stupid smatpnones

Haggis lives matter ....

If you are over 65 and don't have a smartphone, you are following the majority.

Umm. Doesn't that make you a bit vulnerable to loss/theft/battery life?

I'm well inside the over 65 bunch but got my first mobile phone around

I have used a desk top PC since 1993 and, apart from photos/location/sat.nav data don't miss the features available on your phone.

hny!

what happens when your battery goes flat?....

well said got my first analog mobile in 1993

What a good little compliant slave you are. May your chains sit lightly upon you...

With 4G and Cloud access the only "problem" of those listed by others is battery life. Easy enough to carry a small power pack if you are really going to be away from power for 24 hours plus.

Never had that happen in several decades of using mobile phones and DPAs. They have a clever little feature that displays the battery level and tells you if it needs charging. Although I find that simply plugging it in while I sleep is enough to keep it at better than 50%, even with heavy use.

All the apps are backed up onto the previous phone, data is in the cloud and I have never found battery life to be a problem. The phone also has a shock and water resistant outer case, as accidental damage has killed more of my mobiles than anything else.

I forget when I got my first (dumb) mobile phone, but they were not particularly common. The trigger was coming across an RTA far from any phone box and it being fortunate that one of the other motorists had a mobile and was able to call for assistance.

Late starter then. This was my first PC:

Each to their own. I prefer a separate camera, have never turned on the location option and I use OS maps that have been downloaded onto the phone, rather than the Sat-Nav.

There is (at least) one other problem, they are the most awful

It's a mix of imperfect technology - a significant proportion of calls I receive from other mobiles either fail to start (e.g. voice only working in one direction) or fail during the call for some reason or other - and poor design/ergonomics, I've missed many calls because it's not obvious how to answer a call on someone else's phone and it seems to change from version to version of Android (don't know about others) with no consistent interface.

(Oh, I am well over 65, but I am a 'techie' having spent my working life as a Software Engineer, I've had a mobile phone for 15 years or more)

Not very likely in my case. I'm not the sort to go hiking with a tent.

Jim GM4DHJ ... wrote on 01/01/2022 :

I was reluctant, but eventually gave in to the battery needing to be recharged much more often, for the advantages a Smart phone offered. You can't have it both ways. My Iphone sits on it's charge stand all of the time I am in, but a Smart Plug limits the charge of it to a couple of hours each night, to avoid the battery being wrecked by being on near constant charge.

May be a bigger problem on a non-smart phone. Expected battery life of 3 days+ can be impacted by areas with poor signal strength. As you say, the battery indicator should save the day. Perhaps not so helpful for those only making or receiving calls. hny

nightjar formulated the question :

Thanks, I didn't know that app included those details and yes it does. A problem with the app, is that it doesn't seem to be aware you have already had covid jabs and you are up to date with them, yet sends you reminders. Yesterday it sent me a reminder to have my booster, I had it at my surgery in early November.

So does Google (or Apple), your phone provider, and perhaps others whose apps seem to want permission to do and know everything. I have a new smart phone, but don't do anything with it or store anything on it I wouldn't be happy with anybody knowing about. For anything private, financial, or personal, only a Linux-based laptop is used.

Also use mine for contactless payments. Jim won't need that as he gets free food parcels. ParkMobile very useful too. But the most used is the very fine camera - worth it for that alone.

nightjar wrote on 01/01/2022 :

I have only had two, both bought as refurbed, first died due to failing battery and so old replacement batteries no longer available - besides which it wouldn't run many modern apps.

Hasn't Nicola banned Haggis hunting during the pandemic? Hogmanay, Haggis and the Jewish religious ceremony of Rabbi Burns all cancelled.

Long time since I've had a phone where the battery doesn't last for the time I'm out of the house.