News - iPhone most desired student smartphone

[miniyazz]

Really? One in four students haven't changed their phone in the last three years? Sounds a surprisingly high number to me.

[jim]

There weren't any mobile phones when I was at Uni, at least, not commercial cellular and not in the UK. And we managed okay.

I would really struggle without a mobile at uni. Mind you, I guess payphones were more prevalent a few years back, and companies don't expect to ring you every second of every day.

All of my cards would've been blocked by now if I hadn't have been able to talk to the fraud department on my mobile. I wouldn't have a student loan either. And getting hold of takeaway pizza would be impossible

[Saracen]

.... And getting hold of takeaway pizza would be impossible

Pizza?

PIZZA!!!

In my day, you had baked beans and, for a special occasion, had toast as well. I remember when .... oh, nevermind.

Kidz 2day!



Seriously, though, while it was the case that we didn't have mobile phones, and even using payphones was rare, it was also certainly true that the world worked differently because we didn't. Or rather, it works differently now because we do.

Expectations, including those of people wanting to get hold of you, have changed. But it's not beyond the wit of man to survive without a mobile. I often don't turn mine on from one end of the day to the next and, literally, sometimes not from one end of the month to the next. Largely, though, it's because I point-blank refuse to be at the beck and call of anyone with my mobile number, 24/7.

That's a very personal decision, though, and I understand why many people, especially the younger generation, might find it .... weird. There are, though, more and more people of my generation, especially those that have had their live run by mobiles for years (usually, because of work expectations) that are taking a more aggressive role in how much they continue to let their phone run their life, as soon as they can.

I use the phone when it suits me, and I guess, so do you. It just suits me a lot less than it suits you.

[jim]

That's a very personal decision, though, and I understand why many people, especially the younger generation, might find it .... weird. There are, though, more and more people of my generation, especially those that have had their live run by mobiles for years (usually, because of work expectations) that are taking a more aggressive role in how much they continue to let their phone run their life, as soon as they can.

I use the phone when it suits me, and I guess, so do you. It just suits me a lot less than it suits you.

Trust me, it doesn't suit me. Nothing infuriates me more than receiving a call on my mobile from some company that I could give a flying flamingo about. Having said that, it's extremely rare that it happens - to the point that I can't recall the last time it happened. The bank is the only one, and I'll make an exception for fraud departments - I'd rather they rang me when they were unsure than let some scumbag withdraw my life savings.

I use it mainly for outgoing calls, but I think that's exactly it. A few years back, the Student Loan Company situation could have been dealt with by letter perhaps, whereas now everyone expects an instant response. The uni ask why the fees haven't been paid, and they want an answer by the afternoon. City-Link have lost my parcel for the umpteenth time... I need to call the retailer. A company has sent me something that's broken, I need to call them.

In a way though, I'm probably fairly backwards. A lot of people would just email these days, but I tend to prefer to telephone. Even if it costs me a quid, I'd rather do that so that I know it's being dealt with there and then, and I can ask any questions and make any necessary points to ensure that everything's being dealt with accordingly. If I had a landline, I'd be using that, but I don't, so everything falls on the mobile.