Ten Things Mobile Phones Will Make Obsolete 778
An anonymous reader writes "recombu.com has an article examining ten things mobile phones will make obsolete, including phone booths, wristwatches and handheld games consoles. It's interesting to see how many devices have been absorbed into mobile phone technology, and it raises the question: are we better off having everything in one device? The author poignantly concludes that while it's great to have so much power at our fingertips, it does mean that some of us will rely on mobile phones for even basic mental tasks, which is great until the battery runs out." See also Isaac Asimov's The Feeling of Power.
yep... (Score:5, Insightful)
...why have a watch on your wrist when you can fish it out of your pocket.
At least pocket watches kept the time even if you were out of cell service.
Re:yep... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:yep... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I have never heard of a phone losing it's time when going out of reception.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I think this is/was a common thing with CDMA (or whatever the non-GSM protocol is called exactly) telephones. They get the time from the network and don't/didn't bother storing it anywhere locally.
Re:yep... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:yep... (Score:5, Interesting)
My phone keeps the time just fine when out of reception. Likely better than an old pocket watch. What kind of brick-phone do you have?
I know that my phone doesn't keep accurate time even with reception and even though I'm just a few miles away from NIST. At the moment it's only off by 10 seconds, but it's been as bad as 3 minutes. My wristwatch, on the otherhand, is guaranteed to be accurate within a 5 second drift over a full year (and it's not a fancy watch). I wouldn't be surprised if the phone manufacturers know that they can get away with using crappy crystal oscillators and just re-syncing the time regularly.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I've seen some Blackberries with this problem. It happens when they lose contact with the network, and revert to a local clock. Settings have to be manually changed back to using the network.
Re:yep... (Score:4, Interesting)
I think there are basicly two types of phones (some are user configurable) Ones that get time from the network only, and ones that keep there own clock.
The nice thing about the network phones is the time is always accurate to the second and resets based on time zone when you power it up after a flight or when you cross a border. Every phone like this I have owned eventually looses track when out of range.
The other type seem to have an internal clock and have to be changed after flights and such.
My Kindle however, seems to use the network when in range but keeps track itself when out of range.
Re:yep... (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, the problem that I have is not so much when out of service, it's when too close to the wrong tower...
I was out of town and in another highly populated area (Knoxville I believe) a while back. The city is right near the boarder of the next time zone and what I found that kept happening is that my cell phone would update it's time according to which tower it connected to, often times the one in the wrong timezone. I had to shut off it's auto syncing and let it drift on it's own during that period.
I've also found that there are certain towers that just don't sync time, or don't do it well. In these times I'm glad I've got a watch on. I'll also have to agree with the grandparent... I can flick my wrist and check the time in under a second. It takes a good 10 seconds to fish my phone out of my pocket and unlock it, esp if I'm in a car and the pocket isn't at a great angle for phone removal.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You must have a pathetically weak wrist. A watch, like a ring, necklace, hat, or any other item of clothing, is very easy to become accustomed to for normal humans.
Re:yep... (Score:4, Insightful)
It's pretty obtuse to think that wristwatches are going to become obsolete. Hate to break it to you, but no. Wristwatches are far more than just a device to tell time. They're a symbol of status and of self-expression. Don't think so? Wristwatch builders keep pushing the envelope of what is possible with micro-mechanics, and that is what makes them attractive, and special to collectors.
You think your iPhone is going to get you laid... or any serious street cred? It's within reach of even below-average citizens, so it doesn't get you any status points. No, there's just something about a fine Rolex or Omega Speedmaster on your wrist. A feat of mechanical engineering and precision manufacturing that NO iPhone can *EVER* replace.
Just try pawning an iPhone and see how much you get.
Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:5, Funny)
[X] Convenient. You don't have to pull them out of your pocket or purse to see what time it is.
[X] You can get them dirt cheap (under $10) so if they break, get wet washing the dishes, fall in the toilet - no big deal. Try that with your cell phone.
[X] One for day and one for evening wear - they are a fashion accessory.
[X] If they get rained on a bit, big deal. Most are water-resistant.
[X] It's harder to steal a wristwatch than a cellphone
[X] It's harder to forget your wristwatch on the roof of your car, at home, or at the office than a cellphone
[X] I might be convinced to buy a CowboyNeal writstwatch as a joke item, but never a CowboyNeal cellphone.
Geeks should appreciate mechanical l33t (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd think any true geek out there would appreciate the mechanical complexity of a quality watch (read: not quartz). Granted they are more jewelry like than actual time reference objects, but when you get out of the low end you can appreciate a lot of fine horology!
Re:Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:5, Insightful)
[X] wristwatch battery doesn't go dead every 3 days
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
You can get dirt cheap under $10 cellphones too...
But you are right, a wristwatch is more of a fashion accessory.
Personally i can't stand wearing a wristwatch, or any kind of jewellery, i hate having things like that clinging to my skin - it's a foreign object stuck to my skin that feels like it needs to be removed.
Re:Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:5, Funny)
You mean like clothes?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
[X] You can get them dirt cheap (under $10) so if they break, get wet washing the dishes, fall in the toilet - no big deal. Try that with your cell phone.
My Nokia was GBP 10, and I can make phone calls with it. Try that with your wristwatch.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:12 ways watches are better than cell phones (Score:4, Insightful)
>> 1. GBP 10 is not $10.
My phone was free. Same with my last phone and the one before that.
>> 2. Your cell phone was probably subsidized by your cell phone company, if you bought it new. Try buying a new cell phone without a plan, and no subsidy. they'll be more than $10.
Of course, but that doesn't change that you can get them free from many companies. Can I get a subsidized Rolex anywhere?
>> 3. I don't need to recharge my wrist watch every few days. How many days can you talk on your cell phone run without a recharge?
About a week. Not really an issue unless you're out in the wilderness for a long time, and then I don't give a shit about what time it is.
>> 4. Does your cell phone fit conveniently on your wrist like a watch? Or would you have to duct-tape it?
Having something strapped to my wrist is anything but convenient. It can get caught on stuff, I have to take it off and put it back on several times a day (showers, bed, etc).
>> 5. Is your cell phone as light as a watch?
Pretty damn close if you're talking about a quality mechanical watch + strap. Either way it's not an inconvenience.
>> 6. Can you make calls on your cell phone without some sort of plan, even if it's pay-as-you-go? I can still tell time with my watch - no plan needed.
That's retarded. I can tell time without a plan but a watch can never make a call.
>> 7. My watch doesn't have "dead zones" where it stops telling time. Does your cell phone have dead zones where you can't make calls?
No. I've never owned a phone that wouldn't tell the time without service. I'm sure such a braindamaged phone does exist, but that's not the norm.
>> 8. I don't have to worry about my watch interrupting an important meeting with an embarrassing ring-tone.
Ever owned a digital watch with an alarm? They do the same thing.
>> 9. If someone steals my watch, I don't have to worry that they have a lot of my contacts.
Password protect your phone or don't store your contacts in there if you're so paranoid.
>> 10. A thief can't run u a big bill for me on my watch.
Not an issue if you cancel your plan when you notice your phone's missing.
>> 11. I don't have to back up my watch.
I also don't have to back up my cat. Doesn't mean it's relevant to the discussion.
>> 12. It's legal to look at my watch while driving.
Your car doesn't have a clock? Why would you need to look at either of them to tell the time?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
1. GBP 10 is not $10.
2. Your cell phone was probably subsidized by your cell phone company, if you bought it new. Try buying a new cell phone without a plan, and no subsidy. they'll be more than $10.
It doesn't matter, I already purchased it for use as a mobile communication device and I already carry it everywhere for means for mobile communication. It's cost is totally immaterial to whether or not I would want to use it as a time-keeping device.
3. I don't need to recharge my wrist watch every few days. How many days can you talk on your cell phone run without a recharge?
This is immaterial, as I keep my cell phone charged for use as a mobile communication device. Any other functions it also serves is simply one less battery I have to charge (or change annually, as it were with a watch)
4. Does your cell phone fit conveniently on your wrist like a watch? Or would you have to duct-tape it?
5. Is your cell phone as light as a watch?
I hate having things on my wrist, but sin
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:12 ways watches are better than cell phones (Score:5, Informative)
The main trigger was about 10 years ago, when I suddenly developed a serious rash on my wrist under the watch. I carried it in my pocket for a week or so, to see what happened. The rash slowly went away, and a doctor told me that he'd seen quite a lot of watch-caused rashes recently. He didn't know what they were putting in or on the metal, but it wasn't anything good.
You have a nickel allergy.
Re:Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:4, Insightful)
I haven't used a watch in almost two decades. Simply put, clocks are ubiquitous. In fact there's several in front of me right now - one on the computer, one on the VCR, and one on the television. When I was a student the time was above every classroom door, and at work, it's typically on a nearby wall or on my PC or on the break room TV. There is almost no time when I am not within sight of a clock which is why the watch I bought 20 years ago still looks new.
From Asimov's story:
"Divide twenty-seven by thirteen. Take it to six places."
Five minutes later Shuman said, "Two point oh seven six nine two three."
Is it sad that I've forgotten how to do long division? Let's see:
13|27 == 2.0769
..-26
=====
100
-91
===
90
78
==
12
Okay I'm bored with that. In 8th grade we used to do pages of this stuff, and now I've practically forgotten it all. That's sad.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What's a VCR?
Re:Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:4, Informative)
[X] Real water resistant, mine goes scuba diving with me and it ain't an expensive dive watch, it's a $40 Timex.
[X] Battery life in excess of eight years and counting (it's only rated for seven).
Re:Wristwatches are just plain convenient (Score:5, Interesting)
Funny story. My dad's girlfriend had a good Seiko watch. It wasn't the proper dive watch but it had a bezel and was good to 100 metres depth or so. They were diving in (I think) Papua New Guinea and after they came to the surface the watch started to hiss and splutter, then the face flew off at high velocity. Good thing she wasn't looking right at it at the time.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
... that anyone who knows anything about it will be able to identify as a cheap knock-off, and you as a wanna-be, within moments. If you want to use a wristwatch as a status symbol, that's fine - but you actually need to have the status (and wealth.) Nothing sadder than trying to write a symbolic check that you can't existentially cash.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
They're a symbol of status and of self-expression.
So are phones.
I was in New York City two weekends ago, and a guy that I was hanging out with was getting ready to go have a big business meeting. He was very concerned about getting a "Droid" in time for the meeting, because that is the phone with all the buzz right now... he could care less about what the phone actually does. We actually suggested that he buy a Rolex instead, and he kind of scoffed at us like we were dinosaurs or something.
So while I'm sure you are right, and that rich guys will always hav
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
My current wristwatch has been happily chugging away telling time since before any cell phone ever existed and will still be chugging along quite possibly when something else comes along to displace the cell phone.
The death of quality speciality devices is a bit premature at this point.
This is also true of good cameras and mp3/media players.
Re:yep... (Score:5, Insightful)
and will still be chugging along quite possibly when something else comes along to displace the cell phone.
It occurs to me that at some point in time the core function of the cell phone will be replaced by a device small enough to fit around your wrist...
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
OTH maybe a device on your wrist is a good place for a bluetooth display device.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The death of quality speciality devices is a bit premature at this point.
Yeah, my phone makes a terrible watch. It's in my pocket and you need to hit a button or open it to see the time. The battery lasts a few days at best, rather than years. It may be with me all of the time, but I still wear a watch.
This is also true of good cameras and mp3/media players.
Again you are right. I just bought a Canon S90, which is not even comparable to the cameras on phones. I can't really speak for MP3 players, but it's hard for me to imagine that a user of a iPod shuffle would be happy using a phone.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
There will always be specialist devices, but if the iPhone was as cheap as your TRACPhone, and as functional as your computer and as reliable as your landline and uhm.. had a fold-out knife, then what purpose would each device have separately, other than to take up more space?
I'm just illustrating the point.
A DSLR is a specialist device. A typewriter (another example) is a specialist device, that some people still use, but was basically obsoleted by the multi-purpose device called "a computer".
There will a
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
He said a testament, not an important point. If we all die in World War 3 and some aliens come in a thousand years and find a digital watch, they'll see that we have advanced microelectronics and the advanced chemistry needed to make a battery, and its existence proves that we have other computers that do so much more. A mechanical watch will just prove to them that we can make good gears and fit them together, something which has practically no use outside of timekeeping (ok, and mechanical calculators).
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
True. No one has ever had a need for good and precise gearing for anything other than time keeping, which is completely useless as it is.
No one has ever needed gearing in their motors. Or for tuning string instruments.
Re:There's an app for that . . . (Score:4, Funny)
They are discussing AT&T, not their sex life.
Re: (Score:2)
Watches are jewelry as well. The swiss figured that out a long time ago....
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed, my watch broke a while ago and I decided to try living without it and just using my phone. Drove me up the wall...2 months later gave in and bought a new watch.
Re:yep... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:yep... (Score:5, Insightful)
Rediscovering obsolescence (Score:2)
Re:Rediscovering obsolescence (Score:5, Informative)
Asimov - "The Feeling Of Power"
Can be read here: http://downlode.org/Etext/power.html [downlode.org]
Watches (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I've got an expensive one I wear for Dates and formal occasions.
It doesn't fit into my normal outfits as far as "trendy" is concerned though.
Re: (Score:2)
Even my two boys (9 and 7 years old) wear watches.
Watches (Score:3, Interesting)
Either you get the watch, or you don't. I learned to tell time in the second grade and George actually gave me his watch because he didn't know how to tell time and I did (mom and dad made me give it back).
Had a digital watch as soon as they got cheap in the 70s (those of you born in the mid 60s will remember that well, I'm sure), an LCD watch when those got cheap. Bought a new Timex LCD in 1986 and wore it more or less continuously until 2007 when my wife gave me a Tag Heuer self-winding chronograph.
I'll
Re: (Score:2)
Not wristwatches (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a flip phone that displays the time in large, bold numbers on the outside of the phone and even syncs time automatically. But I still use my wristwatch whenver I'm wearing it, because a) I don't have to fish it out of my pocket, b) it's always right there, unlike my phone which more often than not is out of arm's reach. Not to mention the fact that a watch battery lasts years, unlike the 1 week max the phone battery lasts.
More generally, I thought the lesson the original iPod taught us was that specialized devices tend to do a much better job than multi-function devices because they allow the UI and features to be specialized for a specific task. Phone cameras, clocks, and other doo-dads are great, but work best as stand-ins for the real thing. They are what you use when you don't have anything better at hand.
No P&S camera (Score:5, Insightful)
I have yet to see a phone that can take anywhere near as good a picture as some of the most basic point and shoot cameras.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Thats because phones while having great resolution all have rubbish lenses.
You simply cant fit a good camera lens into something 10-20mm thick.
Even those lenses are a sales gimmick.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, there's that, but also bear in mind that cameras can afford to put a bit more power into the electronics, so that JPEG compression can be of higher quality.
Doubling the number of pixels on the CCD but more than halving the amount of retrievable data stored will give you a net loss of quality. High-res CCDs are relatively cheap and since the phones don't advertise the resolution of the image as stored, it's a great marketing ploy.
Re:No P&S camera (Score:5, Insightful)
It's next to impossible. Phones need to be very small, lightweight and damage-resistant, the electronics need to be exceedingly low-power and the electronics for the camera and the electronics for the radio transceiver can't conflict.
That last requirement means is you use digital devices that produce analogue signals, the resolution on the ADC has to be so crappy that the RFI from the radio doesn't screw up the picture AND the voltage changes when a call is picked up or an alarm goes off or what have you can't throw the ADC.
The low-power means no fancy, power-hungry logic, the software zoom and other floating-point logic won't be terribly high precision, and the image compression algorithm will need to be light on the quality.
The size and damage-resistance impacts what sort of lens you can use, how rigid the structure has to be, how much the user can just seriously screw up the device before the image quality drops. Even for a disposable standalone camera, it's practical to put in some quite acceptable optics.
Even when such devices are of a size comparable to that OF the phone, you've got to remember that the camera is sans radio (or radios, for phones that have bluetooth and/or wifi and/or AM/FM tuners as well as the standard phone radio), sans keyboard, sans quite a bit of space-hungry stuff that phones either need or have as "features".
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Five more things mobile p... make obs...e (Score:5, Funny)
2. Ability to have a safe drive.
3. Going ten minutes in public without hearing some inane tune over and over.
4. Ability to recognize crazy people as those talking loudly when nobody else is nearby.
5. Ability for state agents to commit crimes without bystanders having photograph evidence.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm SO sick of being bumped into every minute of every day in the city center.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I've bred. I could die of cell phone radiation tomorrow, but the species will continue!
Yes, yes. You're welcome. Just doing my part.
I'll Keep My Wristwatch, Thanks (Score:2)
One advantage to my wristwatch is that it's conveniently located on my wrist, unlike a cellphone which lives in a pocket or holster.
Re:I'll Keep My Wristwatch, Thanks (Score:4, Interesting)
Watches (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
--
BMO
A load of BS (Score:5, Insightful)
Gaming on a phone is awful. Unless that is properly addressed, then the likes of the Nintendo DS won't have to worry and I'm sure Nintendo isn't seeing how many DS units they're selling.
If I am going to do work during my commute it will be on a laptop or netbook, not a mobile. I suspect a lot of people feel the same way.
Decent cameras will never go away because a phone will never be able to match the feature set of the camera....even compact ones, imo.
Watches will always exist, if anything, as a fashion accessory.
Re:A load of BS (Score:5, Interesting)
That's because reading a flickering CRT with the Windows 95 Hot Dog Stand color scheme makes you want to claw your eyes out, and people don't have the sense to keep a document on disk until a final version is made. Also, in meetings, staring at a laptop is rather impolite. E-ink advances and will solve these problems; you only have to wait for the generation that is used to paper to retire.
Re: (Score:2)
Rechargeable devices have a monthly fee (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm 26 and still like making notes on what I'm reading during a meeting. I also go to the physical library for paper books
You can't full-text search a library book, nor can you jot notes in it. Electronic books allow for both: the computer can generate an exhaustive index before you're done reading the first page, and the notes can be stored separately from the text, each section of the notes referring to a section of the text.
I [...] refuse to pay a monthly fee for my mp3 player with apps.
Your iPod Touch or Archos 5 probably has a lithium battery. Lithium batteries have a finite shelf life, and the replacement every couple years is indistinguishable from a monthly fee. Granted, this fee i
Convergence. (Score:5, Insightful)
It really is amazing how many features they keep cramming into these tiny devices. Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I am hopeful that in the next couple of years somebody will figure out a way to make reliable phone calls with these things.
Re:Convergence. (Score:4, Funny)
Next you're going to ask for Emacs to get a decent text editor.
#11 --Free Thought. (Score:5, Insightful)
-Not that we can't benefit from free thinkers. We'll just dramatically reduce the number of them available for all the important things our race needs to accomplish. And, I suppose, zombies need free thinkers to manipulate them, (since they're not much good for anything else), so Free Thought is not entirely redundant. But among cell phone users, it's pretty much a dead issue.
Oh, and if through your muddled thinking, you believe you are taking offense to this, don't worry. That's just the ego programming kicking in. Don't worry about it. You can't do anything about it anyway, except allow it to direct all of your behavior 24/7.
It's amazingly easy to manipulate the perpetually ignorant and dazed. Good thing I'm not evil. Too bad your masters are.
-FL
No phone booths? (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Not 'til I'm dead, most likely (Score:4, Insightful)
...which is probably sooner than I'd prefer, but still a couple of decades away at least.
Wristwatches - I know people who use their phone. My watch is faster, convenient for me. It's a fashion accessory for many (in addition to their fashion phones)
Bedside alarm clocks - I can see this, but until shows the time without me having to touch it (and without it lighting the whole room with the back light), wakes me up with NPR, and increased the light in my room to simulate a sunrise, I'll stick with my beside box. (Okay, two boxes...it's a SunRizr that does the lights)
MP3 players - I'm sure all the iPhone guys are saying "hell yes." I've got a WM phone, and while it does great things the iPhone can't, it sucks donkey balls as a music player. The average phone is going to have to get a lot better - and a lot bigger storage (which will happen "soon") - to take over as my portable player. I'll still keep my SwimP# for the pool though...I don't think many phones would thrive in a aquatic environment.
Landline home phones - Okay, just call me an old fart; I'll probably always have one. The uptime is much better than cell.
Compact digital cameras - they're going to have to get massively better. I'm talking several orders of magnitude. Maybe before I die. Maybe.
Netbooks - keyboards and screens that don't require massive scrolling or a magnifying glass. 'Nuff said.
Handheld games consoles - Hmmmm...not much use for one, so... *shrug*
Paper - sorry, I still print directions and confirmations. This may change. Someday. But I'm awfully attached to dead trees. Probably has to do with my note taking desires, and the aforementioned need for a magnifying glass or scrolling for all but the simplest of things on a phone.
Thinking - The 'net has already made that obsolete. Now get off my lawn...
Man, I need to get back to work.
Re:Not 'til I'm dead, most likely (Score:5, Funny)
Too late. While you were writing your post, a cellphone took your job.
Re: (Score:2)
Man, I wish. I know you're not supposed to complain about being busy in a down economy, but damn I can't wait until my current push is over and I can get back to my life. I've been waiting for it to end for about 6 months now. I'm lucky to get 2-3 hours in before I sneak off to surf for half an hour and let my brain decompress - I used to be able to hit it hard for 4-5, take a break, and do another 4-5.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Until cell phones that can survive a 10 story fall onto concrete come around, they can't fully replace a simple notepad.
Stones and rocks (Score:5, Funny)
They also make stones obsolete. I don't long have to throw rocks at a window, I can just throw my phone.
Will prices like $50 for 5gb and then $50 per gb p (Score:2)
Will prices like $50 for 5gb and then $50 per gb phones will not take over that fast also the screen need to be a lot bigger for real gameing, some web stuff, and maps
Same Old Song, A Jack of all Trades (Score:5, Insightful)
You keep hearing about the things that phones are going to replace and, at least for me, it's never been true.
I like having a Nintendo DS. The iPhone has not provided a game with the depth of most AAA DS titles. It's lack of buttons is a serious problem with gaming.
The camera isn't as good as any half way decent point and shoot. I haven't gotten a chance to play with any GPS software for any smart phone, but I hear there are limitations (including the need for cell service) that stand alone GPSes don't have.
Even the music functions of an iPhone aren't as good as a regular iPod or (gasp, because I love Apple gear) a Zune.
And yeah, you can use it as a watch, but any fashionable man knows that a watch is how a guy shows off. It's the only acceptable piece of jewelry for the well dressed man.
Even today's best smart phones are just communications devices with varying degrees of success. Occasionally a smart phone is "good enough" in a pinch; photographers like to say the best camera is the one you have with you, which certainly applies to smart phones. But if I know I want to play games or take pictures, I take my DS or my camera, or whatever. Phones haven't and won't - because each thing needs its own UI and software guidelines, no device is going to be able to do it all well.
Many features that I don't even want. (Score:5, Insightful)
Early camera phones where painfully bad but strong sales proved that there was a demand for them.
When I got my phone, I bought it because it was the cheapest phone that had the ability to see who's calling without having to answer. It so happens to have come with a camera which I never use because it sucks. Now, are the camera manufacturers counting my sale as someone who wanted a camera? Probably. There's a few other features built into the phone that i looked at and never used because I have no use for them.
That's the thing, there's only so many choices and it's impossible to get a phone that has a feature you want without getting a bunch of features that you don't want. And if you find one, it may not be supported by your cell carrier.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I use a camera to take images I want to keep.
Until phones get better at allowing me to do that, they will continue "collecting dust" in this regard.
We even have a nice expression for this "Jack of all trades and master of none".
Before something gets uploaded anywhere, it at least needs to be worth the digital exhibitionism.
Wrist Watches are Useful (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Same tag: onesizefitsall (Score:3, Funny)
same misconceptions:
I want to a PSP-sized phone to have a decent screen size, and I want to take it off my pocket to check the hour. Of course it should have a full-sized QWERTY keyboard to replace my netbook (not miniaturized like G1) so that I could exercise my writer's hobby on a train, and then they will be so cheap that if I want to give someone a note about some new recipe, I scribble it on my phone and give the phone for them to take (paper replacement).
I found an 11th thing... (Score:4, Informative)
Another thing you can do on most modern web enabled phones is look up phrases like Begs the Question and see what a fool you are making of yourself prior to posting on slashdot.
http://begthequestion.info/ [begthequestion.info]
Brought to you by the obligatory and gratuitous grammar snarks.
Wristwatchs will not be made obsolete (Score:2)
Neo-luddite (Score:5, Insightful)
Poignant? People tried to say the same thing about calculators in the 50s. Tools augment human capability, they can be a crutch but we're a little far from walking in the jungle throwing spears, aren't we?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I am, and I'll accept that you are, but the vast majority of people have a really suspect intellectual capacity, a very shaky grasp on reality (I hear some people even believe politicians, accountants and/or Scientologists) and an attention-span of a 3 year old. On a good day.
When you consider that Oprah Winfrey is considered to be the height of intellectualism on US television and Coast-to-Coast AM has more credible stories than many of the popular news outlets, it's clear that the species has some serious
One think I want them to obsolete ... (Score:3, Informative)
Please, someone make something that will obsolete slashvertisments disguised as rehashed top ten lists.
I own the largest wiss army knife they sell (Score:4, Insightful)
The previous commentors are idiots (Score:5, Insightful)
People, people, this debate is very simple and obvious.
For any given electronic device of a given size and cost, a specialty device will always do a better job than a generalist device. A portable ipod is (slightly) better than an iphone. A portable game player such as a PSP or DS is also better than an iphone. Handheld GPS systems, same story. A watch is a better time keeping device than a cell phone, with more time related features. A compact digital camera with a bigger lens is much better than the camera in a phone. And so on and so forth.
But the point is, for MOST users 99% of the time, the inferior function on your cell phone, especially a cutting edge phone like the iphone or the Droid DOES THE JOB. You only lose a few seconds pulling your phone out rather than looking at your watch. The pictures taken by the camera on the iphone or droid are more than sharp enough for posting to a resolution limited site like facebook. The iphone has a fairly good GPU, and many small and creative 2d games work great on it, so it's almost as entertaining as the PSP or DS. The GPS may be a little fuzzy, but it's usually close enough to find your way around. And so on.
So, the inferiority of the phone's functions are nearly always MASSIVELY OUTWEIGHED by the fact that you only carry ONE device rather than a whole batman belt worth of them. Size and weight and convenience means that for 99% of users, it's easier and cheaper just to buy a smartphone and use it exclusively for all of the above functions.
Things aren't dying off (Score:2)
Payphones get used by people who can't afford a cell phone. It's easy to come up with $0.50 for a call, but $30-40/month is beyond a lot of people's budgets around here. Plus there are people like me who don't want a cell phone and need to make a call from time to time.
As long as DSL is "bundled" by the phone company, land lines aren't going anywhere either. Around here (Saskatchewan), long distance "bundles" just aren't available for cell phones, so you need a land line if you make a lot of long dist
Re: (Score:2)
for part of my company we scan and email documents for sending. The fax is there, but over 3/4 of the fax numbers for the company actually convert the document to PDF's and then hit the mail server. which sends them out to every one who might need a copy.
another 10-15 years and those that can't do it digitally will finally retire. between email, an easy to use scanner, and decent file management I only save a handful of hard copies. Of course I have to trust that my IT dept does decent backups of the net
Re: (Score:2)
When was the last time you used a phone booth or a pay phone?
Last time for me was when I LOST MY CEL PHONE.
More seriously though, I really don't think portable gaming is going away because of cell phones. Diminished, sure, that market segment that Nintendo caught with the DS that really likes casual games and sudoku might go away, but there's no way in hell I'm playing metroid on a cel phone.
Re:!begsthequestion (Score:5, Insightful)
The meaning of the phrase has changed.
The phrase used to refer to "a logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise."[1]
Now it means, "I'm trying to sound like I'm well educated, but I'm not."
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The meaning of the phrase has changed.
The phrase used to refer to "a logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise."[1]
Now it means, "I'm trying to sound like I'm well educated, but I'm not."
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question [wikipedia.org]
Fortunately, the educated still refer to it as petitio principii, thus distinguishing themselves from those who use the mutable and imprecise vernacular.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Quantum doesn't mean small, and quantum leap is not meant to imply anything about the magnitude of the change. Rather, it refers to the discontinuous nature of the change