Reluctant Upgrade

I really dislike cellphones and I probably mention that far too often in this blog but I recently upgraded my cellphone so felt it was time for a blog entry about "smart" devices.  How often I mention this dislike of cellphones here should be an indication of how much I truly dislike these things and especially in regard to how people can't seem to put them down.  

I used cellphones during my career through the 1990s along with radios and landlines but effective and immediate communication was truly essential in my job.  I'm retired now and have absolutely no desire to be attached to a phone all the time.  In fact, my cellphone is set to "Do Not Disturb" almost always unless I am waiting on an important phone call.  I have absolutely no desire to be fielding telephone calls at all times and I especially have no desire to be fielding any type of text messaging which is almost always poorly communicated, hence, I actually do prefer a phone call over text messaging because they take less time and are more effective.  So, if I didn't need a cellphone for other reasons, I would not own one.  

So, although I dislike cellphones, they are a necessary evil in today's world so I've always had one...  ironically, perhaps going back longer than most people have owned cellphones.  I've probably owned cellphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers far longer than most people.  My experience with these devices goes back to the 1980s.  I still own a landline too although it is a VoIP service.

The primary reason I carry a cellphone is for emergencies...  ie, 911 calls, not "I forgot to tell so-and-so something.  My only other valid purpose for cellphones is for managing my electronic devices and this is the biggie in today's world right up there with being able to call 911 no matter where I am located (and I've had to call 911 many times).

My cameras connect wirelessly to my cellphone for transferring photos and printing photos.  My little film printer connects wirelessly to my cellphone when I want to print a photo while we are away from home (yes, it is actually a tiny printer that "prints" developed Fujifilm Instax film prints).  My garden trains are controlled by an Android app.  Our home security is controlled by an Android app.  All of our home automation is controlled by an Android app.  Our HVAC system is controlled by an Android app.  GPS in cellphones for travel is useful at times too although I can quickly look at an online map for most travel and know where I'm going but GPS mapping for changes in itinerary or spur-of-the-moment travel is very useful.  Banking...  Android apps.  Electronic payment...  Android apps.  Medical portal...  Android apps.  

All of these apps that I find incredibly useful have one major drawback though.  They always require a relatively new version of Android to operate and older devices cannot be updated to new operating systems.  My cellphone that I purchased about five years ago was no longer compatible with most of the apps that I use regularly so I needed to upgrade.  

This prompted a purchase of a Samsung S21+ at a reasonable price with a service that is exceptionally inexpensive (photo at right, sitting on top of my Kindle Fire with my new Smart Watch too).  This was a major upgrade and it was actually a necessary upgrade in order to continue to use all the apps I find incredibly useful.  

Perhaps I'm simply old and perhaps a bit stuck in my old ways but I still wear a traditional dress watch whenever we wander from the house.  I like a traditional wristwatch that is a precision piece of jewelry.  I do not like the Fitbit style of wristwatches that look more like a Department of Corrections monitor.  I like a traditional wristwatch.  I don't like the bright digital Smart Watches that are ridiculously oversized and look like a toy with big, bright numbers made for a kindergartener.  I like a traditional wristwatch that is a piece of jewelry.  

So, until very recently, all of these relatively new Smart Watches did not interest me in the least.  I did, however, just find one that resembles a traditional wristwatch so now I have a Smart Watch too.  I was actually looking for a new traditional wristwatch when I stumbled across this Smart Watch and it instantly caught my attention because it looks so much like the type of watch I would normally wear.  The cost was relatively low too for any type of decent watch so that helped coerce me into buying a Smart Watch.

This Smart Watch (close-up photo at left) resembles a traditional chronograph with a nice wristband.  It comes with a silicone wristband too but I prefer the dressier metal link wristband.  

This new watch sports all the typical activity monitoring including some very useful health monitoring (which I'm finding quite useful considering my poor health).  Like all Smart Watches, all this extra data is stored on my cellphone and that is incredibly useful for documenting my health problems.  Of course, like all Smart Watches, I also can access my phone logs, phone calls and messaging although, honestly, I have no use for this stuff.  I do like the health and activity monitoring though on a watch that looks very much like a nice chronograph. 

I'm finding that the battery life on this Smart Watch is exceptional too!  Sheila's Smart Watches need to be charged daily but my new Smart Watch keeps running on a charge for many days.  Depending on how much I use it in a day, I can get more than a week on a single charge too.  

So far, I'm liking the new cellphone as well as the unplanned purchase of a Smart Watch.