Are smartphones the future?

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by outlander78

That's pretty arrogant. Last week, I read that 30% of Americans have a smart phone. You need more than 30% of the market before you start calling yourself the dominant solution.

I'm not terribly old yet (33) and I already can't stand smart phones. People who use them seem to get addicted, can't follow conversations without reflexively checking their phones - it's brutal.

The aging population will have an impact too - more and more of us don't want to have to focus on a small screen, and a large screen is no longer portable.

I don't doubt that smart phones offer a lot, and will continue to grow in popularity, but I don't think they will be the standard everyone uses for some time yet, especially not at a price tag of $600 per year ($50/month) while the world is again sliding towards recession.

According to this article that number is up to 38% now. Anyways that is the past-people who have bought phones. Presently the rate is 55% buying smartphones and you have to know that that number is going to increase-recession or not. I can tell you from my experience (20 year old younger sister) that for people these days, having a good phone is far more important than having money!

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

having a good phone is far more important than having money!

Good thing!

[toddos]

Originally Posted by elcreative

toddos, there's a big difference between the size of a smartphone screen and a tablet which is what outlander78 was saying... holding a smartphone to your ear is not holding an iPad to your ear...

Owning a smartphone is not an either/or situation either... but until my smartphone has a flexible eInk screen that will expand to 6 inches and has a 7-15 day battery life then the reading gets done on my eReader (which I have no trouble taking everywhere) and everything else gets done on my smartphone, everything but reading...

And I think you completely missed my point. Outlander said that nobody wants to read on a smartphone, which is false as a blanket statement. I read on my smartphone, and I do most of my reading on it. Even when I could read on my Nook, I tend to choose the smartphone (using a book light on the Nook keeps the fiancee up at night, while the backlight of my smartphone in white-on-black mode does not). I always have my smartphone with me so I always have my book(s) with me and I can open up the reader and read a couple of pages any time I have a spare moment. I rarely take my Nook anywhere because even in its small size it's too big to fit in a pant or jacket pocket comfortably. I guess if I carried a backpack or purse everywhere that would make a difference, but I don't.

I like the concept of eink, and I don't regret my Nook purchase. It's great on vacation or when I have time to just sit and read for an hour or two. But for the rest of the time, I need something that's portable and backlit. A 4" eink device with minimal bezel (so that it's no bigger than 4.3-4.4") and a proper backlight would be perfect for me, but that's not going to exist anytime soon.

And on a side note, I don't understand why nobody's built in a good light on an ereader yet. With the size of the bezels on these things, you could put some surface mount LEDs in the bottom or top bezel (like they do with LCD backlights) and the screen would light up quite well without spilling too much light where you don't want it. Or something like Timex's Indiglo.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by toddos

And I think you completely missed my point. Outlander said that nobody wants to read on a smartphone, which is false as a blanket statement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by outlander78
tablets might replace dedicated eReaders, but smart phones won't. No one wants a giant smart phone screen (imagine holding your iPad to your head for 5-10 minutes)pressed to their ear...

Quote:
Originally Posted by toddos
I wouldn't say "no one", because that's exactly what I do. While I have a PRS-300 and Nook STR, 90% of my reading is done on smartphones (previously my iPhone 3GS using Stanza, now my HD7S using Freda). The 3.5" screen of the iPhone was perfectly fine, and the 4.3" screen and higher pixels per inch of the HD7S is even better. I've never had a headache or eye strain from reading on the LCD screens, but I read white-on-black.

Not entirely but I get so tired of being misquoted, partially quoted or having relevant comments ignored when they don't suit the points of the quoter let alone the joys of only reading what you want to see rather than what is actually printed...

I wasn't missing your point, I was not talking about reading on small screens... I was specifically agreeing with Outlander's comment about no-one wanting to hold an iPad sized device to their ear as per his bolded comment above... your response was related to smartphones/iPhones i.e. nothing to do with an iPad comment but a tangent to current smartphone tech because you don't hold "a giant smart phone screen to your ear," you use a smartphone... neither outlander78's nor my comment were related to normal smartphones but you missed that and jumped straight in to defend the wonderful joys of reading on smartphones... no-one denied you can use 'em for reading, some people even enjoy them for reading, many don't... so what, smartphones are not going to wipeout e-ink readers in their current form... as per my (also ignored) comment about extendable screens etc...

[Phogg]

While I am unaware of phones the size of an iPad, the original Samsung Galaxy Tab has a phone built in.
People don't hold them to their ears, they use a bluetooth headset or the speakerphone.

for people who prefer to see who they are talking to, moving up to a tablet sized screen and placing video calls has reached the point of practicality.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Phogg

While I am unaware of phones the size of an iPad, the original Samsung Galaxy Tab has a phone built in.
People don't hold them to their ears, they use a bluetooth headset or the speakerphone.

for people who prefer to see who they are talking to, moving up to a tablet sized screen and placing video calls has reached the point of practicality.

This was making a point about smartphones taking over from e-ink eReaders... not meant to be taken literally... I guess some of us might just have come across bluetooth...

[DiapDealer]

I guess some of us might just have come across bluetooth...

I once kicked a guy with green teeth right in the knee.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I once kicked a guy with green teeth right in the knee.

Well then, next time you're just gonna have to go to L.A. ... by Omaha.

[DiapDealer]

Well then, next time you're just gonna have to go to L.A. ... by Omaha.

Karma, just for obliging me.

[elcreative]

I was only commenting that the Devil's in the details not asking for a tour of Georgia...

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by elcreative

I was only commenting that the Devil's in the details not asking for a tour of Georgia...

L.A., Georgia or Omaha, Georgia?

[Phogg]

Sweet Georgia Brown

[The Terminator]

I only read on my phone when I don't have my reader with me (or if it's being exchanged through the mail as soon as I go on a vacation to one of Nanaimo's gulf Islands )




But I'll always read on my reader instead of my phone, if I have a choice.

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by elcreative

I guess some of us might just have come across bluetooth...

Not me, I'm not quite old enough to remember old King Harald.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by TedJ

Not me, I'm not quite old enough to remember old King Harald.

Now I'd have thought, with his propensities, that he'd have made an ideal immigrant, revenant or not...