Is a smartphone really going to be useful for me?

[dweezle]

c

Get a $150 OG Droid from Craigslist and you don't have to sign a 2 yr contract , use it for a while , try Pandora , Google Maps , Email , Google Shopping and all the goodies , see if you like it or not , if you like it sell it on Craigslit and buy a better one , if you don't sell it on Craigslist and get your $150 back .
I would go directly with a 4G contract , I bet you will like it , there is nothing not to like , the only minus is the battery life .
You can backup all your pictures to Picasa and you can access them from your phone anywhere , you can stream music from your home PC to your phone , connect it to your car and listen while traveling . See how the weather will be or watch real time weather radars to see where the clouds are , video chat with your friend and much much more , it's impossible not to like it .

Okay, I'm checking back with an update. I bought a Droid X off Craigslist and have not been able to put it down since. I am rooted on Apex 2.0 RC3, have both USB and wireless tether working. At first I was amazed at what the various apps could do. After my initial, put-everything-onto-the-phone, phase, I've calmed down and am working with just the apps that I use and like.

Thanks to everyone here for helping me make up my mind. Now I just have to figure out why I would ever want to leave this phone. Everyone has written ROMs for the Droid X. It does more than I ever thought it would. Other than 4G, I don't think I will need to upgrade for quite some time and there is no 4g coming to my area anytime soon.

[MikeRB]

I'm curious to know what apps you and other people use. I am in my 30's and have considered getting a smart phone and I like you use the Internet for hours each day for similar things - research, online forums, email, Ebay and online shopping and I wander if the extra monthly cost for a data plan and the initial outlay to get a smartphone is worth it. For me the things I do on the Internet, I do not need to do while I am mobile - I am not usually away from home more than 10 hours, so the things I do on the Internet I can do when I get home. If someone emails me, when I am away from home, they are not expecting an immediate response - if they were they would call me, so why would I want to type slowly on a small keyboard rather than replying when I get home, typing quickly on a large keyboard. I can see how the Internet would be useful on "the move" occasionally, but not enough to warrant the extra cost. And it is not just the extra cost - I have a Nokia 6310i at the moment which I have had for about 8 years and I still only need to charge it once a week, where as I gather with a smartphone I would be probably be charging once every day or 2. I can see how an upgrade to a fairly "dumb" phone which could act as a camera and MP3 player could be useful, but not an upgrade to a smartphone with a 3G/4G call plan. How often do people find they use the Internet away from home?

Thanks

Mike

[dweezle]

I'm curious to know what apps you and other people use. I am in my 30's and have considered getting a smart phone and I like you use the Internet for hours each day for similar things - research, online forums, email, Ebay and online shopping and I wander if the extra monthly cost for a data plan and the initial outlay to get a smartphone is worth it. For me the things I do on the Internet, I do not need to do while I am mobile - I am not usually away from home more than 10 hours, so the things I do on the Internet I can do when I get home. If someone emails me, when I am away from home, they are not expecting an immediate response - if they were they would call me, so why would I want to type slowly on a small keyboard rather than replying when I get home, typing quickly on a large keyboard. I can see how the Internet would be useful on "the move" occasionally, but not enough to warrant the extra cost. And it is not just the extra cost - I have a Nokia 6310i at the moment which I have had for about 8 years and I still only need to charge it once a week, where as I gather with a smartphone I would be probably be charging once every day or 2. I can see how an upgrade to a fairly "dumb" phone which could act as a camera and MP3 player could be useful, but not an upgrade to a smartphone with a 3G/4G call plan. How often do people find they use the Internet away from home?

Thanks

Mike

Mike
I think it is hard to answer the questions that you have without actually tryng a smart phone for a month or two. At the end of that time you could know more about how you would react to the abilities, and the modifiable features of the Android smart phones. So, find someones old phone (borrow or buy), that is in good shape and sign up for a single month. Even if at the end of the first week if you know it isn't for you, just go back to your old phone. The carrier will pro rate what you haven't used and refund the remainder. I'd be interested in what you decide, so check back if you try one out. I've been happy with the Droid X. Mine came with a 16gb micro sd card which has come in handy.

[JSM9872]

Mike
I think it is hard to answer the questions that you have without actually tryng a smart phone for a month or two. At the end of that time you could know more about how you would react to the abilities, and the modifiable features of the Android smart phones. So, find someones old phone (borrow or buy), that is in good shape and sign up for a single month. Even if at the end of the first week if you know it isn't for you, just go back to your old phone. The carrier will pro rate what you haven't used and refund the remainder. I'd be interested in what you decide, so check back if you try one out. I've been happy with the Droid X. Mine came with a 16gb micro sd card which has come in handy.

That's pretty good advice. I KNEW I didn't need a smart phone... until I got one, and now I don't know what I would do without it. But it could easily go the the other way where one gets it and thinks "man what am I spending all this money one."

[Hawaiian Princess]

ALOHA welcome to the forum. it really is a decision that only the user can make. im sure with all these great advices, u will end up with a super phone and u wont be looking back. enjoy ur stay...

[MikeRB]

I did have an opportunity to use a smart phone (non-android) last year for a month and I found I just used it as a phone. Therefore I am curious to here from people like JSM9872 who thought they didn't need one, but then found a smartphone useful - what do you mainly use it for? I am not an occasional computer user, I work in IT and I use my laptop 2 to 4 hours a day, out of work, mainly on the Internet, but if I visit my parents, for example, then I generally don't use their computer or take mine with me, except if I am staying over night, when I may quickly check my email - I visit my parents to socialise, not to spend time alone on the computer. Also I'm interested to hear from dweezle, as maybe checking email and Internet browsing is not what smart phones are all about - maybe its the apps. On my laptop, I don't use many apps - I use a DVD maker app, Google sketch-up, photo editing & Office apps (although mainly use Google Docs) and a few other apps, non of which I would want to use on a small screen and keyboard. So for people who use apps a lot, are these apps equivalent to apps that they use (or use to use) on their computer, or completely different apps and for apps that you wouldn't use on a regular computer - what apps are most useful?

Thanks

Mike

[JSM9872]

Well I actually started with blackberry probably about 4 years ago. It was great for me because much of the communication done in college to students, professors, etc all went through email. So I had instant access to them, which I loved. But now that I have moved to Android it has mushroom clouded. I use many different apps to either stay connected with friends (facebook, g+, etc.), play games, obviously internet/Google, pay bills, track accounts, the list goes on. More recently I am trying to get myself involved in keeping a schedule via calendars, reminders etc but I am still terrible at remembering to do so. So I guess it boils down to use of apps, basically anything you can think of there is an app for and I love it.

To sum it up I use it as my social net worker, email device, internet browsing, and pretty much anything I can think of along the way. If I want to do it with my phone I pretty much can and it is addicting.