I have resisted buying a smartphone....

[64V-K7]

... for the simple reason.. I don't need one.. Even the flip phone I had was always off unless I needed it.

Recently it was was posed to me that it was a necessary item, given my age, family situation, recent events, etc. So here we go. I bought a cheapo Android that uses Consumer Cellular and it winds up that it's fairly cheap, etc. This thing is larger than was presented to be, like one third of an Ipad and I'm stuck with it...

Yes, there's a learning curve and it's a P.I.T.A., given that my wife has an Iphone and that's been around a while. The Android has been advertised as the latest and greatest. I bought an Imac to replace the aging PC and that was a big mistake. I thought the Android would be a bit more straightforward...

The reason for this post...... If you take a picture on an Android, where the #@!# is the picture stored? There is NO photo icon, nothing intuitive that would let you access anything like a directory, etc

Any help here?


thx

[Skip Lackie]

Bob-
I am in a similar situation, though I haven't replaced my old phone (yet). Will be interested in learning how well you adapt to the new phone and how useful you find it many features.

[wittsend]

Remember the finger painting motions you learned in kindergarten? Those skills come in handy using a smart phone. Remember when your parents yelled at you to stop touching stuff because you would get fingerprints on everything? That doesn't help.
I'm not old enough (60<) to be told I need a smart phone - yet, so I don't have an answer from experience. However..., .

I did ask my wife. She said, Tap Camera, in the lower right is a very small image of the last picture taken. Tap on that. The last picture taken will appear full screen. In the upper right is the word Album. Tap on that and you can see thumbnails of all the pictures taken. This is on a Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android. And, no, not very intuitive if you ask me. Maybe there are other, faster ways???

Update: I actually do have a Smart Phone but no service. I only use it in a WiFi area. It is at least 5+ years old, and as mentioned in the post below havs a "Gallery" icon (as mentioned below). I tested it, and the picture I just took was there. I mentioned this to my wife and she seemed mystified. Then again she has a penchant for Rube Goldberg-ing things.

[sweetolbob]

Bob

You should be able to find the photos in the icon labeled "gallery".

I've been using android for several years and would find it hard to live without it. It's now my camera, it pairs with the bluetooth in my Ram truck so calls are answered without needing to hold the phone and it reads texts and sends my reply. It plays music and is at times my vehicle radio.

Hang in there with it, you'll be glad you did. If in doubt, ask a 12 year old.

Bob

[Bob Bryant]

Bob

You should be able to find the photos in the icon labeled "gallery".

I've been using android for several years and would find it hard to live without it. It's now my camera, it pairs with the bluetooth in my Ram truck so calls are answered without needing to hold the phone and it reads texts and sends my reply. It plays music and is at times my vehicle radio.

Hang in there with it, you'll be glad you did. If in doubt, ask a 12 year old.

Bob

Bob gave good advice! My 12 year-old grandson lives in the "thumb of Michigan" and he is supposed to arrive with my son in a couple of weeks. He was trying to help Grandpa over the phone, but Grandpa gets lost in the terminology and functions. I could not renew my AT&T flip-phone again, so I moved up to the android. Hopefully, the tutoring will be helpful.

[bumpkinvilledano]

I "upgraded" to a smartphone about 8 years ago. First was a Crackberry, then to an iPotato. The Crackberry was ok, just small. I almost needed a toothpick to stab the keys with (no touch screen). Then I went to the iPotato 5. Not much better.
The main thing I don't care for, is they all come loaded with junk that you will never use, and you can't get rid of it. I don't play games, watch movies, check my stock report or read books on it. And EVERY DANG TIME they update the operating system, you have to relearn where things are, and how to work various apps. I would prefer to still use my "dumb" phone, but the reality is in modern business life you almost HAVE to have a smartphone.

[TX Rebel]

I just had to buy a replacement for my 11-month old my flip phone last week. I replaced it with an identical flip phone at the Verizion store, but was charged a $30.00 "upgrade fee". I asked exactly what upgrade I was paying for & got no credible answer. I am not ready to have a bulky, easy to break, expensive to replace instrument in my pocket & don't need to further complicate my life.

[hausdok]

I can sympathize with the O.P.,

I had a flip phone that I loved. It worked fine for me for years. Then one day I accidentally dropped it into the dog's water dish as I was getting out of my truck for a job. Five hours later I returned and found him yapping at his water dish because he didn't want to drink anything from a bowl with that odd object in there (Haters, don't hate. The truck was not hot inside and I left the window cracked a little so he could have fresh air. In fact, he has a little house he curls up in when he's too cold and he'd spent most of that time in his little house. This area being what it is - it was rainy, cool and damp for most of the time.)

Anyhoo, the phone refused to dry out this time. When I'd drop it in a mud puddle or something and it got wet in the past I'd just get out my jewelers screwdrivers, break the thing down into a few dozen pieces, dry everything out with my hot air gun, reassemble it and it was fine. This time I guess it spent too much time in the water. I went down to the phone store, held up the dead flip phone and said, "I want one of these." The millennial looked at me like he was examining a freshly dug-up fossil, chuckled and said, "Yeah, most guys of your generation want one of those, but I can't help you, I don't even carry those anymore. You can probably get a throwaway one at the grocery market though. Buy some minutes cards, load it up and you're all set." I wasn't in the mood to go through all of that. I said, "Look, all I need is a phone that I can take calls and get voice mail on. I don't need any fancy gizmo like my wife's smarty-pants phone." He said, "Well, if all you want to use it for is as a phone and a voice mail repository, you are out of luck because nobody makes one that basic anymore. Heck, that one you want to replace isn't even that basic." I said, "OK, well I don't want another damned nine-hundred-ninety-nine-dollar-and-ninety-nine-cent smarty pants phone like my wife has - I sure don't need all that crap. What's the cheapest thing you've got." He said, "The Cheapest? Windows phone. Right there. About $35 with tax and it will do just about 99% of the stuff your wife's smart phone does." I said, "Sold, box it up."

An hour later I was home, had it unpacked and was through with doing what the quick start guide says to do and wanted to get some of the icons on the screen so I wouldn't have to search around in the phone for the damned things - just a phone icon, a text message icon and one for the camera; but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I handed it to my wife - a smarty-pants phone user since the first model came out - and said, "Hey, Hon. Can you put a phone icon and a test message icon there on the screen for me?" She took it, dinked around with it for about five minutes and handed it back to me - no icons. I said, "What happened? I asked you to set that screen up for me." She said, "Well, I would have done so if I had the faintest idea how to use one of those, but that's a Windows phone, it doesn't work like a Smart Phone and I can't figure it out." Augh!!!!!

The next day, I showed up at the job for the day, saw the client talking on a phone that looked just about identical to mine and asked him if he could do me a favor and set up the screen on my new phone by putting the phone and text icons on the screen for me. He said, "Sure," and took the phone. A few minutes later he gave it back to me, "Sorry, Mike. That's a window's phone. I have a Smart Phone. I have no idea how to make that thing work. I tried, but I can't figure it out." (Slap forehead, groan and cuss about how technology is going to be the death of me.)

That afternoon after the job was over, I drove back to the phone store, took a number, and waited half an hour to get waited on while the millennials waited on all of the smart phone buyers. I told the guy that finally served me that I had just bought the phone there but couldn't figure it out and needed him to set up the phone. He took it, dinked around with it for a bit and then called over another guy. The other guy said he didn't know how to operate it either. "I said, "Fer cryin' out loud, you are the phone guys. Why don't you know how to operate a phone that you sell fer crissakes?!" They said, "Well, that's a Windows phone. They are a lot different from a Smart Phone; and almost nobody buys them wo we don't get any practice using them. Wait till Steve gets here. He'll be able to do it." So, I sat back down and waited an hour for Steve to arrive. Steve knew how to operate a Windows phone. Yay! I then had him spend about 45 minutes teaching me how to operate the damned thing.

I only use like two functions on the thing regularly. I have to admit, it is convenient being able to check my email; and, when necessary, google something and be able to use it to help explain something to a client , but I still get frustrated with technology - especially when I have to endure about fifteen various cell phone commercials while just trying to watch a one hour episode of something on the television.

I miss Ma Bell.....more and more - every single day -

[64V-K7]

Oy!....thx

[Dwain G.]

I get all my daughter's hand-me-downs. Each time she upgrades I hate the new phone, but after a while, I find that I really like it. I liked my Windows phone, but now my 'new' iphone 5 is great!

[j.byrd]

I was pretty lucky over here a couple of years ago when my ancient flip phone broke into at the hinge. Well, sort of lucky, still had to deal with the take a number and wait game at the store... then the salesman came out, looked at it with a puzzled look and handed it back to me. He then asked how he could help me and I told him I wanted one just like mine except not broke, and if he didn't have that, then give me the stupidest phone in the building. He smiled, took mine back, walked out of the room, through the mysterious "Employees Only" door and in about 4 or 5 minutes came back in with a new one just like mine ! He said it was in a box in a drawer in the back, but it would probably be my last one from them, as he didn't see anymore back there. I'm much more careful with it now...starting over re-learning those things with all the little pictures, finger swiping, button pushing, and charging every night like the one my wife carries is just too much trouble to me, especially as bad as I despise phones anyway.

[raoul5788]

... for the simple reason.. I don't need one.. Even the flip phone I had was always off unless I needed it.

Recently it was was posed to me that it was a necessary item, given my age, family situation, recent events, etc. So here we go. I bought a cheapo Android that uses Consumer Cellular and it winds up that it's fairly cheap, etc. This thing is larger than was presented to be, like one third of an Ipad and I'm stuck with it...

Yes, there's a learning curve and it's a P.I.T.A., given that my wife has an Iphone and that's been around a while. The Android has been advertised as the latest and greatest. I bought an Imac to replace the aging PC and that was a big mistake. I thought the Android would be a bit more straightforward...

The reason for this post...... If you take a picture on an Android, where the #@!# is the picture stored? There is NO photo icon, nothing intuitive that would let you access anything like a directory, etc

Any help here?


thx

There is a photo icon, it may not be on the screen yet. Look in the list of your apps.

[wittsend]

Most "beloved" flip phones can still be found used (maybe even a few NOS) on Ebay for very little money. As an example my original flip phone, a LG VX5400 is selling as a functional phone with a clean ESN number in the $15 range. I just now looked at my old phone (charged well over 2 years ago. ) and it powered right up. I still have a six year old "dumb" phone (LG VN530 Octane) but it has a texting keyboard. My hit to the Verizon bill is $10 a month.

Personally I prefer the cost, size and simplicity of that old flip phone. I use to keep it in a holder on the sun visor that had a hole punched right where the speaker button was. All I did was flip the phone up and poke my finger in the hole to take a call. The speaker and mic were close to my head and I could hear and be heard. No fancy Bluetoothed phone and radio.

[Andy R.]

You might like the updated version of Nokia's nearly indestructible "brick" 3310.

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/nokia-new-phones-3310/

FWIW, I still use my 2010 LG GU295 "Slider" exclusively. It has been dropped mercilessly, left under the hood of the Hawk for a drive across town, and repeatedly submerged in baby drool. It has been lost/returned at least 4 times (probably out of sympathy), earning the nickname "Boomerang". It charges quickly, breaks NEVER and costs only $20/month for as long as the phone lasts.

The photos are good, but not great - like some of my wife's favorite Instagram filters. They show all the good details and none of the wrinkles!

Here in the tech-fetish Bay Area, hipsters are starting to carry them since their smart phones contain so much personal information/account access. The old phones are virtually unhackable and seldom contain information anyone wants.

Plus people know if it isn't important enough to call me, they don't bother (me).

[Noxnabaker]

We have one laptop together + a Nokia 6021 (google for picture) each(!) & we even bought them second hand.
I've dropped & put back together my phone more times then I can remember, even from the deck of our tug down at the engineroom durk; when you climb the down the ladder you step on the gearbox & then a short ladder down on the durk & yes: the cover is cracked & glued & nobody would ever wanna nick it!
I reckon it's all about needs.