Smartphones and the less than average user

[Kaiser17]

All mobiles are smartphones nowadays with smartphones being mainstream now. I remember 3-4 years ago when only the people that had smartphones were the one's that actually knew how to use them. (Most of them)

I see everyone with either an Android or iPhone now, how many actually know how to use them?

For example I see older people leaving their Androids the way they were out of box with little too no changes/customizations at all.

These are smartphones, people that don't know how to use them, shouldn't buy them.. its more of a fashion trend now if you think about it. The average people mostly know of the iPhone or the Galaxy S3 and buy them because they're whats trending but not because they want to take advantage of the features these smartphones have.

Sort of a rant..

 

[jmar]

All mobiles are smartphones nowadays with smartphones being mainstream now. I remember 3-4 years ago when only the people that had smartphones were the one's that actually knew how to use them. (Most of them)

I see everyone with either an Android or iPhone now, how many actually know how to use them?

For example I see older people leaving their Androids the way they were out of box with little too no changes/customizations at all.

These are smartphones, people that don't know how to use them, shouldn't buy them.. its more of a fashion trend now if you think about it. The average people mostly know of the iPhone or the Galaxy S3 and buy them because they're whats trending but not because they want to take advantage of the features these smartphones have.

Sort of a rant..

Sounds like this applies to some users.

 

[Kaiser17]

Sounds like this applies to some users.

The general public.

 

[blackepoxy]

Sounds like this applies to some users.

I strongly agree with this.

Just ask any iPhone user what type of processor their phone has?
They will just shrug they shoulders...I don't know.
Same thing applies for most with android phones. There are a lot people that still call every phone that runs android a "droid".
Or don't even know what software version they phone is on.
I think they just want a smart phone only for Facebook...

 

[mikedt]

The general public.

How many members of the general public buy a new PC, and leave all the trials and bloat where they are? Probably because they think that's how it's meant to be, and there's often nothing in the instructions about it either. They're ordinary people, not geeks. I bet there's more than a few members of the general pubic that asked such things like what does "Your Norton Anti-virus Trial has expired." mean?

How many millions of people bought VCRs in years gone by and just left the clock flashing 12:00? As long as it plays the movies they rented from Blockbuster, that's OK.

 

[mikedt]

Thing is it's virtually impossible to buy anything but a large screen smartphone these days, and they can be very cheap as well. Dumb candy-bar and feature phones are rapidly going the way of the dodo. And it's not just a fashion thing, that's how it is. Customising is a geek or techy thing IMO. The vast majority of the general public will read what's in the manufacturer's instructions, and sometimes they won't even do that.

Most people who buy cars, they don't customise them or hot-rod them, they just drive them. Cars themselves are often smart these days, things like Ford Sync, Android based systems, etc. But the vast majority of drivers, just drive them, and use whatever features the smart systems might provide. They're certainly not trying to customise or change how these systems work. Although some geeks might.

I strongly agree with this.

Just ask any iPhone user what type of processor their phone has?
They will just shrug they shoulders...I don't know.
Same thing applies for most with android phones. There are a lot people that still call every phone that runs android a "droid".
Or don't even know what software version they phone is on.
I think they just want a smart phone only for Facebook...

When I've stayed in hostels in Hong Kong. Often see fellow travellers and backpackers pull out their tablets and laptops, connect to the WiFi, sign into Facebook and that's what they're doing for the evening. Evidently they don't use their tablets and laptops for anything else but Facebook.

For many, I bet Facebook is the "internet". They might not go anywhere else. They get their news and everything else that's going on in the world from the TV. Could have something like; can this phone make phone calls, can it do SMS, can it play Angry Birds, does it have a camera, can it do Facebook? That's it, nothing else required.

ROMs? rooting? Is that something to do with unblocking drains? Even the word "smartphone", that's a geek and techy term IMO. When I'm talking to my friends, colleagues and the general public at large in real life, I never say "smartphone", I just say cellphone or mobile phone, or even just phone.

BTW the Chinese for smartphone is 智能手机 Zh

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I think that's pretty short sighted to want to restrict smartphones to people who will mod/customize them Kaiser17. Without the general public there would be no smartphone market. Manufacturers would cut there loses and move on to something else ie What's trending. It happened with PDAs and it could happen to smartphones as well. So rejoice that your a geek but don't try to limit others access. You may get what you want.

 

[Speed Daemon]

Thank you Kaiser17 for bringing a "sanity check" to this community! IMO it's important for the users of technology to realize that the technology itself doesn't owe them a thing. If they want to be the masters of their technology, then they must invest time, effort and money into their own personal competence of the technology. And if they aren't willing to do that, they don't have anyone to blame but themselves. The third corner to this pyramid of truth is that (at least for most of us) nobody is holding a gun to our heads to buy these gadgets. We don't have to if we don't want to.

Although I do have the technical background to easily master smart phone technology to some extent, I was in no hurry to give up my trusty old Motorola RAZR flip-phone. To this day the phone on my belt is a tool of last resort, not a hole to be filled. I rarely make phone calls with it, much less use the more advanced features! And that's fine by me.

I think it's important to, from time to time, step back and remember that you don't have to do many things in life. It's all optional! A good reminder for all of us. So it only follows that, after you have taken the plunge to remember that you can walk away at any time, for as long as you wish.

 

[Speed Daemon]

For many, I bet Facebook is the "internet". They might not go anywhere else. They get their news and everything else that's going on in the world from the TV.

That reminds me of a TV commercial that ran in the US in the mid-late 1990s, claiming that "AOL is The Internet" back at a time when America Online was in reality barely connected to the Internet. :laugh:

I increasingly dread having to find out if what is marketed as "Internet access" might possibly give me access to port 22 without having to first go through a lengthy ritual on port 80... cguru:

 

[Blacklighter11]

I strongly agree with this.

Just ask any iPhone user what type of processor their phone has?
They will just shrug they shoulders...I don't know.
Same thing applies for most with android phones. There are a lot people that still call every phone that runs android a "droid".
Or don't even know what software version they phone is on.
I think they just want a smart phone only for Facebook...

I don't know what processor my butterfly or my iPhone 5 has but I sure know how to maximize the use of my smartphones.

 

[Gmash]

I say so what if people just use their fancy smartphone to get on Farcebook or whatever. They also get a decent camera and a big screen to look at the latest pictures of their grandkids and such. What's the problem?

 

[mikedt]

I say so what if people just use their fancy smartphone to get on Farcebook or whatever. They also get a decent camera and a big screen to look at the latest pictures of their grandkids and such. What's the problem?

There is no problem. And I think it's great that smartphones can enable normal members of the general public to do things like that. Thinking about my own uses of Android smartphones. I know how to customise and change how things work, etc, after all I've been around AF long enough. And I've done it with a Samsung Galaxy S. Mainly because Samsung wasn't updating it, and I wanted something different to Touchwiz, so I installed CM7. But my current Androids I've not done anything with them customising wise, apart from uninstalling the Chinese apps I didn't use, and arranging the icons and widgets on the home screens. Mostly of what I use them for is IM, contacts, phone calls, SMS, calendar and the camera.

 

[h4x0rj3ff]

As long as they have the money to pay for them who cares. It is a little frustrating seeing someone with so much power but only use it to get on facebook tho. Or even less than that.

 

[Kaiser17]

As long as they have the money to pay for them who cares. It is a little frustrating seeing someone with so much power but only use it to get on facebook tho. Or even less than that.

Exactly.. they don't know the full potential of their phones that they buy with so much money.

 

[pastafarian]

It's their money, if they want to spend it on fashion? Who are we to complain. Add to that that their purchase increases sales numbers and may reduce costs for those more experienced users. My mother bought her first smartphone and didn't know how to do anything beyond making calls and playing solitaire. Now she's texting, listening to music, even a little Facebook. None of that would have happened if the old lady had stuck to a dumb phone.

 

[unnamedny]

It's not that people buy them for no reason. My dad has an old heavy dudy phone for work and he has issues connecting to blutooth in his car. Meanwhile no issues with smartphones. I have encouraged this issue a few times with other people. Another thing is, screen is bigger and brighter on smartphones and its just easier for older folks to operate.

If you look around for a phone, the chances some providers don't even have too many regular phones anymore.

Also just because you do not use something to full potential it does't mean you should be restricted to buy things. It sounds like a discrimination to me,

 

[mikedt]

Exactly.. they don't know the full potential of their phones that they buy with so much money.

To use my favourite car analogies again. Some people buy Ferraris or Porsches, because that's what they like. But they certainly can't drive expensive 200MPH+ cars like that to their full potential, except on a race track. Most of the time they might just be running the kids to school in them or something.

These days just about all phones are smart. If a person wants to buy an expensive flagship phone, because that's they like, even if it is fashion statement. And all they want to do is Facebook and play Angry Birds, so be it. They're not geeks, probably not interested in using alternative launchers, or rooting, or what CPU is in the thing, or whatever. More than likely they won't even know what these things mean anyway. They're not in the manufacturer's instructions.

Depending on where you are, top-end flagship phones needn't be too expensive anyway, if they're fully subsidised on a two year plan. Depending on the carrier and the plan, the initial outlay might even be nothing. and the plan could be quite reasonable, so there might be no reason not to get a high-end phone.

See where I am, phones are not subsidised at all. And top-end foreign brand phones like Apple and Samsung can be really expensive. People do buy them as status and fashion symbols to show their wealth, just like Gucci handbags and things.

TBH I think even the term "smartphone" might be somewhat redundant now. At the local China Mobile dealers, it's 100% Android and that's it. They don't do the iPhone, because it's not 3G compatible with this carrier.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I see everyone with either an Android or iPhone now, how many actually know how to use them?

For example I see older people leaving their Androids the way they were out of box with little too no changes/customizations at all.

These are smartphones, people that don't know how to use them, shouldn't buy them.. its more of a fashion trend now if you think about it. The average people mostly know of the iPhone or the Galaxy S3 and buy them because they're whats trending but not because they want to take advantage of the features these smartphones have.

Not sure how to respond. Perhaps most people do know how to use their phones and simply do not need to use the features you seem to think they do not understand?

I use mine for email, music , phone calls and the occasional news report. Current weather in widget form and a few notifications. I do much of my work on an iPad. I learned to do what I did not know how to do and my guess is most users learn to do what they need or want to do.

Perhaps most users do not really care to customize their devices? And I do not think most users buy phones to make a fashion statement. They buy phones because they Tweet, email, listen to music, post FB updates and other things.

I know people that buy Harleys to make a statement and they do not know how to add features and customize their kick start devices. People that need smartphones buy them and they quite likely are smart enough to figure out how to do the things they want to do.

Your rant seems a tad offensive, no offence.

 

[unnamedny]

Not sure how to respond. Perhaps most people do know how to use their phones and simply do not need to use the features you seem to think they do not understand?

I use mine for email, music , phone calls and the occasional news report. Current weather in widget form and a few notifications. I do much of my work on an iPad. I learned to do what I did not know how to do and my guess is most users learn to do what they need or want to do.

Perhaps most users do not really care to customize their devices? And I do not think most users buy phones to make a fashion statement. They buy phones because they Tweet, email, listen to music, post FB updates and other things.

I know people that buy Harleys to make a statement and they do not know how to add features and customize their kick start devices. People that need smartphones buy them and they quite likely are smart enough to figure out how to do the things they want to do.

Your rant seems a tad offensive, no offence.

It is rather offensive to say that if you don't know how to use it at full potential, you shouldn't buy it.
I'm planning on buying first smartphone for my grandma(74), I don't think she is going to mind.

It sounds like if you go to the gym just to use 1-2 machines you should not buy membership to the gym. You just take up space and waste others time with no benefits to yourself.

 

[Frisco]

....how many actually know how to use them?

For example I see older people leaving their Androids the way they were out of box with little too no changes/customizations at all.

These are smartphones, people that don't know how to use them, shouldn't buy them..

Sort of [creepy] a rant..

We see queries for support in these forums from all age groups. It is not difficult to discern the age range of some of them (not all of course) just by looking at their avatar and reading their posts, not to mention seeing their stated age in their profile if provided.

Also, I may be mistaken about your use of the term, "older people." Perhaps you mean smart phone users in their 80s or 90s. I'm closer to 70 than 60, and I think I'm doing fairly well with my Androids over the years.

I have to say that I have a strong aversion to generalizations about age groups, race/ethnicities, sexual orientations and other aspects of how members of humanity identify themselves.

 

[Stuntman]

Just ask any iPhone user what type of processor their phone has?
They will just shrug they shoulders...I don't know.

I have no idea what type of processor my SGS3 has. I don't think exactly what is under the hood as long as it allows me to communicate by calling, messages, social networking, browsing, etc. Likewise, I couldn't tell you any such stats about my car either. All I know is that it gets me to where I'm going.

Same thing applies for most with android phones. There are a lot people that still call every phone that runs android a "droid".

At least, they're not calling it an iPhone.

Or don't even know what software version they phone is on.
I think they just want a smart phone only for Facebook...

At least I know I'm running JB. Just don't know the exact version down to each dot.

In any case, I recall a speech that Eric Schmidt made some time ago regarding Android and the future of phones. In the Q&A at the end, someone asked about Android on feature phones. Schmidt's response was that smartphones are becoming so inexpensive that people will eventually opt for an older model smartphone over a feature phone since an older smartphone will be really inexpensive.

I recently taught my mother how to use the camera on her feature phone. I was thinking that it would be much easier for her to use an old smartphone instead. Navigating the layers of menus on her feature phone was a challenge for her. It would probably be easier if she had a smartphone and there were an icon that looks like a camera on the home screen.

I think that some people still like phones with a physical dial pad. My parents find that form factor to be comfortably familiar.

 

[ParishL31]

I think it definitely depends on the person though. I know my dad is most definitely technologically challenged. He asks me constantly to help him with his G2 and laptop. However, he has taken the time to learn the features he needs like e-mail and Microsoft Office editing on the phone and laptop. Every other feature he is totally oblivious of though. He does learn stuff eventually on his own, very slowly, but still at least he takes the time to learn it while many other "old people" simply refuse to take the time to learn what pretty much is almost a necessity with technology now-a-days.

Also, for my mom's case she doesn't want to spend the $15 a month for a data plan. Her choices when she "upgrades" is extremely slim. It's really basic flip phones or candybar phones that are worst than most pre-paid phones.

But to the original statement, I think the worst is when you go onto a college campus and you see all the hipsters pull out their $3,000+ MacBook Pros and all they do is go on Facebook and check their e-mail. I know it's their money but good lord, they are basically using the most expensive netbook ever since they will never push the MacBook Pro to it's true potential with media editing and all that. But again, if they think it's worth $3,000 to be fashionable then that's their choice, but IMO it's a total waste of money since a $200 netbook can do the same job for less.

 

[Speed Daemon]

That's a good reminder that the topic is "smartphones and the less than average user". IME there is going to always be a niche that needs real buttons and switches on their phones.

 

[mikedt]

But to the original statement, I think the worst is when you go onto a college campus and you see all the hipsters pull out their $3,000+ MacBook Pros and all they do is go on Facebook and check their e-mail. I know it's their money but good lord, they are basically using the most expensive netbook ever since they will never push the MacBook Pro to it's true potential with media editing and all that. But again, if they think it's worth $3,000 to be fashionable then that's their choice, but IMO it's a total waste of money since a $200 netbook can do the same job for less.

That sounds just like the brand whore and vanity thing that often happens with Apple products here in China.

I've seen a few times where a more affluent person has a new MacBook Pro, but the local backstreet PC tech has completely erased OS X and install pirated Windows XP with IE6. Because that's what they know, and is very much the standard in China. This is something they could do with a cheap Lenovo, but of course that wouldn't have the cachet and status of an expensive MBP, and nor the prestigious glowing Apple logo.

Sometimes people may have an iPhone 4S or 5. They've never installed any apps and don't even have an iTunes Store account. They might use it for phone calls and as a camera occasionally. All their contacts, IM, social networking is done with a tatty worn out Symbian Nokia, that they've had for years.

But this is different to the "changes/customizations", that are IMO geek hacking type things that Kaiser17 was referring to in the OP. The sort of things that I wouldn't expect my mother or the average Mainland Chinese businessman to know about.

BTW many people here are under the illusion that Apple products are made in the USA. Some Chinese can actually be opposed to having Chinese made goods, especially if they're expensive luxury products from a foreign brand, like Apple. If they saw "Made in China" emblazoned on the tags of a Gucci handbag, they wouldn't buy it. Even though most genuine Gucci handbags are in fact made in China, and not Italy.

 

[unnamedny]

That's a good reminder that the topic is "smartphones and the less than average user". IME there is going to always be a niche that needs real buttons and switches on their phones.

Oh, I love switches, call me a steam punk fan, but damn I love mechanical keyboards and everything that manually makes clicking mechanical sounds.

I really hate all touch screen technologies, even now when they push everything to touchscreens and I need to type off my phone. I used to work at the cafe and they had a touch screen POS, I swear, I wanted to grab a hammer and break that stupid thing with it every other day.