Your Opinion of Smart Phone Applications

[patient1]

What's your opinion of smart phone applications?

Do they make your life easier?

Are they a conspiracy with the service providers to make you buy bigger data plans?

Do they spam your phone with ads?

Are they a waste of time due to the need for updates and downloads whenever you want or need to use an ap?

 

[thør]

I use Strava and pay for it. I pay for very few phone apps. The reason I pay for Strava is that when I decide to go off on a bike ride, hike, lake skate, or whatever, it will easily send a text to my wife with a link to a map function that follows me along. If I stop for too long without moving, fall through the ice, etc. it will alert her. I tend to do a lot of stuff by myself and this allows her to know where I am, or where a car hit me, or whatever. While it costs a bit, it's cheap peace of mind for thør's wife.

 

[live4thebj]

I use many apps for many things. I use iPhone for particular reasons.

 

[jaF0]

I don't put many in the way of financial stuff on my phone that leaves the house.

But I also have a tablet that never leaves the house. I find that some of the banking ones are almost better than the full websites. They don't nag you as much about some things and you can usually log in quite simply.

 

[patient1]

I don't put many in the way of financial stuff on my phone that leaves the house.

But I also have a tablet that never leaves the house. I find that some of the banking ones are almost better than the full websites. They don't nag you as much about some things and you can usually log in quite simply.

I understand. I have a Fire that I use for Alexa, reading stories at Lit, and a few other things. I haven't added much to it, though.

 

[patient1]

I use Strava and pay for it. I pay for very few phone apps. The reason I pay for Strava is that when I decide to go off on a bike ride, hike, lake skate, or whatever, it will easily send a text to my wife with a link to a map function that follows me along. If I stop for too long without moving, fall through the ice, etc. it will alert her. I tend to do a lot of stuff by myself and this allows her to know where I am, or where a car hit me, or whatever. While it costs a bit, it's cheap peace of mind for thør's wife.

Makes sense to me. You'd be hard to find somewhere some winter with a broken leg.

 

[Saint_Ann]

I can't really remember the last time I used my phone just to make an actual call.

 

[LonRivers]

I don't pay for apps. I don't add my card info to Google or any other service. I don't trust any of them. There are too many free apps to use to accomplish what pay apps promise and can't deliver.

I used to pay for a good photo locker program, but when they kept changing and failing to satisfy me as a customer, I dumped it.

 

[patient1]

Apps weren't something I really wanted beyond what came with my phone. For example, I tried using the e-mail app, but found the screen to be hard to do that much reading, to much pinging, to tiring to type a response, and generally just a drain on my time and battery. I went back to dealing with e-mail twice a day on my laptop. I do use my tablet for e-mail sometimes, mostly for reading it.

 

[thør]

Apps weren't something I really wanted beyond what came with my phone. For example, I tried using the e-mail app, but found the screen to be hard to do that much reading, to much pinging, to tiring to type a response, and generally just a drain on my time and battery. I went back to dealing with e-mail twice a day on my laptop. I do use my tablet for e-mail sometimes, mostly for reading it.

I use email on my phone. It's not my preference, but it is convenient at times.

 

[patient1]

Fast food apps are what started this. Somewhere along the way between pandemic drive through only and some discount Cheyenne found, we wound up downloading them. Theoretically it sounded good. After the initial inconvenience of installation (and that was compensated for with the BOGO offer, or whatever it was), we would be able to travel state to state find a franchise, submit our usual order (customized!) and head straight to the pick-up spot. No unwanted raw onions, mustard, or whatever. Cheese and bacon added. Cool, right?

Moreso in theory than in practice. On the positive side it did inform us when McRibs were back. On the other hand, it seemed that every time we tried to use it we had to download and install an update first from the cell tower. Don't count on your order surviving the update intact. One time we went to a McD's, but it was closed for renovations and the app hadn't been updated to take it off the list of nearby locations. The sign in the special parking spaces said "go to the drive through parking." Nothing happened. Eventually we went to the door which was locked and marked "Closed for renovations". At least we got a laugh out of it, and have another story to add to our list that began with the Walgreens without a pharmacy and the McDonald's that didn't serve breakfast. The next time we were using the ap we got an error message saying "there's a problem with your order, please order inside." The next time we tried that same store the connection timed out and told us to see the counter person, who was at least able to rectify things more quickly than I could starting from scratch. What this ap clearly could not do was save time. Quite the contrary. The only reasons I eat fast food any more to get a consistent product quickly. There is no other reason, unless we are traveling in warm weather with our dog. Taco Bell and the other fast food aps we downloaded consistently require updates as well, and we've had other problems too.

That had me thinking of apps as illusions of customer convenience that basically benefited the vendor.

 

[FGB]

Anything you can drop from 16,000 feet and it still works can't be all bad!

 

[Sean]

I use Strava and pay for it. I pay for very few phone apps. The reason I pay for Strava is that when I decide to go off on a bike ride, hike, lake skate, or whatever, it will easily send a text to my wife with a link to a map function that follows me along. If I stop for too long without moving, fall through the ice, etc. it will alert her. I tend to do a lot of stuff by myself and this allows her to know where I am, or where a car hit me, or whatever. While it costs a bit, it's cheap peace of mind for thør's wife.

I use OutdoorActive, formerly Viewranger, for that sort of thing. One of three paid apps I use. Torque and SmartAudioBook Player are the other two.

 

[ksmybuttons]

Fast food apps are what started this. Somewhere along the way between pandemic drive through only and some discount Cheyenne found, we wound up downloading them. Theoretically it sounded good. After the initial inconvenience of installation (and that was compensated for with the BOGO offer, or whatever it was), we would be able to travel state to state find a franchise, submit our usual order (customized!) and head straight to the pick-up spot. No unwanted raw onions, mustard, or whatever. Cheese and bacon added. Cool, right?

Moreso in theory than in practice. On the positive side it did inform us when McRibs were back. On the other hand, it seemed that every time we tried to use it we had to download and install an update first from the cell tower. Don't count on your order surviving the update intact. One time we went to a McD's, but it was closed for renovations and the app hadn't been updated to take it off the list of nearby locations. The sign in the special parking spaces said "go to the drive through parking." Nothing happened. Eventually we went to the door which was locked and marked "Closed for renovations". At least we got a laugh out of it, and have another story to add to our list that began with the Walgreens without a pharmacy and the McDonald's that didn't serve breakfast. The next time we were using the ap we got an error message saying "there's a problem with your order, please order inside." The next time we tried that same store the connection timed out and told us to see the counter person, who was at least able to rectify things more quickly than I could starting from scratch. What this ap clearly could not do was save time. Quite the contrary. The only reasons I eat fast food any more to get a consistent product quickly. There is no other reason, unless we are traveling in warm weather with our dog. Taco Bell and the other fast food aps we downloaded consistently require updates as well, and we've had other problems too.

That had me thinking of apps as illusions of customer convenience that basically benefited the vendor.

I don’t eat fast food. I‘m an Apple person and keep my phone locked down fairly tight. I use duck duck go for my search engine, allways use private mode for search, and keep google off my phone. I’m a bit of a news junky so have apps for that. I have the local parking app. I do all my banking, health care, on the phone with two step authentication. I have the library e-book app, my watch app, weather, basic tools and about 30 book marks…

everything is just a little bit shitty since the pandemic so I don’t trust many website for accuracy.

 

[patient1]

I don’t eat fast food. I‘m an Apple person and keep my phone locked down fairly tight. I use duck duck go for my search engine, allways use private mode for search, and keep google off my phone. I’m a bit of a news junky so have apps for that. I have the local parking app. I do all my banking, health care, on the phone with two step authentication. I have the library e-book app, my watch app, weather, basic tools and about 30 book marks…

everything is just a little bit shitty since the pandemic so I don’t trust many website for accuracy.

Still have your accordian tuner app?

 

[ksmybuttons]

Still have your accordian tuner app?

It’s a special one.

 

[nedthebundler]

I only have a few apps on my phone, in particular Banking.

I use DDG with a VPN.

I try to avoid Google.

Rob Braxman does sell De-Googled phones.

 

[Pairaclities]

It’s a special one.

Did it also have a companion asshole alert?