as AUTOCAD, graphic software, video editing software and the like, powerful processor, speedy memory etc are crucial for ease of use with these types of programs where critically set up monitors and such are recommended, or required for proper use.
So while these small devices have their uses, I think it really behooves the individual to really see how they use their devices, and maybe not buy one of each type, but really see what they need, or don't need as many of these devices cross functionality, just that they all do them differently, or better than others.
thank you, ciddyguy, I also don't see the uses of having so many devices when you can do pretty much everything with a laptop and/or a regular cell phone. I can understand using a smartphone when you're on the run/out of the office, but lugging around a laptop, 2 tablets, and a smartphone seems like overkill to me.
That's when you run into situations where people end up spending thousands of dollars on the hardware and their phone plans and their apps, so they feel entitled into downloading movies or music illegally for free, because they made themselves so broke with so much tech.
I've been thinking about replacing my smart phone with a simpler device when my contract ends in a couple of months. I may change carriers but I'm going to stick with a smart phone.
The reason, Google Maps. It's worth it, to me, of paying the smart phone premium so that I'm never lost, know what time the next bus is, etc.
Lol.
If my phone goes down between upgrades I go to craigslists. Everyone is always selling their old phones when they themselves upgrade. Bonus, you meet up and try out the phone before buying. Also, what doesn't skype do that all those additional services/ apps can? Doesn't skype both text and call landlines/ cells? Just curious.