What do you do with your high-end smartphone that makes it worth having?

RobertKK

I wanted an iPad, but I also needed a new phone so got an iPhone 6+ as a compromise. Excellent phone.
I use it for
Phone
Internet.
TV
Texts
Camera/photos/video
Have business software on it.
Email
Music
Twitter
Games
Health apps
Learning a new language
Banking/Investments
Weather (Met Eireann)
Calculator
Calendar
Plus some other stuff like identifying planes and where they are to and from, Powercheck from the ESB, nature apps and lots more.

Elessar

I have the iPhone 5 (2012) and have seen absolutely no reason to upgrade in the years since. It's a great phone and does everything I want it to do, brilliantly.

I mostly use it for
-Calls/Texts
-Whatsapp
-Email
-Internet on the go
-Calendar entries to remind me of things
-Internet banking

I don't play games really and my model (think it's 8GB?!) still has a few gigs free.

Years ago I used to need to have the latest and greatest phones and would easily pay €600+ each year for the pleasure. Nowadays, I can't see a reason to.

I'm probably just getting old.

dirtyden

I have a Samsung S3 mini, bought for about 85 euros off O2. It is quite quick for browsing. I use it for online banking, emails, have used to stream sports on SkyGo without any buffering issues. I mainly use it for texting and calling though. I cant think of what extra spending 600 Euros more would get me.

That said I am not particularly techie and I am sure there are advantages to a more powerful phone that I just have no need for.

NachoBusiness

Have mates who go on and on about how amazing the iPhone 6 camera is, how it's the best camera phone etc etc and how that justifies the crazy price. These people rarely use these camera for more than selfies or to annoy other people at gigs with. I mean, if it's a good camera they were after, they could have bought a few years old HD Lumix that records in stereo, has exception optical zoom, for a fraction of the cost of an iPhone 6.

Have an S4 Mini myself which I bought on Gumtree for €90. I bought that because I like that size and shape more than anything. It fits nicely in the hand the screen is big enough for browsing and the like but yet small enough to be discreet.

Seems kind of funny how phones started off like massive bricks and slowly through the 90s they got a little smaller, external aerials started to become things of the past and the svelte 3210 was upon us. Now it seems we've gone in the other direction and phones are getting bigger again. I seen some guy walking along Henry St yesterday talking on a Nexus 6 and for a second I thought it was Dom Joly.

starlit

I just don't understand the concept of constant phone upgrades unless you are bill pay. Its very pricey for someone on pay as you go. You taking a chance buying second hand unless in good nick. I liked the S3 mini but went with a S2 instead when the S3 came out. I like the S4 Mini but its now near the end of its cycle so looking at the A3/A5 samsungs. Was going to look into the core prime but its more of starter smartphone. I rarely buy the latest phone or wait a few months/year in development and read up on reviews on it before I buy. That's just me. Don't fix it if ain't broke so unless its not working properly then change, I can stick with a phone for 2-3 years usually. Changing after a year is mad unless its not working right would be the only reason I'd change.

Ya they start off big then small and smaller then get bigger again!

COYVB

Have a OnePlus One, and use it for: Chrome, Mail, Gmail, Google Calendar, LiveScore, Facebook Messenger and Football Manager. Aside from FM, I could run the rest of those apps on anything really, but given the price of the OPO and the likelihood that it'll do me for 3-4 more years, it was hard to say no

anncoates

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

What do you, owners of high end phones like the S5, Note 4, One M8, 6/6+ etc., do with yours to justify the prices?

Earn the money that bought it.

starlit

Some phones are great to last I was lucky with three of them to last for as long as they did. One lasted 7 years others aprox 2-3 years. The others less than a year to a year and 10 months after that I wasn't so quick to change my phones! Costing too much to change so downgraded the types I was getting and did the jobs I wanted to until I changed to a smartphone. Everyone else had smartphones I still had my plain nokia phone for three years!

my teapot is orange

I don't have a very high end one at all, but my smart phone still makes life so much handier.

Know instantly when an important email has arrived.
Bit lost in a new place - Google maps.
Forgot to take note of prepaid train ticket reference - open your emails (instead of buy a new ticket)
Bit sick of your job - Get hunting for a new one during your coffee break
News without having to buy a paper
Not sure of opening times of a shop - check whether it's worth your while going down there at this time.
Not sure where the nearest branch of that shop is - google
Idea occurs to you for something you would like to do/somewhere you would like to go - google instantly and form a plan

It's basically all google and emails - any smartphone would do.

Eugene Norman

Mint Aero wrote: »

Truly astonishing thread Very little mention of sh*tty iphones and it's mostly in a negative light Is their sad cult finally over :D

For me, I'm still on Galaxy SI yes I can smash the f*ckers glass face into a concrete pavement on a drunken night out every weekend and not so much as a scratch on her after all these years, truly amazing phone.

I'm also surprised more basement dwellers didn't pollute the thread with their typical group think anti-iPhone rhethoric although you have stepped up to the plate.

Antar Bolaeisk

Generally use mine a lot, normally internet on the go, checking out places to see and things to do. Occasionally SSHing into my computer/router, bit of remote desktoping. Banal stuff like email, music, social networking, news on the go, satnav.

I find onenote incredibly handy for referencing lists/notes and for making any updates on the fly. The photosync is also very good, means I at least have a backup should anything happen to the phone. It also doesn't hurt that the camera on my phone is now better than my point and shoot camera.

The things I use it least for are calls and text messages!

Mint Aero

Eugene Norman wrote: »

I'm also surprised more basement dwellers didn't pollute the thread with their typical group think anti-iPhone rhethoric although you have stepped up to the plate.

I haven't even started buddy. I've got a plethora of anti-iPhone material waiting for use. We don't have much basements in Ireland, it's not America ye know.....

starlit

Sony and iphones are good for an entertainment perspective, apps samsungs just as good a lot of it is power and storage really when it comes to apps. Keep the ones you use and delete the ones that you don't use and take up too much storage/memory especially if crashing a bit, the antivirus software be likely to drain the ram and the battery too. Some smartphones have better battery than others but mostly last a day for general use. Unless they start to turn on and off itself and go on standby and over heat or have a software issue and not doing updates may need reset/delete stuff. No different to a computer/laptop.

Joe prim

Generally just PDOs, but lately I also find i use it for TRZ closecasting if I'm in the Southern hemisphere, but only if I'm in reach of an 800Gb + net.For day to day work, STV 'Smokesignals" is a great app, highly productive and makes me a far more effective operative "on-the -road", and gives me universal applicability over a huge range of 4G platforms, wouldn't be without it TBH.

Vincent Vega

Nokia 100

-Sudoku
-Flashlight
-Battery life

Littlekittylou

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

I had an S4 and lost it. When it came to replacing it I thought whether or not I really needed another expensive, and large, smartphone and pretty much decided I never used it for much aside from texts/WhatsApp and short uses of the internet and emails because I tend to use my tablet more when I have it and free time. In the end I decided to go with a smaller and cheaper phone (S3 mini) and my choice seems wise so far since, as I expected, it's only used for the very basics. The thing is, I can't help but feel like I wanna spend the money on a high end/large smartphone again just to have it, especially since I'm about to change networks and the new S6 and One M9 are on the way and will be tempting buys.


What do you, owners of high end phones like the S5, Note 4, One M8, 6/6+ etc., do with yours to justify the prices?

Finally got lower end samsung smart phone..........i do nothing ...no apps nothing........glad i did not go over board

although i use it as an alarm in the morning....

starlit

Samsung S6 and S6 Edge has been announced today, specs are good but just a few of the specs wouldn't be what Samsung usually go for, I like the fact they have a microsd slot over what iphones have which is built in. S6 includes a microsd slot/section and none removal-able battery which A3 and A5 have as well but they have a microsd slot. S6 now has a wireless charging....

RobertKK

A few years ago I bought an iPhone 4S, came home, set it up, put it in a case. Put it in my breast pocket, went out to feed the cattle, it was winter, phone unknowingly fell out of my pocket.
After a while, I went to get my phone, couldn't find it, so rang the number on another phone, found it squashed into the ground.
I had driven the tractor over it, the case was scratched, some muck on the the side of the phone, but it worked properly.
No I don't recommend driving over your smart phone as a reason to get one, but the iPhone is resilient.

dirtyden

RobertKK wrote: »

A few years ago I bought an iPhone 4S, came home, set it up, put it in a case. Put it in my breast pocket, went out to feed the cattle, it was winter, phone unknowingly fell out of my pocket.
After a while, I went to get my phone, couldn't find it, so rang the number on another phone, found it squashed into the ground.
I had driven the tractor over it, the case was scratched, some muck on the the side of the phone, but it worked properly.
No I don't recommend driving over your smart phone as a reason to get one, but the iPhone is resilient.

Yes but if you drove over the Nokia 3310 you would have broken the tractor.

Littlekittylou

Littlekittylou wrote: »

Finally got lower end samsung smart phone..........i do nothing ...no apps nothing........glad i did not go over board

although i use it as an alarm in the morning....

More or less the same, lower end Samsung, 99% of the time I use it for texts, calls and alarm. I have a tiny old Nokia I also use so I don't have a bulky smartphone when I know I just need something for emergencies and I won't care too much if I mislay or lose it.

Username here

dirtyden wrote: »

Yes but if you drove over the Nokia 3310 you would have broken the tractor.

LOL

I bought my first Nokia in years late last year (if you ignore the couple of weeks I spent with a Nokia something or other running Windows phone 7 something or other, about 3 years ago - WP was still a little half-baked for me at that stage). I now have a Lumia 830, and it's just lovely.

As for what I do with it, I browse/post to boards, do some other social networking, keep an eye on personal and work emails, stay up to date with the news, use sat-nav to figure out both how to get there and how long it will take, get goal alerts when Premier League / Champions League goals are scored, stay up to date with Fantasy Football, keep an eye on the weather, keep track of how far off 10,000 steps a day I am, do online banking, search for the cheapest fuel nearby - the list just goes on and on.

I remember thinking when I got my first smartphone that ran 3rd party apps (a HTC Hero) that this could be AWESOME if everyone got on board. Well, lots of people have gotten on board, and it's amazing - for me, at least - to have something in my hand to do things that up to a few years ago, I'd have to have been sitting at a PC to do.

I can still remember my first mobile, about 20 years ago, that had 24 hours STANDBY time!!!, and could barely manage to send a text. The progress since then has been amazing.

DoYouEvenLift

Strongly considering the S6 now lol, at least I've a while before it comes out to decide