Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux)

[rainsux]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

Uh oh--need to start wearing the tin foil hat when shopping at Target now, too. (If you're female and gravid, that is.)

Many years ago, I worked on a data mining project for Victoria Secret. I
learned that they have several catalogs, each targeted a different
demographic. I don't recall the exact age ranges, but you'll get the drift:

17-22 year-old girls that want to be wimmin
23-32 year-old wimmin
33-4X year-old women that want to be 17-22 again
00-99: Guys

re: Target. Before they reformed their "pregnancy" mktg, they out'd a few
pregnant females that weren't ready to annc their pregnancy.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

Uh oh--need to start wearing the tin foil hat when shopping at Target now, too. (If you're female and gravid, that is.)

Almost any company with a frequent buyer program does this. On one hand, it's a convenience- they let you know about other useful things you might need. OTOH, I can see it as an invasion of privacy too.

Amazon does it as well- they will suggest books or music or other things based on your buying patterns and a comparison or other people.

Want to opt out? Don't use the frequent buyer card & pay with cash- there's nothing that can go into the database.

 

[comanche]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

Neither I nor my cell phone is that smart.

 

[Doggtyred]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

I have a similar issue with my Iphone 4G, but not quite as bad. It has a hardware speaker mute switch (Great!) but it doesn't POSITIVELY control the speaker. Certain apps and functions (like U Tube) can bypass it. If I have a switch to turn the sound off, I want it to TURN THE SOUND OFF!!

The alarm clock feature bypasses the audio switch.. but the volume does work/throttle it...

 

[Sac Arrow]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

The alarm clock feature bypasses the audio switch.. but the volume does work/throttle it...

Yeah, but picture being in a courtroom on a jury selection panel, reading your email in stealth/silent mode, when you accidentally open a 2 Live Crew video turned to full blast.

Judge yelled "That's EXACTLY why I told you all to turn those damn things OFF!"

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

Ha, I just discovered that my "stupidphone" (blithering idiot-phone, really) has a Reject List to which I can, with a few jabs of the keyboard, block any number from calling me. This phone is so old you can hardly find new ones anymore. An 8yo Samsung which is way past any support.
BUT the iphone4 in the family can't block calls! You have to pay ATT 5$ per month for the joy of blocking up to 15 callers. Or jailbreak it. Or install a silent ringtone and let them go to voicemail unnoticed.
Crazy backwardness of new technology.

 

[Ghery]

Re: Why I'm thinking of dumping smartphone (Google, Apple, Apps Makers are evil redux

'Cept in my case: My Droid turns itself back on. Power down all the way, and two minutes to twelve hours later, it pops back on. The only way to prevent it is to remove the battery after the power-down (it can be re-inserted immediately without the phone coming back to life).

My Droid does it, my wife's Droid does it, and according to hundreds of folks on one of the Droid forums, their phones do it to. Wide variety of Motorola models; folks turn theirs back in, and the new ones do it too.

Most people probably don't notice, since they leave their phones on all the time anyway. I don't....

Ron Wanttaja

I'm not sure that my Droid turns itself back on, but it sure can kill a battery while turned off. I take the battery out when I fly or ride the pressurized aluminum mailing tubes so I'll have a working phone at the end.