Mobile Phones

[Thumper]

Are everywhere now. 5 year olds have them. Look into any crowd anywhere and a healthy percentage will be face deep into their phone. My Dad has a Galaxy. I was one of the first people I know that had a phone, 30 some years ago, before ATT, before Cingular, maybe before Ameritech, I had a 4 watt bag phone. It weighed 10 pounds. Mrs. T thought it was a cute stunt, maybe a phase I was going through. Now she's on her 6th iPhone. She does everything on it.

However, I am just about the last person to get a "smart" phone. Well, yesterday we made the jump, deactivated my Samsung Rugby flip phone and fired up my new Caterpillar. It's an Android clone (as are almost all ruggedized phones). I'm not sure how to turn it on. I have no idea how to make or take a call, or make or read a text.

Here we go.

[pumpkinpi]

Go ask any of those 5 year olds. They will get you going!

[Thumper]

True!

[SciFiFisher]

just remember tech support is usually in bed by 8:30 PM.

[Thumper]

So helpful...

[geonuc]

[Thumper]

That's how I feel,
with bigger thumbs.

[SciFiFisher]

So helpful...

I think you mistake my purpose.

[Sigma_Orionis]

I think that damned touch screen is the dumbest thing ever.

[lady_*nix]

Depends on what you use it for. I know a bunch of people with poor vision or mobility impairments, for whom a cheap handheld computer with a touch screen and big fonts is really helpful.

Vendors and telecoms still suck though.

[SciFiFisher]

I think that damned touch screen is the dumbest thing ever.

What? Are you channeling Steve Jobs?

[Sigma_Orionis]

I think that damned touch screen is the dumbest thing ever.

What? Are you channeling Steve Jobs?

Yer joking right? it was HIS idea

[Thumper]

I still can't answer calls, nor do I appear to have any internet or data, but I can make and receive texts. It takes me about 6 minutes to type 4 words. 6 out of 7 of every taps results in the wrong letter. I took a selfie but cannot find the picture anywhere.

[Sigma_Orionis]

.. It takes me about 6 minutes to type 4 words. 6 out of 7 of every taps results in the wrong letter.....

That damned On Screen Keyboard on the touch screen has to be the most stupid idea ever. No tactile feedback. I was able to type messages on my old phone's keyboard three times as fast without even looking at it. I've owned an el cheapo smartphone for several years and still have to hunt and peck when typing. Just for coming up with that stupid idea, Jobs ought to burn in hell.

[lady_*nix]

Swipe keyboards. Seriously. IDK about iPhone but most decent Android keyboards (GBoard, Swiftkey, whatever one is built in) support gesture based typing. The learning curve is steep but it helps a ton once you've learned it.

Failing that, iOS has really good autocomplete/word suggestions from what I've seen.

[Thumper]

Some people seem to be able to whizz through it. My finger either hits the wrong spot or brushes past the wrong spot creating extra unwanted letters. My Samsung flip, I could fly through a 20 word text without looking at the phone and end up with only a couple typos. And that includes having to double and triple tap. There's a setting that actually makes the new phone knock every time you type a letter. But you don't know if it's the right letter, and I'm sure it burns more battery.

I knew I would absolutely hate any phone I picked. I picked this one for it's mil spec ruggedness, and it's 5000mAh battery. I charged it out of the box Sunday afternoon and I'm still at about 60% today. I refuse to be one of those people who have to slink from outlet to outlet where ever they go constantly needing a charge. Kind of makes the term "wireless" ironic. This phone has a feature where I can help the sad sacks with iPhones (everybody I know) whose batteries last about 3 hours. It'll act as a spare battery for other phones.

[Thumper]

Swipe keyboards. Seriously. IDK about iPhone but most decent Android keyboards (GBoard, Swiftkey, whatever one is built in) support gesture based typing. The learning curve is steep but it helps a ton once you've learned it.

Failing that, iOS has really good autocomplete/word suggestions from what I've seen.

So what is gesture based typing? I'm asking for a friend.
Everyone I know with an iPhone absolutely hates autocorrect. I'll get an indecipherable message and then a few seconds later get the corrected text with the addendum: "G*d D@mn autocorrect!!!"
Seriously, there are webpages documenting stupid and hilarious autocorrect errors.

[geonuc]

Why did you choose the particular phone you bought? Do you need ruggedized?

[SciFiFisher]

I think that damned touch screen is the dumbest thing ever.

What? Are you channeling Steve Jobs?

Yer joking right? it was HIS idea

He apparently thought the touch screen for laptops was a bad idea, however.

[SciFiFisher]

Swipe keyboards. Seriously. IDK about iPhone but most decent Android keyboards (GBoard, Swiftkey, whatever one is built in) support gesture based typing. The learning curve is steep but it helps a ton once you've learned it.

Failing that, iOS has really good autocomplete/word suggestions from what I've seen.

So what is gesture based typing? I'm asking for a friend.
Everyone I know with an iPhone absolutely hates autocorrect. I'll get an indecipherable message and then a few seconds later get the corrected text with the addendum: "G*d D@mn autocorrect!!!"
Seriously, there are webpages documenting stupid and hilarious autocorrect errors.

Instead of touching each letter separately you "swipe" the combination of letters that spell your word. Here is a decent article about it https://www.pcworld.com/article/3012353 ... r-ios.html

If your phone supports a good voice assistant I would consider using the voice to text feature. Open the text box. Click one button or voice activate your assistant. Dictate your note. As long as you are not a southern hillbilly, Scottish, or me the note will be pretty decent.

[SciFiFisher]

Why did you choose the particular phone you bought? Do you need ruggedized?

I don't know about him but I have a poor track record with breaking the screens and causing other mayhem with tablets and phones. My solution for my phone is to buy the standard phone and then buy a case that makes the thing look like it is a Medival Knight going into combat.

[pumpkinpi]

Some people seem to be able to whizz through it. My finger either hits the wrong spot or brushes past the wrong spot creating extra unwanted letters. My Samsung flip, I could fly through a 20 word text without looking at the phone and end up with only a couple typos. And that includes having to double and triple tap. There's a setting that actually makes the new phone knock every time you type a letter. But you don't know if it's the right letter, and I'm sure it burns more battery.

Like everything, it takes practice! You've been on it a few days? Most people who whizz through it have been on it for years, and they probably type on that keyboard for hours every day. I'm nine years into a smart phone, and I'm still not very good with a keyboard. I type something only a couple times a day.

I agree about the voice recognition. I think I have a post here from a while back that was done all by voice, and I didn't have to go back and fix anything. However, I don't use it anymore. I ended up disabling all my microphones because I'd get ads on facebook and other places about things I only talked about. I don't know if it was coincidence, but I don't want any apps spying on me. If you are the same, read up on ways to manage your security!

[Thumper]

Why did you choose the particular phone you bought? Do you need ruggedized?

I don't know about him but I have a poor track record with breaking the screens and causing other mayhem with tablets and phones. My solution for my phone is to buy the standard phone and then buy a case that makes the thing look like it is a Medival Knight going into combat.

I certainly wanted a ruggedized phone. My last two were tough, until Monday, I've had 2 phones in the last 20 years. I only changed phones as the hardware became obsolete and could no longer access the network. I had the Nokia brick for well over 12 years. It worked 100% until I walked into the Gulf of Mexico with it in my pocket. I dropped it easily 1000 times, I dropped it off of ladders, sometimes 30-40 feet up. It fell off my belt and I ran over it with the golf cart. I had to walk around the property with our cordless land line calling it until I found buried in the mud. I've had friends with cheap phones that would only last a year. I've had friends with expensive phones that would only last a year. The Brick was a free upgrade when I had to get a digital phone. All I ever did was replace the battery.

I got the CAT S41 for it's ruggedness and it's battery life. As a side, I figured having to deal with the iTunes BS would push me completely over the edge.

[Thumper]

Like everything, it takes practice! You've been on it a few days? Most people who whizz through it have been on it for years, and they probably type on that keyboard for hours every day. I'm nine years into a smart phone, and I'm still not very good with a keyboard.

That does not fill me with confidence.

I agree about the voice recognition. I think I have a post here from a while back that was done all by voice, and I didn't have to go back and fix anything. However, I don't use it anymore. I ended up disabling all my microphones because I'd get ads on facebook and other places about things I only talked about. I don't know if it was coincidence, but I don't want any apps spying on me. If you are the same, read up on ways to manage your security!

I'm really hoping to be able to utilize Voice to Text. I don't know if this phone has it built in or if I'll have to get an app. I don't know yet, I don't know how to get apps that aren't on the phone. That won't happen until we get the data and internet thing worked out. I don't know when I'll be able to do that, I'm sure it will take a call to customer service and I'll need to find an empty hour or two to navigate voicemail he|| and figure out what my pass code is.

As for security and app management, I don't know how to access any apps internally or externally, but playing around on the phone said I was using 38 apps that were taking up 1.3G of space. News to me.

[Thumper]

Mrs. T had the phone all Friday, got the internet working, and got most of the rest of my contacts entered. Only a few to go. I found the voice to text feature and have used it extensively. It's a wonderful improvement over typing. The only time I type now it when I'm in a quiet environment and don't want to talk. It's been pretty accurate. Still haven't tried any apps or anything but I was able to send and receive photos.

We were watching an old SNL and Cookie Monster was on. Mrs. T grabbed her phone and said, "I follow Cookie on Twitter." Then she read me his latest tweets. I said, "Oh Wow! Can I do that?" I was being sarcastic.