Over the last few years it seems as though the iPhone has really sparked a greater interest in smartphones, and has managed to show consumers what handheld devices are capable of doing. Of course they aren’t alone in the market with both Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries all competing to be the one you carry in your pocket.
Having all this power in your hand is a tremendous convenience, but I recently met a girl named Payal who wasn’t as eager to get one of these gadgets. Being the geek that I am I curiously asked what her reasoning was for not not wanting the iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter.
A lot of times when I ask the question of why someone doesn’t want a smartphone the response is typically that they don’t need it. Those types of people use the device for talking, and maybe some occasional text messaging, but other than that their phone stays tucked away in their pocket. Her response was something I hadn’t heard before. She explained how so many people are in love with their smartphones, but to her such a device would curb the spontaneity and enthusiasm that she wants from life.
How so you might ask? I wondered the same thing since I personally use the iPhone quite a bit for finding places I ordinarily wouldn’t have stumbled across. I will, for example, fire up the Yelp application and look for unique restaurants in the area I’m at. In her eyes that’s not the same kind of excitement. To her it’s more fun to walk around and grab a bite to eat at any place she comes across, and doesn’t want to rely on the reviews and thoughts of online strangers. In other words she wants to see the world through her own eyes, and not through someone else’s.
Another example she provided was exploring new places. She loves to drive around almost hoping to get lost, and find places she’s not been to before. With a smartphone she fears that having the capability to quickly get back on course (via a GPS) would discourage any of this from happening.
So I’d love to hear from all of you in regards to how you feel about smartphones. Why do/don’t you use one? I have to admit that the conversation I had with her has really made me ponder how I use my iPhone, and how much I actually rely on it. I’m sure that the next time I pull it out for leisure purposes I’ll think twice as to whether I actually need it, or whether I’m passing up what could be a fun experience.
With that being said we’ve got a new poll to accompany this topic! If you have Flash enabled you should be able to vote below, otherwise the poll will remain up for a few weeks in the sidebar of the site.
Sounds to me like Payal has a lot of time on her hands.
I think for a lot of smart phone owners the convenience is just as important as the time they don’t have to spend wandering around. Plus, she doesn’t have to take her phone out of her pocket to find a place to eat, but she might want to when she’s lost and late to meet someone. Just because you have the ability doesn’t mean that you have to *always* use it.
I think Payal might also be resisting how society is moving, especially in the workforce. Everything needs to be fast and agile. I guess I would agree. I like the convenience, because it’s my choice. I don’t know how I would feel if my work handed out Blackberries.
I think Payal doesn’t represent the majority of cellphone users. I would say she belongs to a small minority of today’s society.
Today we live in a fast-paced world where the fastest wins. Be it journalism, manufacture, aviation, services and so forth. Getting from point A to point B is a lot faster if you have a smartphone with you.
Smartphones are more than phones, they are tiny computers with thousands of applications and more are on the way even as we speak. These tiny computers are also getting more and more powerful. Who knows what the iPhones of the world will be ten years from now.
Saying that you don’t need a smartphone is like saying you want to freeze progress and prefer living in caves using smoke signals as a means of communication.
Nope, I think Payal is dead wrong; but it’s her legitimate right to have a smartphone or not.
Just my two cents on the subject.
I think it’s a balance between adjusting yourself to the ever increasing speed of society without thinking too much about how you actually feel and following your intuition on finding happiness. I’ve met people like Payal and while I am the adjusting kind myself – I have found out through people like Payal that by following your intuition and surrender to a little randomness at times can be a lot of fun and give you a lot of happiness, more so than using technology such as stumbleupon. It can give much more satisfaction too.
I’d personally like to have a little of both in my life and prevent myself from falling in either category
There is always something good in a disagreement, and I agree with her about not been able to be free and spontaneous or the life is controlled by a device. but really, there is also something good to have some kind of order and schedule. and the best part is that one controls the device not the reverse.
I have no use for a cellphone. I don’t receive or make that many calls. I txt, email and browse the web on my BlackBerry. I love the fact it’s a smartphone, because I can increase it’s potential through apps.