The AMC Gremlin.
A bunch of us guys would be sitting around at Starbucks, sipping our venti, triple shot, whole milk quattrochinos and we'd pretty much all have our smart phones sitting around on the table. But not me. I kept my in my pocket. I was a little embarrassed to be the only person in my peer group who seemed reticent to spend (waste?) money by endlessly upgrading telephones. And I must admit that I was a bit jealous as I timed the start up of some of their new miracle phones and realized that I was basically sporting the Nikon D1 of the Apple iPhones. I won't even admit which phone I was using as recently as this morning but I will confess that part of my reason for buying a new phone was that the model I've had will not be upgradable in the next iOS software upgrade. Gone will be those marvelous tweaks that make moving around my brilliant messages and enticing conversations so secure. No more performance fixes. No more ephemeral something-ness for my phone.
My friend, James, looked at my phone and you could tell by his expression that he envisioned it as the AMC Gremlin of communications. I explained that I bought it on a two-for-one deal from AT&T when Ben was a senior in high school and, well, that was a while ago.... but it really was.....almost?....state of the art at the time... It could be worse, it could be an Android phone...
The funny thing is that my even more frugal spouse and partner is sporting an even older phone. She recently had it lounging on her work table at the advertising agency where she's employed and all the millennials in the office stopped by to stare at it. They had never seen a smartphone that was so small. They loved it. They assumed it was a next gen product. But Belinda set them straight by telling them that it was an iPhone 4. A phone first introduced when most of her associates were still in middle school.
I asked her if she wanted me to buy her a new phone when I decided to buy a new one. She declined and explained to me that while my use of my phone was more like the use of a defacto mini-iPad she still only uses hers as......a telephone. And in that capacity it works quite well....
I didn't push it. She makes far more money than me and when she needs a phone I'm sure she'll research her purchase for weeks, or months, and then buy the right one.
I went out for a walk this morning and at the end of the walk I headed into the local AT&T store and bought an iPhone XR. We did the transaction and they walked me through the set-up. The store staff seemed amazed that anyone over 60 knew how to back up a phone to the cloud, or set up a new phone and transfer vital data. I tried to explain to them that I'd been working as my own, in-house I.T. director since the first Apple Macintosh came into our lives back in 1984, and that I still owned both the first and second generations of iPhones but that part of the conversation seemed lost on them as they explained to me how useful plastic cases are for phones, and how I'll need to "charge" the battery.
Setting up face detection was fun. Paying for a new phone was less fun. But then I used my new phone to take pictures of wet towels and everything came clear to me in a flash. I'll be able to sell off all my cameras and lenses and depend completely on the camera in my phone. I just hope I have the marketing chops to monetize the results....
I posted some photos here to flesh out the post. Have you upgraded your phone yet? Gotten a vaccination for shingles? Started wearing adjustable waist slacks? Started wearing stuff with more Velcro? Drinking more Sanka? Watch out.
The large antenna required for Russian mobile phones.
A Kirk Tuck original: COFFEE TO GO.
SUMMER SWIMMING.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF 12 MEGAPIXEL M43 CAMERAS
TRAILER TOP SUMMER WEAR.
20 comments:
When I bought my last phone, the pleasant young lady behind the counter said, "Would you like me to set it up for you? I know it can be intimidating for senior citizens." I'm 72.
I said no thanks, the first computer I used had ladders and a walkway so I can probably figure it out.
Blank stare. So I said, no, but thanks for asking.
That's nothing. I still use my iPhone 3GS! Hven't been able to upgrade its iOS or apps in years, but that's not necessary to text and the few other things I use it for.
Just bought a new phone today, since I lost my Motorola E gen2 for the third time this week. Blew a whole $80 on an E5play, so ~3 generations newer, 2/3" larger screen diagonal and a superduper 8Mpx camera. Sure hope it can make decent phone calls from our wilderness home like the gen2 did.
Next up: a hideous bright blue cover.. I'm really tired if misplacing black phones.
Wait until your "even more frugal spouse and partner" has grandchildren. That'll be upgrade time for sure.
I upgraded my iPhone 4 when the iPhone X came out. I use it for maps when travelling in foreign climes and my '4' was not up to doing it well. However, I still use my '4' when travelling to the UK and other places (like Europe), as well as taking my 'x' as I can buy a card for some amount (say ten pounds) to go in the '4' and call friends, book restraints, etc. etc. without paying any roaming charges. As the card gets used up, (if it gets used up) I can top it up with a text or call. So don't give away your old phone! Two card slots in a camera is of minor use, but two card slots in a phone would save me having to carry two phones. For some reason, the service providers in the US are dead against Apple offering this feature.
Peter Wright.
The last cell phone I had was a "brick" style phone bought ca. 2003 and used until nearly a decade ago. Haven't had one since. My wife still uses a flip phone from the pre-smart phone era.
Ken
I think the X and XS both offer dual slots....
I went to a Google Pixel 3XL for the camera and the bigger screen - my eyes are getting old. I have to manage some online stuff on the go, so I tend to stay within a couple of years of current. The Google camera is good, especially the night view. More accurately, the multi-image processing that Google does is amazing. You can also shoot raw, which I do, so I get a 16bit file to tweak if I want. But I find that I do not tweak many, so I am may turn that off. It gives a camera with me in places where I cannot bring a real camera. It is a nice 28mm fixed lens carry around camera for f8 and be there. Within those constraints, I am amazed at what it can do.
While my first computers did not have ladders, they did have switches to enter the binary codes to load the bootstrap loader from the tape - the origin of booting up.
I happen to prefer Android and small size (and hardware buttons, right now an LG Wine flip phone - fits any pocket) - for size I add a 7" tablet.
I haven't yet been able to find a phone I like that has a good camera, so I prefer a Camera, now a DXO One often hanging around my neck and in a shirt pocket - but I miss the reach of my dead XF1!
( One nice thing about the "One" is that it remembers distance, so it can be used for zone focusing. And it has a miniature underwater housing.)
But I had to get an iPhone to set the DXO One up, an old iPhone 5!
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Love that (second) red photo and the sunflower!
Upgraded to a Pixel 3 a few months ago, cause the older Samsung S5 was having problems. If you take all photos, even in daylight, with the night shot mode it does pretty good for a phone's camera. I admit I chose phone for the camera. Still rather have one of my dedicated cameras. Even my old Canon G15 can do things my phone can't. And with EZShare wifi cards in the cameras that don't have wifi, and Photoshop Express on the phone, I can still do the mobile photography sharing thing. Takes a few more minutes to upload to the phone over the pics being instantly accessible when shot with the phone, but I grew up on film, so no big deal.
I needed a new phone service a while back and with it a new phone so I also chose the XR. I'm quite impressed with the photos it takes. Its ability to hold highlights in check was a surprise. Someday I'll try to take advantage of the B&W app I have.
This was fun :). :)
I recently replaced my iPhone 5s (same model as you, if I remember correctly) with the SE. Same small form factor.
DavidB
I have new XR coming tomorrow. I upgraded from a SE mostly to get a larger screen for my birdwatching guides and apps but am looking forward to seeing what the camera can do.
Speaking of OS upgrades, if you haven’t done so go to stclairsoft.com and download their free GO64 system scanner for Macs. It will suss out all the hidden 32-bit widgets still incorporated in your iMac’s 64-bit programs. It identifies what they are and where they reside and lets you know what will stop working if you upgrade to the coming Mac OS Catalina. Better to find and fix than just keep crashing.
On phones: my wife yanked me into this century and away from my $8/month Tracfone service (the flip phone itself was free). The iPhone 8 does provide a nice camera, but the voice quality is far inferior. (The phone was not free, despite AT&T’s alleged two for the price of one deal.) Plus, it’s like walking around with a plank in one’s pocket thanks to iPhone’s ever-increasing size. Grumpy enough? Check back later. It’s still early.
Still happy with my flip phone. And I’d like to take the shingles vaccine, but the pharmacies around here can’t seem to get it.
Well, the cameras certainly are better, especially if you only view the images on the phone, not only having replaced P&S cameras, but single purpose GPS devices.
But for your business? Wait for the "independent professional commercial photographer " filter. It might even be in alpha now.
Btw, watch the sun exposure. Your face looked mighty red in your Olympus shot.
They still make Sanka??
I am still using a five-year old Sony Xperia phone. It looks quite beaten up due to the (literally) hundreds of times it has been dropped without being in a case. It still works. My gut tells me that when it comes time to replace it I will likely go with a mid-range or older high-end Android phone. Although iPhones are nice, buying the model I want will effectively wipe out my camera/lens budget for one year. (The same is true of the newest high-end Android phones.) I think I will do with my cell phone what I have tended to do with my cameras - use it until it no longer works. Or it gets destroyed.
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