Accessorize Your Phone With Another Phone

Rambo Tribble writes "Ars Technica reports that HTC is introducing the Mini, a small, more convenient and feature-reduced phone to tie into your big, cumbersome smartphone. So, dumb is the new smart?" Don't forget a wristwatch phone to connect to the smaller phone.

Do yourself a favor

[Anonymous Coward]

Do yourself a favor and buy a ruggedized outdoor phone. They last forever, have long battery life and unlike most smartphones are actually usable for making phone calls.

Laugh

[koan]

I love how they keep calling them smart "phones", it's really a tracking device with facial recognition, vocal recognition, finger print recognition, your bank info, GPS, and has a "phone" included. (primarily for a constant data connection for the aforementioned attributes)
It reminds me of the vases with clocks in them. "and it has a clock!!!"

Phones indeed...

Yer Doing it Wrong

[MrLogic17]

If your smart phone is too cumbersome, the solution is NOT to get another gadget to add to the complexity.

Seriously, some folks are so gadget happy with their oohh-aaahh features on their phones that they forget why they bought it.Speak with your wallet. Buy a phone that works for your needs, and is easy to use.

Getting ridiculous

[Arcady13]

If your phone is so big and cumbersome that you need a second phone that is easier to hold and easier to handle, then why wouldn't you just get a primary phone that fits those requirements in the first place?

I see these people with their ridiculous 5 inch Android phones. They have them set to dim and turn off the screen almost immediately, because the battery life is so shitty. When they aren't swiping around on them like a crazy person, they are looking for power outlets to keep the stupidly big things charged up.

Screw that. Get a phone with a normal size screen, a phone that fits in your pocket, a phone that has a battery that lasts for a whole day, a phone that doesn't need another phone as an accessory.

So what they're really selling is...

[Gordonjcp]

... an inconveniently large bluetooth headset?

Re:Do they integrate?

[Agent ME]

It's more like a bluetooth headset than a separate phone.

Re:Start of something big.

[obarthelemy]

Not so true about pictures.
1- High-end smartphones (iP4s, iP5, GS3, GNote2...) take okay pictures. For a blog or email, or even regular-size prints, they are more then "good enough".
2- smartphone video compares even more favorably to regular cameras
3- and above all let you have something to take pictures *all the time*. My brother has a semi-expensive camera, and a shitty smartphone that even went through the wash once. The pictures we get of the nephews are more often take with his smartphone, because that's what he always has with him.

Now, if you want to get arty or A4-size, sure, get a true camera. If you want to shoot un-arty slices of life for friends and family, no need.

I bet this is immensely helpful...

[pellik]

... for calling your phone when you misplace it.

Awesome new idea

[uvajed_ekil]

Yo, I've got something that will blow your mind: a phone that stays at your house and can't go anywhere. It get amazing reception, and call quality and dropped calls are never really an issue. Pretty soon every teenager is going to want one. These things are BAD, and can be really big. Big is the new small, know what I'm saying? How come nobody ever thought of a phone before that is JUST a phone and doesn't play Angry Birds? And you'll never ever crack the screen. No giant Otterbox necessary (besides, it is already so big it doesn't need a box to make it huge, like an iPhone). Bonus: you'll never forget it or have it stolen at Starbucks, cause you can't use it there.

Re:Getting ridiculous

[Anonymous Coward]

The next contractor that shows up to my workplace wearing cargo pants is going to get fired. This is not appropriate attire 95% of the time. I don't understand why people think they can go out of the house dressed like bums.

Re:Do yourself a favor

[clonehappy]

I have been a phone geek for as long as I could afford a cell phone. All I can say about smartphones is buy quality, not hype. There are perfectly fine smartphones that do it all and do it well (hint: they don't have an "i" or "Galaxy" in their name)...and since the company that makes the majority of them being acquired by Google, I think the landscape may soon be changing. That being said, I like having a fully-featured smartphone I don't have to curse at or feel like throwing on a daily basis while others continue to buy whatever device Madison Avenue shoves down their throats.