why you don't use iphone or blackberry ?

[xlovecolouredx]

my main job is a freelance interior/ furniture designer.

after kicked myself out from the company i worked for 5 years, i found i'm work harder but my income doesn't better than i ever got when i was employee.

i use my cellphone, nokia since 2006 and it never drop on the floor. usually, i never clumsy with all electronic gadget i have. that's why my 5 years old nokia still working good but their image looks too old.

today, i met a new client who ask me for design her 180 sq.m. restaurant. she is kind and i don't feel awkward with her but it seems her partner, tom boy doesn't act the same to me.

when she (or i should say he ?) saw my 5 years old nokia. she ask me why you don't use iphone or blackberry ?

blackberry is what new and in-trend for thai people around 1+ year. many people use it as facebook. shit chat more than what useful as i heard from the other country users. and they always use it all the time. last month, one of hi-class restaurant which michelin star chef working with just announced not welcome bb users.

so iphone and bb are what a must have gadget for who working in design or something related field.

i don't know is this same in your country but it is at here.

i don't know what i should reply her but i think this is bullshit.

in-trend gadget doesn't mean the designer who carry it is work better than the other who doesn't have....

:-/

[lonesomexloveus]

i agree. most people never use their phones like that for work, and only have them as a status symbol.

just tell any client who asks why you don't have an iphone or blackberry that you'll spend more time working on projects for them because you don't have one of those phones to distract you ;]

[alertthemute]

I don't even have a cellphone. If I had a job like yours though I would most likely have one. I just don't feel like people need to get a hold of me if I'm not at home. It's a pretty awesome feeling. Plus I still get all the benefits of having a cellphone because everyone else still has them so if I need to make a quick call I can just borrow a friends. It really is win/win.

[sgoodcore]

Droid.

[mrc]

i have been doing freelance work for the last 6 months and grabbed a Droid a few months ago. it has helped me with work so much, but its also fun to kill time with

[akross]

Since I found out you can send text messages to Google for some basic information, I love my phone even more (LG ENV3), weather and directions is all I usually need and I can get that.

I also send text messages to my Remember The Milk to-do list so I remember the important things when I am not around the computer.

I occasionally use texting for Facebook stuff too.

This helps me justify having a phone that doesn't have internet (though I think the ENV3 requires a data plan now...boo on that).

I'm not opposed to a Blackberry, I just don't want to pay for one. Eventually I will get one through work, but I am not important enough yet

[mcm1610]

First, I LOVE that you (Yu) called it "shit chat" rather than "chit chat". Whether it was a typo, something lost in translation, or intentional, it works and it's funny.

But I don't have one of those smart phones because I don't want to be that connected to the world. I'm pretty good about remembering my laptop if I really need to do something on the internet when I'm not at home. Otherwise, I'm out somewhere. I'm probably out somewhere for a purpose, and that purpose isn't to sit on facebook or whatever.

Would it be nice for times like this week when I have to go to jury duty? Probably, but I'm alright with not having it.

[jhulud]

Posts like this are what makes Yu so awesome.

I

[Guest]

I can't even afford to buy records so how the fuck could I afford one of those monthly plans that you have to get to use one? I still use one of those "Buy a bunch of minutes" plans because I almost never use my cellphone.

[birdwell]

that's bullshit Yu, fuck that client

I don't own a Blackberry/iPhone b/c I can't afford the phone itself...much less the monthly plans for them

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

I have a blackberry and use it a lot for work. both as a promoter and for my career job

[scotterson]

It is crappy that people base your status and quality on what kind of phone you have, but at the same time I can understand how a client would feel more comfortable knowing you could get emails, check proofs, etc. when you are not around a computer (even though we may not always want to be able to do that).

[xlovecolouredx]

allison : actually, i want to answer he like that but it seems she already look down me. so my answer is sdoesn't matter, i guess.

alertthemute : i always welcome people who wanna call use my cellphone. your idea is good. one of my senior friend who is a professor in art and graduated from long beach, ca told me if you stay in a same place and same time, people will reach you. that's cool idea.

sammy and mrc : i'm not sure it launch in thailand or not. but it seems that really useful.

mcma610 : although my englsih is crap but i concentrate to type shit chat instead chit chat because most of bb users at here use it for shit. my girlfriend has one but she dislike it. just has it for connect with her crew and clients.

juan : sometime i think i'm too young and so stupid in many trend. i think those who ask me about bb and iphone always ask me the same 'why you're collecting record don't ipod ?'

rad and birdwell : do you know call plan at here are so cheap but cellphone price is not. that's why many tourist from thailand will buy iphone or bb from the states and use in thailand. it's cheaper than buy from their dealer at here.

michael3000 : it's good. a friend of my who working as event pr always use it for her work. and communicate with her supplier from walkie talkie function.

scotterson : i understand your point too but i don't get why she only scope iphone or bb when the other can do the same.

thanks for all replies.

if i have money enough after pay all bills, i may own a first smart phone in my life....

[adammuzzy]

I don't even have a cellphone. If I had a job like yours though I would most likely have one. I just don't feel like people need to get a hold of me if I'm not at home. It's a pretty awesome feeling. Plus I still get all the benefits of having a cellphone because everyone else still has them so if I need to make a quick call I can just borrow a friends. It really is win/win.

same here wooooooo

[mcm1610]

Haha Yu I really do love that you intentionally called it "shit chat".

[Dillhole]

I just plain don't like the interfaces.

I've had the same phone now for like 3 years, I only upgrade when the phone I have starts to show its age or die. I would like to get a full keyboard phone next time around though.

Plus I don't want to pay out the ass since even the minimum monthly charges on any smartphone is already like 3 times what I pay now.

One more thing, I hardly ever use my phone as it is...

[partysmasher]

Love my iphone, didn't get it for work but it's become quite useful for that if i'm out of the office for any reason and need to email. Quite apart from anything, it's just a good source of entertainment on the bus to work/long trips etc. Iphone 4 in two days!

[kirbypuckett]

I don't know how I lived without a "smartphone"

[mcm1610]

Know what I hate about phones in general these days? You go to some sort of social gathering, even if it's just a handful of people, and there's always that phone-absorbed idiot who forgets there's people within an arms' reach and instead sits buried in their phone, texting or facebooking or whatever.

I imagine from an anthropological point of view, our society is absolutely retarded socially because of these things. Like... we're so obsessed with the distant e-world that we overlook the real-life people and events right in front of our faces.

I'm not saying I hate the new technologies, because it's awesome that you can kind of always be in mid-conversation with someone who otherwise you'd never get to see or talk to and it's like you never disconnected with them, but I feel we definitely lost something in social graces in order to gain this ability. Example.. I feel like greetings and goodbyes seriously lack now because you can always text your friend, so when you see him or her for the first time in 6 months, you're already caught up, then when you leave, the goodbyes aren't so bad because 10 minutes later sitting at the airport you'll text back saying, "damn! I forgot my phone charger!"

[mcm1610]

Another extension of this is iPods or other personal-entertainment devices. I know I fell into it in college all the time, but you throw your earbuds in and the interaction shuts down completely. I barely got to know anyone in my classes because if I got there early, I'd sit and listen to music until the professor showed up, when in generations past, you'd engage in small talk with nearby students.

Just think, if they had been listening to iPods, there never would have been that bus-fight where the 50-something year old black guy got beaten up by the 60-something yr old white guy, and so many people would have been deprived the entertainment they got from that youtube video.

[struckanerve]

Good stuff here. I don't think an iphone or bb is necessary for everyday living in the slightest. Granted, I do IT work and have a free BB, but outside of work, i really never touch it. I have a regular phone with no data plan or anything. I just think it has become a huge distraction, we have gotten shit done without an iphone before it came out and I intend to keep it that way. Some people literally can't live without an iphone or bb, i think that is extremely sad.

When i need directions I get a rough outline of the streets beforehand and picture it in my head. I've gotten very lost in baltimore a couple times, but just sticking with my bearings it has always turned out allright. Plus the understanding for the next time. I think literally finding your way is actually fun. But this example goes for any 'app' that replaces something in real life. In your case Yu, it may very well be helpful.

[mcm1610]

There was a small grumbling a few months back about how GPS is ruining everyone's sense of direction. If you follow turn-by-turn prompts, you never actually learn the way, so even if you've driven somewhere 30 times but relied on GPS every time, if you try it again without it, you'll probably not know the way.

[kirbypuckett]

I still learn ways, the fastest and most efficient way usually thanks to GPS.

I use my iPhone a ton, but I put it away for the most part during social events. Of course I check it here and there, but I don't bury my face in it. My brother does that, he's on his phone all of the time.

I'd rather listen to my headphones than talk to the people I went to college w/.

[birdwell]

iPods: When I brought mine and listened to it before class...it was a deliberate attempt to drown-out the retards in my classes...mostly frat-guys/sorority-girls...I had nothing to say to any of them, nor did I want to engage in any sort of conversation with any of them, but I can see your point as well

GPS: Holy shit, when I started working for Jimmy John's just 6 years ago, I guess GPS navigation do-dads were too expensive for kids to have them...so all of our drivers knew where everything was, the fastest routes to get there, and what intersections/roads to avoid at all costs. In the past two years, I would say more than half of our drivers are relying completely on GPS navigation to get them to and from delivery locations...this has resulted in us having to hire more drivers because every one of our drivers is about 5-6 minutes slower than they used to be...the GPS doesn't avoid high-traffic areas, the GPS doesn't know which streets are closed...and half of our delivery destinations are on campus, so you can't exactly type in the name of a dorm or building on campus. Tuscaloosa's not a hard town to navigate, it's a simple Grid-System, but none of our newer drivers listen when you attempt to take the time to instruct them where that particular delivery should be based on the address. In other words, I completely COMPLETELY agree with your GPS argument

[adamlikesmusic]

I only ever use my GPS to find directions to somewhere from my current location. I don't use turn-by-turn navigation or anything, I just browse over the directions to make sure I know where I'm going. Phoenix is a very easy city to navigate, but sometimes I forget what street something is on.

The only time I ever listen to my iPod is on long drives/flights, or when I'm walking somewhere. I'd get a bit paranoid listening to it in class, as I'd think everyone could somehow hear my music. I'll admit, though, the people who sat around me in my courses weren't people I'd be socializing with (for the most part, anyways - I did meet a few really cool people through my classes).

And in regards to the phone, I have an iPhone, and while it can be tempting to totally block all my surroundings out and immerse myself in my phone, it's quite easy not to. I personally don't text all that often, as I find a 10 second conversation on the phone takes a half hour via text. I think there's common etiquette that should be used in regards to phones in social places, but I guess there are times where you're having a conversation with someone face to face and you simply NEED to whip out your phone and begin texting someone else. (Which is probably my biggest pet peeve in regards to phones. That and bluetooth headsets. Fuck those.)