Do I need to get a smartphone?

I think there was a recent poll on this forum done by a gentleman that was looking to develop an app for truckers and wondering how many had an iPhone vs Android etc. The majority of truckers (if I recall correctly) had Android based smartphones, a few had iPhones, the balance had "dumb phones"

I recently got rid of my old flip phone and picked up a nice android smart phone with a big screen. It's been a real boon to my work on the road, especially since I also switched from t-mobile to verizon. With t-mobile there were a lot of times I couldn't get internet access for days, and most of the time the connection was slooowww. Verizon has been almost 100% 4g wherever I go. I had a t-mobile hotspot and now have a verizon hotspot to connect my laptop. Very happy with the big V, other than the high monthly bill.

 

YEAP without a doubt I have a smart phone it's has saved me many days when qualcomm went down and I use a app on my phone that tells all the truck stops, rest areas, wal-mart, etc but u may use it for different reason than I did there are many, many apps available. Mine is pre-paid smart phone I could not see myself without it just for pandora music station.

 

What phone provider do you have? If you have any of the major ones you maybe can get a upgraded smart phone for a buck, depending how long you had your phone. I have a iphone with AT&T and I run over it with the truck at the plant and was able to get a new one for a buck because my wife had the required time as a customer fort the upgrade. It's a 3G but thats ok it beats spending $99. or $199 for a 4G or 5G.

 

I have galaxy 2 with straight talk spend 49.05 every month and it work off att towers

 

To me smart phone is a must have period to have in trucking without question.
You can get weather apps that follow you and post warnings, find truckstops, rest areas, fuel prices, find loads check an send email, find a p/u or drop on Google Earth ....there are very many good uses for a smart phone on the road.

To me its totally ludicrous to be in a winter storm and hear someone on the cb asking about weather in front of them when they could just check with app and find out what is really ahead of them.

 

^^^ that reminds me that after getting this smart phone I did get a text message warning of severe weather, had a different tone when it came it. That's a good feature to have.

 

not really ludicrous. when you consider the fine these days.

 

I switched to an ATT smart phone. I like it for what i do with it. I also use it for my logbook, with the computer installed in our trucks.