What would you like smartphones manifacturers to focus on?

[Simon Tupper]

Personally I am tired of seing all those "revolutionary" improvements in performance, but not much improvements in terms of battery life.

So my vote goes to Better batteries.

 

[shaunydub]

I think the world as a whole not just in smart phones needs a battery revolution.

 

[Simon Tupper]

I think the world as a whole not just in smart phones needs a battery revolution.

True, neither my Titan II, MacBook Pro or iPad 2 can last all day with frequent usage... I think it should be a priority.

 

[larrynj]

Battery technology has always lagged behind. That's up to the battery companies to figure out and I'm sure they will in the near future.

What I'd like to see is more efficient and better hands free features.

 

[shaunydub]

I would also like to see stuff we were getting used to as standard just before the smartphone revolution but then got dropped...I know some of this is coming back but it's crazy it was dropped in the first place, manufacturers producing top phone such as Nokia were really chucking as many things in as they could...

Quality front camera
Latest bluetooth
Wireless FM transmitter
Stereo speakers built in - seriously why have we gone back to mono?
Hotswappable microsd

 

[Simon Tupper]

I would also like to see stuff we were getting used to as standard just before the smartphone revolution but then got dropped...I know some of this is coming back but it's crazy it was dropped in the first place, manufacturers producing top phone such as Nokia were really chucking as many things in as they could...

Quality front camera
Latest bluetooth
Wireless FM transmitter
Stereo speakers built in - seriously why have we gone back to mono?
Hotswappable microsd

Quality front camera
Stereo speakers
MicroSD
Yep we all want those.

 

[Mitlov]

I want a revolution in quality not specs. I don't want more megapixels; I want a phone that takes nicer-looking pictures. I don't want the highest-resolution screen; I want more vibrant, realistic colors. I don't want a phone that is 1 mm thinner or 1 gram lighter...I want a phone that feels like it was put together with attention and care and manufactured from high-quality materials.

 

[Mitlov]

True, neither my Titan II, MacBook Pro or iPad 2 can last all day with frequent usage... I think it should be a priority.

Windows 8 (x86) tablets with Atom processors are claimed to have 10-12 hours battery life. Should be fantastic if the Thinkpad Tablet 2, Ativ Smart PC, and Envy X2 can actually deliver on that.

 

[a5cent]

I agree with everyone else here, although I'm skeptical we will see battery life improving anytime soon. The reason being that we tell the manufacturers what we want with our purchasing dollars, and given the choice between a device with a battery life of 72 hours (which is what I would like) and a device with a much better CPU/GPU, I'm pretty certain most would purchase the later. Unfortunately, we don't have the tech to get both.

 

[Simon Tupper]

I agree with everyone else here, although I'm skeptical we will see battery life improving anytime soon. The reason being that we tell the manufacturers what we want with our purchasing dollars, and given the choice between a device with a battery life of 72 hours (which is what I would like) and a device with a much better CPU/GPU, I'm pretty certain most would purchase the later. Unfortunately, we don't have the tech to get both.

Well they did a fairly good job to shorten the time it takes to get full charge, I guess a battery is possible before the end of this decade.

Wheels.ca – Hydro-Quebec reserachers close to super-fast electric vehicle charger

If this is now made possible, I believe that we are making progresses!

 

[GoodThings2Life]

You know... I know I don't speak for everyone, but I already know that performance, specs, etc are going to improve over time, so really, battery life is what matters to me. I do just fine as-is, but it'd be great to go a whole day on 20% charge instead of the 40-50% I use today.

 

[Simon Tupper]

You know... I know I don't speak for everyone, but I already know that performance, specs, etc are going to improve over time, so really, battery life is what matters to me. I do just fine as-is, but it'd be great to go a whole day on 20% charge instead of the 40-50% I use today.

I use 75% to 100% of my battery during the day, some say I am addicted to my phone, but hey internet, Facebook, twitter, WPcentral, and many more apps to fill the empty spaces of the day can drain your battery very fast.

 

[AKA Preluva]

Bigger is better! No more postage stamp phones.

 

[Simon Tupper]

I believe that making thinner phones brings innovations.

 

[brmiller1976]

None of the above.

What I want is a mid-range WP smartphone with a sub-$300 "all-in" price. As in, the price to buy outright.

Sell it for $299 on EVERY carrier under the sun. The Big Four, MetroPCS, Cricket, US Cellular, you name 'em.

It would be the Commodore 64 of smartphones -- the first mobile smart device "for the masses, not the classes." It wouldn't require pricing games with "$199 up front plus a two-year contract on an inflated price plan with an eye-watering ETF."

Just pay for the phone, choose your service provider, and go.

 

[Mitlov]

None of the above.

What I want is a mid-range WP smartphone with a sub-$300 "all-in" price. As in, the price to buy outright.

Sell it for $299 on EVERY carrier under the sun. The Big Four, MetroPCS, Cricket, US Cellular, you name 'em.

It would be the Commodore 64 of smartphones -- the first mobile smart device "for the masses, not the classes." It wouldn't require pricing games with "$199 up front plus a two-year contract on an inflated price plan with an eye-watering ETF."

Just pay for the phone, choose your service provider, and go.

Too bad many US providers don't have discounted prices for data plans if you bring your own device...so you end up paying $100 more over the course of two years than you would with a "$200-with-the-plan" flagship phone.

And even for people who offer prepaid plans instead of contract plans, there's often a catch. US Cellular's coverage maps are not nearly as good for prepaid customers as they are for contract customers.

If the carriers played ball, that would be great...but that's a big "if."

 

[a5cent]

As I understand it (I don't live in the U.S.), the main reason U.S. residents buy their phones through carriers is because U.S. carriers don't have compatible networks. You can't just buy a phone and choose any carrier you like. However, every carrier world wide is currently transitioning to LTE. LTE is poised to become the worlds first global phone radio standard. Won't this totally change how U.S. residents buy phones, as the whole compatibility issue goes away? Isn't it likely that U.S. residents would also start seeing discounted prices for customers who bring their own device? Or is there more to it that I don't understand?

 

[andrelamont]

As I understand it (I don't live in the U.S.), the main reason U.S. residents buy their phones through carriers is because U.S. carriers don't have compatible networks. You can't just buy a phone and choose any carrier you like. However, every carrier world wide is currently transitioning to LTE. LTE is poised to become the worlds first global phone radio standard. Won't this totally change how U.S. residents buy phones, as the whole compatibility issue goes away? Isn't it likely that U.S. residents would also start seeing discounted prices for customers who bring their own device? Or is there more to it that I don't understand?

U would think the 70MHz band (LTE)would allow all the LTE devices but that's not the case. US carriers have and will make sure that they can their devices incompatible on the same frequency

Will AT&T and Verizon 4G LTE ever be compatible? | Mobile - CNET News


In the us AT&T and Verizon are powerful enough to influence congress to not enforce compatibility like the EU did in Europe. IF the people were to raise this issue enough, then congress would do something as votes are more important than lobbyist money

 

[brmiller1976]

Too bad many US providers don't have discounted prices for data plans if you bring your own device...so you end up paying $100 more over the course of two years than you would with a "$200-with-the-plan" flagship phone.

And even for people who offer prepaid plans instead of contract plans, there's often a catch. US Cellular's coverage maps are not nearly as good for prepaid customers as they are for contract customers.

If the carriers played ball, that would be great...but that's a big "if."

If they saw an advantage to doing it (like not losing customers), you'd see momentum. Especially if BYOD plans on MVNOs like Straight Talk and actual carriers like T-Mo start peeling off out-of-contract (or even contract-bound) customers.

 

[brmiller1976]

US carriers have and will make sure that they can their devices incompatible on the same frequency

Long live HSPA 42! All the real-world performance of standard LTE, with better battery life and no nasty proprietary radio frequency lock-in!

Or perhaps manufacturers will release 32-band LTE phones in the future?