Android - does it give you an unfair advantage?

[AndroidSPCS]

I am so in love with Android and being connected all the time.

Just the other day I was at a store, wanting to buy something, but before I did, I used the barcode scanner to compare prices instantly.

Then I was wondering about some random topic, used my Google search, and instantly found my answer. People are amazed how much stuff I know, without realizing I have google in my pocket.

I feel sorry for people stuck on dumb phones, without data. It's like they're living on a disconnected world while we're able to ferret out information anytime we like. It's almost like we have an unfair advantage over them.

Now I'm trying to convince some friends who are stuck with dumb phones to upgrade. Their attitude is like "my phone works fine, I can call people and they can call / text me, what do I need internet for?"

Sigh, if only they knew...

 

[mjschmidt]

Reminds me of an episode of Outer Limits (or was it the new Twilight Zone?) where society in the future has progressed to the point where everyone has a brain implant that keeps them constantly connected to everyone else, and the main computer and all the data in the world.

There is one man whose brain is incapable of accepting the implant, so he is not connected. He is considered inferior by everyone else just because he can't be connected all the time, and because he still gets his information from these strange old things called "books".

Can't remember how that ended, but of course it had something to do with his being the only one who could do/survive something because he wasn't connected.

 

[lekky]

Today I left hte house and forgot to take my Hero with me. Maan it was weird, i was disconnected, lost and light-headed trying to navigate myself to a Starbucks and figure out if Batman game was worth my money. Never again!

 

[ajuarbe]

I use to be one of the unenlightened. I thought I would never use those dumb pda phones. I just need a regular phone like a real man. Boy was I a moron! Once you switch to a smart phone you can never go back. Any info I need I can pull up, I have a personal assistant in my pocket and its salary is the price of my phone plan.

 

[UncleMike]

I use to be one of the unenlightened. I thought I would never use those dumb pda phones. I just need a regular phone like a real man. Boy was I a moron! Once you switch to a smart phone you can never go back. Any info I need I can pull up, I have a personal assistant in my pocket and its salary is the price of my phone plan.

I came to my Droid from a not-so-dumb clamshell on Sprint. Prior to that I had a Blackberry Curve on Verizon. Prior to that, an also-not-so-dumb clamshell on Nextel. While on Nextel, I tried a Palm 700wx on Sprint.

I dumped the palm within the 30 day trial - I couldn't stand it. When I switched to a Blackberry, I convinced myself to give it more than 30 days and REALLY try to get used to it. After 7 months I gave up and went back to a clamshell. Although my switch to the Droid and Verizon was prompted by me getting booted from Sprint for excessive roaming, after almost 3 weeks with the Droid, I can say I have no reservations about the switch, and wouldn't go back if I could.

So, I'll agree that once you switch to the right smartphone, you'll never go back. I just wish Motorola would make an Android phone with Nextel-like durability.

 

[ajuarbe]

So, I'll agree that once you switch to the right smartphone, you'll never go back. I just wish Motorola would make an Android phone with Nextel-like durability.

I agree it has to be the right phone for the right person. I was mainly referring to the ability to use your phone as a PDA and a phone. Different strokes for different folks as far as which smart phone.

 

[UncleMike]

I agree it has to be the right phone for the right person. I was mainly referring to the ability to use your phone as a PDA and a phone. Different strokes for different folks as far as which smart phone.

Until I came across the right device (for me), I didn't "get it", and found it very easy (and preferable) to go back. I can understand people who don't "get it". Of the 9 people in my extended family (including in-laws), I'm the only one with a smartphone. My mother, brother and sister are on the cheapest post-paid plans they can find, and hardly use their phones. My brothers-in-law are all on pre-paid with thousands of minutes built up because they rarely use their cell phones. And my wife's parents don't have a cell phone, or even an answering machine connected to their basic POTS-with-message-units home phone.

My wife will more often than not, not answer her cell phone, usually because she leaves it on vibrate in her purse. So I really thought it was funny the other day in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office to see two moms, each with big-ass purses on their laps, and their Blackberries and car keys in their hands - as if awaiting some urgent communication that would trigger them to spring into action.

 

[mjschmidt]

OMG! My wife drives me crazy not answering her cell phone. It's always on vibrate, or at least that's her excuse. I have suggested repeatedly that she get a smart phone to help her with organization, but like UncleMike mentioned, she's one of those people who doesn't really "get" it. Occassionally she'll pick up my phone and ask me simple questions like "What do I do now?" I even offered to let her play with my old Palm TX for a while to see if it would be useful to her, but there's just no spark.

Sigh.

 

[lekky]

smartphones are overkill for lots of people, if they don't use a computer much i doubt they will benefit from a smartphone, probably even worse as it will be so complicated they will never bother to take it out with them

 

[dmodert66]

smartphones are overkill for lots of people, if they don't use a computer much i doubt they will benefit from a smartphone, probably even worse as it will be so complicated they will never bother to take it out with them

Myself and my brother both got the Droid (well, I got the Eris first...long story)...

ME : Computer fanatic since Commodore Vic 20. Currently have 1 workstation, 1 gaming pc, 1 laptop. I was about to buy a netbook until I got an Android phone. I now have no desire for one...I've only had a smart phone for a few weeks (between the Eris and Droid) and I can NEVER go back.

BROTHER : Computer ignorant (knows basics, but barely uses it). Has 0 pcs. Got the Droid, and found a whole new world. He loves the phone, the apps...Everything...

I think everyone from hardcore PC users all the way down to nearly computer illiterate can find extreme usefulness in an Android phone...I get what you are saying though...

 

[Josh0187]

I love my Droid.

Best purchase I have made in a LOOOOONG time.

 

[hrbib21]

I use to be one of the unenlightened. I thought I would never use those dumb pda phones. I just need a regular phone like a real man. Boy was I a moron! Once you switch to a smart phone you can never go back. Any info I need I can pull up, I have a personal assistant in my pocket and its salary is the price of my phone plan.

I agree with the "I'm a real man, I only use a regular phone" idea. I play softball, box, work on my truck, and on and on but you know what? Now that I've had my first smartphone for a whole week, I can honestly say there's no way I could go back to a "dumb" phone. It's not a matter of being a man, it's about using technology to your advantage.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

My Android phone is so useful every day.

Today I used it to compare prices while shopping, look up product reviews.

Then we decided to go to a show, and I looked up the info on my Android phone, made reservations, and got directions.

Then I used it to find a few restaurants to eat at, made reservations, found one I wanted to go to had a 2.5 hour wait, so went to another place. It saved me so much time and work, it is amazing.

Can't live without Android phone!

 

[nateo200]

While I just got my droid I am ready in love with tge connectity! I mean I leavmy house it hands off to 3G and my break room at work sits a few hundred feet from huge cell tower (aways get 2+ mb/s perfect for YouTube).

 

[ebdozit]

Reminds me of an episode of Outer Limits (or was it the new Twilight Zone?) where society in the future has progressed to the point where everyone has a brain implant that keeps them constantly connected to everyone else, and the main computer and all the data in the world.

There is one man whose brain is incapable of accepting the implant, so he is not connected. He is considered inferior by everyone else just because he can't be connected all the time, and because he still gets his information from these strange old things called "books".

Can't remember how that ended, but of course it had something to do with his being the only one who could do/survive something because he wasn't connected.

I want to hear more about the ending. The ending sounded like the most important part. Makes me want to get diconnected now.

 

[ari-free]

it was called Stream of Consciousness (Outer Limits)

 

[hrbib21]

This really is the time of year to have a phone like this. To be in a store like Best Buy or wherever and be unsure of a price and then to be able to scan a bar code and find it cheaper elsewhere, thereby saving you money....how did I ever live without this? I can't remember my pre-Android life...

 

[nateo200]

This really is the time of year to have a phone like this. To be in a store like Best Buy or wherever and be unsure of a price and then to be able to scan a bar code and find it cheaper elsewhere, thereby saving you money....how did I ever live without this? I can't remember my pre-Android life...

Agreed. I waited a while to get a smart phone knowing the android based ones would be full of win but without my droid it was a pain trying to find wifi, have it have a password, or in a nerdy way ask "whats the password to your wifi?" when I needed to look something up with my ipod touch....

 

[mjschmidt]

it was called Stream of Consciousness (Outer Limits)

Thanks, Ari-Free! Now I want to find this episode again to watch.

THE OUTER LIMITS - STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]In a world where neural implants allow everyone instant access to information, Ryan Unger (GEORGE NEWBERN) is a throwback, a moron. Because of a brain injury he suffered as a child, he's unable to tap into the Stream -- an electronic collection of all human knowledge -- so he struggles in vain to keep up by reading books, a primitive and forgotten art. But, when a virus in the Stream starts killing people by overloading their brains with data, only Ryan has the skills and independence to stop it.
Can a primitive human, relying only on books and his own brain, save a world of machine-made geniuses from self-destruction or will the Stream wash over all of them?[/FONT]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN25...3FF91C56&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=28

I think you can find it on YouTube if you search for it.

 

[mrqs]

a couple of days ago i was at my mom's birthday party (60) and some of us were about to play a board game when we noticed we were missing a dice - if it wasn't for a quick market search on my android we couldn't have played the game

granted it is pretty pricey for a dice

 

[IOWA]

I am so in love with Android and being connected all the time.

Just the other day I was at a store, wanting to buy something, but before I did, I used the barcode scanner to compare prices instantly.

Then I was wondering about some random topic, used my Google search, and instantly found my answer. People are amazed how much stuff I know, without realizing I have google in my pocket.

I feel sorry for people stuck on dumb phones, without data. It's like they're living on a disconnected world while we're able to ferret out information anytime we like. It's almost like we have an unfair advantage over them.

Now I'm trying to convince some friends who are stuck with dumb phones to upgrade. Their attitude is like "my phone works fine, I can call people and they can call / text me, what do I need internet for?"

Hell I've been doing that for years, years before android, years before all that crap. Just without the bar code scanner lol. You know you can type in the bar code number onto Google and yield the same result? Or type the product name in? LOL. Anyway I remember doing this as far back as my sanyo 8300 in 2003/2004 before the mobile web became popular.

 

[jasond]

I continually am in awe of the power of the
Android, unfortunately my wife can think of nothing but the IPhone, if only she knew. what the Droid could do for her. In the meantime she'll stick with the Palm Centro.

Jason

 

[takeshi]

Android - does it give you an unfair advantage?

Nope. Other people are just as capable of doing the research and deciding if they need/want such a device.

 

[BiGMERF]

most do not want to pay the 30-40 a month for the data plan.. i do not blame them

 

[petersenjp]

Wow, where to begin with this. Well, I came over from Crackberry with my sprint pearl. Ya, it was ok for my first smartphone, but the keyboard stopped working, and I was so tired of the memory leaks and battery pulls. So here I am...with my sprint hero, and couldn't be happier. This phone is amazing.

Next, my wife. Coming from a flip phone, finally she joined in on the fun and got a hero too. Now, she couldn't imagine her life with out it.

Finally, my mom...She hardly ever uses a computer and had a flip phone, and now, she uses her Moment for everything. Searching the internet, messaging, she is becoming a pro.

I dont care what people say, Android is super easy to learn, and can adapt to anyone!!!!