I did work for myself and even then it seemed an awful waste of life to let the stress infect every area of my existence for want of a few quid.

Convergence is the point as far as my iPhone goes.

Now I need one item to replace the following.

1) Pocket phone
2) Pocket calculator
3) Pocket camera
4) Pocket video camera
5) GPS
6) Voice memo recorder
7) Diary
8) Shopping list and diary
9) Games machine with cartridges
10) Revision cards for my exam.
11) Address book
12) Paperback book / comic
13) iPod
14) Radio
15) Metronome
16) Guitar tuner
17) Alarm Clock

In addition I can do things that would not have gone into my pocket in the past.

I have several Photo albums
I have a Twitter and Facebook client
I have a document scanner
I have an internet browser
I have a barcode scanner
I have a sleep inducing white noise generator
I have full access to my Dropbox
I have a WiFi detector
I have a device that will let me watch TV on the go.
I have a device for recording melodies as they occur to me.
I have Brightkite (detects if you mates are in the vicinity)

This and so much more.

I know that some phones could do some of the above without multitouch but ooh they were a pain to use.

I'm really, really not getting at you but I'm going to illustrate where I'm coming from on this using your post.

Sorry in advance

1) Pocket phone - normal mobile
2) Pocket calculator - mental arithmetic, normal mobile or piece of paper
3) Pocket camera - eyes
4) Pocket video camera - eyes
5) GPS - map
6) Voice memo recorder - remember it or piece of paper
7) Diary - remember it or diary
8) Shopping list and diary - remember it
9) Games machine with cartridges - if I'm out I don't need one
10) Revision cards for my exam. - learn it the first time around
11) Address book - normal mobile
12) Paperback book / comic - Paperback book / comic?
13) iPod - listen to the real world because it can be lovely
14) Radio - see 13
15) Metronome - wristwatch
16) Guitar tuner - rack-mounted bass tuner or perfect pitch
17) Alarm Clock - wristwatch or normal mobile

I have several Photo albums - I remember things
I have a Twitter and Facebook client - don't want to Twitter or talk to idiots
I have a document scanner - don't need to scan documents
I have an internet browser - my broadband's lack of speed drives me mad enough as it is
I have a barcode scanner - eh?
I have a sleep inducing white noise generator - I just go to sleep
I have full access to my Dropbox - don't need it on the move
I have a WiFi detector - don't use or want to use wifi
I have a device that will let me watch TV on the go. - I hate myself for watching too much TV as it is
I have a device for recording melodies as they occur to me. - now that one I understand
I have Brightkite (detects if you mates are in the vicinity) - I prefer the lovely feeling of meeting people accidentally plus I also love interacting with strangers

I really would love to go back to using my trusty old 3210 but I lobbed it years ago. It did everything I've ever wanted from a phone and YMMV but every phone for me since has been slower at the basics. I just don't like convergence - I like specialised equipment. It may require more devices but I have few purposes that involve electronics and so it probably works out cheaper overall.

I guess I just love my life more when it's unplugged. Maybe I don't get the attraction.

If you need these CC then you should really put the guitar down and back away slowly.

I said SLOWLY!

I guess you won't get it until you've actually used one. One of my colleagues was lucky enough to be able to borrow one for a week and was blown away - his words 'the iPhone rocks'! We probably won't convert you but you're missing out dude

I know you are not getting at me my oxidised pal. As I said the point for me is convergence.

For example. I got stuck at a tyre place for two hours. Empty waiting room, no newpapers, no shops nearby, pissing it down with rain. So I took out my convergence device and read a book. I did not expect the two hour delay so I did not take a real one with me.

Another example. I was in Comet, I saw a breadmaker on offer. I scanned the bar code and found that it was £30 cheaper than anywhere on the web. So I bought it.

Another example. I needed to get an emergency appointment at the doctor for a relative. They were in a lot of pain. I Googled for the nearest chemist and used the GPS to take me there just before they closed.

So though I could have used a book, a laptop and a GPS I did not need them. I happened to have my phone with me so job done.

The trouble is what happens if you have no signal.

I guess, heaven forbid, you could ask someone.

Seriously though, we don't need many of the things we use but they are useful nonetheless.

Fair enough!

I have to day I am generally of the same ilk – my old phone ( that is actually SWMBO’s old one) is fine. It make calls, it does texts and my average bill is under £6 / month

I think you can divide the uses between work and leisure

Big_D uses one for work and if I was out of the office more I would get a blackberry to access work e-mails
At home being able to do e-mails while not at home would be nice every now and then its not a compelling enough reason to get one ( for me anyway)

BUT if I did get a smart touch phone I bet I would at least be doing some surfing on it and then checking e-mails and soon slip into the dark side of facebook (which I hate with a passion)

So rustybucket its just one of those things – just like SWMBO not understanding how I can spend hours playing a game on the PC but she can spend the same amount of time on facebook which is “normal” according to her and who am I so say otherwise

Funny you say that. I was working between xmas and new year and it was pretty dead as you can imagine so I was playing games on facebook. My colleague scoffed at me. I said so it's OK for fully grown MEN to spend hours playing video games but it's not OK for an adult female to play games on the internet? Double standards what what!

This is true, though many apps are self contained.

The main problem with devices like this is that you have all your eggs in one basket. If it is lost or fails is some way you lose everything. (Though it can be restored onto a new device with one click).

RB has it right in that we can manage without our tech. in fact there are arguments for so doing. However for the geeky having that much tech in your pocket is a real buzz.

I don't know how Tardisian your pockets are, but I could seriously never even begin to consider carrying that much stuff around with me all the time.

Pieces of paper are great for making quick notes, but they're easily lost and they quickly degrade if you keep them in your pocket. A secure centralised database with cached off-line access is both more efficient and more convenient, ensuring both the long term viability and ready access of the information.

Just the maps alone would require lugging a huge rucksack around. I used to carry street level maps for a few dozen locations with me in the car. That took up quite a large box, cost hundreds of pounds and were all out of date before you knew it. Plus the most used ones all fell to pieces.

I do take a magazine or book with me if I know in advance that I'll have time to read, but of course the point is you rarely do know in advance that someone or something is going to keep you waiting for hours. I have no crystal ball, and I'm not lugging reading material everywhere I go.

Carry a diary? How big are your pockets? I don't want to carry around one of those little pocket diaries you can barely write 3 words per day in, let alone a usefully sized one for this year and last. Plus, if your diary is in your pocket, how the hell is your secretary supposed to read it? It's rather pointless writing stuff down where no one can access it! Calendar FTW.

Wristwatches are a pet hate of mine. I don't think jewellery looks good on men, and even the most utilitarian of time pieces is an unnecessary encumbrance. Before I had a phone, I did use one. They usually broke in a couple of years, or if I took them off to avoid breaking them - I'd lose them. Either way, completely pointless now I carry a phone.

Incidentally, I don't usually take my phone to the pub with me. I know my way home, I'm clearly not expecting to do any work or read any novels, and I'll mostly be talking to real people. Also, if I can't see the big clock on the wall, someone is sure to remind me when last orders is due.

Thanks for reminding me why I own most of the stuff I have

iPhone next on the list but I can't afford it for a year at least!

Can't be arsed looking at my phone, it's annoying doing that for me somehow

I've got these images on watches, they're from Alchemy Gothic (buggered if I can find any images of the funky watches themselves):

#:::::::::: Marklarr-style Long Post Alert ::::::::::
#:::::::::: Sorry ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Almost every coat I have could easily carry all of that. Seriously it's not a lot of stuff.

And nobody's going to mug me for a pocket A-Z.

Failing that - a small bag?


If I drop or stand on or bang the piece of paper whilst banging in a fencepost or walking up a hill, chances are that it won't get too badly damaged. If I drop or stand on or bang a phone chances are it's shagged.

I use cheap 2nd hand phones because when it inevitably stops working I whip out the SIM card and pop it into a spare.


I'm not a member of the cast of 24 nor a crack international assassin.

I'm simply not ever going to be called to somewhere unknown without the chance to consult a map first. I managed to live in Birmingham for 4 years without ever having an A-Z. I go to Manchester maybe 4 times a year to places I know very well. I can navigate to most well-known places in Britain without a map and I'm rather skilled at unlosing myself. I like to explore but if I have to be somewhere I'll make sure I know where I'm going first.


I don't lug reading material around either. But neither do I "wait". I much prefer to explore and examine and hypothesise and test and wonder and question and see and touch and hear and smell ......

The world is full of infinite wonders the perception of which varies from person to person. For instance I see Physics and Maths and engineering everywhere I look. I'll watch people walking in a busy street and wonder at the similarities with air conditioning systems. Or sometimes I'll find someone who looks miserable and try to help them or brighten their day. Surely having to hang around for two hours is a great opportunity to contemplate the world or talk to someone - efficiency isn't everything


But no-one needs to access it but me

And I shudder at the thought of someone being able to change my, repeat my diary when they choose to.


When you work in a location with zero reception (so that your phone battery dies in 90 minutes) in rain, mud and crap I find a simple £6 20gram wristwatch to be much less encumbering than a 4oz monolith banging against my leg.

Plus you can use any analogue wristwatch as a compass.

Plus you can't fit an iPhone into chainsaw trousers.


Funny that.

Going to the pub is the one time I usually even have my phone on me. I've spent £3 on credit in 2 years - PAYG FTW!

I guess we're just doomed to be opposites. *shrug*