Smartphone vs dumbphone

Random Ramblings
1

I used an Apple smartphone for what must have been 9 years. It was on AT&T’s network. Several months ago I accidently dropped my smartphone and the glass screen shattered. My solution was to just ditch my smartphone and I then purchased a $10 flip phone.

It turns out that all the apps that I was convinced I could not live without were actually not needed in my day to day life. If you are still using a smartphone you will think you can not live without the apps and other features. In all actuality you probably do not need those things.

My smartphone bill was $105 per month. Per month! That included unlimited data, calls and texts. My new flip phone only does calls and texts, it is beautiful, and its about $20 per month. That is a huge difference. Did I really need to obsessively check my smartphone email 400 times per day? No!

The smartphone has a numbing or tazing effect on your mind. It does. When you quit the smartphone you even go into physical and emotional withdrawals. My flip phone is much lighter on the electronics. Its simple. My flip phone calls are really chill and easy on the ear. In comparison using the smartphone for calls would hurt my head and ears. The smartphone would even hurt my hand holding the thing, possibly due to radiation!

My smartphone needed to be charged once per day. That becomes stressful needing to constantly charge it up. My basic flip phone battery lasts a week or more without charging.

If I drop my flip phone it wont break. Even if it did break they cost $10 to replace. If I drop an iPhone its glass screen can shatter which costs $100 to repair. If I lost my iPhone those things are several hundred dollars or more to replace.

In conclusion. If years ago I had switched from my Apple smart phone to a basic flip phone, I would have Thousands of more dollars to my name. I could probably have enough for a down payment on a House by now.

Just some food for thought…

2

But I like to be able to use the Internet wherever I am.

3

Remember the Gordon Gecko cell phone? They costed 4 grand. Here is a link to more info about the Gordon Gecko phones, which were considerably much better then almost every smartphone model today http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2010/09/23/gordon_gekko_s_cell_phone.html

Also I should not be bragging and boasting too much here about my $10 phone because unfortunately it runs on the 3g network. 3g is way more powerful then necessary. And just recently the evil phone service providers have begun phasing out 2g network connections… 2g was probably the best.

People who are toating around these mobile devices running on 4g and 5g might as well just build themselves gigantic microwave ovens and then treat that as a phone booth to make all their phone calls in there… Cook yourself some microwave dinners in there while you are at it…

4

The only thing I could think of with an expensive i-phone and $105/month plan is to go on the internet whenever you want. Other than that, you can always do much better.

I’m retired, have a part time office gig to keep myself busy. I have a computer at the office, and computers at home. Its a 30 minute commute, so I will not have the internet for 30 minutes while commuting.

I have a Tracfone plan that costs $44.95 every 3 months with carryover minutes. Currently I have over 3600 unused minutes. Included is text messaging and internet, though I don’t use the internet at all on it. Yes, mine is one of those dumb-phones

For my older daughter, I have a Samsung smartphone that runs about $100.00 with unlimited talk for $45.00/month. There are data and text limits. But at her dorm at college, they have wi-fi. When they go out to eat, they consciously choose locations with wi-fi. So the $45.00/month is more than enough.

For the wife and younger daugher, we got cheaper versions of the Samsung smartphones, less than $100.00, and plans that run at about $15.00/month thru Tracfone. My younger daughter, who’s in high school, has wi-fi at school, wi-fi at home, so she only use minutes to call home for emergencies. And for eating out, she insists on going to places with wi-fi, so we have to call ahead and ask if we’re not been there before.

In other words, if you plan ahead, you can have internet at least 90% of the time, depending on where you go.

Some lady at work had a problem with her son who’s at college with the $45.00/month plan thru Verizon with data limits. Her son always ran pass the limits, so ask me what I would do. So I ask her why he uses so much. She explains he had to exercise at the track each morning, running an hour, there’s no wi-fi there and he had to listen to music while running through the internet. I explained there’s plenty of radio stations that play music, and he can record some songs, so for an hour a day, he doesn’t need music thru the internet.

From what I’m told, she did that, and his son was able to live within the data limits.

5

http://www.stickmanweekly.com/Photo/28August/images/blog2.jpg

This was probably the best designed phones. These are from the 80’s. No blinking lights. Nothing digital. No caller ID. Grounded landline. Simple buttons. Great reception. Low tech. High performance.

6

I understand your point @All-Ears. It is indeed costly to maintain the use of a smartphone especially an iPhone. However, almost everyone are relying on smartphones rather than an ordinary phone because it is very accessible with the use of an internet connection. Despite of that, we are now living with the new and modern technology. I think, we have to live with it. Otherwise, our option is to just get an affordable smartphone so that it would not affect much of our budget.

7

You have to take a leap of faith and quit your smartphone for a couple weeks then you will realize you do not need it. However if you continue using a smartphone you will continue believing you need it and have excuses like how “this is the modern world” and all that.

Need a calendar? They have paper ones at the Dollar Store
Need a to do list? Those are at the Dollar Store too
Need a map of your city? Those are free made of paper at your Chamber of Commerce
Need a camera? Buy an actual camera.
Need directions? Use the computer at home and write it down. Plan ahead

8

It is impossible to butt dial somebody on a flip phone. You never have to worry about a tenant hearing you talk about rent increases until you actually serve them the new leases.

9

Youre not even supposed to carry smart phones in your pocket. They cause health problems. People are not yet conscious about the negative effects of these devices. They just want their fix. They are extremely strong electronics.

After you stop using smart phones your body learns, then after a while when you even see people glued to their cell phones your body catches additional information about how potent the electronics are, and you learn to avoid smart phones.

10

Half of smartphone-dependent Americans (these are people who have a smartphone as their only access to the Internet) reported having canceled or paused their smartphone service because the cost led to financial trouble. On top of that, many smartphone owners said they’d reached the data cap on their smartphone plans, meaning they likely racked up more fees if they surpassed the cap.

11

Life without the smart phone is much better. Again I highly recommend trying to break your addiction to those devices. You literally have to plan it out. It is totally possible.

A couple forum members here, I think Javipa was one, recommended the book The Millionaire Next door. I listened to the audio CD’s in my car and it is clear that not having a smart phone is a frugal decision that millionaires would choose to not have a smart phone.

12

In this fast paced world, having a smartphone is necessary. It can increase your productivity and you can save numbers on potential partners and clients which is very important our industry.

13

Recently, I saw a great post on Medium about using a distraction-free smartphone. The guy deleted pretty much every app (social media, gmail) from his iPhone a couple of years ago, and sometimes, he writes updated. He said that his life has improved drastically ever since. He’s been on his phone constantly but now, he can finally spend quality time with his family