Is owning a smart phone worth the extra cost? (computer, iPhone, Android) - Cell Phones and Smartphones - - City-Data Forum

Brian Scates · 05-23-2011, 06:07 PM

I've got a normal cell phone that doesn't get internet access and I only use it for txting. At my job, usage of cell phones is prohibited. When I'm not working I'm at home using my desktop or I use my laptop.

All my co-workers and friends have an iphone or a phone with android on it and its seems like they can't live without it. I'm wondering if it's worth the extra cost for the data plan and having internet access/gps etc on one's phone.

At the moment I pay only 56 dollars a month for my plan.

NJBest · 05-23-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Scates

I've got a normal cell phone that doesn't get internet access and I only use it for txting. At my job, usage of cell phones is prohibited. When I'm not working I'm at home using my desktop or I use my laptop.

All my co-workers and friends have an iphone or a phone with android on it and its seems like they can't live without it. I'm wondering if it's worth the extra cost for the data plan and having internet access/gps etc on one's phone.

At the moment I pay only 56 dollars a month for my plan.

It seems like when you are always tied to a computer. Most of a smartphone's value is when you are otherwise disconnected via other means. Such as when you are out and about.

Is your plan $56 before or after taxes, fees, etc?

dijkstra · 05-23-2011, 06:55 PM

I have a droid but like NJBest mentioned, I am one of those that is almost always around a computer. The only time I really get any use out of it is when I am traveling or out and about. I do receive my work email on it when away from the office but that is about as far as it goes during a normal day. I really don't get my money's worth and could live without it but I do play around with it and tinker with writing little apps for it on the weekend...nothing major as I don't have time but little simple apps for kicks. lol

It really comes down to personal choice and whether or not you personally think you will get value out of the additional expense. Myself, I think $30 for the data plan is way too pricey for what I get out of it but that is just me.

Brian Scates · 05-23-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBest

It seems like when you are always tied to a computer. Most of a smartphone's value is when you are otherwise disconnected via other means. Such as when you are out and about.

Is your plan $56 before or after taxes, fees, etc?

$56 after taxes/fees.

Lancet71 · 05-24-2011, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Scates

$56 after taxes/fees.

My wife and I have blackberries and I have unlimited texting,unlimited email/web, 900 voice minutes a month with Sprint. We pay $117 a month after taxes and discounts for my employer. So we are paying $58.50/per phone. Based on convenience and being accessible I would never go back to a regular cell phone again.I have some family in Europe which I speak to regularly and with the email through the phone we can go back and forth instantly.

kazyn · 05-24-2011, 09:20 AM

I won't ever go back to a dumb phone. I use it for much more than I even realize. We pay $165/mo for unlimited everything for two smartphones (one iPhone one Atrix 4G) via ATT.

(Also, I am glued to a PC 12+ hours a day, I work as IT and go home and work on side projects [websites, slideshows, etc], browsing forums, watching Netflix, etc. Triple monitors FTW!)

Email, full browser, apps, GPS, voice commands, etc. Can't get better than that.

NJBest · 05-24-2011, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazyn

I won't ever go back to a dumb phone. I use it for much more than I even realize. We pay $165/mo for unlimited everything for two smartphones (one iPhone one Atrix 4G) via ATT.

Wow, that price is off the charts. Unlimited minutes though, I guess is important if you call mostly landlines.

kazyn · 05-24-2011, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBest

Wow, that price is off the charts. Unlimited minutes though, I guess is important if you call mostly landlines.

Yeah, we have a lot of relatives that are in the stone age.....we don't even have a land line

But it's 30/ea for data, then like $50/ea for the phone plans. We are grandfathered in to "true" unlimited, so we pay $10/ea more but we have a more flexible plan.

NJBest · 05-24-2011, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazyn

Yeah, we have a lot of relatives that are in the stone age.....we don't even have a land line

But it's 30/ea for data, then like $50/ea for the phone plans. We are grandfathered in to "true" unlimited, so we pay $10/ea more but we have a more flexible plan.

It's all good... atleast you have unlimited data.

Sprint is the only one left that offers that now.

I pay $30/month for my entire plan! (before taxes).

swagger · 05-24-2011, 09:47 AM

I've been using a "smart" phone since the Kyocera 6035 was the big thing (basically a cellphone with a Palm III built in). I'm in front of a computer for better than 12 hours per day, but my phone (currently an HTC Evo) still gets used a LOT - and not for voice. It's extremely convenient to be able to google something when it hits you (instead of waiting until you get home, or going to get the laptop, etc). We haven't used our traditional GPS but once or twice since we got our phones. LogMeIn Ignition lets me remote into any PC I manage from anywhere.

My life would be extraordinarily difficult and inconvenient if I were to "downgrade" to a non-smart phone. YMMV.