Anyone getting tired of "smartphones"?

Moonflow · Jan 6, 2012

Ok, aren't you all tired of how we use smartphones nowadays? I'm tired of always being worry about battery life, and i'm tired of always being around chargers (at home, in the office, in the car)... For god sake, after so many years, every smartphone seems to suffer the same problem, battery life.

I've used many smartphones, top smartphones to be specific and they all have the same problem, they can't last a whole day with medium use or heavy use. Recently I took out my Razor v3 and Sony Ericsson c905 just to change things around and OMG could go 4-5 days with just 1 full charge and minimal use. I never had to worry about "oh my god, i'm almost out of battery BS". It was a phone, just a phone with VM and text messages. Yes you do more with a smartphones like play games, check banks, surf the web and etc., but technology is rising but they can't keep up with the battery!

With that being said, the only smartphone that i found to have very decent battery life, were the Blackberries. Any thoughts?

Laidbackal · Jan 6, 2012

Yes I feel you.

Small White Car · Jan 6, 2012

I saw the title of this thread and I was about to come in here and agree that:

"Yes, I'm a bit tired of smartphones now. I used to play with my iPhone for hours and hours a day. But these days I'm starting to use it more as a tool to do what I need to do and that's it. In a way, I feel this is really great. I used to feel addicted to my phone and I feel that addiction fading and that makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm still always with my phone and my daily usage passes 4 or 5 hours a day. I'm still a heavy user. But I'm not seeing 6-8 hours days anymore.

So, "tired of?" That sounds harsh, but yeah. And that's a great thing. I have more time for other stuff and I don't have to worry about my battery life as much as I used to. Hooray!

...so that's what I WAS going to write. But then I read your thread and it seems like you have the opposite issue that I do. So I'd argue that you're not tired of your smartphone.

Aquaporin · Jan 6, 2012

All in all, I was happier with just my dumbphone and my iPod. Maybe I was just happier as a human being because I was younger. Maybe I am tired of paying $20 for unlimited texting because everyone texts and $20 for data because it is required.

KnightWRX · Jan 6, 2012

I never worried about battery life on my phone. I play 3D games on it, browse the web and pop it into a charger/plug it in when it needs to.

Really, there's nothing to worry about. If your phone goes dead in the middle of the day, that's what voicemail is for.

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Azadre said:
Maybe I am tired of paying $20 for unlimited texting because everyone texts and $20 for data because it is required.

Then don't ?

soco · Jan 6, 2012

Moonflow said:
Ok, aren't you all tired of how we use smartphones nowadays?

No. I'm not tired of how we use them, nor am I tired of the fact that (what I think you meant) we use them. It's a progression of life and technology that's only going further forward.

Moonflow said:
I'm tired of always being worry about battery life, and i'm tired of always being around chargers (at home, in the office, in the car)... For god sake, after so many years, every smartphone seems to suffer the same problem, battery life.

So many years? It's been maybe 7 years that battery life has even mattered in smartphones. I don't consider that to be a long time by a long shot.

Moonflow said:
I've used many smartphones, top smartphones to be specific and they all have the same problem, they can't last a whole day with medium use or heavy use. Recently I took out my Razor v3 and Sony Ericsson c905 just to change things around and OMG could go 4-5 days with just 1 full charge and minimal use.

Right, and you also couldn't really do anything very "smart" with them. I could make this same argument about something like utility knives. Complaining that they're getting too complicated and I could use a good old fashioned single blade. Yeah, and they'd be two completely different products. Your aggravation with smartphones of today comes down to big and small umbrellas. Under the big umbrella, you're talking about phones. But under the smaller umbrella, you're talking about two different types of phone and one seems to not be suited for you. You prefer the old fashioned single blade.

Moonflow said:
I never had to worry about "oh my god, i'm almost out of battery BS". It was a phone, just a phone with VM and text messages. Yes you do more with a smartphones like play games, check banks, surf the web and etc., but technology is rising but they can't keep up with the battery!

With that being said, the only smartphone that i found to have very decent battery life, were the Blackberries. Any thoughts?

Again, if "just a phone with VM and text messages" is what suits you, that's awesome. Stick with it. It's a tradeoff right now. Until the reasearch behind these insane batteries that are coming down the line is complete and winds up in our palms, we have to continue being mindful of our usage with regard to battery life. It is what it is. If you want to play in the dirt with us, you're going to get dirty.

Moonflow · Jan 6, 2012

No. I'm not tired of how we use them, nor am I tired of the fact that (what I think you meant) we use them. It's a progression of life and technology that's only going further forward.

That's why i'm complaining.

So many years? It's been maybe 7 years that battery life has even mattered in smartphones. I don't consider that to be a long time by a long shot.

7 years is long bro, look at it this way... from the way things are going, it doesn't look like the battery issue can be fixed anytime soon... so we're looking at a decade maybe.

Right, and you also couldn't really do anything very "smart" with them. I could make this same argument about something like utility knives. Complaining that they're getting too complicated and I could use a good old fashioned single blade. Yeah, and they'd be two completely different products. Your aggravation with smartphones of today comes down to big and small umbrellas. Under the big umbrella, you're talking about phones. But under the smaller umbrella, you're talking about two different types of phone and one seems to not be suited for you. You prefer the old fashioned single blade.

I wasn't compairing functionality and differences of these 2 type of phones. I was compairing the battery life. You can leave 2 phones on standby if you want.

Again, if "just a phone with VM and text messages" is what suits you, that's awesome. Stick with it. It's a tradeoff right now. Until the reasearch behind these insane batteries that are coming down the line is complete and winds up in our palms, we have to continue being mindful of our usage with regard to battery life. It is what it is. If you want to play in the dirt with us, you're going to get dirty.

Exactly, maybe when life is important i can go back to just a simple phone with vm and text messages. Why? Because it is the most reliable!

kfergiez · Jan 6, 2012

I remember when my LG flip phone would last at least d days on a charge.... and I didn't have to deal with all this texting crap. Those were the days.

But no, I wouldn't trade my smartphone. I like it.

Shrink · Jan 6, 2012

I'm not tired of my smartphone. I like it a lot. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about my battery, but then I don't game on my phone, or watch movies.

For my purposes, I think it's terrific.

fertilized-egg · Jan 6, 2012

I do wonder about this - perhaps there's an untapped market potential in a well built and simple to use phone, you know, like the old iPods. A small phone in a unibody aluminium body with the good MP3 playback ability might be a hit for those who don't want a smartphone. But then again that market might be too small for Apple to care.

JoJoCal19 · Jan 6, 2012

I do have moments where I miss just grabbing my phone and using it to call and eventually to text and then putting it down, being able to focus on other things. I also miss the fact that it was just a cheap flip phone and I didn't have to take care to protect it, I could just toss it around or in my shorts with keys or whatever.

But I don't get tired of using a smartphone when I have an iPhone. When I have used Android phones, I do find myself putting way too much thought into using the phone, customizing, tweaking settings, managing battery life, and fixing problems. With the iPhone I have none of that. It just works and works well, letting me pick it up, do whatever, and get out. Easy as that. That is one of the reasons I returned the Galaxy Nexus (went from iPhone 4) and picking up a 4S.

ECUpirate44 · Jan 6, 2012

KnightWRX said:
Really, there's nothing to worry about. If your phone goes dead in the middle of the day, that's what voicemail is for.

+1. I never worry about it. When it dies, it dies and I get to go on with my day without people bugging me.

antman2295 · Jan 6, 2012

I agree kind of, battery life can be an issue, but i charged my old phones every night anyway, so it hasn't been an issue for me. If your having issues with not enough battery, why don't you get a mophie case. It doubles your battery life and then you don't have to worry about finding an outlet. (I'm not trying to be rude or mean by any means, just trying to make a suggestion)

ppilone · Jan 6, 2012

I think people are extremely naive when they talk about "how bad battery life is for smartphones." Up until 4 years ago people were barely using their phones for anything but short phone calls. There were 10s of years worth of battery technology to make those phones last awhile. Now, we use/depend on our phones in an entirely new way.

Oh, you mean that device that allows you to play 3D games, browse YouTube videos, text/voice chat with anyone in the world instantly, watch movies at high definition, and pay your credit card bill at the same time, only lasts 24 hours before needing a charge?

JoJoCal19 · Jan 6, 2012

fertilized-egg said:
I do wonder about this - perhaps there's an untapped market potential in a well built and simple to use phone, you know, like the old iPods. A small phone in a unibody aluminium body with the good MP3 playback ability might be a hit for those who don't want a smartphone. But then again that market might be too small for Apple to care.

I think the iPhone does cater to that market. It's so simple and effortless to use at its core, that those who just want a device to call, text and to have the ability to do more if they wish, can do that. A lot of people get an iPhone and never put any other apps on it other than maybe a banking app. As it comes stock, the iPhone is a simple smartphone, to a poweruser it can be much more.

eclipse01 · Jan 6, 2012

Nope, not really

the pro's outweigh the cons. For me I have a desk job that I can just leave it plugged in all day, and on weekends I usually just make sure its fully charged all night for the upcoming day.

if Battery bothers you that much, get one of them skins that run on solar power?

djransom · Jan 6, 2012

Moonflow said:
Ok, aren't you all tired of how we use smartphones nowadays? I'm tired of always being worry about battery life, and i'm tired of always being around chargers (at home, in the office, in the car)... For god sake, after so many years, every smartphone seems to suffer the same problem, battery life.

I've used many smartphones, top smartphones to be specific and they all have the same problem, they can't last a whole day with medium use or heavy use. Recently I took out my Razor v3 and Sony Ericsson c905 just to change things around and OMG could go 4-5 days with just 1 full charge and minimal use. I never had to worry about "oh my god, i'm almost out of battery BS". It was a phone, just a phone with VM and text messages. Yes you do more with a smartphones like play games, check banks, surf the web and etc., but technology is rising but they can't keep up with the battery!

With that being said, the only smartphone that i found to have very decent battery life, were the Blackberries. Any thoughts?

I agree with this statement 100%. I was just telling my wife last night that the battery on the iPhone has gotten progressively worse. Great phone the iPhone is, but it seems as if the battery can't progress with the technology and it's becoming a tradeoff where if you want the latest and greatest you're going to have to be willing to lose something with the battery. I use my phone for texts, calls, email, and of course social networking. I avoid games as that's just not my thing for my iPhone, but a different story on my iPad.

Jordan921 · Jan 6, 2012

Getting tired of smartphone batteries? No not really. You kinda just have to accept the fact that you do tons more stuff with smartphones so it taxes the battery. Maybe in the near future they'll be able to design a battery that'll last longer.

bigsexyy81 · Jan 6, 2012

No.

I love having a smartphone with me because I can be productive at any time. I can check personal/work emails, review documents, listen to music, watch a show or movie, play a quick game, gives me GPS, browse the web, check my bank accounts, etc etc etc.

Smartphone makes it so I don't have to carry around three to four different devices at one time. And have to worry about all of those devices being powered.

iPhone 4 gives me battery for almost an entire day (with the exception that if I use GPS a lot, I will def need to charge by 5).

Normally all I really have to do is plug the phone in before bed and it's good by morning. I realize others are probably more power users than I am, but the iPhone is definitely the best out there from what I have tried.

Moonflow · Jan 6, 2012

ppilone said:
I think people are extremely naive when they talk about "how bad battery life is for smartphones." Up until 4 years ago people were barely using their phones for anything but short phone calls. There were 10s of years worth of battery technology to make those phones last awhile. Now, we use/depend on our phones in an entirely new way.

Oh, you mean that device that allows you to play 3D games, browse YouTube videos, text/voice chat with anyone in the world instantly, watch movies at high definition, and pay your credit card bill at the same time, only lasts 24 hours before needing a charge?

You are right and then you are wrong. I remembered back in the days, people were using their phones extensively as well...

Remember the old Nokias and other phones where you can change the whole entire case and customize it with lights all over the body? Even the batteries came with lights. Now, how can you say that does not use up or equals to the stuff we do on smartphones nowadays? But, the battery was still very good even with those massive lights and customization.

Not only physical customization, but people were starting to mass text messaging as well, that's when text messages were introduced. Talk time + Text messages are even when you compare to the now.

Oh and i don't play games on my smartphones. Maybe when im near a charger then yes, otherwise it's a big NO. I'm not concerned or too worry about the battery life, but i'm rather tired of it as stated in my title of the thread. Tired means it's getting boring, i don't want to go through all the trouble to keep my smartphone battery up and functioning. Especially when traveling, it is a pain just to look at your iphone and see 30% remaining...............

I agree, we have to put up with it if we want to use it... but it was just a thought.......

bigsexyy81 · Jan 6, 2012

Those who are recalling their fabulous battery life days with Blackberries... few questions...

Did those Blackberries have 3.5" screens?
Did they have push notifications for all of your apps?
Did those BBs have Location features and did you use GPS services as much as you do on your current smartphone?
Do you use your iPhone/Android phone for more things than your Blackberry?

No doubt the older BBs had great battery life, but I did far less on my BB than I do on my iPhone. Mostly because there just wasn't as much to do on it.

There is certainly ways to get a lot of juice out of the iPhone. If you hate the battery life and long for the days before smartphones, turn off a bunch of the features. It'd probably last three days if you turned off 3G, wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, push notifications, and location features and made it a true dumbphone...

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ppilone said:
i think people are extremely naive when they talk about "how bad battery life is for smartphones." up until 4 years ago people were barely using their phones for anything but short phone calls. There were 10s of years worth of battery technology to make those phones last awhile. Now, we use/depend on our phones in an entirely new way.

Oh, you mean that device that allows you to play 3d games, browse youtube videos, text/voice chat with anyone in the world instantly, watch movies at high definition, and pay your credit card bill at the same time, only lasts 24 hours before needing a charge?

this.

ZombiePete · Jan 6, 2012

This is like asking if anyone is getting tired of their cars or TVs or desktop computers. You could probably live without them, but they make life better and/or more convenient. It's silly.

Moonflow · Jan 6, 2012

KnightWRX said:
I never worried about battery life on my phone. I play 3D games on it, browse the web and pop it into a charger/plug it in when it needs to.

Really, there's nothing to worry about. If your phone goes dead in the middle of the day, that's what voicemail is for.

Uh no? You might as well use a home phone with V/M. Mobile phones are meant to keep you available and connected at all times.

bigsexyy81 · Jan 6, 2012

Moonflow said:
You are right and then you are wrong. I remembered back in the days, people were using their phones extensively as well...

Remember the old Nokias and other phones where you can change the whole entire case and customize it with lights all over the body? Even the batteries came with lights. Now, how can you say that does not use up or equals to the stuff we do on smartphones nowadays? But, the battery was still very good even with those massive lights and customization.

Not only physical customization, but people were starting to mass text messaging as well, that's when text messages were introduced. Talk time + Text messages are even when you compare to the now.

Oh and i don't play games on my smartphones. Maybe when im near a charger then yes, otherwise it's a big NO. I'm not concerned or too worry about the battery life, but i'm rather tired of it as stated in my title of the thread. Tired means it's getting boring, i don't want to go through all the trouble to keep my smartphone battery up and functioning. Especially when traveling, it is a pain just to look at your iphone and see 30% remaining...............

I agree, we have to put up with it if we want to use it... but it was just a thought.......

Seriously?

Comparing 10-20 LEDs and a bunch of texting/calling on the old Nokias that had a 1.5" black and white screen and huge batteries to how a typical person uses an iPhone?

verwon · Jan 6, 2012

No, I'm definitely not tired of smartphones! First, I don't expect a phone that's capable of so much to last forever on a charge.

Second, I'm a complete tech addict and I love everything they're capable of, couldn't live without one. I hate talking on the phone, so having one that just did that as its main purpose would be pointless to me!

Third, I have no problem spending more for a quality product that does everything I need and then some. This is true of both the phone itself and my cell plan.

I also can't put a value on a phone and service for my son, it keeps us in touch, it helps him with his school work and etc.

Anyone getting tired of "smartphones"?

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