|
My wife & I replaced our last phones (Moto G Stylus SG), which both developed problems at the 2 year mark. There was a great sale on the Pixel 8 Pro, it had good reviews, so we went with it. It's an ok phone.
I use a phone for calls, personal email, photos, and web browsing. Occasionally as a weak flashlight.
I don't install many apps, as it's very common to request access to my contact list, which I veto. Some years back the LinkedIn app uploaded my contact list, and I had a few ugly conversations with their tech support regarding deleting my information. I doubt that they actually did, but in any case, I uninstall most apps that request my contact list.
|
|
|
|
|
Another old ex flip phone user, the last flip phone I had broke in half 2 years ago and my wife made me get a smart phone so I bought the cheapest one I found on Amazon, a Samsung Galaxy A03 Core for $200-ish and I'm still getting used to it, but I do like it and would probably not go back to a flip phone now. The only thing I will never get used to is how much bigger than a flip phone it is. Yes, being a dinosaur is tough sometimes
|
|
|
|
|
iPhone 13 mini.
Why are all the phones so huge? I don't want my phone to be the size of a tablet. Generally I'm not interested in surfing the 2" web - if I am doing something other than phone calls and messaging, I will move to a real computer.
--Cranky old lady
|
|
|
|
|
iPhone 13 Pro.
It works, I'm happy with it.
No reason the change either the model or eco=system.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
|
|
|
|
|
A paid off S21. Works great, does everything I need it to do.
From a pure telecom POV, I could get by on a flip-phone. But there are apps that I need to have. Waze, Smart home stuff, banking, and lately shopping, like grocery apps or scanning items in stores where you can't find the price and store help isn't around. Admittedly, it's also nice to be able to take some pics and while I could do that on my camera, I'd have to remember to take it with me and carry it around.
|
|
|
|
|
I'm going to sound hip and old at the same time.
To me, the height of cell phones was the Lumia 850XL with Windows 10. Since then, I've been forced to choose between Android and iOS, so I pick Android. I use Square Home as my launcher because it gives you the best "Windows 10-like" experience. I've heard of people using Windows 10 on a Surface Duo, which may be ok, but what I would really want is Windows 11 + Windows Subsystem for Android. But I need a phone that isn't a DIY project, so I got the next best thing, which is a Samsung Galaxy Z-Fold 5. Someday the screens on these phones won't break for no reason, and when that happens I will get one for my main phone and tinker with my Z-Fold 5.
|
|
|
|
|
I loved my first Windows phone. The hardware on my last Windows phone was horrible. MS could never get group text messaging right, otherwise I really liked the way the OS worked on a phone.
There are no solutions, only trade-offs. - Thomas Sowell
A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do. - Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)
|
|
|
|
|
I switched away from Apple products around the time the Lisa flopped. I'm now on a ZFold 4 from Samsung (started on a 3 a few years back and am waiting for the 6 - the 5 is hardly an upgrade). I know it is expensive but I use it for my 6 email accounts (Outlook app) and reading my Kindle Unlimited subscription. My big fat fingers always hit 5 keys on a small screen while simply holding the phone so I love the large keyboard when it is opened. Almost did a Microsoft Duo but was told you have to open it to see who is calling. Too hooked to change now assuming they improved it.
I was a Windows Phone lover until it died. Android is the lesser of the evils in my book. I've always hated proprietary hardware with no alternatives. If I get upset with Samsung there are plenty of other Android phones to look at. I use Microsoft Launcher personally.
Sadly, you have to sell yourself to some cloud service or other these days to make it in this AI-frenzied world (I don't use AI). Been developing software for 41 years so I think I count as an old Caucasian male.
|
|
|
|
|
Samsung S8. Had it for 7+ years. Still working fine. Battery life is still ok, but I need to recharge every day.
|
|
|
|
|
Microsoft Lumia 950. It cost a little over $100 and keeps me from having to engage in Big Tech's iPhone/Android duopoly. Does all I need it to do. Since Microsoft is steadily turning off more and more of its features through forced 365 subscriptions and certificate extortion, I'm thinking about upgrading to an HTC smartphone for $261 which was produced in 2012. I'll give it another few years, though, just to see what happens. Don't wanna be too hasty here.
|
|
|
|
|
Another old guy here. My philosophy on phone purchases is the same as for automobiles: I buy the most basic product offering from a company I know I can (reasonably) trust for quality and drive it until the wheels fall off. I currently have an iPhone 12 (and a 2015 Toyota Tacoma and a 2011 Camry).
There are no solutions, only trade-offs. - Thomas Sowell
A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do. - Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)
|
|
|
|
|
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Mainly used for texting and 2FA. I will occasionally take a photo with it but I prefer using a camera for that. I got it as a refurbished special from my service provider.
It handles voice calls well but I don't like talking to people.
I don't think I'm old but I do remember when phones came with wires attached and were provided free of charge by TPC (The Phone Company). I grew up in a small village where we had a local operator. Our phone number was 66. A friend lived out in the countryside. His phone number was line 5 ring 3. Things all changed in the early 1960's when the operator was replaced by an automated exchange and our crank phones were replaced by rotary dial units. It was about that time that the pace of change started to accelerate.
As I said, I don't think I'm old but I probably am.
|
|
|
|
|
Nokia Lumia 930
The last Windows phone running I think.
|
|
|
|
|
certainly an old timer and in most respects I reuse, repurpose old equipment all the time. I have 1963 Ford, I have a 12yr old Lenovo s10-3t netbook. my primary home computer is a cast off dell from work that I put Linux on. BUT I have the latest and greatest phones usually. I currently have a Samsung Fold 5 and I love that sucker. I can and have done my entire job from that phone. I like that my old eyes can see the screen when I unfold it. I like that I can use a VPN connection and then RDP to a server and work on it if I have something down at work. (Doesn't happen much for me) and I love that I can read books in the various ereader apps. but mostly I use it as a notebook for jotting notes and journaling. Which I have done now for 30 years. soo.
#1 app Journaling apps (Samsung Notes, OneNote or Joplin)
#2 app Kindle or Libby for my local library.
Wonderful piece of kit it is.
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
|
|
|
|
|
Sony Ericsson W300i. No spam. No tracking me or my doings. No ads. It's a phone...to make phone calls. Yes, I'm the guy that walks down the sidewalk looking straight ahead (not down at a screen)!
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
|
|
|
|
|
I have a nearly 3 year old Motorola G-Stylus phone. My phones last an average of 3 to 5 years depending on how well I treat the battery.
|
|
|
|
|
Samsung A23 provided by work. Previously Samsung A22 and Samsung Note 8.
All are dual sim so have also had installed my personal sim card for which I pay about £4/month.
I can't see the point in carrying 2 phones around.
|
|
|
|
|
I always stayed with my "smart" flip-phone instead of one of those "dumb phones".
My own "smart" phone is smaller and thus easier to carry. And without all the stupid features, which no one really needs, my little phone ensures that I rely on my brain and not someone else's algorithm.
"Dumb phones" seem to have only made our country much dumber than it already was because it allows everyone to create their own little self-deluded bubbles while allowing someone else to think for them.
When someone tells you that they find their "dumb phones" very helpful, simply ask them when was the last time they read a credible military analysis of the US' wars across the globe...
Steve Naidamast
Sr. Software Engineer
Black Falcon Software, Inc.
blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
|
|
|
|
|
$499? Wow.
I’m currently using a 2020 Motorola from Consumer Cell that cost $150. An unlocked one from Amazon was $250. (Monthly service is ~$36}
Recently priced a replacement from Amazon that was pretty much the same price.
I have an iPad, but will not get an iPhone. Just not worth it.
Time is the differentiation of eternity devised by man to measure the passage of human events.
- Manly P. Hall
Mark
Just another cog in the wheel
|
|
|
|
|
Most of my friends/family would think I'm a luddite if not for the fact that I'm their go-to guy to fix their computer (and phone).
These days I have a phone--out of necessity, not choice. Some LG thing, Q60 I think - clearly not a top-of-the-line model. I've had it since the start of the year, and it's my dad's old phone (I think it was 2 years old at the time he changed it for a Samsung). Except for importing my contacts, it's pretty much still in the state it was when I got it (and then performed a factory reset). I don't go out of my way seeking out apps, except for MS's Office suite. Things that require 2FA work "well enough" with it.
It's on wifi most of the time; most months my data usage remains at 0.00GB - too low to move the needle. But, that was part of my current home internet bundle.
I have zero intent to change it for anything newer / fancier / shinier.
|
|
|
|
|
Hmmm... over here, Walmart would sell you a 'smart' phone for like $50.
I think they're called tracfones but there are maybe a few different options/brands.
|
|
|
|
|
brb
Stay tuned
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
|
|
|
|
|
Umm actually I have been the ludite everywhere I go. I have an old phone I got when my father passed away. It does not talk or text. But I do have the IRobot app on it so I can schedule my robot vacum. If it weren't for that I would not have one at all. The old one on the Kitchen wall with an old tape answering machine still works great. For F2A I have an android emulator I can fire up if needed. But mostly the F2A just calls my phone. I am free !! And no one is tracking me.... peace out.
|
|
|
|
|
Samsung A33 -couple of hundred from Argos when I got it. It's an ok all rounder - camera is nothing special but ok, likewise screen, does 5G, I'm happy enough. It was an emergency purchase when my old Samsung died the night before I was due to go away for a week in Cornwall.
|
|
|
|
|
Used to have Sprint myself, since well before they became T-Mobile. Got a free update to a 5G phone two years ago, a Samsung Galaxy A13 G5, 4GB RAM/64GB storage (+microSD up to 1TB!). IMHO, runs circles around using a dreaded iPhone, does all I need, including a few emergency apps.
New price back then would have been $280 (+tax, etc), it's currently $200 at Best Buy, starting at $150 on Amazon ("renewed" as little as $95)
Battery has a decent runtime, up to two days of heavy use, which includes playing solitaire while on public transportation, also use GPS a lot for travel app, as well as email (have 5 Gmail accounts in use on it). Also uses a USB C charging port, which I can share with my GMRS radios, also using one and the same external battery packs for both...
|
|
|
|