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I'm a bit frustrated to see so many here disparaging a tool and everyone using one. All because either they don't think they need it and/or think some people misuse it. It reminds me of the attitude some people have about guns.

I had a flip phone until 2009 and didn't think I “needed” a smartphone until I saw how much it can do for me. Yes, some idiots just use it to play games and announce when they take a crap on facebook but it is an almost limitless tool when used to its full potential.

Here are just a few of the things I used it for. I know there are other devices that can do the same and do them better but my phone does them ALL in a stand-alone package smaller than my wallet.

-Access 95% of the internet anywhere, anytime. Look up anything right away nomatter where you are. I'm typing this on my phone right now and maybe use my PC once a month to go online.

-Receive and respond to emails instantly, anywhere. I don't keep up with every email constantly but it has been crucial for negotiating time sensitive deals/issues that would otherwise force me to change plans. Instead of having to be tied down at home to write that time critical response, I can go anywhere I want and still respond instantly.

-Update or create practically any document anywhere and send it anywhere.

-Receive huge amounts of information from anyone in the world in real time. I can be out in the field practically anywhere in the world and receive a full set of plans/drawings of whatever I'm looking at. For some recently designed machinery and buildings, I can have a full 3D model sent to my phone. Once I was stalled in the desert with help 100+ miles away and manually reset the truck's faulty ECU with diagrams I instantly downloaded with my phone.

-A graphing calculator and fully programmable math simulator. Heck, I can program and debug in practically any language.

-Always carry a good amount of music with me. I can also access countless radio/TV stations around the world through the internet. Some commercial free.

-Carry all my favorite photos/videos with me.

-Stream practically any movie or download practically any book, anywhere. I can be stuck in some airport at 2am with nothing else around me and get anything I want.

-Take very decent 8MP photos and 1080 HD videos. During the day, the quality is equal to most point & shoots but in an even smaller package that does so much more. I only wish it had a real flash.

-Scan a barcode of any item I see in a store and instantly compare prices at other stores.

-As a digital compass and star mapper. You can point the phone anywhere in the night sky and it identifies every known object.

-As an impromptu voice recorder that can even instantly upload to the web. Great for encounters with law enforcement or getting records of heated meetings (where still legal).

-In NYC, you can use it to track buses via GPS and plan an optimal route with subways. It instantly takes delays into account. I haven't looked at a subway map or not known exactly when a bus comes in over a year.

-Complete integration with home security. If someone comes onto my property, it instantly triggers a motion sensor and alerts my phone. If I want, I can then turn on an instant video feed of my property and alert a neighbor/security if necessary. If you are worried about privacy with cameras inside the home, you can run your own server and encrypt all the feeds before they are sent over the web.

-As a GPS navigator that monitors traffic in real time. Mine is smaller than most stand-units. I drive to new places often and it has never been wrong. It is also useful for walking quickly through a new city. I travel all the time and haven't touched a paper map or written directions down in years.

-A decent GPS for hiking. You can pre-load satellite and terrain data and still use if the area is too remote for cell service.

-Send my personal documents to most wireless printers without having to touch someone else’s PC.

-As a wireless, portable video phone. It still blows my mind that I can be sitting in the passenger seat of a car and talk to someone on the other side of the world while seeing them.

-See live and predicted weather radar maps, anywhere. You can know exactly when the rain/snow will start/stop and better plan for it.

-Get many other apps or program the phone yourself to do just about anything. The sky isn't the limit.

Again, this isn't everything I have used it for and the thing is smaller than my frickin wallet. Truly an amazing tool.

I think some of us were poking fun at ourselves. I have many friends who spend large sums and obligate themselves to years of expensive cellular contracts to have the latest and greatest electronic trinket. I think as the economy has deteriorated... in some groups expensive phones have partially replaced expensive clothes and cars as some sort of status symbols.

I appreciate you pointing out all the amazing and in some cases semi-useful tasks that can be performed with our new phones and tablet computers. I am definitely with you... I love to dazzle people and especially my wife with the same types of electronic wizardry. (See honey this pocket sized electronic trinket was definitely worth $500 and a 2 year extension to our cellular contract!)

After owning “smart phones” since 2005 I am finally willing to admit to people (other than my wife) that I accomplish very little with my phones or tablet that increases my actual productivity. When I found out that the fire department was spending tens of thousands of dollars to buy iPhones for all of our Battalion Chiefs during a budget crisis... I have to admit that I planted my face in my palms and wondered what the hell they were thinking.