People keep telling me to get a smartphone, is it worth the hype? (indecisive here)?

Question

I have a prepaid boost mobile phone that I can only text and make calls on. No internet. No GPS. I can't even send or receive photos on my phone.I'm okay with that, but I DO need a new phone soon because mine actually creaks when I press the keypad and it's not holding its charge like it used to.So I know it's already knocking on deaths door.I wouldn't mind having a flip phone like I used to, but I'm tempted to get a smartphone of no particular brand.Just because of all its conveniences. BUT I'm worried about the phone getting stolen and hacked into. I also don't like the fact that they are cheaply made and break easy. I also see that everyone has a problem with their phone not holding a charge and the chargers themselves are really crappy.(I sell the chargers and always have people complaining about their phones. Iphones,androids,etc.Doesn't matter). I also don't want to get sucked into getting distracted by it like most people do. Peoples obliviousness get to be extremely obnoxious. I also don't see myself shelling out anything over $100. Not trying to come off as all holier than thou,I just see all the problems people have with phones these days and wonder if it's actually worth it.

Robsteriark · Accepted Answer

Buy wisely and you avoid most of those problems although battery life is never as good (so far) as with simpler phones. Hacking/spying is also far less of a problem than you might believe; as with all internet devices if you visit the murkier corners of the web then you're going to pick up some crap unless you take similar precautions to the ones you would when surfing on any other computer.

But if you don't need a smartphone, don't get one. They cost more to buy and to run, are more fragile, and need charging far more frequently. They also need regular backing up to a host computer (such as your desktop or laptop computer).

It used to be that those with smartphones stood out from the crowd. Now it's those who are happy and confident without them who stand out.

If only Nokia still made their 3310... Probably the best phone ever, and my 11 year old example still works perfectly as my risky environment/camping/trekking phone as it's totally reliable and totally sacrificial compared to my iPhone. It makes and receives calls, it sends and receives SMS messages, and you can play "centipede" on it. And that's almost all it can do, but it does them so well.

Diana B · Answer

I've got a smartphone but my advice is stick with the phone that does what you want and costs no more than you'd like to pay. Don't buy something just because other people hype it. Most of those people who've got smartphones don't know how to use them or even know why they got them - other than succummbing to the hype.

People keep telling me to get a smartphone, is it worth the hype? (indecisive here)?

2 Answers