Electronic Doohickies and Gizmos While Skiing

Admin":1gl9au8a said:
socal":1gl9au8a said:
Isn't that about the true cost of the phone if you include service? Figure at best $60/month for 24 months =$1,440. I think that's what Marc_C was referring too.
Exactly.
Admin":1gl9au8a said:
My cost differential is $12/month over a "dumbphone" plan, so no, still not into Marc_C's territory.
$12/month cost differential? What are you using as the base? My 450 minutes/month* phone plan is $40/month. Text messages (250 / month) adds $5. Taxes and fees bring the total to $50 - pretty much the upper limit of my comfort zone for a monthly cell phone payment.

The other problem with smartphones is their form factor - my little clamshell Motorola fits easily and unobtrusively in any pocket. Not quite the case with the slab-o-glass.

*: of that 450 minutes (and unlimited weekend minutes) I use maybe 100 minutes in a high usage month.
 
Marc_C":1s3diex4 said:
Admin":1s3diex4 said:
socal":1s3diex4 said:
Isn't that about the true cost of the phone if you include service? Figure at best $60/month for 24 months =$1,440. I think that's what Marc_C was referring too.
Exactly.
Admin":1s3diex4 said:
My cost differential is $12/month over a "dumbphone" plan, so no, still not into Marc_C's territory.
$12/month cost differential? What are you using as the base? My 450 minutes/month* phone plan is $40/month. Text messages (250 / month) adds $5. Taxes and fees bring the total to $50 - pretty much the upper limit of my comfort zone for a monthly cell phone payment.

My total bill including voice (same number of minutes as you), unlimited data, unlimited text, replacement insurance (which you opt to not purchase, but that's understandable on a $50 phone), taxes, fees, etc., is $67/month. $17/month difference x12 months/yr = $204. $199 even amortized over 2 years is only $99.50/yr, but assuming that you're using a $50 dumbphone that amortizes to $25/yr, the difference is $74.50/yr to upgrade. $74.50 equipment + $204 service = a difference of $278.50 annually.

I therefore still emphatically deny your "big chunk of a $1499 season pass" argument. Man, you are a crotchedy old coot, aren't you?
 
Admin":2x9kqqb4 said:
I therefore still emphatically deny your "big chunk of a $1499 season pass" argument. Man, you are a crotchedy old coot, aren't you?
The last time I checked (probably 3 years ago, when I was forced to get a new phone*), an unlimited data plan was $99/month additional to the $40/month for phone service plus $199 for the phone itself. That works out to around $150/month = $1800/yr. I guess they're cheaper now.

Yes, I typically use a cell phone till it doesn't work. I bought my first phone in 1999. My current one is only my third. Did I mention I don't attach a lot of weight to being in constant contact? Also, frankly, I just don't like phones that much. And, first and foremost, I expect a phone to reliably and consistently be able to make and receive phone calls - all the rest is just additional BS.

*: My second phone was lost in Mineral Basin thanks to a head-first on-my-back fall under the top of the MBX lift and an inadvertently unzipped pocket. Someone eventually found it and Snowbird returned it to me about two months later. It still worked.

Now tablets....that's a whole different value proposition.
 
Marc_C":1oa0tfdh said:
The last time I checked (probably 3 years ago, when I was forced to get a new phone*), an unlimited data plan was $99/month additional to the $40/month for phone service plus $199 for the phone itself. That works out to around $150/month = $1800/yr. I guess they're cheaper now.

The $15/month I'm currently paying for unlimited data is the highest rate I've ever paid for it. Sprint has long offered dirt-cheap data plans compared to its competitors.

Marc_C":1oa0tfdh said:
I expect a phone to reliably and consistently be able to make and receive phone calls - all the rest is just additional BS.

Actually, I positively despise talking on the phone. It's the other properties of a smartphone that I have more use for.

Marc_C":1oa0tfdh said:
Now tablets....that's a whole different value proposition.

A modern smartphone is obviously more akin to a tablet than you realize. It's basically a tablet that fits in your pocket. There's a reason that they use the same operating systems and applications...
 
Admin":r3zqgb0w said:
Marc_C":r3zqgb0w said:
Now tablets....that's a whole different value proposition.

A modern smartphone is obviously more akin to a tablet than you realize. It's basically a tablet that fits in your pocket. There's a reason that they use the same operating systems and applications...
Oh, I'm well aware of all that. A smartphone is just a botched implementation of a tablet! Actually to be really accurate and fair, the iPod Touch was the truly botched implementation of a tablet.

Nah....they all have their place....
I'm kinda rough on cellphones, so the slab of glass has some inherent difficulties...and while protective cases work, they add a surprising amount of bulk (one of the reasons you never see my phone in the leather cover that came with it). The form factor is not particularly well suited to phone calls, either (and no, I don't want another dongle like a bluetooth earpiece or earphone to deal with for phone calls).

So, you gonna split out all this severely OT rambling?
 
Marc_C":3mjovmeg said:
they add a surprising amount of bulk (one of the reasons you never see my phone in the leather cover that came with it).

:rotfl:

I never thought it was possible to be talking about top of the line new gadgets and "leather cover"s at the same time. I kinda look at it as the same reason we don't talk about leather boots and skinny skis at the same time as big rockered powder skis.
 
socal":1gpdpo0z said:
Marc_C":1gpdpo0z said:
they add a surprising amount of bulk (one of the reasons you never see my phone in the leather cover that came with it).

:rotfl:

I never thought it was possible to be talking about top of the line new gadgets and "leather cover"s at the same time. I kinda look at it as the same reason we don't talk about leather boots and skinny skis at the same time as big rockered powder skis.

Hear, hear! Hail to Invisible Shield.
 
Admin":3lc2wlvt said:
Marc_C":3lc2wlvt said:
Admin":3lc2wlvt said:
The hip belt and sternum strap of my backpack keep it in place underneath my jacket.
As do the 27 other electronic doohickies and gizmos that he insists on skiing with.

Defined as:

1. Phone.
2. Helmet with speakers.
3. Avalanche transceiver when warranted.

Which other than the fact that you ski in a hat and not a helmet, is precisely what you ski with.

What are the advantages of speakers vs. earbuds?
 
baldyskier":59n3f8aa said:
What are the advantages of speakers vs. earbuds?

When I wrote "speakers" it would be more more accurate to have said "over the ear headphones" that are built into the helmet's ear pads. First off, I can't stomach earbuds in any situation - they hurt my ears and they have to be aligned perfectly for decent sound quality. My helmet's headphones don't feel any different than regular helmet earpads and honestly, they sound great. They're Motorola Tune-Ups, designed as an add-on for Giro ski and snowboard helmets.

Second, with the Tune-Ups I have no wires - the headphones connect wirelessly to my phone and/or mp3 player via bluetooth, and the helmet has controls for next/last song, play/pause, volume up/down and answer/terminate phone call that can all be manipulated with gloves on and therefore eliminate the need to dig the phone out of my jacket pocket.


Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
 
socal":yimvb981 said:
Marc_C":yimvb981 said:
they add a surprising amount of bulk (one of the reasons you never see my phone in the leather cover that came with it).

:rotfl:

I never thought it was possible to be talking about top of the line new gadgets and "leather cover"s at the same time.
It's what came with the phone 3 years ago. Never used it.
 
Marc_C":3qb3nf9v said:
Helmet-as noted, no, don't own one for skiing
don't have anything requiring speakers or earphones, so I can actually hear what's going on around me

couldn't agree more. much safer without in so many ways. just my .02

rog
 
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