What’s More Interesting: Your Companion or Your Smartphone?

A New York Times article summarizes my thoughts on smartphone [over]use.

I have a smart phone. I have had one for about five years, starting with a Palm Treo, moving on to a BlackBerry, and now settling in with an iPhone (on Verizon, thank you). The phone has always held useful data, such as my address book and calendar, and starting with the BlackBerry, also gave me access to useful apps such as weather (remember, I’m a pilot, too) and e-mail.

TextingI never really used my smartphone like the true computing device it is — that is, until I got my iPhone. The preponderance of iPhone apps has really helped me take the next step into true mobile handheld computing. I find myself using this phone more than any other I’ve ever owned: consulting the weather, looking up things on Google and the Web, taking photos, tweeting, and yes, even texting.

What I recently discovered, however, is that despite my involvement in the field of computing, I’m rather behind the curve when it comes to smartphone use. I generally use it when I need to and, when I’m not using it, it’s in my pocket on its belt clip. You see, I still think of my phone as a phone. (Imagine that.) Indeed, since we turned off our land lines, it has become my only phone — my only means of verbal communication with people I’m not with. The apps are a sort of bonus — a way to get more information when I need it.

What’s Getting My Attention Lately

But as I travel about, walking around the Phoenix area, going to restaurants, shopping, and doing things outside my home and office, I’m noticing that more and more people have their phones in their hands with their heads bent over them or their thumbs tapping keyboards or screens wildly. Sometimes they’re doing this while alone, waiting on line to check out or sitting at a sidewalk cafe or even while walking through a mall. But more and more often, they’re doing this while in the company of other people. In fact, I’ve often seen groups of people who are physically together but mentally elsewhere: at least half of them are paying more attention to their phone than their companions.

Two recent experiences really brought this home to me.

One was a photo I saw in The Guardian Eyewitness app on my iPad. This app shows off a daily photo from The Guardian, a UK newspaper. The photo has a caption and a “pro tip” to describe what makes the photograph work from a photographer’s point of view. The idea is that you look at good photos to learn about photography. The photo from April 13, 2011 showed 12 young people standing against a building in front of a memorial pile of flowers. Four (or possibly five) of them are either talking on or looking at their phones. The caption is what makes it so ironic: “Friends of Negus McLean gather at the spot in Edmonton, north London, where the 15-year-old was stabbed to death on Sunday while trying to stop a gang from stealing his brother’s BlackBerry.” I don’t think copyright law allows me to reproduce the photo here, so I suggest you follow this link if you want to see it.

The other was a visit by some friends from out of state who stayed with us for a few days. I don’t consider either of them techies — they just know enough technology to do what they have to do in their normal daily lives. I’m definitely more in tune with computers and mobile devices than either one of them. What really shocked me, then, was their smartphone use. Often, even in the middle of a conversation with me or my husband, one of them would be tapping out some kind of message on his or her smartphone. The phone was usually on the table beside them at meals and was often consulted. One of the phones made a noise every time an incoming message was received — which was quite often. At first, I was appalled by this. But as time passed, I got used to it and accepted it.

Should We Accept Rudeness?

Yesterday, while trying to catch up with news via the NYTimes iPad app, I stumbled across an article in the “Most E-Mailed” section that made me question my willingness to accept this kind of behavior. Titled “Keep Your Thumbs Still When I’m Talking to You,” it included this sentence that really sums up the whole situation:

Add one more achievement to the digital revolution: It has made it fashionable to be rude.

How can anyone argue with that?

Because that is what it is: rudeness. If you’re with someone else, in a conversation or at a meal or even waiting in line for a latte at Starbucks, it is rude to shift your attention from that person to your phone for no apparent reason other than to conduct a text conversation with someone else or tweet what you’re doing or even check your e-mail. By ignoring the people you’re with, you’re telling them that your smartphone or whatever is on it is more important than they are.

Is it? If it is, why bother with personal interaction at all?

The article goes on to cite examples of people more interested in their smartphones than what’s going on around them. It also offers this wonderful quote that I’m taking as a word of advice:

…Mr. De Rosa wrote: “I’m fine with people stepping aside to check something, but when I’m standing in front of someone and in the middle of my conversation they whip out their phone, I’ll just stop talking to them and walk away. If they’re going to be rude, I’ll be rude right back.”

Now I know how to handle the folks who find their smartphones more interesting than me.

What do you think?

Thoughts on Mobile Data Plans

I’m lucky, but for how long?

Yesterday, after three tries, I was able to download a 958 MB file containing some beta software I needed to write three outlines for future writing projects. What’s interesting about this is that my only connection to the Internet right now is via Bluetooth tethering from my BlackBerry Storm on Verizon.

In all honesty, I didn’t expect to succeed. I figured I’d have to make the 8-mile trip into town and settle down in the library or a coffee shop with my laptop to get the file.

But I tried using tethering anyway.

The first time, I was 82% into the download when my phone’s battery got too low to keep the connection. Entirely my fault; I should have had it plugged in. The second try was more what I expected: the download simply stopped for no apparent reason about 12% into it. The last time I set it up right before going to bed. Not only did the download succeed by 1:30 AM, but the connection wasn’t even lost for an incoming text message last night or phone call this morning, both of which I missed. (I really do need to change my husband’s ring tone to something louder; I slept right through it.)

When I crawled out of bed this morning at the unusually late hour of 7 AM, the phone was still connected to the Internet and had been for 10 hours.

My Data Plan

I chose my first smartphone, a Palm Treo 700p back in 2007, primarily so I’d be able to use tethering to get my laptops on the Internet. After a false start, I got it to work the way I needed it to. This was with Verizon, which I’ve been using since my Motorola flip phone days. Verizon has the best coverage in the weird, off-the-grid places I go. Using Verizon is a no-brainer for me.

Like all the other wireless providers, Verizon offers a number of data plans. I don’t profess to know them all. I do know that I pay for two kinds of Internet connectivity with my phone:

  • June UsageNationwide 900 Plus Email covers my phone usage and its regular smartphone features, including e-mail, which I rarely use. (I don’t like getting e-mail on my phone. I get enough on my computer.) This costs me $99 per month. I honestly don’t know if that’s high or low. All I know is that I can use the phone as much as I need to, it works just about everywhere I go, and the mobile-to-mobile and friends & family plans keep me from going over the 900 peak minutes I’m allowed. The bill here shows exactly what I paid for last month and it’s pretty clear that I wasn’t very stingy with my usage.
  • Mobile Broadband Connect is what makes tethering possible. It costs me $15 per month. And because I signed up back in 2007 when the unlimited bandwidth plan was available, I don’t have a usage cap.

And that’s the point of this post. Because I signed up three years ago, I managed to get on a plan that gives me unlimited broadband use for only $15/month. If I gave up this plan or tried to buy a MiFi device to make Internet connectivity easier for my laptop, I’d pay $60/month for 5 GB of data.

Now you look at the bill shown above and you see that I only used about 105 MB of data. That’s nothing. But that’s also because I paid a local ISP for an Internet connection where my RV was parked that month. I only used my phone and tethering for Internet connectivity a handful of times.

But yesterday alone, I sucked nearly 2 GB trying (and then succeeding) in getting that monster file. That’s 2/5 of what would be my monthly allowance on a 5 GB plan in just one day.

What if I had to download an update to that file later in my billing period? Or, as I did in June, upload at least 15 GB of QuickTime movie files to an editor’s FTP site? I’d have a huge bill for excess data transferred.

The problem is, too many people are sucking too much data all the time. With an unlimited plan, the majority of people would simply abuse the system. Why not go to that torrent site and download movies? Why not use Netflix and Hulu to watch TV? Why not buy music and video games online? Why not listen to Internet radio? After all, if it costs the same no matter how much you get, why not get as much as you can?

I don’t think that way. I don’t like using my phone as a modem. It’s a pain in the butt. And I don’t see the benefit of sucking data just to suck data. When I download or upload using my phone’s Internet connectivity, it’s because I need to. And if I need to for 105 MB one month and 15 GB the next, I don’t see why I should be penalized for the “excess” usage.

Rollover Data is the Answer

The solution is to have plans with rollover data.

Say, for example, that I’m paying for 5 GB per month. In May, I use 1 GB; in June, I use 105 MB (that’s 0.105 GB); in July, I use 500 MB (that’s 0.5 GB); in August, I use 15 GB. With a rollover plan, I’d bank 4 GB in May, nearly 5 GB in June, and 4.5 GB in July. When August rolls along, I have 14.4 GB in the bank, along with August’s 5 GB for a total of 19.5 GB. So when I use 15 GB in August, I still have 4.4 GB to bank for the future.

Am I the only person who thinks this is a fair way to offer a data plan? I’m not getting any more than I’m entitled to under the plan. I’m simply spreading the usage differently, with some months having more usage than others.

This would curb the appetite of people who suck data, but not to the point where it inconveniences them or penalizes them when they really need it.

If a plan like this were available from Verizon, I’d grab it. I’d even consider dropping my grandfathered-in $15/month unlimited usage plan.

But until that day comes, I’ll continue to rely on my cheap tethering, even if it means I’ll be stuck with my BlackBerry Storm forever.

Living with Dial-Up Networking

It really isn’t that bad.

When I left the golf course RV park in Quincy last week, I also left behind the incredibly frustrating Internet service I’d been stuck with there. I knew that wherever I camped on or near the orchard belonging to my last client of the season, WiFi access would not be an option. (Heck, I didn’t even know for sure if I’d be able to get an electric or water hookup.)

I’ve had Bluetooth tethering capabilities on my Verizon Wireless service for more than 3 years now. It costs me $15/month extra for unlimited bandwidth. (Don’t look for that plan now, folks; current plans all cap the bandwidth; I’m grandfathered in.)

Tethering, in case you’re not familiar with the term, involves introducing your computer to your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to pair them wirelessly via Bluetooth. Your computer can then use your phone to “dial into” the cell phone provider’s Internet service. This is referred to as dial-up networking or DUN. Once connected, you can surf the Web, send and receive e-mail, and do just about anything else you could do if you were connected by WiFi. The connection isn’t fast, but it isn’t agonizingly slow, either. The only drawback is that when an incoming call connects, you can’t work online. But when you hang up, you can continue working — a feature I just discovered today.

The image below shows what the right end of my computer’s menu bar looks like when I’m connected. The modem menu shows connection time; in this example, only 12 seconds. The Bluetooth menu shows that I’m connected to a Bluetooth device (my BlackBerry). I keep AirPort turned off because there aren’t any WiFi networks around and keeping it turned off saves a tiny bit of battery life. When I want to disconnect, I choose Disconnect Bluetooth DUN from the Modem menu. After a “disconnecting” message scrolls by a few times, the connection is severed and the timer disappears. To connect, I’d choose Connect Bluetooth DUN from the same menu.

Connected Menu Bar

(If you’re interested in how-to information about DUN, check out “Setting Up Your Mac to Use a Smartphone’s Internet Connection,” which I wrote for InformIT a while back. It should still be up-to-date enough to be useful.)

I used tethering for most of my Internet access the first season I was in Washington state. Back then, I’d arranged for Internet service but it was disconnected because an involved party had been beaten with a stupid stick. I fell back to DUN for access and was glad I had it.

Back then, however, my computer and cell phone didn’t talk to each other very well. I had a Treo 700p in those days and maybe that was part of the problem. If an incoming call disconnected me, I’d have to do a battery pull on the phone, restart the computer, and repair to get a new connection set up. It was a pain in the butt so I tended to stay online for very short periods of time, dreading the possibility of an incoming call.

The memory of that has stuck with me. But either my BlackBerry Storm (v1) is more gracious about disconnections or Apple has improved its Bluetooth connection routines in Snow Leopard because I’m not suffering the same symptoms. If I get an incoming call, I tell my computer to disconnect, talk on the phone, and then reconnect easily when done. No battery pulls, no computer restarts.

As a result, I’ve been staying connected for as long as an hour at a time.

Where I AmMind you, I’m camped on a construction site across the street from a cherry orchard 8 miles up a canyon from Wenatchee, WA. (The tiny red X on the map marks the approximate spot.) It’s amazing to me that (1) my cell phone works so well up here, usually giving me five [legitimate] bars and (2) I’m able to stay connected to the Internet for so long.

But — and I hate to rub this in for all the iPhone devotees out there — I chose Verizon and skipped the iPhone thing because I often go to places like this and I often need tethering for Internet access. Does AT&T have coverage here? Maybe. Does the iPhone offer tethering without a complex, warranty-voiding jail-break? No.

Yes, it’s a pain in the butt to have to literally dial in every time I want to connect to the Internet. But for $15/month unlimited access, I can live with it — at least until I get home.