They are absolutely critical in my line of work. I get work orders dispatched to me via text. I use it to track billing, millage, keep my contact list and so forth. Sometime I need to surf the net to find out about weird file names on a infected computer. I get maps from Google or off of my build in Tom Tom. It's not an obsession, it is a valuable tool that saves me time and money. Actually I earn money on it as I get work orders via it.