Taking my first iStep

Well, I've kind of made a move toward a smart phone.

I've been using a PDA for some time now, and the current one is showing signs that it's not going to last forever- my Dell x51v gives me battery door errors even though it's not being opened up. The problem is that nobody does PDA's anymore, mostly just smartphones. Which does make a lot of sense, but I can't upgrade my current phone, yet, and I get a phone from work, so....

I figured that I'll look for one anyway, and while you still can get HP and Dell PDA's, they are not exactly cheap. On the other hand, one of my choices a few years ago when I got the Dell, the iTouch, is not only available, but reasonably priced. So I got one. Did get a crappy case for it, and will replace it, soon. But didn't see the brand that was suggested when I was a BB. Oh, well.

It runs most of the iPhone apps, but does not make calls, since it's only wi-fi. But I figure if I like it enough, maybe we will pull the trigger on one when my current discount service runs out in 14 months (they sent me a letter about it).

Based on iPhone and iPad feedback- I'm pretty sure that this thing will do us good. Sure, I'm apprehensive about the iTunes issues, but I'm going into that with an open mind. And in a year from now, unless verision pulls their heads out of their rears about Puerto Rico and the USVI, I'll be left with AT&T or Sprint- both of which have the iPhone. And it will be iPhone5 by then, too.

We'll see where this goes.

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile... My family went from one Hackintosh to a mini mac, an ipod shuffle, 3 ipod nanos of various generations, 2 ipod touches, 2 ipads and have now been through 5 iphones in about 3 years.

Yes, when you see how easy it is to use it's amazing how often you'll use it.

I resisted for quite a while but once I went to the dark side it was amazing how much it made my life easier.

NOT HAVING AN iPHONE or similar is like refusing to use powertools because somehow you think they will emasculate you.

Well, just ran into my first PITA road block. Tried to download a new app from a different computer, and did't realize that it just got rid of all the apps I got yesterday. So either I do it here at work OR at home, but not both. Have to sync it back up tonight. Not cool.

As for the manlihood of not having a smartphone- yea, I call BS on that, carguy. that's got to be one of the most assinine reasons why to have a smart phone of any kind.

It's not just about being easier, it's about how much easier vs the cost. Based on your logic, you are not a man since you don't fly first class. It cost money but makes life easier.....

That kind of logic very much keeps me away, since it has little to do with actual practical reasons, and tries to make you feel guilty...

pigeon wrote: mini mac, an ipod shuffle, 3 ipod nanos of various generations, 2 ipod touches, 2 ipads and have now been through 5 iphones in about 3 years.

carguy123 wrote: NOT HAVING AN iPHONE or similar is like refusing to use powertools because somehow you think they will emasculate you.

Perhaps I am just enjoying hanging on to my $5000 that would be spent on all of that iStuff that I currently get basic necessary functionality from with other, much cheaper and less disposable products. Not to mention how my household $50/month cell phone bill is about a quarter of some full feature data plans.

I never said you weren't manly if you didn't have an iPhone I said many seem not to get one because they think it will somehow make them less manly if they got one.

But once you get one you realize that just like powertools they make things much easier plus you'll use it in ways you can't even begin to imagine now.

As to it costing $5,000 for iStuff???!!!??? You are so far off base as to not even be funny. I resisted for a long time as well, but I felt stupid once I went to the dark side and realized just how much different it was than I had imagined.

After I got one I felt like everyone who had an iStuff had been laughing at all the arguments I'd been making against them since they knew it was just my ignorance showing. And I was right.

Your monetary arguments could also be said about a car. Yes, we'd be better off to walk more and drive less. Yes it costs us money to drive a car what with gas, insurance, tires, maintenance and the price of the car itself, BUT . . . the car gives in return and if you don't factor that into the equation then a car doesn't make sense. Same thing is true of iStuff. You usually get more than you give.

I no longer carry a briefcase or a Mapsco or get lost or worry about what to eat, how to find cheap gas or a hundred other things that just make my life so much simpler. They don't complicate your life, they simplify it and give you more ME time.

Sure there's a little learning curve and adjustment period, but it's minimal. Kinda like trying to learn to drive a stick after driving an automatic for years.

carguy123 wrote: As to it costing $5,000 for iStuff???!!!??? You are so far off base as to not even be funny. I resisted for a long time as well, but I felt stupid once I went to the dark side and realized just how much different it was than I had imagined.

Dude, add up the retail cost of all of the things in his list. That's about where you are at. I have a free hand-me-down phone, my wife's cost $7 and I have a $450 Dell laptop. If you want to get crazy, you can count my $75 GPS. That's my total outlay for the past five years in terms of technology to do the things your iStuff can do, with the exception of mobile internet, which I don't really want.

Walking to work would take me five hours one way. This is not like buying a car, because nothing I currently do can be simplified THAT MUCH.

carguy123 wrote: I never said you weren't manly if you didn't have an iPhone I said many seem not to get one because they think it will somehow make them less manly if they got one. But once you get one you realize that just like powertools they make things much easier plus you'll use it in ways you can't even begin to imagine now.

Since you were the one to bring up the idea of being less masculine, I personally don't see how you didn't say that not having an iPhone is less manly. You are the one planting the idea that not having one is less manly, therefore, having an iAnything is more manly, on your suggestion.

Again, it's about the cost/benefit ratio. A mill is a lot more useful than a drill press, but I don't have a mill. Same argument. I still have not see how much more useful it is.

As for the cost- add up the few thousand spent on the stuff, and then add on the cost of the montly fees. I would not be surprised that one can clear $5k in 2-3 years. The question is- "is it worth it?" I'm working on that question, with a baby iStep.

alfadriver wrote: Since you were the one to bring up the idea of being less masculine, I personally don't see how you didn't say that not having an iPhone is less manly. You are the one planting the idea that not having one is less manly, therefore, having an iAnything is more manly, on your suggestion.

You're impossible. May God have mercy on the souls who have to deal with you on a daily basis.

carguy123 wrote: Yes, when you see how easy it is to use it's amazing how often you'll use it. I resisted for quite a while but once I went to the dark side it was amazing how much it made my life easier. NOT HAVING AN iPHONE or similar is like refusing to use powertools because somehow you think they will emasculate you.

I don't need one, emasculation doesn't come into the picture. I'm not going to buy an expensive ass tool that I'll barely use when I have a cheap one that does everything I need.

alfadriver wrote: Since you were the one to bring up the idea of being less masculine, I personally don't see how you didn't say that not having an iPhone is less manly. You are the one planting the idea that not having one is less manly, therefore, having an iAnything is more manly, on your suggestion.

You got it backwards. He's saying some people won't get apple stuff because it's not for real superman computer nerds who want their stuff to not work half the time. Haven't you ever had a conversation with the internet? GET A REAL PHONE IPODS ARE GAY STEVE JOBS EATS BUCKETS OF COCKS!!!!111 LOL

I like my iCrap. It works, and is only marginally (if at all) more expensive in total life cycle costs than similarly functional devices. A few things here and there piss me off, but probably less than other platforms would. To each his own.

alfadriver wrote: Well, just ran into my first PITA road block. Tried to download a new app from a different computer, and did't realize that it just got rid of all the apps I got yesterday. So either I do it here at work OR at home, but not both. Have to sync it back up tonight. Not cool.

Welcome to apple. It sucks but that is the way they do things.

Everybody hates on every other MP3 player than the ipod but the ipod is the only one that will limit you to syncing with one computer. I can take a zune or a lyra to any computer on the planet and add remove stuff without fear that the mothership will delete what I already have without warning.

I like my iphone. The case came free when I purchased it, the car charger was $15 and I've spent maybe $30 on apps - including games like Risk, The Settlers of Catan and its Seafarers expansion pack (which if you're a geek is easily worth twice what they're asking for it). I haven't purchased any other Apple stuff and I get a $15 discount on my monthly plan through my job.

On the other hand, I also have an inexpensive Android (honeycomb) tablet. I like how easy it is to grab files from any PC and the freedom to find and install any apps I want, but hate the OS.

The emasculation argument has been made by almost everyone who is afraid to enter the 21st Century. Their arguments usually boil down to something like this. "I'm a REAL MAN I don't need any of that wimpy iStuff to live my life. I still live in a cave and if that's good enough for my grandpappy, then it's good enough for me!"

I'm paraphrasing of course.

And in the OP's post didn't mention needing $5,000 of stuff. He mentions he's getting an iTouch. What's that, $99 nowadays?

What I've said repeatedly is that they give you much more benefit than the costs. But until you experience it on a day to day basis you don't have a clue just how much you will use it and how it simplifies your life and makes things better. I know I didn't.

There's no reason to live under a rock. The only one suffering is you. That is until you populate and try to derail all the smartphone threads to try to justify your cheapness. It's false economy.

The Maps function alone is worth the price of admission. I can go anywhere, find anything and get there in a hurry. No false starts, no going back home to get a map or having to stop for directions. I've headed across country with no preparation other than clothes. I headed across town into a section labelled "There be dragons" on my paper map and went straight to where I needed to go with no mis cues or delays. It's as if I lived there. It's awesome!

I'm on the road and need something, ANYTHING!, ANYWHERE! and I can find it and get to it just like I'm a local. Got an emergency? Whatever it is you need and no matter where you are then you can find the closest way to fix your emergency.

Paper maps aren't the same and you don't always have them with you and if you do, you don't always have the right one. The Maps feature is maps, yellow pages, information and the internet all at your fingertips. All I have to do is follow a line on the map. I don't have to know street names, directions or anything. My car is shown moving on the map.

My 82 year old mother in law has moved to a new area of town and she doesn't know how to get around. After she got lost a couple of times we got her an iPhone. Now she can go anywhere. If she gets lost she turns on the phone and looks to see where she's at. The phone will tell her how to get back.

Of course if you were in the wilds of Montana and had no internet or cell phone service that would be a different issue altogether.

The money you save by not getting a GPS in your car will pay for a lot of your phone service and that's just ONE of the many functions.

Maybe by refusing to join the world you are being manly, after all it's widely known a real man refuses to ask directions.

Live smarter, not harder.

ditchdigger wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Well, just ran into my first PITA road block. Tried to download a new app from a different computer, and did't realize that it just got rid of all the apps I got yesterday. So either I do it here at work OR at home, but not both. Have to sync it back up tonight. Not cool.

Welcome to apple. It sucks but that is the way they do things. Everybody hates on every other MP3 player than the ipod but the ipod is the only one that will limit you to syncing with one computer. I can take a zune or a lyra to any computer on the planet and add remove stuff without fear that the mothership will delete what I already have without warning.

There's this new iCloud thing- I'll have to ask about it.

HiTempguy wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Since you were the one to bring up the idea of being less masculine, I personally don't see how you didn't say that not having an iPhone is less manly. You are the one planting the idea that not having one is less manly, therefore, having an iAnything is more manly, on your suggestion.

You're impossible. May God have mercy on the souls who have to deal with you on a daily basis.

As long as I make you mad, my day is good.

In reply to carguy123:

Hey, as long as you enjoy spending the money, that's great. No need to pontificate more than that.

alfadriver wrote: Well, just ran into my first PITA road block. Tried to download a new app from a different computer, and did't realize that it just got rid of all the apps I got yesterday. So either I do it here at work OR at home, but not both. Have to sync it back up tonight. Not cool.

iCloud backup gets around this. I'm happy to get away from iTunes syncing. It was fine for the iPod, but once it started being the hub for all my apps and whatnot it stopped being OK.

Over 2 years, my iPhone costs about $600 in data and ~$100 in terms of hardware ($300 subsidized phone I turn around and sell for $100-$200 at the end of my time with it). The iPad runs me another $360 in data and a maximum of ~$400 in depreciated hardware over a two year life.

So around $350/yr per person for either a smartphone or a tablet. It's a lot of utility for the money. The phone gets used probably twenty times more than dumb phone and does stuff that feels like sci fi, so that's a win. The iPad pays for itself. Subscribing to the $300/yr tablet version of the NY Times rather than the print version saves me more than $450/yr on home delivery fees (and I'd never go back to print, even if it came for free).

There's also synching to both computers on or about the same time so they both have the same info. My wife and I synch both phones to both of our computers so that if the urge strikes us to synch or update we have a computer handy with all the same data. That's all the issue is, the computer you went to didn't know you'd changed things.

But with iCloud you don't even need to do that.

In reply to carguy123:

When you say "same time" do you mean within a few min? I did the sync last night at home, before putting the thing in my briefcase, and then downloaded iTunes here at work, and then sync'ed. So it was as close as I'll be able to get to same time.

At a minimum, as long as I don't cross data, I may avoid using the iCloud- I can sync apps, book, music at home, and then sync work stuff only here- that would work. But if I need to the the iCloud working- at least I know it should- thanks ppdd(repeat).

alfadriver wrote: In reply to carguy123: Hey, as long as you enjoy spending the money, that's great. No need to pontificate more than that.

You don't know him very well, do you...

carguy123 wrote: But until you experience it on a day to day basis you don't have a clue just how much you will use it

Same can be said for crack. You are literally telling me that this device will save me time doing things that I don't even do now! How useful is that!?

carguy123 wrote: There's no reason to live under a rock. The only one suffering is you.

Do you have a Segway? A hybrid? Direct Injection? Carbon Fiber crankshaft (yes, they exist)? Are you living under a rock as well? Just because you have a new device does not mean they will be the end-all be-all direction the world is going without me. Did you buy a minidisc player? A betamax? Were you left living under a rock then? I have Netflix, does that make me new or cutting edge, or have I just found a cheaper way to watch TV?

carguy123 wrote: The Maps function alone is worth the price of admission. I can go anywhere, find anything and get there in a hurry. No false starts, no going back home to get a map or having to stop for directions.

I don't doubt it, my GPS does the same thing. It was $75. We used it just yesterday when we got lost going to a birthday party.

carguy123 wrote: Paper maps aren't the same and you don't always have them with you and if you do, you don't always have the right one.

The last paper map I bought got sucked out of the window as I was going 75 mph down the highway... in 2001.

carguy123 wrote: Maybe by refusing to join the world you are being manly, after all it's widely known a real man refuses to ask directions. Live smarter, not harder.

Only people in the real world have iStuff, huh? OK. Good luck with that.

And once again, a smart phone thread has degraded into "Wow, this thing is really useful" Vs. "I don't need it/too expensive"

neon4891 wrote: And once again, a smart phone thread has degraded into "Wow, this thing is really useful" Vs. "I don't need it/too expensive"

True. My fault, too. It was this that did it:

NOT HAVING AN iPHONE or similar is like refusing to use powertools because somehow you think they will emasculate you.

I can be done now, though.

alfadriver wrote: Well, just ran into my first PITA road block. Tried to download a new app from a different computer, and did't realize that it just got rid of all the apps I got yesterday. So either I do it here at work OR at home, but not both. Have to sync it back up tonight. Not cool.

May have found a different solution.

Besides the Cloud, there's also a possibility of using a Microsoft Exchange set up, which uses ActiveSync, which I have been using for a while now with the two PDA's I've had.

But the other solution is to set the sync up manually- on the opening page of my machine, you can set it up to do it manualy, and apparently, that will stop it from asking me in the morning and not clear out the machine if I click wrong.

I still will stop by the apple store tonight- would like to get a real dock instead of having it lie on my desk.

Still have to re-put on all of my music and apps from the weekend. Oh, well.