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by neya 4893 days ago
Here's my experience. It's not exactly the same, but it's worth a read.

Currently I have a very basic Nokia model. There is a process called 'handing over' or 'hand shake' that happens when you move from one cell (a small region of an entire area) to another or when one cellphone tower 'hands over' the signal to another tower. This process is handled exceptionally well on most smartphones, but not so well on the basic phones such as lower-end Nokias.

So, if you were in the middle of a call and this handshake happens (mostly when you are traveling) and if it isn't done on time, or if it isn't done right, the call is dropped.

Previously I had a HTC Desire S, which I dropped from the top of a building by mistake and hence I ended up with this Nokia. Now, this Nokia had frequent call drops and it won't even notify me when it happens. It got irritating after a point, because I would still keep talking assuming the other person is still listening (while on a call) only to realize that I would have to repeat whatever I just said.

One day, I got so angry, because it was an important call, I just thrashed the phone on to the ground on purpose. Luckily, only the display broke, but the phone would still function normally.

Here's my experience with this phone:

1) Previously, on my HTC, all my 2000+ contact would be synced from my google account automatically. There was zero effort needed on my part, so, basically I had everyone's number on my phone synced automagically - My family, Friends on Facebook, Friends on whtasapp, etc.

With this nokia phone, I would have to manually save each number to the phone (which has only a max. of 500 contacts) also it's a tedious process, because I'd need to type them manually. Since the display is gone now, I need to memorize the numbers of important people. And I could feel in a week's time, my ability to memorize (which was previously rusty) has actually improved. With a smartphone, I didn't have to memorize anything - While convenient, it's dangerous, sometimes. For example, I once needed to recall someone's number to deliver my movie tickets at a particular place and I had actually forgotten their number. It was a nightmare.

And it's not just numbers, I actually have the workflow memorized too - To access phonebook, press right right select. To access recent calls - down down left. Stuff liek that. It's ugly, but it gets the job done.

2) Productivity. I'm a heavy Facebook user. Or I was, rather. I realized, my smartphone alone was responsible for over 80% of the status updates and photos uploaded to my account. It was a content producer by itself. Now that it is no more, I feel the urge to use the platform has considerably decreased, because I don't have a camera phone now and I haven't uploaded anything much since my phone broke.

3) Savings. I saved a LOT. No data plans meant cheaper monthly rates and no phone book meant memorizing only important people's numbers and calling fewer people. I do have a back up of my contacts on my google account though.

4) Safety. I don't walk on the streets typing some random shit on my Android qwerty keyboard nor do I talk to someone over the bluetooth headset while driving. This is subjective, though - Not everyone does all this with their smartphones.

5) No screening. Since my phone doesn't have a display, I wouldn't be able to see who's calling me. If I miss them, I will never get to know who had called me either. So, sometimes, if the phone rings, I just answer and say 'hello' and talk to whoever it is, instead of ignoring people by their name (sometimes to avoid them on purpose, because I would be busy with something). I realized how much I missed out by categorizing certain people as boring. Again, this is a subjective thing.

6) Battery. This phone lasts for almost 2 weeks. My HTC would last only a little less than a day. It's a huge difference. No charging or low battery woes.

All in all, I'm a productive person, comparatively and a more real-world friendly guy - instead of taking pictures of pancakes and uploading them to instagram, I just fucking eat them.

6 comments

First off, this made me laugh, I wish more of my friends would do just this

"instead of taking pictures of pancakes and uploading them to instagram, I just fucking eat them."

Secondly I have a very strange and irrational relationship with smartphones and I've never really been able to explain it. I always have a phone that does far to much, much more than I will ever actually use it for. I know this but still end up with a phone that costs £100s when really I could manage just a well with a basic dumb phone.

I guess this proves the power of advertising and marketing.

So, we reached that point already where we are so forward that we want to go backward? The things that make our life easier really just make it better? I am not sure... I'm not going to say you are wrong, only it is quite funny if you think about it...
If you can't say no and don't have much self-control, it just makes sense to get rid of the device that empowers those behaviors. I imagine those people are in the minority but perhaps in the majority amongst geeks. Not to mention things like reddit blockers, etc.
It seems people often use the excuse that a smartphone allows them to easily perform time-wasting or rude behavior as legitimate reasons for not using those devices, even though they admit specific benefits these items provide. Similar arguments could be made about using a any type of phone at all; just go visit people. Repeat with car, television, radio, etc.

You've identified behaviors you feel detrimental. That, in itself, is extremely useful. Now you can go back to using your smartphone, and try to minimize those behaviors while still enjoying the benefits of your smartphone.

Let's not blame our tools for our own bad habits.

2 weeks? I thought I should be proud of 25h of battery life. Incredible how energy efficient those old bricks are compared to modern smartphones, which even have a better battery.
Currently I have a very basic Nokia model. There is a process called 'handing over' or 'hand shake' that happens when you move from one cell (a small region of an entire area) to another or when one cellphone tower 'hands over' the signal to another tower. This process is handled exceptionally well on most smartphones, but not so well on the basic phones such as lower-end Nokias.

Are you sure this is accurate? I've never had call drop issues on the various non-smart phones I've owned.

I have a Nokia C1-00. I've also had a dozen other basic models from LG and Samsung and they too had this, for some strange reason. I think it has something to do with the phone's inbuilt micro-processor not being powerful enough to hand-over on time....
That's weird and, well, not my experience.

I've never owned a smartphone and usually use basic candybar or flip phones, such as this cheap $20 Nokia sitting next to me. I can't say that reason sounds likely. (And I have a whole drawer full of old, cheap phones that I give to foreigners visiting the US)

Dropped calls are rather rare for me and usually happen when I'm sitting still in my office, not moving about.

My Nokia (C2-01) has never dropped a call. I did a 4 hour call up the East Coast Mainline in the UK with no drops at 120mph :)

But spot on to all your points :)

Thanks, I have a broken Nokia C1-00 :)
Great phone - has a proper flashlight too! My wife has one as her spare handset (she uses an Asha 302 the rest of the time).
Yep, it sure is...I still have it just for the torch :)