Pete 75C Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 25 minutes ago, Torper said: Do you all really need one? Yes. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT Yes 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dave Hunt Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT Looks like I'm the only other person in these parts to agree. I have a mobile 'phone but all it does is make 'phone calls and texts; doesn't even have a camera let alone apps. It's a little Nokia pay as you go Vodaphone, I've had it about fifteen years and apart from the screen being a bit scratched never had a problem. Dave 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT Although they can be a PITA they are rather useful. At work now very few products come with a spec sheet so you're expected to look it up online when you come to fit it, also having the ability to take a pic and email it to discuss a problem is rather handy and there are also some rather good tools on them such as calculators etc. I don't do Facebook/instagram etc as I find the phone is a tool to use, rather than me being a slave to it. My phone (iphone something) is purchased and I use a sim from Vodafone which was originally a contract which I converted to Sim only. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 We stopped buying cameras and sat navs (works outside the car when walking as well) years ago. I have always been with Vodaphone whenever I have had a problem with a phone they have sorted it, including a free upgrade to an iPhone when the phone I ordered failed (internal software issue) 3 times !!. I usually spend little on my contracts as I tend to go for the cheapest iPhone options, this time I took the advice of my son-in-law and paid a £30 once off fee for a later model, never go over my allowances. If I have a problem it has always been sorted out in the shop for free My wife is with 02, but when her contract ran out kept her phone and went sim only, they also look after her very well and having different providers does help some times in rural locations with coverage I can understand folk getting upset with poor service, but change company. Look for the best deals when the contract comes up for renewal, haggle for the best deal. Just be proactive 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 My wife went sim only with Vodafone and I bought her a used iPhone 6+ a while back and it saves us a load every month, similarly when my ‘handset’ contract ran out I switched to sim only, if I need a new phone ever it’s off to CEX or a reputable seller on eBay we had an issue last month where my wife went over her data allowance and got charged £55 extra on top of the usual bill, managed to get £45 of it back though because of the order ‘warning text’ were sent (that she never told me about at the time) they basically sent her 2 text at 09:58 and 09:59 telling her she was about to go over her limit one quoting an extra £19 and another quoting £26, the next text at 10:01 said she had run out of data followed by another one at 10:03 saying there would be an extra £10, I refused to pay the 2 amounts quoted before the ‘you have run out’ text as, as far as I was concerned we hadn’t at that point run out of data, after a bit of wrangling they agreed to wipe out those figures and I only needed to pay the extra £10! I’ve been with Vodafone for 20 years and am more than happy with them, I just make sure I switch deals when possible to get the best savings (also Vodafone have a good loyalty scheme where you can get cheap cinema tickets, free coffee, free breakfasts on railway stations etc depending on what’s on offer that week) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 4 minutes ago, big jim said: My wife went sim only with Vodafone and I bought her a used iPhone 6+ a while back and it saves us a load every month, similarly when my ‘handset’ contract ran out I switched to sim only, if I need a new phone ever it’s off to CEX or a reputable seller on eBay we had an issue last month where my wife went over her data allowance and got charged £55 extra on top of the usual bill, managed to get £45 of it back though because of the order ‘warning text’ were sent (that she never told me about at the time) they basically sent her 2 text at 09:58 and 09:59 telling her she was about to go over her limit one quoting an extra £19 and another quoting £26, the next text at 10:01 said she had run out of data followed by another one at 10:03 saying there would be an extra £10, I refused to pay the 2 amounts quoted before the ‘you have run out’ text as, as far as I was concerned we hadn’t at that point run out of data, after a bit of wrangling they agreed to wipe out those figures and I only needed to pay the extra £10! I’ve been with Vodafone for 20 years and am more than happy with them, I just make sure I switch deals when possible to get the best savings (also Vodafone have a good loyalty scheme where you can get cheap cinema tickets, free coffee, free breakfasts on railway stations etc depending on what’s on offer that week) I had a similar issue when getting my iPhone 5s a few years back, turn off some of the data roaming apps. Thankfully for me the shop had set my phone up and failed to warn me, Vodafone cancelled all charges without hesitation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 Yes, I'd definitely be looking at what was happening that she went from a "you're about to go over" text to a "you've gone over" in 5 minutes. Wi-fi assist was the culprit for many, introduced to iOS about 3 years ago, it uses mobile data to bolster a poor wifi signal, and was using huge amounts for lots of people! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 3 hours ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT Yes. I find one very useful when I am spending time at a place with no wi-fi. I can find local weather forecasts, traffic flow indicators, and the like without having to have the radio or tv droning on for hours on end just to get the same info. I can look up preserved railway timetables, and make a day out that much more efficient. But, by far the best gadget on my (now quite old) iPhone 6s is the camera. I have a small Olympus digital one, but I haven't used it for years - simply because my phone camera beats it hands down, especially with macro. It will focus automatically down to about 5cm and take perfectly sharp pictures. It makes taking photos of small wildlife creatures so much easier, and enjoyable. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 The reason she went over was for some reason the cap on the account had switched off (been on there for years without a problem) but we have been having terrible trouble with the WiFi dropping out at home so she was inadvertently using mobile data at home instead of WiFi, we are having sky Q fitted next week and they have sent a new hub which appears to be better than the old one and the new Q boxes also act as WiFi boosters too apparently so hopefully that will cure any issues there to top it off she has an Apple carplay head unit in her car which uses Apple or google maps via the mobile and she has just discovered Spotify on there too, again all using data! we all get 20gb of data a month each on our contracts, I generally use between 15 and 18gb a month, I too have an Apple CarPlay headunit using maps via the phone, normally my wife uses around 10-15gb but the eldest lad can easily and regularly does use his full allowance in 10 days! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 32 minutes ago, njee20 said: Yes, I'd definitely be looking at what was happening that she went from a "you're about to go over" text to a "you've gone over" in 5 minutes. It wasn’t so much the 5 minute timescale as I suspect the messages ‘should’ have been sent days apart as she reached various ‘over data’ limits but the fact they all came the same day within 5 minutes in a particular order was what I used as the basis of the argument, I say argument the whole thing was resolved very amicably in my favour in less than 15 minutes 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 11 minutes ago, jonny777 said: by far the best gadget on my (now quite old) iPhone 6s is the camera. I have a small Olympus digital one, but I haven't used it for years Totally agree, have a look at the pics on my ‘down by the tracks’ thread everyone of those is off my iPhone 6s plus, bought a 2nd hand DSLR about 10 months back, tried it a couple of times couldn’t get the hang of it and it’s never seen the light of day since! The best thing on my smartphone which I couldn’t do without is the Deejay app, I’ve got 10k+ tunes on my phone and I have used the phone as a proper DJ mixer in a club when some of the other equipment went down, I’ve also got it on the iPad which is what I normally use for DJing, again intergrated with my Spotify account (free with Vodafone) gives me a library of millions of tunes to play (but I’ll still be asked for something that’s not on there!) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 Like Dave and Torper, my phone can also only make phone calls or send texts, It does have the advantage of being, rubber cased, waterproof and floats. a good idea as my other hobby is sailing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 4 hours ago, big jim said: My wife went sim only with Vodafone and I bought her a used iPhone 6+ a while back and it saves us a load every month, similarly when my ‘handset’ contract ran out I switched to sim only, if I need a new phone ever it’s off to CEX or a reputable seller on eBay we had an issue last month where my wife went over her data allowance and got charged £55 extra on top of the usual bill, managed to get £45 of it back though because of the order ‘warning text’ were sent (that she never told me about at the time) they basically sent her 2 text at 09:58 and 09:59 telling her she was about to go over her limit one quoting an extra £19 and another quoting £26, the next text at 10:01 said she had run out of data followed by another one at 10:03 saying there would be an extra £10, I refused to pay the 2 amounts quoted before the ‘you have run out’ text as, as far as I was concerned we hadn’t at that point run out of data, after a bit of wrangling they agreed to wipe out those figures and I only needed to pay the extra £10! I’ve been with Vodafone for 20 years and am more than happy with them, I just make sure I switch deals when possible to get the best savings (also Vodafone have a good loyalty scheme where you can get cheap cinema tickets, free coffee, free breakfasts on railway stations etc depending on what’s on offer that week) Plusnet has a smart cap that only allows you to go over by a set amount. Minimum is £2, so #1 son can't eat into my modelling kitty too much LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 7 hours ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT My mobile 'phone makes and receives 'phone calls (when it is turned on) and does something called 'txt' which I can read but can't work out how to write so I don't. It is PAYG and I topped up with £20 of credit a few months back - that should last, all being well, to early next year unless I go a bit mad making calls. PS in case anyone should ask - No, I do not keep pigeons 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 7 hours ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT No But I've got one, useful for making up lists for shows etc. Lots of Flac files stored for music on the go. Camera? 13Mpix, but I still normally use my Canon compact which is streets ahead due to the lens. I'm on a payg sim only and have been since 2008. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) 15 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said: It is PAYG and I topped up with £20 of credit a few months back - that should last, all being well, to early next year unless I go a bit mad making calls. Make sure you use some up in that period. As I found out when SWMBOs phone wouldn't work after she had a period in hospital (when it was used) and some at home convalesence. Whilst at home she didn't use it for possibly just over 6 months as there is a landline. Vodafone in their wisdom wiped the number and took the near £10 credit. Edited July 31, 2019 by melmerby 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) Can't say I've ever felt a need or desire for a mobile phone, smart or otherwise. It's not as if I'm unfamiliar with anything they do because I use the internet, make phonecalls, send emails etc., I just don't have any desire to be able to do all of that wherever and whenever, and I don't seem to be missing out in the slightest. Edited July 31, 2019 by Reorte 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, Edge said: Do we all really NEED TVs, computers, cars, cameras or model trains? not really, but they are very useful and entertaining devices. Could live without most of them happily enough I suspect. Cars maybe not but that's because the world's reshaped itself around them, so whilst some can manage it wouldn't be possible for everyone to. Many such things I put down to perhaps pleasant little entertainments, nice to have but wouldn't be a problem if they'd never been invented, as long as they don't get too carried away and go too far. The sort of technology I wouldn't want to do without, but arguably we don't NEED otherwise the human race wouldn't have survived before they were invented are things like freezers and flushing toilets. Those are the ones that truly brought about real improvements in quality of life. Edited July 31, 2019 by Reorte Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ELTEL Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 On 29/07/2019 at 05:34, rka said: Another vote for sim only deal, I pay £20 a month for 3gb of data, unlimited phone and texts. I just buy a new phone when mine gets tired, which is every couple of years. Not such a good deal as I get unlimited calls and text and 25gb of data for £25 a month 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 8 minutes ago, ELTEL said: Not such a good deal as I get unlimited calls and text and 25gb of data for £25 a month Agreed, looking to upgrade #1 son with Plusnet - 2.5Gb, unlimited minutes and texts £7.00 a month. It is a 12 month deal though, not the rolling 30 day he's on at the moment .... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 9 hours ago, Torper said: On reading all the above I'm just thankful I've never felt the need or desire to have a smart phone. Do you all really need one? DT Could probably survive without one. Don't really want to though, it's been incredibly useful to have the internet literally in my pocket, particularly when I'm somewhere unfamiliar and (for example) looking for a restaurant that'll cater for my wife's dietary requirements, and then giving me a map of the local area with both my location and our chosen eatery highlighted. In Nagasaki. And then since I speak almost no Japanese it proceeds to be very useful for communicating with the staff who have no English. Equally useful in other less far flung places for much the same kind of thing. Or anything else where information is useful and I'm not in my house. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 The other good thing is how competition from mobile phones has made the cost of landline calls tumble Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2019 What is this “land line” you speak of? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2019 15 minutes ago, big jim said: What is this “land line” you speak of? 40 minutes ago, hayfield said: The other good thing is how competition from mobile phones has made the cost of landline calls tumble Such that unlimited calls are included in the line rental and you get fast fibre broadband. Try that with a mobile! Reception in this well populated area of Worcestershire is the pits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now