My Month Without a Smartphone

[Gingercus]

So because UPS lost it, was the replacement free? Totally worth 37 days in my opinion

 

[cliffordcooley]

You are either too old or you may need something that's apparently missing in your life

You must have misinterpreted this whole article.

You must have misinterpreted the post

I don't think so but whatever floats your boat. Growing up in a time before cellphones much less smartphones, I can say without doubt we are not missing anything. In fact it is the other way around, those keeping their nose stuck in the phone are the ones missing out on life around them. And to suggest that people need a smartphone on the pot when they may not spend enough time sitting on it to do anything is short-sighted. I'm sorry if you are so unfortunate and have plenty of time to read while doing your business, not everyone is that unfortunate.

 

[Kibaruk]

You are either too young or you may need a life since yours is apparently lost in a phone

People tend to speak on a phone, and not exactly by calling... so if I need a phone because I like to keep in touch with friends is a reason to get a life... then I don't know where we are going

 

[wiyosaya]

This reminds me of the metaphor in a Doctor Who episode from 2006 where the people of an alternate Earth London all wear earbuds and their brains a programmed by an evil corporation - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0562991/?ref_=ttep_ep6

 

[BlueDrake]

I've been around long enough to see smartphones take off, and still have almost no interest in them at all. I don't use much social media at all, since it's kinda just mostly more stress inducing anyways. It's just funny and also depressing, to see someone stuck with their nose to the screen.. to the point they ignore signals and more. If you're that addicted to your phone, you seriously should be taken to some sort of rehab.

To the story though it's interesting, to know the actual issues many people experience. Anyone commenting about the whole "phone from 2005" thing, really needs to understand not everyone needs to be connected 24/7 to Facebook, Twitter, etc. You're more engrossed with online activity, when you should be aware of your own surroundings.

I wonder how many you could trip, simply because they get so engrossed in their phone. Probably a lot and it would be a clear reminder, to stop being so worried about the small things. Actually be aware of other things, than something probably not even important at the moment. I'd imagine many would do it, to be a jerk simply because they can.

Better yet just have a sliding "wall" that you can move, see if those too busy to notice actually walk into it. If it happens enough, they might actually smarten up a bit. Then again I see smartphones often reducing attentiveness, and overall IQ at this rate when they can't stop to experience life.

 

[Shaunwgordon]

I read this as I had no idea that it was due to you dropping your phone however it was an entertaining read.

However the reason I read this is that recently I had a back op which was apparently a herniated disc, this the Dr's say is a result of "wear and tear"

I work in IT and sit for a good 12 hours a day and 3 hours a day in traffic so I blamed that - HOWEVER I read a recent article stating that looking at your cellphone puts 60 pounds of pressure on your neck and that is why so many people have back problems so I was reading this to see if I could be "Motivated" to dumb back down per say and rid my life of this device that controls my life however its not that easy.....

Thanks for an entertaining read though !!! Good Article!

PS (To give you an idea there are 5 neurosurgeons in my area where I live +- 10 suburbs - NONE of them take on new patients and ALL of them do roughly 4 ops a day!!! on people my age and younger - I am 36. This is a scary thought to think about in our century).

 

[Kibaruk]

@Shaunwgordon if you work in IT and spend all this time sitting... you should really have the "ergonomics" chat with someone. Having a lumbar support and good screen positioning and bla bla bla... yes, looking at your screen on a downwards position will put pressure on your neck, that is when looking up or straight at your phone comes in!

Ergonomics, it really works.

 

[Ascaris]

Spent my life without a smartphone...I figure they are like M&M's...just don't start

Smart phones... Not. Even. Once.

 

[yussef961]

Was good to read but leaving without a smartphone without a month was your fault entirely cause therr are basic phones less then 50 dollar with fb etc and don't tell me you didn't have that or you could have sold everything to get these 50 dollars.....

 

[Raoul Duke]

You are either too young or you may need a life since yours is apparently lost in a phone

People tend to speak on a phone, and not exactly by calling... so if I need a phone because I like to keep in touch with friends is a reason to get a life... then I don't know where we are going

sorry Kibaruk, even I can't figure out what I was trying to say, one of those posts I wish I could recall/withdraw/cancel, but by the time I read it again it was too late to delete I figured cause it was up so long

 

[Julian Maples]

Very good article. I just did the same thing dropped it for the 14th time and this time the concrete cracked the glass. Opened the desktop and made an appointment to take to the shop just before lunch. Dropped it in and went to have lunch. Had to eat in a place not blessed by Trip Advisor. Unable to tell TA what I thought of it. Collected mended phone after lunch and went home. Guess what brand the phone is....

 

[lazer]

Although I enjoyed very much the article, I also felt real pain for the author. It is not just because of the traumatic experience of breaking a brand new expensive beloved device but the heart break of dealing with crappy service from Samsung - I would have hoped for better.

But I also love my Samsung 4 smartphone but when ever I go to the beach, which is often, I have a cheap smartphone that I take instead so that if it is stolen or ruined, I am not out much.

BTW, I have hearing problems and noticed that when people speak to me via phones, if they are using cheap phones, their voices come over terribly distorted, but if they use good (not great) phones, their voice sounds better.

 

[Chall99]

Ive not owned a phone of any type for over 2 years. Life is easy . Alot easier and peaceful without a nuisance buzzing phone , Demanding me too look at it and answer it all the time, People dont accept this behavior from other sentiment beings but are willing to take it from a phone, its madness.

 

[batsdude]

Great article, but I don't commiserate at all. I had one for a month and tossed it. I prefer my phone for phone calls (remember when that was what they were for?) and I'm not a fan of talking on them either. I hate "social" nonsense ('..going shopping!'; baby pix; etc.-yawn) which, really, is about what they are for, so I really don't want one at all. The subscription costs are just plain ridiculous.

 

[alansmith]

I've got just as much frustration with my first smartphone after years of a Nokia phone with Symbian. The manual is so short that it's useless, can't get my contacts or diary easily and properly imported- there is a utility that looks promising but the high cost is unjustifiable for the one time use that a private user will make of it. When you install 'free' applications you get hit with an unbelievable array of ads - some are very distracting, and frequently interrupt things. I've missed calls because one accessory I tried (and now binned) stopped them from ringing. I'm annoyed by system disturbing me at all kinds of times and can't seem to easily shut them off (preferable) without affecting other things or mute them again without affecting other things. Battery life is nothing short of disgusting following 5 - 7 days with 2 SIMs in my Nokia and 10 days with 1 SIM- only a day. The phone is thin at under 10 mm but why not be sensible and make them thicker with larger batteries to give 3 days of use?
And more...... No doubt I'll get used to it- but SMART? STUPIDPHONE seems nearer to reality.

 

[Phr3d]

Thanks for Many laughs, Rob - the humor-challenged among the responders may have missed the worthy hyperbole.
What -wasn't- hyperbole was the all-too-common service experience, for me, deja' vu all over again.

the sebben was my top-o-the-list for our family this christmas (carefully reading the pros/cons, take advantage of 'sales', you know the drill). Congrats, Sammy-sung.. you hadda' deliver a memorably bad experience to a humorous writer. I expected something different that I would gloss-over (gave up my phone for Lent) and wound up reading the entire thing, laughing and nodding throughout.
No sebben for me, Thanks.

 

[alansmith]

Full featured backup device.

Have one.

Problem solved.

I guess so, IF the full features include the ability to make phone calls, read messages etc.
It wouldn't help- it's a phone he clearly wanted NOT the data, with a backup of data he still would have gone over a month without being able to use the backup.

 

[Kibaruk]

I guess so, IF the full features include the ability to make phone calls, read messages etc.
It wouldn't help- it's a phone he clearly wanted NOT the data, with a backup of data he still would have gone over a month without being able to use the backup.

Where did you read full software backup? The first line states that he has a full featured backup DEVICE. To fight for the sake of it...

 

[Greg Cox]

I just came off a 3 year abstinence from smartphones about 10 days ago. At the time I embarked upon my sabbatical (stemming from AT&T throttling my "unlimited" data package at 3GB in it's third year), I was using a 1st gen Motrola Atrix with the Webtop OS replaced with a standard Ubuntu (pre-Unity) environment running off the HDMI.

When I recently scrutinized my current options, I was less than impressed in where the market has gone in three years. Cameras have clearly made some great strides, but I see nothing of note being done with the increased processing power of newer phones other than adding a ton of screen cluttering widgets.

It does seem the low end / off contract market has made impressive gains in the balance of price performance. Rather than throw money at any of the flagships, I was compelled to grab a second gen Moto-E LTE (Surnia) as a prepaid option and intend to throw CM13 on it once the smoke settles.

 

[CortyDK]

Nice article. Just read it because Techspot has bumped it to the top of their featured articles. Very colourfully and vivid description.

A perfect analogy for our current state of society. Imagine if anyone just 10 years ago would talk about "Smartphone addiction". I can see here at my workplace, most of my colleagues cannot keep their eyes from their smartphone, lighting up every 2-3 minuts just to tell them they've recieved a "like", someone the follow has posted a comment, or even just recieving a weather-update.

Yes, I too have a smartphone, a Huawei G620S. And yes, I use apps. But, my phone is not connected to the internet constantly, I have no urge to recieve everything the instant it arrives. And no social media for me. No thanks. Emails work just fine.

Just have a look at all those smartphone-zombies who now roam the landscape desperately trying to catch their next Pokemon. Just read that people are getting killed in traffic accidents because they spend more time looking at their phone catching Pokemon's than driving their car (or even watching where they are walking). That is an addiction, and that is dangerous.

Seriously, do people actually believe they need the latest model smartphone to sustain life? Everytime a new Samsung or Apple phone is released to the market, people are queing for days. I have yet to undertand why - all I can call it is an addiction - it's the next fix.

So it is a good thing trying to live without a smartphone (or at least its online-functions). I know several people who has got a whole new perspective on their own life after being without smartphone or just internet access for a prolonged time.

 

[Scrambler92]

Spent my life without a smartphone...I figure they are like M&M's...just don't start

Couldn't agree more. Never used one and have no interest in starting now.

 

[Kibaruk]

Couldn't agree more. Never used one and have no interest in starting now.

Don't! Now it's like... how I lived all the rest of my life without one. I won't say how convenient they are... don't if you don't need to lol.

 

[Alex Voinica]

You have been quite through an adventure !
I remember when I first read the article, I truly felt sorry for you. It's good to hear that 200+days later the phone works properly and you still love it !
I was also tempted to replace my Note 4 with the S7, but I was afraid I would miss the S Pen and Note 7 was on the way.
Oh well, since Note 7 is gone and S8 will be launched in a few months I think it will be worth the wait.

 

[Humza]

Cool article. Living on the edge I see.
*pardon the pun*

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I hope that'll teach ya to put it into a case, but, probably not. Millions of people have to get burned on the same spot several times before they learn their lessons, if ever. No matter how beautiful it is, no mobile device should be used permanently without some kind of case protection... and it far cheaper than wasting your bucks on some kind of damage protection insurance scam that you don't need.