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Am i alone?

i dumbed my smartphone down a bit .. first took root control of it then removed all the crap . i keep the data turned off and gps .
its just a phone and camera now . its the only phone i have . i use the computer for internet . if someone wants to get hold of me they ring me up on the phone or wait until i am back at the computer .
 
Today is ak and iboats day as its raining and crappy outside.I have friends that are basically slaves to their phone and i guess thats what i really dont understand .As i said earlier where i play you might as well give a note to a squirrel so he can take it to somebody to help you because unless you have a sat phone your sol with a smartphone.Cell service works up north as long as your on the highway but 100 yards off that stupid hwy nothing.Some get a mile or 2 further but thats it .
 
MarZ- you are not. I'm living just fine without a cell, smart or dumb. I value my time off, downtime, privacy, etc. No FB or any social media of any kind, except here once in a while.
 
Soo ,MarZ.Been here since 75 before that was an airforce brat so was all over.Born in Halifax N.S. So im a fellow bluenoser!
 
I seem to use mine more than I used to, but not for social media. My wife texts me occasionally which I find better than answering the phone because it is usually something like what do we need from the store etc.

What I like about my Samsung s7 is the GPS navigation apps. Mainly 3 of them. The first one is basically a chart plotter for when I am out in the boat. I have a Garmin GPS plotter but it is 10 years old and has its moments of failure. I mostly keep the chart plotter on my phone as backup in case the fog rolls in and the Garmin fails.

The next GPS app is called backcountry navigator. Wheenever I am out on hiking trails or places I have gone and want to find again I use this. The maps are download able and quite accurate.

The 3 Rd GPS app is called Osm And+ and it is an offline street app that does the same sort of thing that Google navigation app does but completely offline.

Then other than weather apps connected to my weather station, I really don't care. .well that's not quite true,I use the camera a lot too. I find it the best magnifying glass there is. I cannot see up close very well and tiny writing on something like a serial number is next to impossible even with a magnifying glass. Using the camera I can zoom into seeing just about anything. Working on some piece of machinery, often I can't see something with my eye but the phone camera can get in tight enough to see and take a picture,even around corners which would be impossible otherwise,

So yeah, I like my phone for certain things. It's a handy tool that I would miss.

Of course the phone ain't a bad music source out and about in the car, headphones, or my new little jbl LSR 305's which are self powered.

Do I sit around staring at the screen all day,walking down the street, with company, play games or because I am bored? Nope, but I do find these little gadgets pretty useful at times.
 
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Get ready for some ageism:

I am only 41, I harbor no hatred for "the" Smartphone. When I am unfamiliar with something, I try to learn about it.
... that being said, I do think it is a sad state of affairs when you walk into a restaurant, and see a family of four or five sitting at a table, all with their noses stuck in their phones.

I am late to some of the games though... I just started the phone-facebook thing. It is another avenue for great deals on used audio, The Market place.
Remember when Craigslist was new, and people who didn't get it at first... Were you a naysayer then also?
 
I think it's a shame the number of people who would truly benefit from a smartphone but simply brush them off due to stereotypes. Smartphones aren't just about Facebook, Twitter, and self-important millennials; they are simply mobile internet devices. They are what you make out of them.

There are probably many audio enthusiasts out there who never even made it onto places like AK in the first place because they were similarly jaded about the internet itself when it first became popular.
 
I don't think is a matter of the device per se, no one can deny that are great tools.
To me is more like the ''attitude'' and how people get attach to the device... at gym, at the pub, on meetings, at the bathroom, on dates, etc etc... always looking the damn thing like the world is going to end if you are offline one hour.

That's what I don't like, but who am I to question people for their need or the delusion that they need to be online 24/7?
If that what they need, so be it, not need to justifications.
 
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things change when visiting USA, enter a bar having an unrealistic amount of tv screens way up, and there is a baseball game on tv.
Instead of looking down, everybody is looking up :beerchug:
 
HarmanKardon said:
Smartphones make smart people smarter and stupid people more stupid.
Click to expand...

People do not become smarter from smartphone use- quite the opposite. In general, people don't 'think' anymore since someone can just look it up. Smartness requires thoughtful pause, idea synthesis and integration, and contemplation, not regurgitation of isolated facts. I cannot tell you the number of times that I've had to say to a group as they do the 'ole quick draw (old West-style), "Hey. Let's use some brainpower and conversation to figure this out."

And for THAT same reason, you are correct on the second part- dumb, unthinking people believe that they are smarter
 
Over the course of about 5 1/2 years, I had smart ALEC phones. 1 Motorola piece of crap followed by 3 Galaxy S models 1, 4 and 6. The 6 died shortly after I got it. A couple of months later, I got a flip phone and was happy with it. Then, the foreman decided that he just couldn't deal with leading me to jobsites. Poor baby! Well, "daddy" had to change baby foreman's diaper, give him a bottle and get a LG phone to have Google maps.
 
usedto said:
Those folks who have never found out about AK probably enjoy their music just as much as those who have.
Click to expand...

Those who tend to make emotional decisions rather than educated decisions are often quite content. It doesn't mean that they aren't still ignoring what could be a very valuable resource for them. Ignorance is bliss?
 
usedto those that are obsessed dont see it .I was curious to see if there were other people that dont really care about the phone If i was to go on a trip id use my phone again but other than that im indifferent to it.Some may feel otherwise but my life is no less richer.
 
Like I said earlier, the smart phone can be a valuable tool - I have no issues with that. But NOT using one 24 - 7 doesn't make one ignorant.

I know people who can make a smart phone do almost anything but fly, but couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the bottom.
 
I use a Tracfone. It takes/makes calls, can send and receive text messages. The phone cost me $39.99 in 2012. I "Pay as You Go". I spend about $50/year on minutes (usually just to extend the time-you only get 3 months with the purchase of minutes). My wife thinks I need to get an IPhone like hers. I have been resisting as I do not need one or the associated expense that go with it.
 
Living in a rural area, the cell phone comes in handy in case of vehicle break down, reporting an accident, fire reporting, or some other emerg situation.

Other than the above situations, I tend to use only when I have to. There are times I make certain that it is off. :)

The thing only irritates me is when relatives, usually the younger ones, tend to use them at the table or when conversations are being carried on. They are there in person, but opting out in front of everyone, either playing games or texting. Mind you people shouting into them in public places is a close second.

The worst misuse that bothers me is the use of this device when people are using them while operating cars, biking or crossing the street. All three situations require full attention for the task at hand, but are not, with deadly consequences when using them in these ways!

As mentioned, they can be a useful tool or information gathering communication device...but there is a dark side in the use of them!

Q
 
6 year old flip phone here. Kind of a joke to friends and neighbors. I had to fire a "phone zombie" earlier this year who couldn't put his down for 2 minutes.
 
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