I've been mulling over the same question.

I'm tempted to get a smartphone just to keep my technical skills up. It bothers me when I'm handed a phone to take a picture and have to ask:

. . . Which button do I press?

But that's a poor reason to spend lots of money. I'm retired, not working.

I recently bought an Acer notebook for $300, about what a smartphone costs. The Acer has a gigabyte of memory, an Intel N550 chip, and a real keyboard. It's a perfect 'travel computer'.

But it isn't pocket-sized, and it isn't "always-connected" (though I could arrange that, for a price).

Different charges per byte, depending on what device the data is sent to? Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Charles