Q & A

Q: Are smartphones a waste of money?

A: It is difficult for me to answer that question because I think it is person relative. I know a smartphone is a waste of money for me. It is also a waste of money for a lot of other users as well according to this article that points out that 1 in 4 smartphone users consume no data at all. In addition, less than 1% of smartphone users come close to using 2GB a month. For those 1%, a smartphone is probably worth it. For everyone else, it isn't.

The one advantage of a smartphone over a dumbphone in terms of business is the email capability. Add in a full keyboard for texting, and you have the BlackBerry. I have never owned one myself, but I could see where it would be essential for office workers, people in government, business leaders, etc. I think the tactile keyboard is a huge advantage over touchscreen devices.

The iPhone changed the game with the Android phones right behind them. Those phones are not serious phones. They are toys. Their main use is for playing games, fart apps, updating your status on Facebook, etc. They can be used for serious purposes, but I think most of the people buying these phones are not the ones using them in this way. I can't help but notice that most of the people I see with smartphones tend to have lower IQs and are atrocious with money. These are the same folks who used to run up their phone bills each month buying a hundred different ringtones.

For some folks, these phones are pretty damn vital. Like I said, it is person relative. But from where I sit, I just see people getting ripped off with another piece of consumerist crap. People will call me a Luddite for this, but I remember some awesome tech products that came out which no one cared about in the long run. This would be things like the Apple Newton, the Palm Pilot, and now, Blu-Ray disc players. The smartphone seems different as now over 30% of cellphone subscribers own one.

Are smartphones a fad? I can't answer that because any prediction I make would probably be wrong. But I do like to look back at what came before to see if there is some precedent. Has the public ever adopted a new technology only to drop it as they retrenched to something simpler they had before? The dismal sales of Blu-ray disc players shows this to be the case. But it never really caught on in the first place. The videophone and the color fax were also failures back in the day.

The best precedent that I see is the 8-track cassettes that came out in the 60's and the 70's. These were massively popular during that time, but they faded. They were clearly superior to vinyl and reel-to-reel tapes. You could play them in your car. Cassette tapes would later come along and be popular as well, but they did not really supplant the 8-track player. I know the reality. People liked FM radio, and those 8-track tapes wore out and sounded crappy after awhile. Vinyl endured while the 8-track faded away. Even after CD players, the iPod, and what have you, people still love vinyl records.

I see smartphones as being like those 8-track tapes. I could be wrong, and they may be the future. But the fact that the people who own smartphones don't use them except primarily to make calls and send texts tells me they will probably fade out. My own decision to stick with a dumbphone was based largely on the fact that I hardly ever use my iPod touch. I still have my old DVD player instead of the Blu-ray. I never upgraded to a high def TV. I don't own a DVR. The constant surges to upgrade has left me a bit fatigued as devices I own are outdated before they are worn out. It makes you want to simplify it all. I think this is why vinyl has seen a renewed popularity.

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