So How many of you neo-luddites are going to be up at 12:01 this morning?

[atavar]

Yep, it's that time again..  preorders for the new iPhones open up at midnight tonight..  Who is going to be up ordering one?

I probably will, and one of the reasons will be to get a larger screen for navigating on rides on the Norge (GC).  I also am looking forward to much increased battery run time.  I am not looking forward to sitting at the computer at midnight fighting the maddening hordes for server resources..

My current iPhone is working great, and I certainly understand all the very good reasons for switching to Android, but I am sticking with iPhone for the simple reason that it works and I don't have to futz with it to keep it working.  I see peer constantly updating and tweaking their Droids to keep them working and I am too lazy to go that route.   

[Guzzistajohn]

Nfw I have an android from republic wireless for $10.00 a month.

[Charles in Lake Charles]

What's an iPhone? Is it something like a Tracfone?

[atavar]

{Short luddite wannabe rant}I do sometimes miss my old flip phone that would let me dial and if I tried really really hard would let me set an alarm. 
I often think that the tech we have in our lives now is just a longer but much sturdier leash that limits our freedom and  under the guise chimerical promised increases in freedom keeps us from being able to escape. 

[Guzzistajohn]

 That apparently doesn't work 

  Dusty

Works fine. I prolly have it turned off while listening to Billie Holiday's "My Solitude" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DVvOsiSQVw

[not-fishing]

I'm going to be up to watch the stock "ticker"

You see more than a couple of decades ago I invested in this fruit -- a few years before Forest's movie came out.

Everyone thought I was an idiot at the time............   

[Guzzistajohn]

{Short luddite wannabe rant}I do sometimes miss my old flip phone that would let me dial and if I tried really really hard would let me set an alarm. 
I often think that the tech we have in our lives now is just a longer but much sturdier leash that limits our freedom and  under the guise chimerical promised increases in freedom keeps us from being able to escape.

YES! 

[Lannis]

I often think that the tech we have in our lives now is just a longer but much sturdier leash that limits our freedom and  under the guise chimerical promised increases in freedom keeps us from being able to escape.
 

That's exactly what it is.   And it's a leash that people lust after, buy, and pay for every month, and then "can't" do without.   

I've seen people who have broken their iPhones.    No heroin or alcohol addict is more desperate to get it "fixed" - they literally can't think about anything until they have their phone back in their hand.

I sat in an ice-cream parlor yesterday, having a Fudge Truffle waffle cone (more risk acceptance), and watching people go in and out of the Starbucks next door.   Not ONE single woman went in or out of that door without a smartphone in their hand; not on their belt or in their purse, but in their hand.   80% of them had their heads down looking at it as they walked .....

Lannis

[atavar]

I think the new iPhones that are sensitive to how hard you touch the screen are a bit much for me.  If you cherish your phone and coddle it and take care of it, that's fine.  I tend to be rather hard on phones (Otterbox is my best friend).  It gets beat and banged and dropped and generally subjected to everything I do in one way or another.  I haven't dropped it in the toilet yet, but it's just a matter of time.

But there is already an app for the new iPhone's pressure sensitive screen to let it weigh your pot..  how can you live without that?   

[threebrits]

Face it - You're getting to a new iPhone to tell everyone you're better. 

[Lannis]

Dang Lannis , you mean that at least some of the Waffles should get to live ?

  Dusty

?? (sigh)

Lannis (figuring out how this post count thing works)

[Loftness]

I will be, for the first time in a while.  I'm upgrading to get the bigger screen for reasons you described.  I'm also upgrading my wife's for the bigger screen b/c she seems to need it (and it would make her happy and I live to please).  It's not costing me anything to upgrade so there's no reason not too really.

[atavar]

I will be, for the first time in a while.  I'm upgrading to get the bigger screen for reasons you described.  I'm also upgrading my wife's for the bigger screen b/c she seems to need it (and it would make her happy and I live to please).  It's not costing me anything to upgrade so there's no reason not too really.

Ah, you might actually want to wait a bit for the 6Plus prices to drop after the 6sPlus hits the market..

[normzone]

What's an iPhone? Is it something like a Tracfone?

That is so rich. Happy Tracfone user here. I'll go smart phone someday when I must, but no hurry.

The world is filled with those things. Any time I need directions or a google search I'm surrounded by people happy to show off their phones.

[Lannis]

A friend , retired cop , now employed as a federal driving instructor , is addicted to gee gaws . Latest phone , $25K Harley with all of the bells and whistles , blue tooth in his new suburban , remote controls for everything . He can't figure out why none of this holds any allure for me . Of course the problem is , after paying for all of this stuff , he can't afford to buy gasoline and travel, kind of renders all of his stuff useless 

  Dusty

I see a lot of people like that.   

I don't see a THING wrong with having nice stuff, or having new widgets if you like them.

The scary thing is when you see the signs of addiction, like you would for liquor or drugs or gambling.    People start spending money on their addiction that they don't have.   They start talking about not being able to do without it.    They act very strange if they have to do WITHOUT whatever they're addicted to.    I've carried food to people's houses because their fridge and shelves are bare.   I've helped pay their electric bill because their power was shut off.  But their $160 monthly smart-phone bill?   Paid right up to the mark .....

Lannis

[rboe]

It's tempting, but I just got the iPhone 6+ (eyes need the larger screen) and don't use many of the features, but it did pretty much replace the iPad. As I get older (and the fixed income thing helps too......  ) the ability to resist the latest hell fire gadget gets better. I'd go back to the iPad with just data in a heart beat (don't really need a phone that much), and that is really only nice on trips while I sit in the hotel room at the end of the day catching up.

I suspect with 5G coming out I'll be "forced" to upgrade then.

[BRIO]

Yep, it's that time again..  preorders for the new iPhones open up at midnight tonight..  Who is going to be up ordering one?

I probably will, and one of the reasons will be to get a larger screen for navigating on rides on the Norge (GC).  I also am looking forward to much increased battery run time.  I am not looking forward to sitting at the computer at midnight fighting the maddening hordes for server resources..

My current iPhone is working great, and I certainly understand all the very good reasons for switching to Android, but I am sticking with iPhone for the simple reason that it works and I don't have to futz with it to keep it working.  I see peer constantly updating and tweaking their Droids to keep them working and I am too lazy to go that route.   

No,

I just replaced the screen again on my 5s that I bought free and clear for $150. Trying to cut down on smartphone usage anyways...

Sent from my iPhone.

[HDGoose]

When I obtained my first SMART phone, it was for work and I used it to make money. I could resolve computer issues quickly without opening up a lap top and finding a wireless internet connection. I have made money using SMART phones. Today, my phones are essentially free because I don't have the latest model, and it's a useful item.

[Lannis]

I suspect with 5G coming out I'll be "forced" to upgrade then.

Yep!   They're playing you guys like the "Toccata and Fugue in G Minor" on a fine violin - no, a whole orchestra of violins ... 

Lannis

[kevdog3019]

Nah... I pay $60 a month for service with my iPhone and deduct from my biz. Without it I would have to conduct biz from home. I have a few businesses so need to have access to customers, etc. while doing another. My customer service is better and I can do my job from anywhere/anytime. Sometimes I need to have access immediately and would be sunk without the ability to act. For me it's necessary for my living, not so much for my social life, so stays in my pocket after work and (also) when I'm with all folks face to face. I'm pretty old school when you meet me, but not so when alone. It's a Godsend for the self-employed like me, sorry.

[steven c]

 Nope I just bought a new Flip phone, this one even has a camera and big numbers! Virgin Mobile $20 every 90 days, doesn't work out side of most major cites. I would like to have phone that worked up in Vermont or NH when I could use it just in case but I just don't use it enough to pay $75 a month.

[Lannis]

Nah... I pay $60 a month for service with my iPhone and deduct from my biz. Without it I would have to conduct biz from home. I have a few businesses so need to have access to customers, etc. while doing another. My customer service is better and I can do my job from anywhere/anytime. Sometimes I need to have access immediately and would be sunk without the ability to act. For me it's necessary for my living, not so much for my social life, so stays in my pocket after work and (also) when I'm with all folks face to face. I'm pretty old school when you meet me, but not so when alone. It's a Godsend for the self-employed like me, sorry.

Hey, when I was in business I was Blackberrying along with the best of them; man, I could email and text and phone and surf and BBM and IM like a true geek.   I never paid for it, the company did, because they demanded that I be in touch with my management, my partners, and my customers in a way that wasn't possible without having that capability in my hand.    And since they demanded it, the old Indian proverb was applicable - "I will change my clothes and I will change my religion for you - but you must pay for it."

But for my OWN life?    Yeah, just what I need - to be whipsawed back and forth with new versions of hardware/software/hardware/software, and ever-increasing monthly fees, and be a slave to the Genii of the Ring-er in my pocket?   

Lannis

[Kentktk]

Ah, you might actually want to wait a bit for the 6Plus prices to drop after the 6sPlus hits the market..

If I wait 1 year it will be half price, if I wait 2 years it will be free, if I wait........

[HDGoose]

My current company does pay me $40 a month towards my cell bill. IRS regulations started to tax personal use phones and deny business expenses about 6 years ago.

[JoeW]

Apple is the evil empire, I'm sure Ming The Merciless is behind it all. ANDROID FOREVER!

[atavar]

I love the evil empire..  You can say what you want but their stuff works.  Granted it is expensive, but there is a lot of testing that goes in to all of their products, even the 3rd party apps.  I have never gotten a virus or trojan on Apple products, and in 20 years of using their stuff have called tech support once.  It suits my lazy personality.

[Sasquatch Jim]

  I have been using trac phone burn phones for years.  Last year I bought one of thenew upgraded ones that has a cover that flips open and shut so that I would not be making butt calls any more.  I called them, (thetrac phone people), to ask if they could disable the texting ability.  They refused to do so.  I get tired of being woke up at night by the text alarm when it is a message from the trac phone people telling me of another wonderful service offer.  I never text.  I never read text, I just delete them un read. I can't do that with the trac phone texts.  They are done in such a way that I can't delete them before the text is displayed.
 Why doesn't some company offer a simple phone that is ONLY a phone and not a camera, texter, and all those other facilities that I never use.  At 17 dollars the damn thing is expensive enough as it is.
 I certainly don't want an I phone or android or any phone that is smarter than me.  And I certainly resent paying more for all those
 extras.  My older trac phones had no flip covers but only cost about 9 dollars.  I just got tired of making calls without  meaning to because buttons were inadvertently pressed in my pocket or pouch.  They nearly doubled the price just to put a cover on it.

[Wayne Orwig]

I think the new iPhones that are sensitive to how hard you touch the screen are a bit much for me. 

A few years back Samsung added a ton of features to their S4. It would recognize that you were looking at the phone, and keep it awake. It would detect when your eyes moved up or down, or you tilted the phone, and automatically scroll the page up or down. And a lot more.
I turned all of that crap off. Yes, it would work. But yes, it also did unpredictable things.  Must have been done by a female programmer. 
Samsung's newer devices don't have all of the 'fluff' functions.

iPhone does have this app of interest to motorcyclists. Great to prevent the sidestand from sinking into the pavement.

[atavar]

  I have been using trac phone burn phones for years.  Last year I bought one of thenew upgraded ones that has a cover that flips open and shut so that I would not be making butt calls any more.  I called them, (thetrac phone people), to ask if they could disable the texting ability.  They refused to do so.  I get tired of being woke up at night by the text alarm when it is a message from the trac phone people telling me of another wonderful service offer.  I never text.  I never read text, I just delete them un read. I can't do that with the trac phone texts.  They are done in such a way that I can't delete them before the text is displayed.

The answer for this is to get a silent ring tone and set it to use that for texts.  I got a silent ring tone and I set it for telemarketer numbers and other annoying callers with no vibrate.  Then I never even know when the irksome calls come in.

These phones have no features:
http://spareone.com/ (powered by an AA battery)
http://johnsphones.org/
http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-UN160-envoy-ii  (US Cellular)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0069S8PB8/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all (Verizon)

[Chuck in Indiana]

I wouldn't be up at 12:01 for the second coming..