QueenFrostine 1,789 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 https://www.thestreet.com/story/13561991/2/why-flip-phones-are-coming-back.html Smartphone sales have stalled; guess what consumers are buying instead. Retro is cool again. Smartphone sales have stalled - that is fact, reported by research outfit IDC and underlined by Apple's recent quarterly results where it sold 16% feweriPhones than in the year ago quarter. But the big - shocking - news just may be that sales of flip phones (aka dumb phones) are ticking up. Last year 24.2 million feature phones shipped in the U.S., up almost 2 million from the prior year. Even fashion guru Anna Wintour - of Vogue fame - was photographed in 2014 staring into a flip phone. Questions: who is using flip phones? Why? And could you join that club? Know that a flip phone will save you money, and it just might be cooler. The bottomline question about a flip phone is cost. At BestBuy a z222 flip phone costs $6.99. That is with no contract. Standby time is ten days. Not hours. Days. A Straight Talk prepaid plan costs $30/month for 1,500 talk minutes and unlimited texting. Buy an iPhone and it may be $600+. Add an unlimited talk, text, data plan at Straight Talk and that is $45/month. Over two years, the z222 costs about $725. The iPhone costs $1,680. Even better: a flip phone may be a new sign of cool. James Gardner, with digital experience agency Connective DX in Boston, said there's a phenomenon he called "reverse status signaling." In conventional status signalling we flaunt our wealth via brands like Louis Vuitton and BMW. But in reverse status signalling we "turn this on its ear. It typically but not always happens in once-prestigious categories that have lost their exclusivity and gone mainstream," said Gardner. "Smartphones were once scarce and accessible only to the elite," Gardner added. "Now, they're mainstream and have become, not a signal of power, but instead a sign that you're a corporate drone who's tethered to their job and email 24x7. Reverting to a flip phone—or NO phone at all—subtly tells the world that you report to nobody. You are the boss." Craig Buzz Conroy, an aviation/business researcher, insisted that many celebrities use flip phones "for their closest private contacts." He added that "flip phones are not as hackable as a smartphone. Therefore, the data breach and the privacy breach is minimized." Multiple experts said that security advantage may be real, especially with older flip phones that were designed just to talk and text. They have fewer access points and, therefore, probably are harder to hack. But security is not the top reason cited by flip phone users. Real users have their personal explanations for why they use flip phones. Vipul Sharma, a 35 year-old digital video professional based in Manhattan, said he has used a Motorola StarTAC, a phone that was wildly popular after its 1996 release. Some 60 million StarTACs are said to have been sold but it fell out of popularity a dozen years ago. Sharma, however, tracked one down on eBay, paid $45 and, he said, he has talk, text, he has sent tweets and even received money via Square Cash. Why does he use it? "It's about drawing boundaries, about not being a slave to a device," he said. He said his employer supplies him with an iPhone but he does not often carry it and his personal number is the StarTAC phone. "I want to keep things simple," he said. "This phone lets me." In Cambridge, Mass. 50 year-old marketer Paige Arnof-Fenn said that her only cell phone is an LG flip phone that she's had for "more than two years." "I think I got it free," she added. "It has a camera. It texts. The voice calling is very good." As for smartphones, Arnof-Fenn said, "they seem compulsive to me." That is the thing. With a smartphone one always is within reach of email, Facebook posts, Snapchat, and all the tools that have become central to life in 2016. Except flip phone users are saying, count them out. And that just may be the quintessence of 2016 cool. Oh, the thing about flip phones. Pull it out, and two things will happen. First, people will say, what is that? And when they get that you plan to use it as a phone, "they laugh," said Arnoff-Fenn. Sharma agreed: "There's a lot of laughter." But the right flip phone gets the job done, at a lot less cost. So who's the joke on? Retro is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiraDoru 12,323 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I legit called this a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90's Baby 5,035 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 waiting for Apple vs Samsung flip phones battle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Soda 12,004 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 The answer is obvious lol. Older people still need phones and smart phones are expensive af Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingSoshi 2,315 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I use my phone for so many other things, other than texting and calling and that's why I'm sticking to it rather than using a flip phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faces 5,832 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 oh god no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamCam 1,874 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Contrary to popular belief, flip phones' battieries lasted a HELLA longer than most phones on the market today, and some with cameras even took amazing photos. I don't plan on giving up my Samsung Note soon, but if the time comes.....*rummaging through my drawer for my granddaddy Sony Ericcson flip* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Everything 23,397 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I don't want a flip phone Bring the physical keyboard back and then you got my coins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blank_stare 2,217 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Omg. If that's true I want a DOCOMO Phone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OREKI 213 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 can you even watch anything on a flip phone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blank_stare 2,217 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I use my phone for so many other things, other than texting and calling and that's why I'm sticking to it rather than using a flip phone. I don't want a flip phone Bring the physical keyboard back and then you got my coins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassied 424 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I would buy a flip phone again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Everything 23,397 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I meant the like the sidekick keyboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakurahanabira 6,634 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Honestly I want qwerty phones to come back. I prefer qwerty phones to flip phones since qwerty phones have a sliding keyboard for typing and you don't have to go pressing numbers a bunch of times to get the letter you want like on non-qwerty, non-touchscreen phone. can you even watch anything on a flip phone? Yes. Teens in the mid-late 2000s watched stuff on flip phones. The quality wasn't as good back then though, but it might change now due to technology being more advanced nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regality 955 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Uh did anyone else think that old lady was Taylor Swift at first? Lmao cuz i did But anyways, I wouldn't want a flip phone. I like my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkrat 5,683 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 they're not coming back only idiots are getting them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blank_stare 2,217 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I meant the like the sidekick keyboard I hated the qwerty phone. Had a samsung once back then but the keyboard was useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Property of Goddess Irene 9,760 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 A flip phone leaks less radiation than a smart phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolores Haze 3,663 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 i love flip phones, been wanting to have one since years ago but i can't find any at my place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarShapedGummy 11,380 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 bring back the palm pilot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancor288 3,306 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I still have my flip phone in my drawer...my sis made me get a smart phone, and honestly I rather have a flip phone. I just need to make a call!! LOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalmonster 3,603 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Jin is always ahead of the trends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deâ„“phina 14,904 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Blagh, hipsters again with their "anti-consumerist" trends. Uh did anyone else think that old lady was Taylor Swift at first? Lmao cuz i did Mess. That's Anna Wintour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenithzinc 615 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 i'm still waiting that flip phone with rotating screen and touchy keypad (so it wont make weird typing sound) until then, im not buying any new phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salieri 4,473 Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I don't want a flip phone Bring the physical keyboard back and then you got my coins Blackberry pirv Blackberry passport Though to say flip phones are cheaper a lot of people are mistaken. You can get a smartphone for the same price as a flip phone. Lg K4, Samsung with their neo line, Sony with their compact line, even apple have you sorted with the iPhone SE and Google with their nexus 5x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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