Surely you can find a data plan cheaper than that? Don't know who your carrier is but to answer the original question, as much tech is available to go inside your cab, having a smart phone really wouldn't matter either way. I got one for myself and wife. Now granted, this was after I got my license and started so I guess you could say I splurged on the both of us. I do like the fact that on my down time while waiting at an oil rig (if I have a signal mind you) I can sit there and facebook with my friends and wife. in the end it is just up to you whether you want one or not.

Originally Posted by jimjam38

Surely you can find a data plan cheaper than that? Don't know who your carrier is but to answer the original question, as much tech is available to go inside your cab, having a smart phone really wouldn't matter either way. I got one for myself and wife. Now granted, this was after I got my license and started so I guess you could say I splurged on the both of us. I do like the fact that on my down time while waiting at an oil rig (if I have a signal mind you) I can sit there and facebook with my friends and wife. in the end it is just up to you whether you want one or not.

We're with AT&T. Data plans are $10 per GB

I am a huge advocate of the smartphone. Fred is not all that tech savvy and he uses his to check to see if he has showers available, check the bank balance, read on facebook (he doesn't like typing much even though he has a slider with a full keyboard), google maps is easier to navigate than most GPS units, and he passes a lot of time on youtube. There are so many more apps that would be helpful to him, but he's not interested. We have a 2 GB plan that only costs an extra $25/month through T-Mobile.

Originally Posted by MNdriver

I would not have been able to get my purchase on my truck completed without my smartphone or wi-fi. Right down to having a printer and scanner in the truck.

Slap me silly but I agree.
I would highly recommend a smartphone even if the extra cost is a strain right now. I have a laptop that gets fired up maybe twice a week and the smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S, Android OS through Sprint) several times a day. I use it rarely as a phone. I have internet access so I can check the important things like TTR. Within limits I can do all of the mundane things I can do with a PC like checking the bank balance, etc.

Mine also has Google maps which I can use with great caution as a GPS or to find the real vs. dispatched distance. I have Winamp/Shoutcast which eliminates the need and the cost of the trash Sirius radio. I can listen to any kind of music I want by plugging it in to my radio (or as in my case, into a short range FM transmitter that transmits to a null station on the truck radio since mine doesn't have a MP3 jack.) I have an alarm clock, calculator and calendar as well. I downloaded the Nook app because I prefer reading to TV and getting to bookstores on the road is next to impossible. Since I have the Nook app that makes my smartphone a little nookie and everyone can use a little nookie now and then...

As far as trucking specific apps I have the following:
Pilot/Flying J
Petro/TA
Loves
for getting info on national chain truck stops. Good to know if the truck stop you're planning on getting to with 10:45 on your drive line clock at 6:00pm has 300 parking spaces and not 30.

For independent truck stops, motels, AM Best dumps, Walmarts I use Allstays Truck and Travel because I can look up by specific city.

For weather where I am and where I'm going I use Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com) which will not only give me conditions and forecasts but details about severe weather as well. It's not a good feeling to be headed down the interstate toward dark clouds on the horizon thinking you're headed for a rainstorm and have the storm (tornado) chasers with the car that looks like a Honda Accord mated with a turtle pass you.

The other app that I use daily is My DAT Trucker Services to locate nearby truck stops, rest stops and scales. There is no search feature but it uses the phones GPS function to figure out where it is and give you a list of locations out to a few hundred miles. Although we never, ever use our smartphones while underway it is great for finding out if the next rest stop/pee break is 20 or 200 miles away. It is also useful, along with Allstays Truck and Travel, for those times you pick up a #40k load in South Podunk, BFE (50 miles of back road from a CAT scale) and need to find the closest scales to make sure it actually is 40k and you can adjust tandems and fifth wheel to where you can legally and safely haul it.

So, yes, get a smartphone. If you don't want to go with the two year contract you can also get the pay as you go plans. I have Sprint and have had all the coverage I needed in 45 states so far. Including a broadband gizmo I pay about $130 an month for more voice than I ever use, unlimited text and data and (I think) 6gb of broadband. Given a choice between a smartphone or a laptop I would take the smartphone even though watching porn on that tiny smartphone screen will make you go blind faster than...well, you know.

Frank