On Sun, 15 Sep 2013 06:10:24 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sat, 14 Sep 2013 21:47:37 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:
On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 20:06:18 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:
So for you guys with smartphones, what all do you use yours for? What
are the benefits of switching from a landline to a cell? I still hate
cell because 90% of all cell calls (in my experience) have voice
dropouts and/or hangups. Old tech, new tech, digital, it's all the
same weak platform. It doesn't seem to matter which carrier they
have, either. AT&T, Sprint, Tmobile, USCellular are all guilty.
I have Sprint..and have very very few problems with voice calls, data
connections etc etc. The only issue I have with my smartphone is a
lack of onboard memory. Its only got 4 Gigs of onboard and an 8gig
chip. This particularl phone doesnt like running programs from the
storage chip, my last one did just fine. So I can only run 10-15
programs at the same time..not counting the housekeeping Stuff that
the phone operates with/on.
What programs do you run? (Other than games, which I don't partake in
at all.) I'm trying to figure out if a smartphone would
satisfactorily replace my land line, and what the cost differences
are, and what potential benefits would be. Security for lost phones
is another area I haven't really delved into.
I run several reloading and shooting programs. I run Yahoo, Google and
Hotmail. I run several photo programs that allow me to modify photos
Ive taken with the 6mp camera.
I run a Craigslist search program, Ebays app, Facebooks app, several
GPS and travel apps, 2 music players (I keep 3 gigs of music on the
external card), 2 book readers, my Wells Fargo banking app, a Youtube
app, and a number of utility apps, such as machining, WIFI hacking, a
movie app called Chuckle (works nicely when I sleep in my truck) and
so forth and so on.
I have a Sprint Victory smartphone and it works quite nicely for me.
It seems that most people who like their phones (at least those with
whom I've talked) are using Sprint.
There are a number of cross platform phones. My phone is available
with several companies.
And Ive had cell phones since the early 1990s
Some Areas..are better than others of course. In So California..we
have towers everywhere.
My sister in NorCal is my most frequent cell phone caller. I believe
they have a ton of towers in the San Fran East Bay area, too, but she
cuts out on almost every call, at least for a few seconds. That's why
I still feel that cellular isn't yet ready for prime-time. (I know, a
billion people can't be wrong, huh? 
Some places are better than others. If I get a fuzzy call or drop
out, hummm 2x a month..Id be surprised.
There are 2 places that I travel that calls WILL disconnect. One is
on the 210 Freeway at La Tuna Canyon..the other is at the off ramp for
Pyramid Lake up on the Grapevine. Those are the only two Ive found.
So I let the caller know whats going to happen before I get there and
we call each other back in less than 1 minute.
And as you know..Im deep in machine shops and factories all over So
Cal. Few if any issues. I do have a couple thin spots between I5 and
Taft, when traveling on 166...but...its a 27 mile, straight as an
arrow road with moderate traffic out in the desert, and no one seems
to ever call me while Im on it.
I will say..that the smart phones do not have an external antenna and
that does reduce their ability to connect in thin areas. Having had a
number of phones with good antennas (Nextel is quite good for
those..but they have merged with Sprint)..I have noticed this. On the
other hand..the reduced range is less than one would think and one
simply takes the good with the less than good.
If you get a smart phone...be sure..do this without fail..to install a
GOOD external case on your phone. Otterbox is good, and there are
literally hundreds of other good ones on Ebay. Walmart and the
discount houses sell them..and always for much less than the carriers
like Sprint sell them for.
Such as this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carbon-Fiber...-/290978031941
Buy a couple if you buy one with a belt clip. Ive busted most of the
belt clips on external cases over the years.
Dont waste your time with the poly/rubber cases that are a couple
bucks. They simply dont do much. My current case has an airgap around
the phone and is lined with rubber of some sort, so if/when it falls
on the concrete..it doesnt smash the phone.
The Otterbox Defender cases are damned good, but you will pay up to
$40 for one. I do recommend them, among others.
I also have found little or no need for "display film" used to protect
the screen. That high tech glass...is incredibly tough stuff and will
take a ****load of work just to scratch it. Just make sure that
whatever hard shell case you purchase..keeps the entire phone inset
into the case..so if you drop it on the face..it simply hits the rim
of the case and bounces.
They have been making the cell phones thinner and thinner..and they
are now so ****ing thin that its uncomfortable to hold. Its like
holding a playing card next to your face. So any hard case that adds
some bulk to the phone...for me..is a very good thing.
http://www.otterbox.com/armor-series...efault,pg.html
My favorite case....
http://www.otterbox.com/defender-ser...efault,pg.html
My wife and DIL have that case..and it simply..works.
Gunner
"The socialist movement takes great pains to circulate frequently new labels for its ideally constructed state.
Each worn-out label is replaced by another which raises hopes of an ultimate solution of the insoluble basic
problem of Socialism, until it becomes obvious that nothing has been changed but the name.
The most recent slogan is "State Capitalism."[Fascism] It is not commonly realized that this covers nothing more
than what used to be called Planned Economy and State Socialism, and that State Capitalism, Planned Economy,
and State Socialism diverge only in non-essentials from the "classic" ideal of egalitarian Socialism. - Ludwig von Mises (1922)