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Nov. 5, 2008 9:22 p.m. alfadriver Reader

Ok, for the not so geeky phone owners....

Mrs Alfa and I are looking at new phones- and are considering the pethora of choices- from the basic phone only to the iPhone, and all inbetween.

Anyway, have any of the iPhone owners out there find that they DON'T use all of the options or the interenet all that much?

The reason I ask is the actual amount that we use the interent- not all that much unless we are shopping for x-mas or researching for a trip. But there are times that it would be cool to have some info while travelling in the US.

For the moment, we have a barely useable option, but still don't cover it all that much.

OTOH, the iPhone is pretty darned cool- does a lot of stuff. And would end up replacing a PDA that I asked about just about a year ago (and I really love it- works great, does movies, etc).

I'm leaning toward one phone that can do internet (and pay by the min for the few times we use it), and one that doesn't so much. I just don't think I'd use the iPhone to it's fullest. And while I do have a mp3 player, it's not in my head 24/7....

Thoughts?

E
Nov. 5, 2008 9:36 p.m. JThw8 Dork

I never thought I'd use as much of the features as I do. My previous phone I barely used to receive calls. I didnt text, email, etc.

But the Iphone...well its just hooked me. I've always been a net geek so having it on demand wherever I go it fabulous. I actually use text now. And I even gave in to the digital music world....

Its worth the investment.
Nov. 5, 2008 9:39 p.m. Tommy Suddard

I use it all the time. I don't think I am the demographic you are looking for, though.
Nov. 5, 2008 9:56 p.m. JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director

JThw8 wrote:

I never thought I'd use as much of the features as I do. My previous phone I barely used to receive calls. I didnt text, email, etc.

But the Iphone...well its just hooked me. I've always been a net geek so having it on demand wherever I go it fabulous. I actually use text now. And I even gave in to the digital music world....

Its worth the investment.

+1

Actually, +2. I knew I'd use a lot of the features on it, but when I bought my wife one for her birthday last January she didn't do anything but use it as a phone for about two months. Then one day I forced her to watch the intro video, now I get texts all the time (albeit with improperly formatted emoticons) and she pretty much uses hers as hard as I use mine.

More and more companies have "mobile" versions of their websites, so even surfing on the edge network isn't that horrible. With a 3G it should be even better.

The only downside I'm hearing about the 3Gs is lousy battery life. I suppose there are worse problems, though.

jg
Nov. 5, 2008 10:33 p.m. Alonso New Reader

as a Blackberry user and abuser, I'll advise you to consider the new wave of Blackberry devices coming out. One of the most exciting ones is the Blackberry Storm that is just about to be released (Best Buy is now accepting pre-orders).

Blackberry storm @ crackberry

Also new are the Blackberry Bold and the Blackberry pearl flip. These two are similar, yet are marketed towards very different markets (Business vs. personal)

The drawback about the STORM is that only Verizon is carrying it in the US, much like how ATT is the sole carrier for the iPhone in the US.
Nov. 5, 2008 10:36 p.m. alfadriver Reader

See, that's the thing, my wife has a blackberry- data only- but it's the older version and is pretty slow. I've asked her to see if they could upgrade it, but I'm not sure if they will.

The other "issue" is that both of us work in a secure network company- so while I'm typing via a wireless connection, there's pretty much no way I could do that with the i-Phone (especially since camara phones are not allowed here.... which is a real PITA).

I'll keep looking into it.

Thanks for the input (and more that will come).

Eric
Nov. 5, 2008 11:19 p.m. noodle New Reader

One of my co-workers has the I-phone. I need to constantly remind him to put the damn thing down and pay attention to his work. I don't need to know the darn weather in Tinbuktu or what the current price of pork bellies are.
Nov. 6, 2008 9:30 a.m. alfadriver Reader

noodle wrote:

One of my co-workers has the I-phone. I need to constantly remind him to put the damn thing down and pay attention to his work. I don't need to know the darn weather in Tinbuktu or what the current price of pork bellies are.

That's the one thing I know 100% that I won't do. There are 6 web pages that I go to regularly- but the rest of the web bores me unless I'm looking for something specific. That's why I'm even asking this.

E
Nov. 6, 2008 9:45 a.m. confuZion3 Dork

I love mine. It does not do EVERYTHING you can do on the internet. Flash is not available, for example. You cannot cut and paste anything anywhere. Also, another frustration.

Other than that, it really is quite cool. I still use mine constantly. For example: when I went to the wrong polling place on Tuesday, I whipped it out, went to the appropriate site, typed in my home address, and voila! I not only got the address to the correct polling place, but I popped open the GPS map and found out exactly where it was. I would have just about lost my berkeleying mind if I didn't have it that time.

I downloaded Dynolicious. It uses the phone's accelerometers to give you all sorts of sweet data about your car while you drive it. I'm going to find out if I can store it safely in the car and run it at the track and at auto-x events.

And it makes a pretty sweet PDA.
Nov. 6, 2008 10:11 a.m. JmfnB SuperDork

I WISH I was a programmer/hacker...

It is my dream to use an iPhone to be my dashboard/controller/ignition key etc.

I would set up a 12v MiniITX computer to turn on when the iPhones Bluetooth signal is in range, which will act as the power up feature for the car. Place the iPhone in the dash in front of the driver in a special designed holder. Push the start button and the iPhone displays the RPM and gauge functions via the Bluetooth link, speed is monitored through the GPS and displayed as well. Datalogging can be done through the iPhone as well as telemetry.
Nov. 6, 2008 1:10 p.m. jpod999 Reader

The phone I had prior to my 3G I only used to make calls. It didn't even have a camera. I use this thing for EVERYTHING now. I downloaded a really good solitaire app and play that all the time while I'm waiting for class to start. The Facebook app is great, but that probably doesn't interest you. Here in my dorm we don't have digital cable or satellite, we just have regular cable, so I downloaded the free app i.TV. You put in your zip code and it brings up realtime showtimes for all the TV channels you get. It's awesome.

iPhone <3
Nov. 6, 2008 1:21 p.m. walterj HalfDork

I bought one for my wife for her birthday. She loves it. The battery life is better than my Treo 650 and it appears more useful on the whole except no cut and paste, and the keyboard isn't real so you can't feel the buttons - you have to look at the phone to use it (bad for texting under the table in meetings or dialing while you drive). The bluetooth headset does work awesome with it though so no worries about taking a meeting while you drive... just pull over to dial.
Nov. 6, 2008 1:31 p.m. Alonso New Reader

It's fun to look things up on wikipedia with my blackberry to win arguments.

Makes my girlfriend mad though. At least until she gets a good phone (probably the Bb Storm since she's with Verizon)

But I would definitively check out the iPhone when my free upgrade comes around (next March, Woohoo!)
Nov. 6, 2008 3:02 p.m. littleturquoiseb Reader

Also for Alphadriver ... you say you plan on getting a per miniute data plan ... not available for Iphone users on AT&T. If you have an Iphone they force you to have the unlimited plan.

I love mine and would owe billions if I didn't have the unlimited data plan.
Nov. 6, 2008 3:06 p.m. Xceler8x HalfDork

I'm a crackberry user as well. Having the net at your fingertips is great for comparative shopping at the store. Can't figure out which TV to buy? Check out reviews on Cnet while you're shopping. The GPS features are great as well. Went to NYC and got lost once. I gps'ed myself and found my way to the restaurant in time for the reservation. I also never have to take a magazine to the crapper anymore. Just don't drop it.
Nov. 6, 2008 3:22 p.m. alfadriver Reader

littleturquoiseb wrote:

Also for Alphadriver ... you say you plan on getting a per miniute data plan ... not available for Iphone users on AT&T. If you have an Iphone they force you to have the unlimited plan.

I love mine and would owe billions if I didn't have the unlimited data plan.

That I do know. The alternate is one of the other reasonably feature rich phones to do occasional data.

I still am not convinced that I'll use it enough- many of your examples just don't seem to fit- it's not like I'm in the market for a bunch of stuff, and if I am, I'll do the research at home. And since I have a real job, well, I do have distraction times. But my actual internet usage is actually very light- I almost never use it at home. My PDA has wireless, and I've proably used it for a couple of min at home.

I very much appreciate the input.

Eric

(ps- it's Alfa, an acronym, not the letter.)
Nov. 6, 2008 4:00 p.m. SVreX SuperDork

Eric:

I think I'm a bit more your demographic.

I had one- got rid of it. I might have kept it if I lived in a more metropolitan area, but the fact is that (regardless of what they say) AT&T's infrastructure has a lot of holes in it in the rural areas. Actually, it's all holes.

You MUST have unlimited data.

I thought it would make a tremendous media manager. It is a beautiful machine. Problem is I don't really care about how much media I manage. I liked the interface.

My failing eyes found it aggravating to surf the net. I was always zooming in and out again. Additionally it was phenomally slow which is again a rural problem- limited access to 3G).

I also felt it was probably not designed to withstand the abuse I'd give it. Might be different if I worked primarily at a desk.
Nov. 6, 2008 4:09 p.m. SupraWes Dork

I'm with the "you will use it more than you think" crowd. Wanna find a good restraunt or cheap gas or whatever when you're out and about (Iphone), wanna take a peek at the radar map (Iphone), wanna know what that song you just heard was (Iphone) The possibilities are pretty much endless.
Nov. 6, 2008 4:15 p.m. SVreX SuperDork

Oh, I forgot. On the "use it more than you think" issue- that's true...

...too much so. Maybe I'm an addict or something, but I find life to be a little better when I am not connected to the internet 24/7.

It's only a matter of time before we start reading in the papers about kids who have killed themselves trying this while driving.
Nov. 6, 2008 4:17 p.m. SVreX SuperDork

Question: If you are a "not so geeky" phone user, why consider the IPhone? It's pretty over the top on the geek scale.
Nov. 6, 2008 5:16 p.m. alfadriver Reader

SVreX wrote:

Question: If you are a "not so geeky" phone user, why consider the IPhone? It's pretty over the top on the geek scale.

That's a very good question. And one I'm trying to answer.

I totally agree with all the convienent access to the internet, I can see how cool that really is. Especially when we are on vacation.

I think I may have to try one of the other machines available, just to see if it would be good enough.

But that iPhone is just so cool... :)

E-
Nov. 6, 2008 7:07 p.m. jpod999 Reader

Why doesn't one of you get an iPhone, and the other a (insert phone here). Then decide which one you like better and both get that one.
Nov. 6, 2008 7:11 p.m. Tim Baxter Online Editor

I'll suggest the iPhone is by far the best for the "not so geeky" user, simply because you don't have to be a giant geek just to figure out how to use it. Unlike most phones, it was designed for normal people, not some weird nerd version of reality where you click the talk button three times, press up, then 9, then pound, just so you can do.... whatever it is you were trying to do, if you can even remember.

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