Author Topic: Dumb phone transition  (Read 4510 times)

icek05

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Dumb phone transition
« on: September 24, 2014, 09:46:54 AM »
So I'm looking for anyone who has had experience downgrading from a typical smart phone.  Currently I have a Defy XT on Republic that is $20/mo.  However, I also have a phone for work that is paid by the company and they don't care if I use it for personal stuff, but it just a plain Kyocera flip phone.

I'm thinking about canceling my Republic plan and just using the flip phone for everything but am being a wuss about it so I was wondering if anyone else has done something similar and can assure me that it isn't that bad.  Or, say that it is terrible and just to pay the $20/mo.

innkeeper77

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2014, 10:27:04 AM »
I did it! I went from a Verizonm Droid 4 to a Nokia 301 on Airvoice. All I did was spend a car ride with both phones, manually entering each contact. After that, I hard reset the phone, and sold it on craigslist.

If you must keep using Android apps, you could get a used tablet or something. We use one in the kitchen for recipes all the time.. and that's about it. I find I really don't miss the smartphone, and I REALLY love the new dumbphone battery life.

Daley

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2014, 10:35:04 AM »
If you're nervous about it, why not just try it out before kicking Republic to the curb? It costs nothing but the cost to keep the service active to just leave the smartphone at home. Maybe try taking up this throw down the gauntlet challenge for a month, and consider the $20 "wasted" service time the cost to find out whether you actually need it or not... and if you don't, it becomes the last $20 you ever have to spend.

falcondisruptor

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2014, 10:42:16 AM »
I don't use my phone very often but feel that I do need one in case of emergencies.  I'm in Canada and just found out that 7-11 has a pay as you go plan where a $25 credit can last all year.  Right now I'm with Wind and pay $30/month for unlimited voice, text, and data.  I'm pretty sure that I'd survive the switch, but I too am being a wuss.  I would be able to keep my smart phone to use with WIFI and could just swap the sims.

icek05

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2014, 02:53:31 PM »
Thanks for the info/ encouragement.  Based on the responses the the gauntlet challenge I decided I really need to just quit being a wuss, which is exactly what I was hoping for.  My wife has a smartphone, so already in my head I know there won't be any problems.  Time to just take the plunge.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2014, 04:20:27 PM »
It really depends on your usage. I almost never use the phone, and my data usage is peanuts (web based IM, and occasional MMM forum browsing). I have a "smart" phone but it costs me very little per month.

KS

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Re: Dumb phone transition
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2014, 05:30:48 PM »
Sounds like you've already gotten enough nudges to take the leap, but I'll add one more (with a few caveats) to the pile. I had a smartphone for about a year and a half, until it crapped out on me right in the middle zone between the warranty expiring and my next free upgrade. (I'm still with Sprint because I'm part of my mom's family plan where we are somehow grandfathered into a pretty competitive price, and I've been too lazy to figure out switching for the minimal savings it would get me.)

Rather than shell out for repairs or a new phone I had them transfer my service back to my old flip phone "temporarily" until I could upgrade again for free. I still haven't upgraded back to a smartphone, and it's probably been a couple years now. I almost never miss it. The caveats (some of which maybe don't apply to you if the more current dumbphones have better compatibility in some areas):
-Nobody I know makes phone calls very often anymore, instead they send super long texts, which for me either don't come through, come through blank, or come through broken up into smaller chunks, often out of order.
-responding to said super long texts without a qwerty keyboard gets a bit painful on the thumbs
-Picture mails come through sporadically, if at all. Can't seem to send them anymore either.
-Conversation style texts, the kind sent to multiple recipients, also don't come through. Unfortunately this is the primary way some of my closest friends get in touch, make announcements, or send updates (recent example: best friend was in labor literally down the street from me, it was longish and complicated and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for individually sent forwarded updates through another friend who lives across the country since the dad-to-be only had time to send out messages group-style, which my phone wasn't showing me.)

Those are the only differences I've noticed that might actually make me consider upgrading again if I could find a smartphone that actually fits in my hand instead of the behemoths they all are now. But like I say some may have more to do with the fact that my phone is now probably about 6 years old rather than the fact that it's not a mini-computer. Good luck if you make the switch! You'll be surprised both at how little you miss the apps once you break the initial addiction, and at suddenly noticing how much time everyone else spends on theirs.