I have no idea what you're talking about much less where you're shopping for 'service fees', but my iphone costs $35/month all in for unlimited phone, text and data, as near as I can tell that's about as cheap as a 'dumb' cell phone (alone) can be putting aside all the other functions. And a Garmin
, seriously they still make those?
Today is a great example of how useful this thing is, at least to me. I took the day off for my older brother's wedding & had to travel a few counties away today to a small district court where the ceremony was. I volunteered to take my elderly parents with me so we (and my girlfriend) all piled into my dad's car, some kind of caddie SUV with all the ridiculous bells & whistles. Fucking pain in the ass vehicle that shuts off at every intersection, vibrates the seat when you get too close to another car & beeps every time you hit 55mph... but I digress. Since he's had it for more than a year his 'free' subscription ran out on the giant display screen so he didn't have 'nav' anymore. I plugged my iphone into the jack & boom, my phone's nav displayed on his screen as well as my ipod tunes. Last 'Garmin' I had wouldn't have been capable of that. I then video taped the ceremony along with about 50 photos. And, against my determination to not do any work, exchanged multiple emails with my secretary addressing a couple emergencies at my office, I'm a solo practitioner so all emergencies are mine to field. This tip of the iceberg was done with a tiny object about the size of a pack of smokes. I can't even comprehend the amount of bullshit I'd have to lug around to get all of this done without this simple iphone.
If you're going to maintain that you have a better way to do all of that as conveniently, I think you're kidding yourself. In fact if you're going to maintain that you can assemble a complete group of devices that can do everything a half ass decent smart phone can for less than $199 to buy & then spend less than $35/mo to keep them all up & running, you've slid right on past kidding yourself.
Hate them all you want, & part of me joins you in that, if I could flip a switch & go back to the era of technology I grew up with in the 70's & into the 80's, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Not because I want less convenience but because I enjoyed the anonymity of the times along with the ability to be off the grid by just walking out the door. But as much as we don't like it, it's not then, it's now, & in my day to day life & in my profession whether I like it or not pound for pound there is simply no reasonable or economical substitute for the functionality of a device that takes up no more room in my pocket than a wallet.
