Cell phones and BladeForums

guy g

guy g

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
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Was reading through the thread on the old timers... I joined 10-2000.
My question is... How many of you thought that 20 years since then we would be Reading BF on our phones?
Certainly not me and my flip phone.. Enjoy the thought.
 
I can't stand viewing BF on my smart phone. I got my first cell phone in 1996 and first use dated back in the early 90's for work. I was shocked at that time how expensive they were. Unlimited minutes has changed the world from a user point of view. It won't be long before unlimited data is assumed.

Things have really changed technology-wise with regard to these devices. Tablets work okay as long as you have a fast connection.
 
I get your point , desk tops are defiantly larger in screen and in a fixed position faster.
I'd be lost tho without the smart phone.
Not all the truckstops have enough wifi to handle the volume of drivers using it.
 
I’m 39 years old and have had a smartphone for about 10 years now, I’ve been a member of BF for 4 years I think. I gave my daughter my laptop about 2 years ago and have not used a computer or laptop since, with the exception of helping my daughter edit photos on her laptop.
 
3fifty7 said:
I’m 39 years old and have had a smartphone for about 10 years now, I’ve been a member of BF for 4 years I think. I gave my daughter my laptop about 2 years ago and have not used a computer or laptop since, with the exception of helping my daughter edit photos on her laptop.
Click to expand...
I use a computer every single day. I have three functional ones at the moment (not counting my wife's). One is about to poop out but I have everything important backed up onto another hard drive. My wife who has a laptop stopped using her computer entirely after she got used to using a tablet. She didn't use the tablet at first. I told her for her usage, that was pretty much all she needed as long as we had a computer as a backup in the house for more rigorous tasks or ones that require much printing as well as photo editing. We don't do much printing or photo editing.

If I were a truck driver, I would use a tablet for stuff on the road other than the weather. I would never do any kind of sensitive online stuff (like banking) from a public wifi network.... never. If I were on the road a lot, I would have a hotspot other than my smartphone.

From a business point of view, I also would be really hurting these days without a smartphone. Texting is much much easier from a smartphone and generally costs a bit extra to be able to do it from a tablet.

I shifted to a smartphone after I needed to be able to accept payments remotely via Square around 2007. My wife got one shortly after.
 
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I never use a cell phone to view BF.
I only look at BF when I'm home. If I'm home, there's a computer with a full keyboard and screen.

Granted times have changed. When I was very young, many "long distance" calls required an operator to place the call and the per-minute charge was very high.
 
22- Rimfire, u are absolutely right about not doing anything sensitive on truck stop WiFi !! I don't do any online banking and anything like that..wife handles that.
Knarfang.. I used to be home more than I am now , so computer surfing was easy. I tried the tablet and it was easier just to fire up the phone app or website.
 
I view Bladeforums on a 12.9” iPad and expand the display for better reading and viewing.
 
I wanted to clarify.... I would have a hotspot (with unlimited data) IF I carried a regular laptop on the road or a tablet computer that did not have it's own 4G access. This assumes this is a common event for me... the traveling. 5G is coming but it will be a while for most places other than the really big cities. My tablet has 4G access like a phone. Hotel/motel wifi is spotty and depends a lot of where your room is located relative to the wifi source. Rarely have I been satisfied with hotel/motel wifi and the security aspect bothered me because a hacker could just sit out in the parking lot and do their potential damage to users.

I remember getting my first tablet and thinking I "needed" a special case and blue tooth keyboard..... I got both and discovered it defeated the purpose of a tablet for me.... portability (over a lap top). If I am working, I generally have a laptop with me unless it's a one nighter.

The tablet is really handy for gps travel directions, hotel reservations or searches while on the road.
 
My iPad keyboard is “hardwired” with brass buttons to the iPad. This is good because a Bluetooth keyboard would fight with my hearing aids for dominance. I have a cellular data account with a SIM card which is in my large iPad but can be moved to smaller pads. I switch the cellular data on when the WiFi is poor, too public, or nonexistent. The cellular data is really handy when traveling and I need a readable map or directions to an ice cream vendor.
 
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