Get a smart phone or not.

[stuart.reinke]

Hi folks,

My contract is up soon, I'm going to be eligible to upgrade my phone.

I'm considering a smart phone, but I really don't know if I'll use it to it's fullest potential.

Have any of you purchased a smart phone only to find you've wasted your money?

I'm not interested in specific product endorsements.

I would like to hear stories about how/for what you use your smart phone.

[pookiebear]

I use the email on my smartphone all day everyday. Tied to my office exchange server. I used the email more than the phone part. Just don't get a blackberry. I have to fix problems with blackberries 10 to 1 more than all the other smartphones combined.

[jonian_g]

If you don't need its features, don't buy it.

[stuart.reinke]

If you don't need its features, don't buy it.

That's what my problem is. What if I find that I really like and use the features of a smart phone, or what if I get one and don't use it any different than my current phone.

If I pass up the chance now, I'm stuck for 2 years.
If I don't like the smart phone, I'm stuck for 2 years.

Is a smart phone what the Ubuntu Mobile is for?

Any story you have good or bad will be helpful for me.

[avaralom]

I don't really have a 'smart' phone but I did buy a phone with features that I never really use! It's a music phone where you can buy a micro-SD card and put music on it, which I never did.

I think you need to think how much you need to have constant email and internet attachment, and whether or not you want to pay the extra money for the data charges or whatever it is the phone companies do. (I'm pretty sure it costs more money!)

I'm personally waiting until it becomes cheaper and more necessary for me to have all that stuff on a phone.

[DeathMetal]

I think it all comes down to what you need. If you know you're going to use the features it has to offer than you will greatly benefit from it. If not, then getting one might not be in your best interest and would probably be a waste of money. I have a Samsung Ace through Sprint and even though I'm not some huge corporate CEO or anything, I use email and the internet on it constantly when I'm out on the go.

I also pay bills and check bank accounts and transfer money between accounts. It all comes down to whether or not you are going to need and/or use it for its intended purpose. And given the fact that most carriers require you to get some sort of data plan with a smartphone or PPC, it helps to have a need for the features because some of those price plans can get pretty expensive.

[jonian_g]

That's what my problem is. What if I find that I really like and use the features of a smart phone, or what if I get one and don't use it any different than my current phone.

If I pass up the chance now, I'm stuck for 2 years.
If I don't like the smart phone, I'm stuck for 2 years.

Is a smart phone what the Ubuntu Mobile is for?

Any story you have good or bad will be helpful for me.

I don't have a smartphone but I'm thinking of buying one too. What I suggest if you get one is tha HTC magic with Android (linux).

Ubuntu MID is for Mobile Internet Devices. If you want a phone to acess internet-email, watch videos, listen to music then get a smartphone. You don't have to do rocket science to buy it.
If you want a phone just to make calls then don't.

[hanzomon4]

Well... I really like my smart phone. I make use of a lot of online services and love the integration with my laptop. I sync my calendars, email, contacts, music, photos. I use it to find where I'm going, which has saved me on bus/train fare. I've avoided overdrafts with my bank by being able to check my account online while out and about. If you use facebook, mysace, twitter it's great to have them in your pocket.

I could not go back to a regular phone after having one of these babies. It's like a satellite computer

[steveneddy]

I travel extensively and I use a Blackberry.

Internet browser, weather apps, GPS functions, Google Maps, IM, txt messaging, e-mail, camera, calendar, TV guides, internet radio, 8 gig card inside so lots of my music and I tether it to my laptop for internet access.

I have found that I am lost without it as I rely on it so much.

[jethro10]

I recently got a Nokia E71, way cool you say?
And move from PAYG to contract and bought internet access with it.

I know I can afford it, but never thought about most features these things can do.
So I bough it as an experiment to see if I would get into the swing of internet access, email (gmail app for it), syncML etc.

Well it's working for me, getting close to thiking of it as indispensible

J

[t0p]

I've got a regular 3G phone. It has a built-in email app that gets my mails from Gmail and my ISP via POP3, I've installed Opera Mini (web browser) and MidpSSH (telnet/SSH client) that I use regularly, and 3G means connection speed is pretty damn good. Oh, and I can link it to a computer via bluetooth or USB datacable, and use it to connect the computer to the internet. It has a 3.5 megapixel camera, that takes a half-decent photo and also shoots video. I installed Google Maps, which is a nice little java app. It has a FM radio and a MP3 player. All in all, it is a useful little machine, and I use it a lot. Its ability to run java means there is a very wide range of apps available - you're bound to find just about everything you might want to use. All for free too!

Okay, so a smart phone will have more functionality and will be "cooler". But how important is that too you? I think my regular phone is grrreat!