
Do any HNers reject smartphones? - muxxa
I'm currently the happy owner of a Nokia 5130 (2008).  The phone is virtually indestructible, fulfils my needs and battery can last for days on end.<p>I briefly owned an Android phone (1 month), but found myself on twitter etc. constantly, and find myself much happier without it.  I also got my hands on an early OpenMoko but didn't get around to hacking it.<p>I've attended mobile conferences, and fully understand that a 'smart' phone is going to be the primary way that the majority of the worlds population will experience the internet.  I design my webapps 'mobile first' (borrowing phones for testing), and yet I've no desire to carry one around in my pocket.<p>Another offputting factor with purchasing a smartphone is that there is so much innovation that it's always easier to defer the decision (previously it was the prospect of the Nexus4.. now it's the promise of a Ubuntu smartphone).<p>Anyone else in the same boat? Am I a luddite?
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hollerith
I carried around a Nexus 7 for a couple of weeks, then returned it for a
refund. I've never owned a smartphone.

Compared to my Mac, I found it harder to do productive work on the Nexus 7 and
easier to slip into time-wasting and even "addictive" behavior. By "addictive"
behavior, I mean behavior that has a sense of desperation or out-of-control
impulsiveness to it. When my life is going very badly, I get "addictive" about
online chess playing and Netflix viewing, and that was harder to avoid on the
Nexus 7 than it is on my Mac.

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speeder
I never liked smartphones, exception maybe to Sybian.

I really hate a phone that makes harder to dial (I want a phone damnit! not a
PDA that can dial when the dialer app don't crash).

Also I hate touch screens, specially when I have to do typing on them, or to
play games.

That said, I work with smartphone games for almost 6 years already, and I own
a Xperia Play for almost a year... Granted, the Xperia Play has a gamepad, and
I play mostly gamepad games with few exceptions. But I only own it because I
needed to finally own a smartphone to continue working, because I was
unemployed (yes, for about 4 years I worked with smartphone games and apps
without owning one and actually hating them).

As a game device and PDA, I like Xperia Play, as phone... no (because it is
actually quite hard to make it work properly as a phone).

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hashtree
Had iPhones for years. Started working from home (solo) and found it
ridiculous to spend ~$100 a month for basically a few hours of talk time and
~250Mb of bandwidth (I was always on wifi).

Added up the lifetime cost of the phone (based upon a two year contract) and
ditched it. I bought a 3G iPad Mini (which has no contracts) and Skype. I
simply toss it in the bag when I am away for long durations. If there isn't
wifi, I buy one month of cell service ad-hoc ($30). Nearly everyone I text has
an iOS device, so I can use iMessage or FaceTime. If not, I can call them up
via Skype.

I actually enjoy being disconnected when I am out of the house around town.

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kfcm
I've never had a smartphone, and do not look forward to the day when the good
old fashioned flip-phone is obsolete.

Several comments have already stated my reasons for not having a smartphone:
battery life (3-4 days, easy), relative ruggedness, form factor, time
management, and the fact the thing works--it does one thing, and does it well
when I need it to.

One other reason is privacy. While my flip-phone can still be tracked by the
phone company (GPS disabled, but tower pings), I don't have various companies
tracking me through their apps. And, unlike a certain popular smartphone
brand, I can remove my battery.

No, you're not a luddite.

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GFischer
I'm kind of in the same boat... I really dislike using any kind of touch-based
smartphone as my primary phone, so I still have my Nokia N86 (2009) with
mostly the same virtues as the 5130 but more moving parts so it will someday
break.

I really like having tactile feedback and being able to use the phone with one
hand - plus my phone is a flip phone and has the last calls in memory, so with
a flick and one button press I can call the last person called, usually
without seeing.

The lack of tactile feedback on touchscreens is something I hate, I WANT my
phones to have at least a few buttons.

That's something Nokia does right, for example I love the camera buttons on my
Nokia and the current Lumia series.

I also strongly dislike the current battery life of most smartphones, that's
something else that weighs heavily against them.

What I do have is an Android phone as sort of a "mini-tablet", with 3G
connectivity, but not phone use (though I can call in an emergency), which I
do carry around mostly for the Maps function and Internet use.

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dgunn
I would say you're mostly alone. But I wish I were with you. I typically just
waste time on my phone. GPS is what I consider the deal breaker to be on
'dumbphones' for me. Google navigation probably won't come in a device I would
feel good about purchasing and just leaving in my car.

~~~
muxxa
Yes, the lack of a map has bitten me a few times.. especially getting to an
event where I've been lazy about properly noting the _exact_ directions.

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bartonfink
I did for some time, and still don't use the "smart" capabilities of my phone
very much. I got a smartphone when I changed carriers to Sprint and found
that, with a data-enabled plan for my wife, it made no sense to stick with a
regular phone since I was paying for data anyway.

My argument against having one in the past was that, for large portions of my
day (at work or home), I was never more than about 10 feet from an internet
connected computer, and didn't need an extra device for the unconnected parts
of my day. I still don't see my phone as a primary computing platform, and
likely never will - it is, at best, a convenience that replaces the pad of
paper I used to carry around to make notes/observations.

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kfcm
One other comment.

If anyone watches the tv show NCIS, you'll notice that while others use
smartphones, Gibbs uses what looks to be a ruggedized no-name flip-phone.
Maybe a Motorola government model.

While the character is portrayed as a luddite, it's more likely the character
persona sticks with the things which he knows works.

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orangethirty
I use an LG flip phone (generic $20 model) running _Java_. No touchscreen to
smudge. Has survived being dropped in different bodies of water. My 4 year old
has not managed to destroy it. It does not feature a case. Oh, and it holds it
charge for about 5 days.

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hbien
I'm in a similar boat. I got the cheapest GSM android phone I could find. I
have data switched off and don't download any apps.

I do enjoy using it as an mp3/podcast player for runs and train rides. Also, I
switch on the data whenever I'm lost and need the GPS.

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SCAQTony
Yes, I avoid them because I am afraid I will kill myself by walking off a
cliff or getting in a car accident while trying to look at an email, text, or
cat looking cute while doing something stupid...

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Mankhool
I'm only my first SP - iPhone 4 - and the only reason I keep it is so I can
stream music from SiriusXM. If a lesser device would do this, then I would
dump it in a second.

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justhw
Yep. I have a 'smartphone/player' which sites at home, only used for testing.

I use an LG 'dumbphone' daily, with physical buttons and no internet.

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jonascopenhagen
It makes sense to avoid smart phones if you feel they're hogging up your time.

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unimpressive
You're not alone.

