Gadget Technology: Smartphones now leave me meh !

[kiwitt]

With the relatively recent "success" of the iphone and related ilk, I still quite astounded how people have been sucked in to this gadget maelstrom. But then again I have been there myslef, which probably explains my "meh!" feeling I have for the newest ones.

In the late 90's, I stepped onto this gadget race and got myself a Palm III. It was a great little device I could read news, email and plan my day. I could even read e-books and battery life was wonderful. A couple of years later I got a Palm Tungsten T, another good device and it was in colour too! A little while latter I got a Windows XDA which even had 3G access to the internet, etc back in 2004.

However, I still found myself getting most of "tech" fix from my computer, via games, DVDs and Internet and not much else was needed. So when it came to get another phone I choose a basic Nokia for calling and receiving (I hardly ever sent) txts.

I was soon required to get another phone eventually and while the iPhone was already out I settled on a Sony Ericsson W705a (because I like how it looked). This could play music, play youtube, email, browse, google maps, and much much more. But I still found myself simply calling and receiving txts (btw: Is now switched off most of the time). As to the other features well; - If I want to;

- Listen: I have a hi-quality Denon
- Watch: I have TiVo, DVDs, and HD LCD TV
- Email, Games, Internet: I have a Core i7 Win 7x64 PC
- Photos: Canon Prosumer digital 10 MP camera that records HD movies as well.

All of which leads me to say, well smartphones can do many things, but each thing it tries to do is a compromise, because they have to fit all into a small package to make it mobile.

Now today, many people have now been hooked onto this new "gadget" and it is very lucrative for the manufacturers, as I believe it has now reached what they may call "critical mass", and everyone wants/needs to have one. I for one, can not see it as a "must-have" and it is more like "fashion" accessory like "watches" were in my day and you upgraded as the fashions change. Before long an iPhone 5 will be out and the iPhone 4 will be tossed aside after only being out a year or so and each change will cost $1,000 (either as part of plan or outright) and with each upgrade the manufacturers will be clipping the ticket and getting richer. I am reminded of the 1950's American cars where planned obsolescence was a science, and this has now been applied to these gadgets.

TL;DR - Smartphones are OK, but don't get sucked into the planned obsolescence cycle as it will cost you a lot of money for a compromised experience.

 

[CivOtaku]

Most people would probably say that I'm obsessed with gadgets, especially smartphones. But I do agree with you, people don't necessarily need a smart phone. If someone asks me to recommend them a phone, I consider their needs carefully, for example I didn't recommend a over 300 € touchscreen phone to my friend who didn't want one, but I did recommend an HTC android -phone to another friend. I have a Nokia N8, which I thought suited my needs best. It's got a camera that's really as good as the average digicam, even better. It has more features than any other phone, like HDMI (outputs in 720p and 5.1 surround sound). I chose it because of the technical specs, and because I find Nokia to be the best. I hate the iPhone, but I understand that it might be a good option for some people.

Another thing that I hate is the so called "Cupertino distortion field" that seems to exist in america (elsewhere too, but it originates from the USA). It means that the iPhone and Android phones are seen by the general public to be superior to others. This is largely the medias fault, because they rarely talk of any other phones (though I must admit that Nokia's slice of the American market is only about 2 %), and when they do, it's usually negative. Sites like Engadget.com and Gismodo.com are clearly biased when talking of smartphone operating systems. I could say much more but I think I'll stop here.

P.S. I suggest reading mynokiablog.com and zomgitscj.com if you want to have a more objective view and find out more about Nokia. And yes, I do realise that this sounds like an advert, but it isn't (supposed to be) one.

 

[kiwitt]

WOW !!! - I have joined the 'smart-phone' generation finally. An IT 'expert' taking this long to finally join what all and sundry are moving to now in mass, may seem surprising. I am certainly not a bleeding-edge person like I was in my younger days where I enjoyed having my PDA to stay organised in the 1990s.

However, what 30+ years in IT has taught me is that careful consideration and planning is required to chose to implement any IT systems into what you do. And it is not simply a Features versus Features comparison that any person can, but a full assessment of the overall requirement, longevity and reliability.

It is in this light that I selected what I believe is the best 'smart-phone', all things considered.

Now I suppose you now want to know know what I choose ... patience please - it is best I still explain my decision

The iPhone was the very first 'smart-phone' that was a real game changer. The ones before that, like the Palm, Windows, Blackberry were essentially quirky feature phones. Then a few year later came Android. Here was an OS and Hardware system that was open and infinitely customisable. Each generation the OS got better especially after 2.3x (and now upto 4.1x).

HTC was effectively leading with their regular 'Halo' phones in the first stages of the 'Android' revolution. Samsung and Sony came along a bit later. Samsung then took the baton and raced ahead of all competitors with their Galaxy Series phones leading to their ultimate Galaxy S3 and monstrous Note/Note 2. Meanwhile Apple was effectively getting left behind as it simply evolved slowly but stayed essentially the same.

The features of the Android phones are phenomenal. Large screens, great resolutions, quad-core CPUs, expandable memory, great cameras, etc. Integration with google apps are seamless and their customisation options endless.

Nevertheless they had a flaw. Poor long-term manufacturer support. When you buy an Android phone, it is generally a few point releases behind the latest OS release. You then have to wait for the manufacturer to release a patch to upgrade to the next release. In addition, you then need to wait for the manufacturer's release to be approved and possibly tweaked by the carrier you use. This often means you can be many releases behind for security fixes if you stay on the Manufacturer/Carrier release cycle. (NOTE: You can bypass all this by patching your phone directly via the many tools available). In addition manufacturer support for the phone generally stops after aboiut 18 months of a phone being released.

Apple on the other hand, while it simply evolves, its updates are sent directly to the phone, without requiring any carrier or manufacturer steps. This means you are effectively on the latest release much faster. This is especially important as 'hackers' are now targeting 'smart-phones', directly. In addition Apple generally supports its phones for at least 3-4 years.

I intend to use my phone for at a minimum of 3-4 years and want to have the most up to date security on it at all times.

It has been a carefully considered decision with only the colour and the storage been the final stages. So I suppose you can now guess what I have chosen -

An iPhone 5 - White - 64 GB version

 

[TomYo689]

It's not lucrative to the manufacturers. The hardware is the lowest profit aspect of the smartphone.

 

[Zelig]

It's not lucrative to the manufacturers. The hardware is the lowest profit aspect of the smartphone.

Depends to who... Apple sells its phones for 3-4x the marginal cost of production, and software revenue is chump change compared to what they make off hardware.

 

[El_Machinae]

I use my phone a lot, and get a great deal of utility from it. Convenience factors really play a big role, like the keyboard or access to a camera. I've not done very well by apps, because I find the Android marketplace not easy to deal with. It could just be because I'm an old foggie, though. It would be so much better if we leveraged these things into increased utility. I kind of regret not getting an iPhone, because I'm so in love with my iPod and have to carry around both devices.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Android marketplace is so fragmented since each phone manufacturer runs customized Android OS's and never update them. So newer apps that only run on new versions of Android won't even show up in your marketplace if you have an older phone. It's really frustrating.

 

[peter grimes]

Android marketplace is so fragmented since each phone manufacturer runs customized Android OS's and never update them. So newer apps that only run on new versions of Android won't even show up in your marketplace if you have an older phone. It's really frustrating.

But, you're free to install non-PlayStore apps directly from websites. Can't do that without jailbreaking (and voiding the warranty) on an iPhone.

If you root your android, you can install newer OSs. I rooted my old droid, it was fine. A little scary, but if you're comfortable in a command line you'll be fine as long as you follow the instructions precisely.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Oh no no no I am not comfortable doing that at all.

Plus my Galaxy S I is on it's last legs and is liable to break if I mess with it. Hell, I can't even install new apps or update new ones at all anymore because it's grown so buggy.

 

[peter grimes]

Oh no no no I am not comfortable doing that at all.

Plus my Galaxy S I is on it's last legs and is liable to break if I mess with it. Hell, I can't even install new apps or update new ones at all anymore because it's grown so buggy.

All the more reason of wipe it and start over ;-)

 

[Quintillus]

WOW !!! - I have joined the 'smart-phone' generation finally. An IT 'expert' taking this long to finally join what all and sundry are moving to now in mass, may seem surprising. I am certainly not a bleeding-edge person like I was in my younger days where I enjoyed having my PDA to stay organised in the 1990s.

<snip>

It has been a carefully considered decision with only the colour and the storage been the final stages. So I suppose you can now guess what I have chosen -

An iPhone 5 - White - 64 GB version

My commiserations. You're now in what's increasingly becoming the majority.

Your first post in this thread summarizes my thoughts on smartphones pretty well. Other than being able to carry it around easily, I agree with your former self that there are better devices for the various tasks, and the price isn't worth it.

The camera is the one area that I feel a phone can be compelling. Even though not as good as a "real" camera, you don't always have your real camera with you, and going to retrieve it may take too long to be worth it (or have the photo op at all). So having a decent camera on the phone is worth something. Whereas with watching video/listening to music/browsing the Internet/playing games, I can almost always do it later on a more suitable device.

That's why I've stuck with dumbphones so far, though attempting to get ones with somewhat decent cameras. It's also why the phones, dumb or not, that tend to appeal to me are Sony Ericsson or Nokia - they're often the ones with the best cameras, or at least best in the price range. Ideally I'd like to have a Nokia 808, with its awesome 41 MP camera. That it runs Symbian doesn't bother me - the camera and call quality are the most important "apps" to me. But it's pretty expensive, and that does matter.

I have been considering, though not very seriously, getting a smartphone in part because I work in the software field and familiarity with them is becoming an increasingly marketable skill. Overall, they leave me "meh", too.

 

[Zelig]

Symbian is really a huge knock against the 808, you lose out on all the nice integration for photos between WP8/Windows/Skydrive, and the limited hardware and software makes interacting with the phone for the process of taking photos quite awful, as well as limiting the speed at which you can take multiple photos.

Sony (no more Ericsson branding) phones aren't particularly good camera-wise. Depending on preferences and applications, best smartphone cameras are in the iphone 5, HTC One and Lumia 920.