To Phone or Not to Phone

Lately I've been thinking about getting a new cell phone. This one looks nice:

Droid Eris

I've never had a smartphone and I keep debating whether it's really worth it. After all, one of the reasons to have a mobile phone is because you're mobile, and I'm definitely not; these days when I'm not in class I'm usually at home (working on homework, of course). We still have a landline (yes, totally 80's or 90's or whatever, I know) so that's another factor: If we start paying for a fancy phone plan (that whole data thing I haven't entirely figured out yet) I wouldn't want to keep paying for a landline, too, especially since we hardly use it, anyway. I know a phone like the iPhone or the Motorola Droid is so much more than just a phone, but having never had more than "just a phone" I'm not really sure what I would do with it. I know whatever I got would have all those cool apps... But do I really need them? It's hard to know if something I've never had will make my life better or just be yet another thing to waste my time and money on (neither of which I have very much of these days as a full-time graduate student, of course).

So the debate in my head (and discussion with my husband) continues. I'd love to hear from those of you who have smartphones and find them useful: What do you use them for? What features do you like the most? Have they simplified your life in some way? How do you justify the cost of the monthly plan?

Maybe someday I'll join the 21st century when it comes to phones. Until then, to phone or not to phone—that is the question. [Yes, that was totally cheesy. My apologies to Shakespeare. I've been writing way too many papers for school lately and I really need a break.]