Possible? Modern life and business without a smart phone.

[anonymous-user]

Does anyone run life/a business without using a smart phone these days? Are there any viable alternatives?

I keep wondering about going back to a Motorola razr just because they're supremely cool and I wouldn't be disturbed every 5 mins by checking my email but don't think it would be useful in the long run.

[poing]

Life is very simple without a smart phone, I know many people that don't own one. I managed more of my adult life without one than I have with one.

Work is more difficult to answer because it depends what you do. If you write mobile apps then it might be a little hard, if you sell stuffed badgers then probably not an issue.

[Mr Will]

A dumb-phone plus a tablet/iPad makes quite a good combo. Easy access to emails etc on the move when you need it without the distractions and downsides a smartphone brings.

[monkfish1]

bulldong said:

Does anyone run life/a business without using a smart phone these days? Are there any viable alternatives?

I keep wondering about going back to a Motorola razr just because they're supremely cool and I wouldn't be disturbed every 5 mins by checking my email but don't think it would be useful in the long run.

Sure do

[anonymous-user]

Mr Will said:

A dumb-phone plus a tablet/iPad makes quite a good combo. Easy access to emails etc on the move when you need it without the distractions and downsides a smartphone brings.

I like that idea.

[anonymous-user]

monkfish1 said:

bulldong said:

Does anyone run life/a business without using a smart phone these days? Are there any viable alternatives?

I keep wondering about going back to a Motorola razr just because they're supremely cool and I wouldn't be disturbed every 5 mins by checking my email but don't think it would be useful in the long run.

Sure do

What is your experience with it? I work in publishing/ad sales so I could imagine running a saw mill without it but sometimes need to check copy and ads. The thing is I trick myself that this can't wait and that people need an answer now.

[Hoofy]

bulldong said:

I wouldn't be disturbed every 5 mins by checking my email

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

[egor110]

Mr Will said:

A dumb-phone plus a tablet/iPad makes quite a good combo. Easy access to emails etc on the move when you need it without the distractions and downsides a smartphone brings.

If you turn off the 3g/wifi then there are no distractions unless you decide to turn them on.

[anonymous-user]

Hoofy said:

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

Yes, all notifications are off.

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Mine is work and personal. Silly really. Seems silly to have a smart phone if you're not going to use it but then it becomes so easy to over use it.

[Hoofy]

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

Yes, all notifications are off.

So control yourself. If you had a tablet, what's stopping you checking email all the time anyway?

[anonymous-user]

Hoofy said:

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

Yes, all notifications are off.

So control yourself. If you had a tablet, what's stopping you checking email all the time anyway?

Nothing, really.

[anonymous-user]

Thing is, nearly every bit of tech in the house and car is now reliant on seamless Bluetooth or wireless to be controlled, so it's probably not an option to revert to old tech anyway. In the end it's definitely a case of behaviour change and discipline.

[EnglishTony]

Older, 2G phones (like the RAZR?) will not be able to work much longer as the 2G Base stations are phased out.
You can get push button phones designed for the elderly and which are compatible with modern networks but they are anything but sexy.
If it's the size of a smart phone that's bothering you get one of the compact ones.
As for managing without a smart phone, why would you want to? Might as well say you don't want one of these newfangled motor vehicles and you'll stick with a horse.
You can mute your message notifications and just check your email when you choose. It's not like you don't mute the thing in meetings as a courtesy to everybody else.

[TheChampers]

bulldong said:

Mr Will said:

A dumb-phone plus a tablet/iPad makes quite a good combo. Easy access to emails etc on the move when you need it without the distractions and downsides a smartphone brings.

I like that idea.

That's how I work; simple phone for calls (old Nokia, it's good for that) iPad for emails (I need to look at plans,drawings and documents quite a lot). The combination works well; I can discuss what I'm looking at with clients whilst on the phone. I

[Hoofy]

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

Yes, all notifications are off.

So control yourself. If you had a tablet, what's stopping you checking email all the time anyway?

Nothing, really.

Good luck, then.

[anonymous-user]

Hoofy said:

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

bulldong said:

Hoofy said:

Turn off notifications. Then you can spend more time arguing with people on Facebook.

Yes, all notifications are off.

So control yourself. If you had a tablet, what's stopping you checking email all the time anyway?

Nothing, really.

Good luck, then.

Just deleted a tonne of apps off the phone. Let's see how I get on.

[jurbie]

EnglishTony said:

Older, 2G phones (like the RAZR?) will not be able to work much longer as the 2G Base stations are phased out.

That won't happen for a long time, EE have been upgrading all their 2g kit for a good while and Three, who were launched as a 3G only network, now have their own 2g network which is also rapidly expanding.

[battered]

I run my business without using my smartphone. It's a manufacturing consultancy. I phone people and talk to them, and I go in factories to make things happen. If I need to send emails I go to a desk with a PC.

[Hoofy]

battered said:

I run my business without using my smartphone. It's a manufacturing consultancy. I phone people and talk to them, and I go in factories to make things happen. If I need to send emails I go to a desk with a PC.

The handy thing about a smartphone is that if you're stuck on a train or in your car at a motorway services, you can get out your phone and check emails. I really don't see the problem with it - everything is more convenient. If someone has a compulsion to reply to every email or Facebook post, that's not the fault of the technology.