So I Bought A Non Smart Phone, And Now I Am Smarter!

[Somtamnication]

I have been a techie for many many years. Love new technology and I consider myself a geek. Brought up 2 kids (now adults) with the money I made.

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in, but I decided to give my trusty SGS2 to my wife.

I went out and bought a 680Thb Nokia. Just a phone, no colour screen, no camera. Just a phone.

I have my ipad4 for when I go into madness mode.

If anyone emails me, wait till I get home for my answer.

If anyone wants to play a game online, wait!!

I never was a fan of facebook, myspace, or g+, so that saves me considerable time from my daily wake hours.

Now, if I can only stop wifey playing with LINE.........

[sammycic]

all sounds very familiar.

[lomatopo]

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in,

I think this is just one manifestation of getting older. I've seen this phenomenon with quite a few older friends, parents/relatives, siblings. Seems like a normal path for some? Maybe the mind just can't handle as much, or there is a need for simplicity?

[ignis]

Find impossible to use........ so phone in one hand, magnifying glass in other How to press any keys ?

My phone has lots of things, camera never used, email, never used, alarm never used, games never played, music never used, Apps no idea what that is, etc, Samsung same as last phone given free with contract.. never wanted any of these things in the last 7 or 8 years..

As for an ipad, same same, have seen people using them mostly girls to do there hair or make-up.. guess the day I always had to have the latest has long since gone.

Welcome to the club......... 24" screen is far easier as is a proper keyboard.

[Genericnic]

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in,

I think this is just one manifestation of getting older. I've seen this phenomenon with quite a few older friends, parents/relatives, siblings. Seems like a normal path for some? Maybe the mind just can't handle as much, or there is a need for simplicity?

Or maybe it is the realization that some of us get as we age that your time here is limited and it might be better spent having fun rather than looking at a screen. You never hear anyone on their deathbed saying "I wish I had spent just one more hour at the office." I doubt that you will hear anyone saying "I wish I had spend just a little more time on the internet" (or smartphone, etc.) either. Electronics are just tools. Do you carry a hammer around with you when you are not working?

David

[nachiket]

Great decision. Phone should be basic with min. usage.

Also, internet and other social media is not that social.

If you want to go for social, speak face to face with people. It's simple and makes us really happy.

[lomatopo]

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in,

I think this is just one manifestation of getting older. I've seen this phenomenon with quite a few older friends, parents/relatives, siblings. Seems like a normal path for some? Maybe the mind just can't handle as much, or there is a need for simplicity?

Or maybe it is the realization that some of us get as we age that your time here is limited and it might be better spent having fun rather than looking at a screen. You never hear anyone on their deathbed saying "I wish I had spent just one more hour at the office." I doubt that you will hear anyone saying "I wish I had spend just a little more time on the internet" (or smartphone, etc.) either. Electronics are just tools. Do you carry a hammer around with you when you are not working?

David

Sez the guy looking at a screen and posting on the internet.

But yes, I'd agree that for most elderly retirees a smartphone is probably not necessary, and with failing vision and trembling fingers they can be challenging to use. So better to put down the smartphone, or give it to the wife, and get up from your computer screen and have fun during your limited time left.

Not even sure why anyone even needs a mobile phone? Who needs that newfangled interruption? Just wait until you get home to make a call? Heck, why even have a telephone, just wait to speak face-to-face.

[bluemoon58]

Gave up internet phones around 3 years ago and been happier ever since...

[Digitalbanana]

> Now, if I can only stop wifey playing with LINE.........

If I called my wife "wifey" I'd never hear the end of it on LINE.

[Ace of Pop]

> Now, if I can only stop wifey playing with LINE.........

If I called my wife "wifey" I'd never hear the end of it on LINE.

That was a sneaky LINE, nice one Digit. Its time to TANGO.!!. I find they are both better than Skypee, for I Phone calls. Tango Vid Calls are perfect

[bkk_mike]

Luddites!!!

Sorry - Couldn't resist...

[Stefanix]

Nothing to do with age, but rather wisdom!

Actually a camera is a maybe a nice addition to a phone for some. People sitting in restaurants and don't talk to each other, but are glued to their phones. Insane.

Nice side effect of those phones not permanently connected to the Internet: The battery lasts much longer and you don't need a huge data package.

Good decision to change priorities in life!

[richsilver]

I find that as I get older I am having a harder time talking on the phone (especially when the signal is not up to par or I am in a noisy environment), so I think that using text messages is more reliable and much easier for me. But texting on a dumb phone is, I think, next to impossible.

The Swiftkey app on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is really a terrific aid in sending fast and reliable text messages. Plus the large keyboard is perfect for a Slightly Older Guy with aging thumbs.

I rarely indulge in any social activities with the smart phone, but there are many apps I would not want to give up: maps, notes, Thai dictionary, calculator, Wikipedia, flashlight, etc.

[brfsa2]

well done mate...

People now a days seems to forget about the reality or life, how to enjoy nature, take care of their relatives and even their pets...

Last year I got hundreds of happy birthday on my Facebook, this year I closed it this FB bs, and only got half a dozen happy birthdays by email or phone from family members ...unbelievable

Im glad im out of facebook, line, whatsapp... waste of time, now I have more time to go training and go to gym.

[Frank James]

Many is the time I have considered throwing my Samsung Note 2 into the Ping River. I must have been high when I bought the thing. OP is 100% right on.

[lomatopo]

well done mate...

People now a days seems to forget about the reality or life, how to enjoy nature, take care of their relatives and even their pets...

Last year I got hundreds of happy birthday on my Facebook, this year I closed it this FB bs, and only got half a dozen happy birthdays by email or phone from family members ...unbelievable

Im glad im out of facebook, line, whatsapp... waste of time, now I have more time to go training and go to gym.

Agree that if you can't manage your time, get distracted easily, become easily addicted to certain activities, or find it challenging to put down/turn your phone off or leave it at home, then the only solution is to go "cold turkey" or throw it in the river. OK, maybe think about throwing it in the river.

I hope you don't listen to an iPod or watch TV when you are training. Posting on ThaiVisa is obviously still on the acceptable list of activities though - ah, enjoying nature. I think someone feels sad that they only got six birthday cards.

[philotruth]

Many is the time I have considered throwing my Samsung Note 2 into the Ping River. I must have been high when I bought the thing. OP is 100% right on.

Im thinking of picking up some android devices because I'm a developer and want to test programs on them, but I don't want to buy new ones for such little use. If any one wants to sell theirs and are close to bangkok or pattaya give me a shout 088 491 2599 or email < email address removed >

Edited June 7, 2013 by metisdead
13) Not to post email addresses in posts due to potential spam problems.

[roiethome]

Luddites!!!

Sorry - Couldn't resist...

Absolutely true, or maybe early senility settling in.

Embrace technology, there's no more of it after the end comes.

[Chicog]

Great decision. Phone should be basic with min. usage.

Also, internet and other social media is not that social.

If you want to go for social, speak face to face with people. It's simple and makes us really happy.

How can you speak face to face with someone on the other side of the world?

Oh, I know. Skype.

Duh.

[JDGRUEN]

Having spent about 25 years in the computer business - somehow I never became much of a geek or gadget addict. But I do like smartphones. However, I only use SMS/Texting as necessary - Far from being addicted. And like others, I dislike sitting at a dinner table with people glued to their smartphones. I do like the idea of having a camera handy for just a time when needed. Smartphone cameras are quite good these days.

I don't use my smartphone for email - unless in a pinch - which is seldom. I don't browse the Internet - except on the occasion of finding a product I am shopping for... same for the GPS / mapping ... very handy at times.

To me smartphones are one of those "To each his own" type of things. Used with a good dose of 'Everything in Moderation", I prefer to have all the smart features - even if I only use a particular one - a couple of times each month.

[Buckaroo]

I've never had a smart phone, I've not had a mobile phone for six years. I was tied to mobile communication systems when I was back in the old country, always hated to have to be always available. If people want to talk to me, come and talk to me, if people call my home number when I am out, they will try again if it's important . If someone wants to order some products off me, then use the website that took ages to set up. I use facebook for friends and family both sharing pictures and stories.

So where are going to go this weekend to stare at your phone?

Edited June 7, 2013 by Buckaroo

[MyFriend You]

all sounds very familiar.

Got rid of the iPhone, and the Samsung SIII, and all the other junk - found my old Motorola Razr, took it to MBK, upgraded the software - 300 baht, new battery and have been happy ever since............have a new Mac Mini for those few afternoons at the River or Lumpini park..........like Jimmy Buffet said - "I don't need that much organization in my life !!!"

[Maggusoil]

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in,

I think this is just one manifestation of getting older. I've seen this phenomenon with quite a few older friends, parents/relatives, siblings. Seems like a normal path for some? Maybe the mind just can't handle as much, or there is a need for simplicity?

Or maybe it is the realization that some of us get as we age that your time here is limited and it might be better spent having fun rather than looking at a screen. You never hear anyone on their deathbed saying "I wish I had spent just one more hour at the office." I doubt that you will hear anyone saying "I wish I had spend just a little more time on the internet" (or smartphone, etc.) either. Electronics are just tools. Do you carry a hammer around with you when you are not working?

David

Sez the guy looking at a screen and posting on the internet.

But yes, I'd agree that for most elderly retirees a smartphone is probably not necessary, and with failing vision and trembling fingers they can be challenging to use. So better to put down the smartphone, or give it to the wife, and get up from your computer screen and have fun during your limited time left.

Not even sure why anyone even needs a mobile phone? Who needs that newfangled interruption? Just wait until you get home to make a call? Heck, why even have a telephone, just wait to speak face-to-face.

I thought you could have left that comment right there

" Sez the guy on the net " . . . really ?

I lost my Thai road map and My last two road trips one down to Mukdahan on the border for a couple of days with the kids one for dinner with a friend in Bali on the Bukhit peninsula where I ALWAYS get lost all navigated very successfully on the "smart" phone. Emails on the phone means I don't even have to go to an "office!" What's that outmoded thing? sms'. Instant Weather reports . music in the car. or elsewhere, like a short stay with the wife . . foreign radio broadcasts, newscasts, a compass, a dictaphone for the 'book', instant currency exchange rates wherever I am, instant banking for quick bill payments and transfers between accounts, a reminder app which I now need more than ever, like get up and clean your teeth, a camera, quite a good one too, voice memos, alarm clock, a night torch for getting up those dark steps and

whoa! That's only the apps on the front page, swell forecasts for my surfing hobby, radar tracking incoming flights all over the world, moon phases for fishing . .

One day I will be able to place my phone on someone and cure any disease. .. . and no, I am not kidding, the technology was invented in the 1930's see Royal Rife. . . if the AMA hadn't banned his inventions they would have been miniaturised by now.

A phone is a very inadequate description for the thing I have in my pocket. I would be lost without it! joking joking

[isawasnake]

I've never had a smart phone, I've not had a mobile phone for six years. I was tied to mobile communication systems when I was back in the old country, always hated to have to be always available. If people want to talk to me, come and talk to me, if people call my home number when I am out, they will try again if it's important . If someone wants to order some products off me, then use the website that took ages to set up. I use facebook for friends and family both sharing pictures and stories.

So where are going to go this weekend to stare at your phone?

There are many people in society now who pretty much demand to be able to get a hold of you on a seconds notice. And when they can't, you have done some sort of wrong. It is terrible, I think the whole phone paradigm in the workplace needs to be drastically changed myself. If you want to get a hold of me anytime, you better damn well be fronting the bill for that service, along with purchasing a product to ergonomically attach the device to my work clothes. It isn't like that, but it should be. Life aint fair, woes me

Edited June 7, 2013 by isawasnake

[Ulic]

I have not set up voice mail or checked it in years. I guess I am a little anti social. I only like<br />to talk on the phone with family and a few close friends. In general I prefer e-mail and text.<br />So I do like the keyboard on my Blackberry. The norm now seams to be that if people can't get a<br />hold of you almost instantly they get upset. I explain that my cell phone is for my conveniencence not theirs.<br />As my parents are getting older I do have to be contactable around the world but you are giving up<br />a great deal of privacy in the modern world.

[poanoi]

I regret i bought a 'smartphone'

this so called 'smartphone' dont even last 2 pathetic days on standby before battery out

[Pib]

Today I attended a Thai wedding of a family member...the morning and evening sessions. At the morning session while people were eating I estimate around 35% of the attendees were playing with their smartphones the whole time...and I don't mean taking pictures I mean just playing with their phones and not interacting much with the people setting next to them at the table...I guess surfing the internet, playing games, sending SMSs were more important. Now come the night session I saw the same thing again. Some folks just play so much with their phones they tune themselves out of things going on around them. Sometimes I wonder if smartphones make a person more sociable or more anti-sociable....way too much staring & praying to the smartphone screen.

[Genericnic]

But I am slowly getting tired of it interrupting my life. I never thought it was an interruption, until yesterday. Other issues also crept in,

I think this is just one manifestation of getting older. I've seen this phenomenon with quite a few older friends, parents/relatives, siblings. Seems like a normal path for some? Maybe the mind just can't handle as much, or there is a need for simplicity?

Or maybe it is the realization that some of us get as we age that your time here is limited and it might be better spent having fun rather than looking at a screen. You never hear anyone on their deathbed saying "I wish I had spent just one more hour at the office." I doubt that you will hear anyone saying "I wish I had spend just a little more time on the internet" (or smartphone, etc.) either. Electronics are just tools. Do you carry a hammer around with you when you are not working?

David

Sez the guy looking at a screen and posting on the internet.

But yes, I'd agree that for most elderly retirees a smartphone is probably not necessary, and with failing vision and trembling fingers they can be challenging to use. So better to put down the smartphone, or give it to the wife, and get up from your computer screen and have fun during your limited time left.

Not even sure why anyone even needs a mobile phone? Who needs that newfangled interruption? Just wait until you get home to make a call? Heck, why even have a telephone, just wait to speak face-to-face.

True @lomatopo but I am doing it from a desktop, not a smartphone. And definitely not in the presence of someone that I am supposed to be spending time with.

David

[Somtamnication]

Not connecting to voice mail or fb does not make anyone anti-social.

Part of my income locally is doing onsite work on pcs. I cannot abandon it altogether.

One of the catalysts for my slight change in priority was eating at Pizza Co. with wife and son. On the other side was this idiot taking a picture of her pizza and uploading it to fb. Now, &lt;deleted&gt; would you want to post a pic of food (unless it is some exotic triceratops barbacoa tacos with pterodactyl wing tips and neanderthal teeth as grub chews)?

I had a business meeting at Tiny Coffee at Chao Fa Rd. West, daily for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. You cannot get the attention of any of the girls and the one katoey. Why? On fb! Everyone is looking down. They cannot see the client.

Seriously, now the battery on my phone lasts 4 days. No more urges to take pics on nonsensical daily life in Phuket.

Clients can still contact me urgently via the cell, otherwise wait till I get home to check emails.

I do miss swiftkey, however.

[nicoretteMan]

Funny take by Louis C.K.

http://youtu.be/zd2sRC3K9Hs