Just want a phone for very urgent or emergency calls, why would anyone want anything else?
Had a couple of texts and couldn't make any sense of the strange lingo and recently came across a message someone left for me last year

Great for cases such as if you break down in the car or medical emergency, but my idea of hell being contactable at all hours.

Had a mobile from the early analogue days, got changed to digital and still got the same contract with o2.
For some strange reason they give me 100 quid a year to stay with them and the bill including rental is never more than 9 quid a month.

Sure these are wonderous devices and quite fond of mp3 players and digital cameras, but they don't interfere with my privacy or non-working hours

why would anyone want anything else?

because they aren't you.

it's a iphone it's american only yanks like them cos they cant use proper phones lol

I was doubtful about them, I played with some friends iPhones and thought yeah they're cool but are they really for me. When my contract ended it was cheaper for me to get an iPhone than I had been paying so went for it.

It's amazing, I use it to surf when not sat at my desktop, I connect to websites blocked at work, it holds info handy for me at work, it has all my shifts until 2012 on it, it holds music and interfaces with the car, it's a cracking GPS, it has a OS mapping software on it at 1:25,000 scale, I can pick up my emails when out and about, I can laugh at Mark being grumpy, it has so many handy apps, I can play Monopoly when chilling at work and apparently it's also a phone.

Just want a phone for very urgent or
emergency calls, why would anyone want
anything else?

Then you clearly don't want any kind of clever mobile.

But just because you only use your PC to type out the church newsletter doesn't mean that other people using them to go on the internet, send email, video conference etc etc are wasting their money, misguided or "wrong".

I'm clearly ignorant of what these things do

anything else you don't know anything about that you want to have a go at? we won't laugh…

Didn't say anyone was wrong, just not sure what people use them for or why you want to be contactable so much

And what's with the church bit, very strange comment and possibly offensive if I was indeed a christian or of some other religious persuasion
Bit like saying you only use a "clever mobile" to access gay porn

I was proved wrong….no need to be a dick.

People complaining about people with iPhones are starting to get more irritating than the people with iPhones who constantly fiddle with them.

very strange comment and possibly offensive

But not really

Bit like saying you only use a "clever mobile" to access gay porn

Some people do that very thing, they're very clever these phones

Bit like saying you only use a "clever mobile" to access gay porn

Why would that be wrong?

Anyway clearly the iPhone is not for you but remember surfing gay porn whilst at church typing the news letter may be frowned up on.

Didn't say anyone was wrong, just not sure
what people use them for or why you want to
be contactable so much

Okay see that sounds like you're saying people are wrong for wanting to be contacted so much.

Some folk have families, friends, jobs and social lives that mean being contactable is a desirable thing. Hence the popularity of these new fangled cellular telephonic contraptions.

If they only figure in your world as emergency distress beacons then that's fine and is something you have in common with my dad.

And what's with the church bit, very strange
comment and possibly offensive

It's a metaphor. Not sure why you find it offensive. That was not my intent, feel free to mentally replace it with "balance your accounts" or "play minesweeper" if you prefer.

The point was that if you only used your PC for one thing (which you obviously don't since you are here) then you would likewise be mystified why people "waste" money in graphics cards, web cams, internet connections etc.

Touchy tonight boys aren't you? 😉

If they only figure in your world as emergency distress beacons then that's fine and is something you have in common with my dad

More than likely nearer his age than yours so might explain my thinking and never mentioned wasting money. So many things come in that category and what people do with their cash is entirely up to them

I am just surprised that with the amount of stress you read about these days that people don't want to have a bit of peace and quiet away from it all

What's the point of going out on your bike to stop and make/receive phone calls which I have seen happen numerous times.
Time and place for everything and whilst not accusing anyone here, using them when driving is downright dangerous and surprising to many it seems illegal too

What's the point of going out on your bike to stop and make/receive phone calls which I have seen happen numerous times

Heaven forbid that people should make their own mind up about what to do with their time, eh?

+1 for c_g. And that will annoy someone now, too!

What's the point of going out on your bike to stop and make/receive phone calls

or alternatively, just ignoring it…Works for me.

Heaven forbid that people should make their own mind up about what to do with their time, eh?

Just seems something of an anathema to me, also seems I am in a small minority who doesn't want to be contactable these days

That sentiment could also be applied to those who use them when driving and yes that does bother me quite a bit

Mr Taxi, you seem to be under the mistaken belief that those of us who have and use smartphones like the iPhone or the Android equivalents spend hours in contact with people just because we have a swanky phone. You couldn't be further from the truth. Most of my phone calls last around a minute, and involve making sure who's driving to the pub, or checking what time to pick a mate up for a gig. I actually receive approximately one call every couple of months. I get a few texts, but not huge numbers. What you have to understand is that the iPhone name is there to get the device into outlets that would never, ever have sold it in any numbers if they had called it a PDA, like Palm and others tried to do for years. It's a Pocket Computer, with a phone added to allow always on Internet access, oh, and phone calls sometimes. Having Ordnance Survey maps, tide tables, top notch weather forecasting, turn-by-turn GPS, dozens of ebooks and several thousand songs in something that fits comfortably in a shirt pocket is a wonderful use of modern technology, and I wouldn't be without it.

I have taken the mickey out of various folk who like iPhones, but I have to agree wholeheartedly with the above. Moving from a text and talk phone to what is basically a little computer desktop is a pretty big leap, and until you have, its difficult to get across how useful they actually are.

Think we will have to agree to disagree on this one, reckon i'm just too old to enjoy the undoubted pleasures of an iphone
To be really honest I couldn't even see the screen properly without putting my specs on, so would be a total waste of money in my case

Daresay people wondered why I wanted a Sony Walkman to deafen myself with heavy metal, didn't realise I had got so out of touch

Do feel strongly about the driving business though and surely that needs addressing, recipe for disaster and no worse/better than driving under the influence

More than likely nearer his age than yours so
might explain my thinking and never
mentioned wasting money. So many things
come in that category and what people do with
their cash is entirely up to them

He's in his 60s. I'm 35.

He keeps his phone off so he can use it in an emergency. I asked him what happens if someone else had an emergency and needs to contact him, but that didn't seem to compute.

"wasting money" was just intended as shorthand for "buying something that you do not understand the need for or the benefit of owning".

I am just surprised that with the amount of
stress you read about these days that people
don't want to have a bit of peace and quiet
away from it all

I don't find receiving phone calls particularly stressful. Why would I?
I do however get stressed if I forget my phone and I'm left uncontactable, particularly as I have a young baby and a mum that's already had two heart attacks.

Again that might be a generational thing as well. I'm old enough to remember the world without mobiles, but young enough to think they improved things.

I'm in my fifties and mine stays switched off most of the time too

Sometimes my missus reminds me to turn it on, but only got one because she wanted it when she took our daughter out on her own many years ago

It does still seem strange to see people contact each other so much and struggle to see what has changed so much. Loads of people didn't even have a phone at home when I was a kid

I am not keen on this rather sneering attitude that is coming across tonight. 🙁

What I may respectfully suggest is that us non-believers feel that perhaps some sense of perspective and reality is needed in this gadget-fest world that we inhabit.

I am not anti-gadgets per se, gosh I got my first gps around 10 years ago. It's more a case of knowing when and where to use them instead of boys needing their willy-waving fix.

I travel on business and it's nice to surf what I want , our access is locked down and logged ! Also to have a good music and video player for flights and maps when I'm lost , did I also mention re booking cars and hotels on the move !

I was anti I phone but the more I tried one the more I liked it
Try one

TT, I'm fifty six next month, so it's not an age thing. My late dad was in engineering and I was brought up to appreciate quality equipment, no matter what it was: a car, a motorbike, a pair of binoculars…
I'm not trying to be sneering or critical per se, just trying to get across just how useful such a devise can be in many little unexpected ways.

Taxi: so, touch wood, wouldn't you be gutted if something nasty happened to one of your loved ones and you were uncontactable for the weekend because you were out somewhere?

I ask because my mum had her first heart attack when I was in the middle of the Oz outback and about as far from mobile reception as I could get. And it was not a nice feeling to find out she'd been at deaths door for several days while I was obliviously pissing about.

c_g: I hope I'm not coming across as sneering.

OK, it's impossible to cover every eventuality in this world.

I will shortly be going on holiday, on my own, for a week. I'll be riding in remote areas and nobody will know where I am. Even my adult kids don't know exactly where I'll be. No signal where I'm staying but will get one some of the time when out on the hills.

The point I'm making is that I don't want to be contacted – too much stress at home to get away from – is that so wrong?

I will however be taking my mp3 player for evening entertainment. 8)

Ok, just thought of an example. I'm a huge music fan, and I have no access to a computer at work. Last week I had an email on my phone from Laura Marling's website detailing several special shows. One is tomorrow night, a pre-Glastonbury warm-up at Moles Club in Bath, a 400 capacity venue. I last saw her a couple of months ago at the Colston Hall in Bristol, capacity 2500. I was able to immediately click on the tickets button, and buy two tickets, within five minutes. By the time I got home they would have probably sold out, and in fact I would have almost certainly missed the email because my laptop isn't left out and connected, I don't have space for a permanently on computer. It's those little things that make a difference to me, I've missed out on many great concerts because I didn't see an email until a couple of days after the tickets sold out. People spend hours poking away at cheap dumb phones. Don't dismiss out of hand the usefulness of a clever little devise like an iPhone or one of the Androids. Just being able to scroll through a library of fifty or sixty books while sat in a coffee shop having lunch today and picking out a book by Cory Doctorow that I recently downloaded for free makes it worthwhile having in my pocket. 8)

I appreciate what you are saying Count and certainly they do have their uses. I guess my way of thinking these days is a need to simplify – there's far too much choice in everything. Of course that's rich coming from a serial bike tart. 🙄

Going back to music though, I could never imagine dispensing with my CD's and just having everything on an mp3/phone device. Music has to be listened via a hifi system, on a comfy sofa, although I'm too poor to afford Naim!

As for books … well, I dispensed with my collection (used to work for a publisher) but am gradually building up another. Again, couldn't part with those either.

I do however have mapping software so I guess that could be classified as slightly geeky. 🙄 But also a paper collection that provides endless hours of planning/brain-storming.

c_g: no absolutely nothing wrong with dropping off the grid for a few days if it helos you chill.

But as you'll understand, my experience means I'm less stressed when I am contactable. And to be honest, I don't get stressed by calls from family or friends anyway.

Anyway this has turned into more of a debate about having a mobile than having a smartphone/iphone.

To answer the OP: yes you are missing something. It may or may not be something you like. Try it and see?

Music has to be listened via a hifi system, on a comfy sofa

[cough]bullshit[/cough]

there was me thinking i could listen to music in the car, the office, while I run, while cooking.

damn, how could I have been so wrong all these years?

Graham – yes, I can certainly appreciate your experience hence your relaxed attitude to phone calls. The debate has certainly taken a different direction!

iDave – there's music and there's background muzak 🙄 I do get rather serious about it!

smug and anal doesn't mean you're more serious about music than someone who wants to listen to something away from a sofa – wtf has 'background muzak' got to do with the location?

Youse calling me 'smug and anal'? Blimey, that's a first!

Background muzak intimates that a glass of wine and comfy sofa will not be in the equation. 😉

it's a iphone it's american only yanks like them cos they cant use proper phones lol

lol indeed.
🙄

I agree with you! I have no desire to worship at the altar of Apple at all.

Nothing to do with "worshiping" my dear… I don't buy into any kind of brand loyalty, I buy products I like that I think are good. The iPhone is one of them, the iPad I think of as a ridiculously overpriced non-mobile iPhone without the added bonus of being a phone too (so in other words, totally pointless and a bit crap!). I'd take a Samsung or Dell netbook over an iPad any day of the week!

The point I'm making is that I don't want to be contacted – too much stress at home to get away from – is that so wrong?

Last time I checked, my iPhone had an on/off button! 😉

You get my point? Sometimes we don't want to be contacted, and that's fine… I get like that occassionally (usually on holiday), so will just switch my phone off. The rest of the time, I really appreciate my iPhone for what it does for me, and like others have said, it's much more of a pocket computer with the added bonus of also being able to make calls on it. I should also add that in no way, shape or form, am I the kind of person that feels the need to go around showing everyone my phone and telling them how it has "changed my life". In fact, I don't ever say anything about it unless someone asks!

Going back to music though, I could never imagine dispensing with my CD's and just having everything on an mp3/phone device. Music has to be listened via a hifi system, on a comfy sofa, although I'm too poor to afford Naim!

I agree with you there, although as you can probably appreciate, sometimes it's nice just to have a few of your favourite tunes to listen to with you wherever you are, even if you can only listen on some cheapo in ear phones. I barely use mine for it's iPod facility, but on a couple of occasions it has stemmed the onset of boredom when I've had a while to wait for something. I've even been known to plug my iPhone into the input on my car USB input and play off the iPhone through the car audio system too! 😉

People complaining about people with iPhones are starting to get more irritating than the people with iPhones who constantly fiddle with them.

Totally! Possibly even as annoying as the people that constantly bang on about how "life changing" they are in public! It's a phone… It is a pretty good phone, that does all sorts of useful things that a computer does as well whilst living in your pocket, but it isn't life changing…

That sentiment could also be applied to those who use them when driving and yes that does bother me quite a bit

Completely different situation. Phoning while driving is illegal and dangerous. Taking a call from your mum when you're out on your bike is neither.

Oh sweet baby Jesus! It's still going!

Having slept on it i can safely say i would like to try an iPhone.

However, they are still to expensive second-hand. I cannot justify/afford one right now thats for sure. The trouble is i'm not on a contract, i pay-as-you go at £10 month which i actually only do every 5/6 weeks! Perhaps other smartphones are cheaper? I like the idea of having something that i can use as GPS, listen to music on (mostly in the car), go online and still makes calls/texts etc. Actually, being able to take a photo whilst on a ride and email it to my parents would be nice too.

See…i'm coming round 😀

Nick: the HTC Android-based phones are a bit cheaper: "HTC Desire" is very popular at the moment and plenty of people on here will tell you they think it is better than the iPhone.