I have resisted buying a smartphone....

[rodnutrandy]

Let me give you a little advice , DON'T put it in washing machine! Mine came out clean , clean of photos , clean of contacts , But clean !

[Lynn]

I still have a flip phone.

[GTHawk]

I still have a flip phone.

Amen! My son's $500.00 phone got wet inside because of extreme humidity and wouldn't work for 2 days (lucky it started working at all). It's too big to carry in his pocket but I guess it does everything but sign his paycheck. I still have my flip phone (hopefully forever), no plan, just $30.00 a month and the phone only cost $30.00 to start with. I'm just afraid that someday TECHNOLOGY will eliminate them so maybe I should stock up on 3 or 4.

[jclary]

Early on(late 1970"s), I got out ahead of my contemporaries (Industrial supply sales) by first getting a pager, and later a "car phone." When portable phones became small enough to be practical, I went to a "flip" phone. After retiring, one of my "retirement" ventures was as the owner/operator of a plumbing company. I bought a "Casio" waterproof phone and the blasted little thing was so great and reliable that I resisted a "smart" phone for years!

It is now going on two years since I finally relented and walked into my phone store and bought two iPhones. One for me and one for my wife. After getting home with them, I opened the bag of stuff given to me at the store so that I could share the manuals with my wife. To my horror/embarrassment, there were no manuals. I called back to the store and asked about the manuals. I was told they were "online." We got in the car and headed back to the store. We needed assistance on how to get into the appropriate website just to access the manual! I told the folks at the phone company that without a printed manual, to my wife and I, these expensive little gadgets were about as useless as a couple of loose bathroom tiles!

We still have lots to learn about these devices. I have installed very few apps. I usually learn something new about them as a need arises. I'm constantly getting e-mails trying to get me to buy apps or "upgrade" the phones. Just about the time you learn a feature, it is either outdated or upgraded. The longer you hesitate...the behinder you get.

If you have a Studebaker with a non-operable speedometer, a good app to have is one that gives your speed incorporated into the GPS. Unlike my daughter & grand kids, I have yet to install the app that scans those little squiggly squares, or pays bills.

[sweetolbob]

Amen! My son's $500.00 phone got wet inside because of extreme humidity and wouldn't work for 2 days (lucky it started working at all). It's too big to carry in his pocket but I guess it does everything but sign his paycheck. I still have my flip phone (hopefully forever), no plan, just $30.00 a month and the phone only cost $30.00 to start with. I'm just afraid that someday TECHNOLOGY will eliminate them so maybe I should stock up on 3 or 4.

I've carried a smartphone for better than 5 years. My current one, shown below, is a Moto X w/5.8" screen, verizion 2g/mo plan. It connects with the audio system in my Ram and it allows me to have internet access anywhere. Need a map/directions, need a question answered, just want to listen to any radio station anywhere, want to show someone 150 pictures of your kids and grandkids, want to test your OBDII system in your car, need to see if a flight is on time/late when you're on the road, want to check the weather on the 13th tee which is over a mile from the clubhouse and the sky is getting dark. Well you can with a smartphone.

Verizion charges me $40/mo for that privilege or $10 over the flip phone cost above. As far as carrying the phone in my pocket. I've carried every cell phone I've had on my belt. Easier to get to and less pita bulky lump there.

Lastly, the screen size let's these 74 yo eyes easily see what's on the screen. If I can't, I can increase the magnification with two finger tips.

As an older member, I find it interesting that most of the responders are quite satisfied with the old technology. Can you imagine how the younger members look at this forum when most of the old goats just won't even try the newer technology. ------ I don't know if this is true but most arguments on the forum seem to be centered around what newer members would think and how anything old drives them away.



Bob

[LarkTruck]

Boy,
I thought I was all alone! Several weeks ago my LG flip phone started doing funny things. I told my semi tech knowledgeable wife (she is my computer guru) NO WAY was I getting a Smart ..s phone!!!!
We went to the Verizon Store, walked in, no waiting line, just 5 sales reps (millennials) all standing around a kiosk. When Judy said out loud that we were here to get a new flip phone the Reps all scattered but the new guy. I assume the rest all went in the back room for good laugh, as there is no big commission on flip phones. The remaining Rep said he had just two flip phones in stock. He went to the back room, only to return with just one. He said the other guys told him they sold the other phone the day before. The new one, a Samsung, is about twice the size of the LG, but I said SOLD! We closed the deal, left both phones with them so they could transfer all my contacts, and picked up the new one after doing a little shopping next door at WallyWorld.
Lets just say even though it is a flip phone, I don't like it! Too big (the LG fit in my pants pocket and didn't even know it was there) it has many more features, (I don't need a flashlight) and weeks later I still can't find the options I use!
Yeah, I'm a grumpy old Grampy.
Glad to see there are more guys in my world!
JS

[Skip Lackie]

If we needed any proof, the above discussion proves that one size does not fit all. If a SmartCar, a Rolls Royce, and an F-350 pickup can all be considered to be personal transportation, then the term cell phone or mobile phone may also apply to a multitude of systems. I have several friends who are early adopters: they always buy the latest phone or highest technology car or fanciest video system, and enjoy showing all the new features to the rest of us. At the other end of the spectrum are the troglodytes, who keep our old systems for the longest possible time for any number of reasons (fear, frugality, or lack of interest). I fall mostly in the troglodyte category, mostly because I was taught to use things until they were worn out (and to fix them if they were). So I get by with my 15-year old dented and scratched LG flip phone, and am happiest when it goes for days on end without making a sound.

In post 20, Bob makes a good case for why his smart phone suits his needs. But my troglodyte tendencies prevent me from needing many of those of features. My wife carries an iphone 7 and uses it to keep in touch with her extended family, take pictures of birds, and all the usual stuff. During a recent trip to San Francisco, it came in handy when my ability to read a paper map couldn't keep up with a sudden change in plans. And its ability to provide us with home-town news and sports developments was cool. But I don't see any current phone that can do those things without coming with a multitude of other features that I don't want.

[StudeNewby]

In the mid 2000's I was broadcasting high school football and basketball games on a local radio station. Previously I had always ordered a land line from the local phone company to be installed in the press box or gym. It was my version of "plug and play." But that was expensive and tedious, so I decided to "upgrade." I found a Motorola bag phone, by then probably 10-15 years old, in perfect condition at a thrift store. After wiring to my mixer and plugging into an AC/DC converter, I was off and running. I'd just dial up the radio station, they would pipe me through the control board, and we were on the air. The audio quality was surprisingly good. After a couple of years I abandoned that and just started using my flip phone, saving the $40/month plan fee from Alltell. It, too, provided excellent service and great sound.
If I could play Trivia Crack on a flip phone, I'd still have one.

[Jason721991]

I highly recommend the iPhone 7 or 7 plus. It's water resistant to the point people go swimming with it. I recommend an iPhone because over the many years it's constant in the way it works and less things to deal with when operating. I feel the android system has way to many options. At this point I have switched many people from older phones to iPhones all with good success. My father, wife lol, 78 year old uncle who gave me the 63 Champ, 75 year old aunt, and mother in law. If anyone has any questions pm me I'm happy to help.