Time For a Reality Check

[fatclue_98]

The weather's miserable in Miami today, the wife is out with "spawn" and I'm alone with my thoughts when my phone rang. I was truly caught off guard because it wasn't a notification ring tone, an email ringtone or even a text sound. It was a phone call! Long story short, have we forgotten that our beloved devices are phones, first and foremost? All the talk about 6.3" screens, Facebook Home, quad-core processors and patent lawsuits have diluted the conversation on this and other fora. We rarely see reviews where call quality is given more than a token mention. Does anybody here remember moaning about GSM buzz? I honestly don't know how people feel about the iPhone's voice quality. Has it ever been mentioned?

It seems to me that the primary function of phones has been relegated to 2nd tier status. New car reviews still focus on acceleration and braking while spending some time on infotainment systems, rear view cameras and such. TV ads leave internet connectivity and other "smart" features for last. Am I ranting or am I making any sense?

 

[Duvi]

The primary function of smartphones aren't for the phone. It's actually for every thing else!

PIM functions, social networking, pictures/videos, messaging, etc..

I think most reviews don't include call quality unless it's horrible. Most are about the same nowadays.

 

[HeyCori]

I disagree.

The primary function of a phone is now far below 2nd tier. :grin:

But to the point... While I do love all the added functionality of a smartphone, I can't stand when I'm not using it to communicate with someone. Whether it's call, text, MMS, email or even video chat, I want to use my phone to connect with people. Everything else is secondary.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I've hated talking on the phone my entire life. Even when only landlines were available, I found phone calls an annoyance to be avoided as much as possible.

I like that smartphones allow me to avoid phone calls even easier. I'll let a caller go to voicemail and then send a text, email, IM rather than call back. Most people figured out I don't like phone calls and stopped calling me.

 

[GraemeT]

When I bought my 820 just after Christmas I commented to friends and colleagues that I'd purchased a mini computer that just happened to be able to make phone calls. I've nothing against phone calls but I rarely use my phone for that, simply because the other person has to be there for it to work and often they're not. Texting's my medium. Leave one and the recipient will pick it up when they can. Texting's so obvious. Email's the same, I suppose. Internet and location services come after that for me. BTW, weather's miserable in the UK as well. Rain, rain, low grey cloud and more rain. At least we're not freezing to death now.

 

[fatclue_98]

OK, maybe I was too literal because even old feature phones had SMS. Texting is still a one on one form of communication and I do it as much as talking such as when I'm in meetings, etc. Has voice and SMS evolved to the point where technology can no longer be improved or has it been relegated to "this is what you get, like it or STFU"?

 

[Laura Knotek]

OK, maybe I was too literal because even old feature phones had SMS. Texting is still a one on one form of communication and I do it as much as talking such as when I'm in meetings, etc. Has voice and SMS evolved to the point where technology can no longer be improved or has it been relegated to "this is what you get, like it or STFU"?

Isn't HD Voice supposed to be the next improvement?

 

[jdevenberg]

I don't think you can even call being a phone the primary function of a smart"phone" anymore honestly. I make, at most, one call in an average day. Most days I make none. I could easily get by with an iPod touch and a mobile hotspot with VoIP handling my few phone calls. I even considered this a year or two ago, but there were no hotspots that gave the battery life needed to get through a whole day.

New car reviews still focus on acceleration and braking while spending some time on infotainment systems, rear view cameras and such.

I actually think this is another paradigm that has shifted or is shifting now. More and more car reviews are focusing on practical things like fuel economy, cabin tech, and cabin space. For example, I just bought a 2013 Chevy Spark. It has 84 HP. However, it is the size of a smart for2 or scion iQ or Fiat 500 and can easily fit 4 adults, unlike its competitors. It received GLOWING reviews from even enthusiast magazines because of its excellent fuel economy, ultra modern features and cabin tech, and cabin space. It handles poorly, and is very, very slow. Double digits to 60. They loved it. Yes there are still a couple paragraphs about its poor acceleration and handling, but they seem to resemble the token mention of call quality in many cell phone reviews.