Mobile Phones

[Rommie]

I'm pretty good at the keyboard typing thing. All those years as a violin player really paid off!

Re: iPhone charges, some versions were definitely better than others when it came to battery life. It turns out my last phone before this one was even subject to a recall because of a flawed battery, and once I fixed it it was a great difference- it did affect a lot of people for that who never realized it though as you had to look it up for yourself. Most recent phone I've never had a problem.

One exception, the reason the iPhone battery goes pretty fast is because there is a lot of crap running in the background- Siri, auto checking various apps, etc. If it's just a normal day for me going to work, no issue. But if it's a day where I know I'm going out geocaching or something similarly intensive, one of the first things I do is switch it to low battery mode. I basically never run out as long as I do that.

[SciFiFisher]

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.

Whoa, there slugger! Don't try to master too much technology all at once!

[Thumper]

Have you read some of Cookie's Tweets?

[SciFiFisher]

Have you read some of Cookie's Tweets?

I rarely do anything on Twitter.

[Thumper]

So I wouldn't know Twitter if it fell from the ceiling and hit me in the head.
But Mrs. T read me some of his tweets. So prolific!

[Rommie]

Have you read some of Cookie's Tweets?

What's the Twitter handle?

[Thumper]

Ha ha, now how would I have any idea?
A quick google search shows dozens of different handles. Now to figure out which one is REALLY the Cookie Monster, officially. Ha ha, thanks for making the joke even funnier. Do you want me to ask Mrs. T which one she follows?

[Rommie]

Yes, that's kind of what I was going for.

This is my favorite Twitter novelty account discovery of late btw, I'm guessing some of you guys may enjoy it too: https://twitter.com/MicroSFF

[Swift]

Thump

There are some really cool apps for smartphones. Being another nature geek, I would recommend iNaturalist (it is a citizen science app, but it is also pretty good at species identification) and Heavens Above (satellite passes and sky map). If you are willing to spend a couple of bucks, there are all kinds of cool apps.

[Thumper]

Yes, that's kind of what I was going for.

This is my favorite Twitter novelty account discovery of late btw, I'm guessing some of you guys may enjoy it too: https://twitter.com/MicroSFF

@MeCookieMonster

[Thumper]

Thump

There are some really cool apps for smartphones. Being another nature geek, I would recommend iNaturalist (it is a citizen science app, but it is also pretty good at species identification) and Heavens Above (satellite passes and sky map). If you are willing to spend a couple of bucks, there are all kinds of cool apps.

I use Heavens Above all the time on my computer. I have like 35 locations registered. That and Sky and Telescope's Interactive Sky Chart. I can't imagine either being of any use on a tiny phone screen. I would love a Shazam app for trees and plants. Or a Shazam app for bird and other animal sounds.

I figured it would take me a good 5 years to get comfortable with this phone to be able to efficiently and productively use it for more than talking and texting. Mrs. T shot that down saying the system is designed for you to get a new phone every couple of years. Oh well. For now at least I can enjoy voice to text. That's really saving me time and frustration. But I can tell all my outgoing texts are getting longer.

[geonuc]

The system may be designed that way but you can certainly hang on to your smart phone for much longer than that and still have it supported.

I have a few apps on my iPhone that I like.

GolfShot: a GPS app that shows me where I am on a golf course and the layout of the hole. It's programmed to tell me which club to use based on distance to target. It also keeps score.
Handicap: I enter my golf scores and it computes and keeps track of my handicap. I don't need a handicap but it's fun to keep track of progress.
AllTrails: the best GPS hiking app out there I think. Once you download a particular trail map (which takes mere seconds), it locates you on the trail. I like it because it computes distance walked, elevation change, etc. It also is useful if you encounter a point where you're not sure which way to go.
OR Roads: lets me know road conditions
Yelp: because I'm a Yelper. I also find the Yelp app is the best way to locate businesses/restaurants. Better than going to Google Maps directly.
Untapped: to keep track of my beer drinking!
Waze: i don't use it much here in Bend but it was great in Atlanta to help navigate around town and avoid traffic. I also use it when on long road trips while in big cities.
Uber: I haven't actually Ubered yet but it's loaded and ready in case I need it.
Instagram (and Instagram Layout): I upload a lot of photos to IG. Layout allows you to upload multiple photos in one IG post. BTW, you all should get on Instagram. Rommie and squid also upload photos.

Plus the usual assortment of standards apps: Google, Google Maps, camera, photos, calendar, Twitter, Facebook. And I just installed Heavens Above.

[Thumper]

The system may be designed that way but you can certainly hang on to your smart phone for much longer than that and still have it supported.

I have a few apps on my iPhone that I like.

GolfShot: a GPS app that shows me where I am on a golf course and the layout of the hole. It's programmed to tell me which club to use based on distance to target. It also keeps score.
Handicap: I enter my golf scores and it computes and keeps track of my handicap. I don't need a handicap but it's fun to keep track of progress.
AllTrails: the best GPS hiking app out there I think. Once you download a particular trail map (which takes mere seconds), it locates you on the trail. I like it because it computes distance walked, elevation change, etc. It also is useful if you encounter a point where you're not sure which way to go.
OR Roads: lets me know road conditions
Yelp: because I'm a Yelper. I also find the Yelp app is the best way to locate businesses/restaurants. Better than going to Google Maps directly.
Untapped: to keep track of my beer drinking!
Waze: i don't use it much here in Bend but it was great in Atlanta to help navigate around town and avoid traffic. I also use it when on long road trips while in big cities.
Uber: I haven't actually Ubered yet but it's loaded and ready in case I need it.
Instagram (and Instagram Layout): I upload a lot of photos to IG. Layout allows you to upload multiple photos in one IG post. BTW, you all should get on Instagram. Rommie and squid also upload photos.

Plus the usual assortment of standards apps: Google, Google Maps, camera, photos, calendar, Twitter, Facebook. And I just installed Heavens Above.

The Golf apps sound interesting, especially for someone who golfs alot. I will consider AllTrails, sounds cool. I don't need any help tracking my drinking, my wife and employer take care of that. We have several websites/apps, some created and supported by ODOT to help with traffic and road conditions. Waze does that too, right? My aunt and uncle have lived in Portland for over 20 year as well as lived there back in the college days. They use Waze all the time to get to places around town, not just for traffic. Mrs. T has Uber, we've used it several times, more so since our major taxi company in town screwed us a couple of times. I plan on hopefully getting several astronomy apps, Shazam, compass, altimeter, level. I might consider Yelp, but we get restaurant suggestions from a variety of other sources, not sure it would help me much. Looks like the phone already has Google Maps, 2 decent cameras, and a calendar.
I'm about halfway through the manual, it's great for when I have trouble getting to sleep. We're getting together with friends in a couple weeks. He's a big Android user and I'm going to hit him up for help and tips.

[Rommie]

Thump

There are some really cool apps for smartphones. Being another nature geek, I would recommend iNaturalist (it is a citizen science app, but it is also pretty good at species identification) and Heavens Above (satellite passes and sky map). If you are willing to spend a couple of bucks, there are all kinds of cool apps.

I use Heavens Above all the time on my computer. I have like 35 locations registered. That and Sky and Telescope's Interactive Sky Chart. I can't imagine either being of any use on a tiny phone screen. I would love a Shazam app for trees and plants. Or a Shazam app for bird and other animal sounds.

Oh ye of limited imagination. I use Sputnik! (the iPhone version of Heavens Above) pretty often on those times when you realize you're at the start of a lovely night, and it would be nice to see if anything interesting is going to happen. Or when my boyfriend asks under similar conditions. Totally scored my first kiss with him thanks to that app.

Also completely random, but I heard this is the last year for Iridium flares, so enjoy them while you can.

[Thumper]

Thump

There are some really cool apps for smartphones. Being another nature geek, I would recommend iNaturalist (it is a citizen science app, but it is also pretty good at species identification) and Heavens Above (satellite passes and sky map). If you are willing to spend a couple of bucks, there are all kinds of cool apps.

I use Heavens Above all the time on my computer. I have like 35 locations registered. That and Sky and Telescope's Interactive Sky Chart. I can't imagine either being of any use on a tiny phone screen. I would love a Shazam app for trees and plants. Or a Shazam app for bird and other animal sounds.

Oh ye of limited imagination. I use Sputnik! (the iPhone version of Heavens Above) pretty often on those times when you realize you're at the start of a lovely night, and it would be nice to see if anything interesting is going to happen. Or when my boyfriend asks under similar conditions. Totally scored my first kiss with him thanks to that app.

I ain't in bed with the Russians! When able I look ahead a month for ISS, Hubble, Flares, other satellites, and visible planets. I have them all written down, then we head outside on a given night if we think it's clear enough. I think I've shared my favorite story about a d|ckhead with a phone here before. We were at an outside party down close to my sister's. Beautiful evening with a great Moon, Venus, Jupiter conjunction. Somebody remarked about the bright "stars" in the sky. I shared that they were Venus and Jupiter. A long argument ensued with basically, "No they're not. How in the world would you know that? You don't know that, you're just making it up." I explained that I had looked it up, and in fact had been watching them for the better part of a month. And I said, actually, if you have a phone, you can get on any number of websites or apps right this second and verify. So they did, they got one of the apps where you hold up your phone to the sky and it tells you what you're looking at. Turns out I was right. So this Einstein goes around waving their phone to anyone who will listen telling them ecstatically, "Look!! Venus and Jupiter!!"

Also completely random, but I heard this is the last year for Iridium flares, so enjoy them while you can.

Well, unless they're going to deorbit all of them, they'll still be up there, right?

[Rommie]

They have already begun the process of deorbiting, and expect to complete it in the next few months: https://spacenews.com/iridium-to-finish ... next-year/

[SciFiFisher]

Yes, the phone makers really like it if you buy a new phone every 1-2 years. But, as long as your phone is functional and does mostly what you want it to there is no reason to upgrade to the latest and greatest phone. I am still running an IPhone 6S Plus. I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon. One of the reasons I finally switched to the Apple eco-system was they support stuff for a fairly long life cycle.

Some phone providers/manufacturers stop supporting the older models after 3-4 years in some cases. That can cause some challenges with apps not working and/or security issues with the operating systems on the phones. In general, there is usually a decent support/life cycle for most phones, tablets, and etc.

[Thumper]

They have already begun the process of deorbiting, and expect to complete it in the next few months: https://spacenews.com/iridium-to-finish ... next-year/

Sniff, Iridiums, I will never forget you.

[Thumper]

Yes, the phone makers really like it if you buy a new phone every 1-2 years. But, as long as your phone is functional and does mostly what you want it to there is no reason to upgrade to the latest and greatest phone. I am still running an IPhone 6S Plus. I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon. One of the reasons I finally switched to the Apple eco-system was they support stuff for a fairly long life cycle.

Some phone providers/manufacturers stop supporting the older models after 3-4 years in some cases. That can cause some challenges with apps not working and/or security issues with the operating systems on the phones. In general, there is usually a decent support/life cycle for most phones, tablets, and etc.

One of the main reasons I had to upgrade was that I was starting to have trouble texting. My phone was still making and receiving texts as good as the day I bought it. In fact, it was even handier and more convenient than my iPhone friends. For whatever reason, they did not have the ability to differentiate between single and group texts. I could always decide to reply just to the sender not the group, or add individually anyone I wanted. Well ATT started reprogramming its network to accommodate Apple phones better and started using the actual internet more and more to transmit texts. So when people sent a group text that included me, sometimes I'd get it, sometimes I get a notification that I'd received a text but couldn't retrieve it. So I've had to say good bye to a very simple, easy, intuitive texting system.

BTW, looks like I'm getting 6-7 days between charges on the new phone. I can live with that. (Though my work flip Samsung just gave me 21 days.)

[Sigma_Orionis]

BTW, looks like I'm getting 6-7 days between charges on the new phone. I can live with that. (Though my work flip Samsung just gave me 21 days.)

Consider yourself lucky. I have to charge mine every day.

[Thumper]

BTW, looks like I'm getting 6-7 days between charges on the new phone. I can live with that. (Though my work flip Samsung just gave me 21 days.)

Consider yourself lucky. I have to charge mine every day.

Of the 3-4 phones I was considering, I ended up choosing the one with the biggest battery.

[SciFiFisher]

BTW, looks like I'm getting 6-7 days between charges on the new phone. I can live with that. (Though my work flip Samsung just gave me 21 days.)

Consider yourself lucky. I have to charge mine every day.

I can probably go a day to a day and a half on a single charge IF I don't do anything too battery intensive. I use the built-in GPS/MAP program a lot. Which means I always have a car charger with me. Always. And I put my phone on the currents every night religiously.

In fairness to the battery on the phone, I use it for a lot of things. It's my alarm clock, my GPS, texting device, telephone, restaurant finder, fitness minder, and etc, etc. I have even booked airline tickets using my phone and the airline app. When I was working in the clinic a lot I even had a medical and drug reference on the thing.

[Thumper]

So phones are always on and always touching the internet. So I guess it's the sending and receiving more packets of data that uses up the battery? I mean it's always pinging the nearest tower. I understand data usage differences between being on the cellular network or utilizing some local wi-fi. But it uses more battery the more times I check my Facebook wall?

[pumpkinpi]

Kidding, right?

[Thumper]

Actually, no.