Smartphone, anyone?

[Smarmie Doofus]

A whippersnapper friend of mine once told me to take my flip phone , put it in a blender and press "puree".

I'm about to renew my contract. They are practically "giving" away these damn things as an inducement for 2 year contracts.

Certain features would be nice ( gps, mp3, emergency internet, camera) but will I be able to figure them out? Do I have that kind of time, that kind of energy, that kind of DESIRE?

Am I ruining my life if I get a smartphone?

Looking for people over 55 ( more or less) who have taken the plunge.

What say you?

[elleng]

1. I have NOT!

Bought a camera that gets me e.mail, fb, photobucket, etc, and hang with my laptop much of the time. Still use my 'dumb' phone.

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. *Cameras* can do that? I need to get out more.

So it does everything except make and receive calls... pretty much?

[elleng]

6. It does a lot,

but it doesn't connect me to internet at large, I think; don't read news or watch movies on it! Got it to take pics and post them here easily. Took a while to find it, Samsung Galaxy.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I still have my flip phone and did learn to 'text', but think it's silly.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Texting I had disabled on my flip phone as soon as I got it.

That and twitter are the two 21st century innovations that strike me as truly moronic and w/o any upside whatsoever.

[Laurian]

3. I'm 65 and love my iPhone!

I also have an iPad and navigation on both devices is very similar. I can think of a lot of things I would give up before letting go of my iPhone. My husband is 70 and also uses an iPhone. It took a while for him to get comfortable with it, but he is definitely a convert.

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. I'm not sure I can do what you two can.

There's a lot of variability in brain function.... esp as we get older. So what you can easily learn may not be what I can easily learn.

Someone gave me a little digital camera about a year ago and there are just more features on there than I can.... or even DESIRE to... learn.

The bottom line is that even "simple" stuff on there... like taking pictures.... is an ordeal.

I think my mind's turned a corner in the last two years in terms of the ability to learn new info... esp things that require focus, sustained attention and of course manual dexterity.

I'm wondering why the industry doesn't design more modified products for our demographic.

[Laurian]

8. Of course you know yourself best, but you

may be underestimating your abilities. I think motivation probably comes in to play with learning how to use new technology.

My husband has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, so he needed a lot of coaching in the beginning. Since both of our children and two of our grandchildren have the same phone, he has lots of resources available. He doesn't text per se, but has learned to use Siri to text for him!

I think having the phone with him gives him peace of mind and confidence knowing he has lots of information at his disposal and can get in touch with friends and family easily.

[LiberalElite]

17. Have you looked into -

the Jitterbug phone? Also, no-contract pay-as-you-go Tracfone has a basic phone with larger keys called "The Big Easy".

Regarding the digital camera - IMHO so what if you don't want to learn all the features? Get familiar with what you want to use and leave the rest. Who'll know?

[DavidDvorkin]

9. I'm 70, and I've had a smartphone for a few years now

I'd never go back to the dumb kind.

[KC]

10. I absolutely

love my IPhone! I don't know what I would do without it now!
It's not difficult to use at all, even with all the problems I have.
A few things if I have a question then my son tells me what I need to know. And he doesn't live with me so that's done either on the phone or by email.
Figure out what you'd want to use on it an
just ignore the other stuff until you get comfortable.
You'll love it like we do!

[RebelOne]

11. I have an old-fashioned flip phone and that's all I need.

I just want to be able to reach the outside world in case of a power outage.
I have Comcast where the internet, computer and cable are all connected, and if I lose power, I lose everything.

[SheilaT]

12. The whippersnapper is an idiot.

Which is not to say that those who love their smart phones are wrong. But they are not absolutely necessary.

I have a dumb phone and I feel no need, at least so far, for anything else. I also refuse to text. Occasionally I get grief for that, but my life is just fine without it.

But if you decide that you want a smart phone and will use enough of the functions to make it worthwhile, then do it.

This is sort of like exactly what kind of car you buy. No one vehicle is right for everyone. Nor is one kind of phone the only choice everyone should be making.

For what it's worth, I'm 65 and I want to control the technology that I use, not have it control me, which is what I see far too much of anymore.

[gblady]

13. I'm 65...and love my smartphone

I use it a lot, especially for my work. I do elder care and use it to look up information, details of things that come up in conversations, text with family members re: concerns, scheduling; check my emails, keep all my contact info, use the camera to capture special moments. I use mine a lot.

I was very leery at first when my son wanted to get one on a two for one special a few years back....swore I would never use it, but after a week, I was hooked.

And because of the current economic conditions the fact that I will be working until I die, I am glad I have the device.

[Le Taz Hot]

14. I LOVE my Smartphone!

I got mine last year ($1.00 for a new iPhone4 because the iPhone5's had just come out). I use mine ALL the time. Out of all the features I use, and I use many, my favorite? The flashlight! Seriously, I've used it dozens of times.

I use it for work for GSP (I have to find houses), keeping track of my mileage, keeping track of my hours, the calendar, the calculator and the translator.

I used to swear I didn't need one but I had this one for about 5 minutes and I was hooked. And, btw, there are aps for everything, including your grocery list.

[llmart]

15. I agree with Sheila T.

I do not have a smartphone. I have owned a prepay cell phone for about 8 years and keep it in my car for emergencies. I've used it other times too, but not that often. I have a landline and between that and my Internet connection at home for my laptop, I can't really justify (or afford) having Internet connection on a phone too and another bill.

I am not a technophobe and am very literate on a computer and am very comfortable with learning new technology. However, I have never been one to jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is doing something or buying something. I'm on the Internet enough in my spare time and at work, so the last thing I need is another device for that.

I think that sometimes people buy these things and then use them to justify buying them. Sometimes they don't even know they're doing this.

But that's just me - I don't even have cable.

[LiberalElite]

16. I got an "entry-level" smartphone

from MetroPCS but still have a "dumb" flip phone Tracfone as backup. If you want to keep a flip phone, I recommend Tracfone. No contract, pay as you go and probably much less expensive than a flip phone with a contract.

There's also Consumer Cellular (If you're a member of AARP they give a discount) and Jitterbug. MetroPCS is no-contract. So is Consumer Cellular (but a little more complicated). They have flip phones and smart phones. Consumer Cellular even has some iphones.

Check out the websites.

Smartphones aren't that hard to figure out. I love being able to check email on mine. There are probably thousands of apps, some just for fun and others are useful, e.g., a free flashlight app.

[Rowdyboy]

18. My partner and I both got am i-phone last Friday....

We've been learning together, which helps. Still have a lot to figure out but its doable. I'm a technophobe so if I can, probably anyone can.