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Thursday, April 2, 2015

Forget the trend of going back to old phones, smartphones dominate for a reason



OPINION:
EARLIER this week I read a story about people swapping in smartphones for ‘dumb’ phones.
I had heard of this trend happening among hipsters and despite being an inner-city dwelling bearded man, I could not get on board.
To my surprise, this story had less to do with hipsters and more to do with the supposed practicality of owning inferior technology.
In the article, Jon Duhig, the head of digital at a design and innovation consultancy in Sydney, said he recently swapped his iPhone 5 smartphone for a Samsung C3520 flip phone.
His main reasoning behind the swap was durability, which was demonstrated when he asked the reporter to drop the phone.
Also included in the article was Nick Fuentes, a cross fit trainer who shared similar sentiments.
The 22-year-old said he traded in his iPhone 5 for a basic Nokia 208 in October last year after growing tiresome of smashing his smartphone screen during gym sessions.
While, I admit smartphones possess a fragile touchscreen, it seems counterproductive to regress in technology for that reason.
Especially when there are ample phone cases on the market that guarantee to make your smartphone’s indestructible.
As Technology Editor, I am obviously a huge ambassador for technological advancements and I feel it my civil duty to explain five reasons why everyone should own a smartphone.


MAPS

Whether you are travelling, living in a new city or just looking for that trendy new restaurant we all know navigating unknown streets can be difficult.
However, with most smartphones possessing full GPS capability, navigation can easily be mapped out with the touch of a few buttons.
Using the smartphone navigation system will also allow you choose walking, driving or public transport options and is often a cheaper alternative.
If you are not sold on the maps, have fun lugging around a heavy street directory on your next adventure.


INTERNET BROWSING

Mobile phone technology has become significantly advanced since the first model was launched in 1989.
Most phones now come with a pre-installed web browser and offer a lightweight and fast alternative to traditional computers.
To meet the high demand of smartphone users surfing the net, a wide variety of sites have been tailored to be displayed in a mobile friendly format.
This means within seconds, you are able to search the internet with ease to find up-to-date information about any query you have.
If you are not sold on the internet browsing capabilities, have fun going to your local library and searching through outdated encyclopedias.


CAMERA

As smartphones become omnipresent, more work goes into enhancing the capabilities.
One of the more impressive features on new smartphones is high resolution cameras with the ability to capture stills and video.
The ability to not only capture high quality images, but share them with the world on the same device means they’re quickly making traditional point-and-shoot cameras redundant.
If you are not sold on the smartphone camera, have fun capturing photos with a bulky point-and-shot camera before downloading them to your computer or taking them to be developed.


LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION

Smartphones come with ability to download a number of social media and communication apps that make it easier to keep in contact with friends and family across the globe.
My sister lives in London and we are constantly keeping in contact using a number of free apps.
By using Viber, I am able to text or call her without having to worry about hanging up after four minutes for fear of an outrageous phone bill.
If you are not sold on long distance communication, have fun taking out a second mortgage to pay your phone bill or waiting weeks for your postage to come in the mail.


APPS

While I have already touched on a couple of apps in this article, they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Smartphones offer the ability to download apps for almost any purpose imaginable.
Whether you want to become more organised, get fitter, learn a new language or do your banking on the run, there is an app for you.
I don’t even need to continue with my “if you’re not sold” line here because the proof is in the pudding.

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