[NorthernSoutherner]

I havent been here or the other 2 forums I am a member of for about a week because I finally bought my 1st smartphone and it just blows me away! It might be a liability because it just does so much stuff and you can literally lose hours after getting sucked up into it!

I work for myself and I always have tools in my pockets, so I have been buying flip-phones for like 10 years because they close and that protects the screen. So when they came out with texting phones and smartphones 5-6 years ago, I just knew that I would shatter the huge, wide open screen on these things within a few days or weeks, so I intentionally avoided them.

I bought my last flip phone and signed my last 2 year contract with AT&T 4 years ago, and although I used to upgrade phones every 1-2 years, this time I held on to the Rugby flip phone for 4 years, and didnt sign a new contract for 4 years either. I dont like AT&T, but I've been with the same service since it was Cellular one, then Cingular, now AT&T!! So although I see people messing with their smartphones, I didnt pay too much attention.

Then I discovered that they have good quality, protective cases for them now, and I finally decided it was time to give it a go, so I bought the iPhone 4S. Supposedly the new iphone 5 isnt all that much better than the 4s, plus they are back ordered.

So I get it and start checking it out, and I really didnt know what "apps" were, other than programs that make it easier to do business with certain businesses. But I didnt realize all the things these apps can do! I've been going overboard checking out new apps, because there are like 50,000 of them, many free. I'm not usually a video game guy, but I found this strategy game(app) called "Empires: World War". Its not one of these fast moving shooters, its a thoughtful strategy game based 'loosely' on world wars. Its addicting! You dont play it and win in a few minutes, you keep coming back to it to make adjustments and pick up currency, new weapons, etc.

But I've got apps that do anything from scanning bar codes of any product to tell you where to find it for sale and who has the best price, GPS mapping apps, apps that can guess any song by listening to it(or TV show), an app that turned my iphone into a bubble level, an altimeter, etc! Thats just the tip of the iceberg!!:lol:

I'm blown away, but I'm glad I waited til the technology got this good so the experience was so awesome that I didnt take it for granted... What do you think of them, what cool apps do you have?

 

[Leadpoison]

handiest apps on my iphone are the GPS, gasbuddy, which pulls up all the gas prices in the vicinity you are in, flashlight, the camera flash is really brite & has come in handy alot & tapatalk, where you can keep track of the forums when away from the computer. ebay app is pretty good too along with a weather app.

i think the tapatalk forum app is the only one i have that wasn't free.

i am pretty rough on phones, but have the otterbox case & no problems at all. dropped it a few times & survives well in the shop all day long.

 

[medalguy]

I like my iPhone 4, had it about a year now. Neat apps all over the place, all kinds of things. A few I especially like are the altimeter, Flight Aware, Key Ring which keeps all my store loyalty cards, Trip Advisor and Yelp since I travel quite a bit, my Fedex account info so I can ship anything anywhere anytime, Square so I can charge anyone for anything anytime, especially good at gun shows. Also like Passbook which keeps airline boarding passes , movie tickets, and coupons, and of course the reminders and alarm clock. It's become my all-in-one tavel companion.

 

[NorthernSoutherner]

handiest apps on my iphone are the GPS, gasbuddy, which pulls up all the gas prices in the vicinity you are in, flashlight, the camera flash is really brite & has come in handy alot & tapatalk, where you can keep track of the forums when away from the computer. ebay app is pretty good too along with a weather app.

i think the tapatalk forum app is the only one i have that wasn't free.

i am pretty rough on phones, but have the otterbox case & no problems at all. dropped it a few times & survives well in the shop all day long.

I was very concerned about damaging the screen, so I bought the top of the line Otter that snaps into a hard plastic case with a belt clip, and the phone sits inside the main Otter case, but when you then snap that into the hard plastic case, its designed so the phone sits in it backwards so the screen is protected when you have it attached to your belt.

Those things are expensive, but I talked the salesman into giving me a $5 discount off the Otter price, then I bought the 1 year unlimited, no questions asked warranty for $4.95, and I can go into that store any time over the next year and just ask for a new Otter case, and they will give me one. Even if I mishandle it and its gets scratched or broken they will replace it. Maybe thats why the regular price was $50 for that Otter case! I'll make sure that if it gets scratched to get my money's worth by getting it replaced!

 

[woodstock]

I have the 4S. It is pretty cool. I started back with the 3, then went to the 4 then the 4S, it's amazing the leaps in technology. Have you started using Siri yet? Great for texting and driving lol.

 

[bill97024]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and it has my entire life in it...lol. My most useful (most used anyway) apps are the gasbuddy, banking, and calendar (synced) with my personal and work calendars. How did we ever survive without these things...lol.

 

[Twigg]

I just got a I-phone4 and I cannot stand the dang thing. The touch screen seems to have difficulty doing what it's supposed to when I touch it. I don't know if it's dry skin or what but getting it to make a call can be difficult. If I moisten my fingertips a bit it works somewhat better. Maybe it'll work better for me when the air isn't so dry come spring.

I have some music on it and apps for local news and weather. The calender app is pretty good as I can make notes for any appointments I have.

Contacts isn't all that helpfull as I cannot put people into catagories: "Food" for resturants, "friends", "Business", ect...

Reading text (book, not messages) is tolerable but makes me want a bigger screen

I'll have to check out some of the apps mentioned here. The most usefull for me are live weather radar, marine charts and topo maps.

 

[dh1633pm]

Once I rooted mine, I began to like it a bunch more. All the locked down stuff was suddenly available. Then with a new ROM, life became better. The next time I got in the car the touch screen asked if I wanted to configure blue tooth audio. Locked down of course by the carrier. I just like the ability to carry around a device where I can assess information as needed. GoSMS is a pretty neat app for the droid as well as CoPilot GPS. With CoPilot the maps are available without network access. Handy when your out of range of the cell phone tower. Lots of empty space in Northern New York.

 

[Lateck]

I have a Note 2! Love it.
I have used PDA's for years. Now the phone and PDA combine. That's great.
As others have said it's GPS feature is the second
most important item. I also have electrical and HVAC apps for my work along with many others so I am carrying a computer with me all the time.
Which is helpful.
I say get and use a smartphone. I do not like Apple as you cannot customize it like Android.

Lateck,

 

[moonie42]

I'm an IT guy, and support iPhones, Android Phones, and even a few Blackberry and Windows Phone devices. To me, smartphones are tools...so you need a tool that you'll feel comfortable with and actually use. I think the best thing you can do once you decide on getting a smartphone is to go to your carrier's store and actually handle the devices you're interested in. Most applications out there have versions for both iPhones and for Android. If there is a particular application that you NEED that is only available on one platform or if your IT department only supports one platform, that will make your decision right there.

Personally, I'm looking to get a new smartphone myself, and have narrowed my choices down to the iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, and the Motorola Razr MAXX HD. I've narrowed it down based on battery (expected run times), screen size, LTE/4G, and internal storage capacity (32GB or more), and likelihood that the manufacturer and carrier will provide software updates to improve functionality and security over time.

 

[Risasi]

I'm in IT, so it's a necessary evil for me as well. Unfortunately I view them with much more cynicism than you guys. I have the iPhone 4, and am up for renewal. I mostly use it to (in order of use); check email, remote support, remote server access, web browsing, games, weather, etc...then finally as a phone. Go figure.

But there is a dark side. If I didn't need one for work I wouldn't own one. Everyone with a cellphone is walking around with a GPS tracking device and a remote listening device.

 

[Twigg]

I' Everyone with a cellphone is walking around with a GPS tracking device and a remote listening device.

Quoted for truth.

Much akin to driving a GM car these days. (On Star)

 

[woodstock]

If you turn off Location Services on the I phone does that not turn off the tracking device?

 

[Twigg]

If you turn off Location Services on the I phone does that not turn off the tracking device?

"yes" but it can be turned back on remotley.

Tinfoil or not, these days I'm not trusting anything electronic in my pockets or vehicle.

 

[Risasi]

You can't really turn off E911:
Enhanced 9-1-1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you believe some of the subversives you can build GPS jamming devices, but then you have to carry that around too, and I'm sure by now the FCC JBT's would kick you around for using one powerful enough. And besides it's a hybrid system anyway, they also use triangulation of the cell towers talking to your phone and measure signal strength. One tower theoretically should get a provider within 300m. Two or more towers at different radial angles improves the accuracy considerably. They don't even need the phone for this, just need the phone talking to their towers.

Twigg is right, they can also remotely enable different services like microphone, camera, apps, etc. About your only option is leave it turned off and battery out if possible.

They have already been doing it: FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool - CNET News

Float a warrant, put a request in to the cellular provider and you're good to go.
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EDIT: P.S. This is also a good read: The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) | Threat Level | Wired.com

It's not exactly this particular topic, but related in a roundabout way. You should assume that they are recording every form of communication. Phone calls, instant messaging, texting. Forum data, VOIP calls, probably even chats within gaming console services. They don't necessarily have the ability to play it now, but much of it they do. But the mentality is there, grab everything we can figure out how to open it later.