patrick.net

To tell the truth I sometimes wonder why I have a smartphone. I could just as easily use a flip phone and save money. I use a Nexus 7 tablet when I am at Starbucks or other locations with Wi-Fi.

If flip phones are so backwards why did they have them on Star Trek?

As long as they(Phone makers) can keep making new phones that entice me to buy them. Then I will continue to buy a smart phone.
I bought the Samsung S4, sat out the S5 though my wife got one. My S4 is already starting to look worse for wear.
Now they are coming out with the S6. It has features I want to check out, metal chassis, 64bit OS 24 bit sound ect.
I will probably buy one when it comes out. But eventually they will run out of innovations, and there will reach a point where the tech will start going the other way.
They will have start having less and less features. I can see with in 5 years of the Zenith of a hand held computing device/smart phone, the latest new must have gadgets will be dumb phones. I also think that by then. Everything in a smart phone that is NOT a phone. Will be in other wearable devices. Or even a device the size of a coin in your pocket, with bluetooth and WiDi. For wireless input and output connectivity. Or it could be that almost every device will be connected to a Cloud profile, so you wont need a single device. But depending on the requirements all of your devices will connect to the internet. It will free phones to just be phones again.

My wife upgraded her business phone from a flip to a smart phone – worst decision ever! Payment went from $20 to $40 because the "smart phones must have data service" clause.

Speaking of going the other way. Did you hear one about the company that basically shrunk the the iPhone 3, curved the screen and put it on your wrist. Pretty cool. For some users, once you strap your phone on your wrist, you never go back.

Let's see... One hundred dollar contract free Moto E Android smart phone plus $10/month unlimited talk and text. Wifi for unlimited data. What's not to like?

Edit: Need maps? Try Nokia Here for offline navigation.

indigenous says

If flip phones are so backwards why did they have them on Star Trek?

Apple Watch wasn't invented then.

EBGuy says

What's not to like?

1) "Monthly rates on all plans are subject to [hidden] taxes and surcharges." So, a prospective customer has no idea what the actual cost will be.
2) no international roaming
3) service requires one of only four phone models, and I don't like any of them.
4) pseudo-folksy website (duh, grammar errors meanz we wuv U, are you feeling it?)

If they presented honestly the actual cost, and allowed me to use my G3 D855, I'd be interested, but until then no.

A dumb phone plus a small tablet actually makes sense, if you're willing to eat the wireless charges for the tablet (or go wifi only).

There has been some speculation that Apple is aiming the iWatch at people who are sick of big smartphones.

Rebuttal to curious2 regarding Republic Wireless:
1. Fair enough. I looked at my last bill. Taxes were $4.18.
2. You can roam where ever there is Wifi, which is pretty cool. Obviously, it won't work if you need emergency cell coverage, say, on the road in France. (Then again, Wifi is fairly ubiquitous.)
3. As their business model offloads cell to Wifi networks when available, they can only support a limited subset of phones.
4. Folksy is part of their appeal :-) YMMV.

EBGuy says

3. As their business model offloads cell to Wifi networks when available, they can only support a limited subset of phones.

Other carriers, e.g. T-Mobile and telna mobile, offer the same thing via an app, and they allow hundreds of different phone models. Some cost less than Republic, others more, but they don't limit the choice of phones to only four.

curious2 said: Some cost less than Republic, others more, but they don't limit the choice of phones to only four.
Republic pioneered WiFi calling. At the time they started, no one did it. By offering a limited set of phones, they have lower support costs and pass the savings on to their customers. As far as I can tell, the cheapest T-mobile plan is $30 a month (no contract) with 100 minutes. If you offload to WiFi, I believe you don't eat into your minutes. T-mobile is definitely the one to watch as they'll hit the major players hard (and may also hit RW as well).

curious2 says

1) "Monthly rates on all plans are subject to [hidden] taxes and surcharges." So, a prospective customer has no idea what the actual cost will be.

2) no international roaming

3) service requires one of only four phone models, and I don't like any of them.

4) pseudo-folksy website (duh, grammar errors meanz we wuv U, are you feeling it?)

Change the word "rates" to "out-of-pocket;" change customer to "insured;" change "phone" to "provider;" and "pseudo-folksy" to "buggy."