Nowadays the market is virtually dominated by smartphone devices. Manufacturers have spent the last decade perfecting devices which have introduced the typical phone user to an array of features that are a world away from the bog standard telephone handsets of yesteryear.
All this new technology has brought a great many benefits to telecommunication. However there have been some fundamental side effects with some people pondering whether smartphones have become a bit too smart for their own good.
One of the biggest criticisms of smartphones has been that they all seem to be rather poor when it comes to their principle function of being a phone. Many users site call quality as one of their main issues with these devices. Problems such as dropped calls and sound quality are things which many feel are a letdown especially when many of the handsets retail for hundreds of pounds.
Ofcom found that older phones tend to perform much better on phone calls compared to their more sophisticated replacements. One of the reasons for this disparity could be due to smartphones having less internal space for aerials and the older phones being less complex and not having the issue of having to switch between 2G and 3G reception.
The other big problem with the new generation phones is the incredibly poor battery life. The older phones could typically last two to three days or more without having to recharge the battery. In contrast, the typical smartphone will deplete its full charge over the course of 24 hours or sooner if used frequently.
 |
| Image Licensed Under Attribution |
Most users are resigned to the fact that they will have to charge their smartphones sometimes twice a day. Of course we shouldn’t be too surprised since smartphones are effectively mini computers and we shouldn’t expect the same battery performance as we would with a phone from the 1990s.
That said customers are increasingly looking at the battery performance of certain models in their future mobile phone choices. Many users will recognize that awful feeling of 5% remaining charge before the end of the working day which renders the phone unusable till you get home. Sure you can take your charger with you but this is not always convenient.
Smartphones are also much more fragile than phones of the past. Back in the day it wouldn’t be uncommon to drop your handset on a concrete floor only to be dusted off and put back in your pocket with not so much of a scratch on it. If you do the same with a smartphone, you’d be lucky if your screen doesn’t smash to pieces.
In fact smartphones are so fragile that you really have to be careful how you handle them. The drive to make the slimmest and most streamlined models often take away the durability that everyday usage could benefit from. The sensitivity of the screens can lead to phones being activated whilst in a pocket which can compromise privacy and run up bills.
You also have to be careful how you clean your phone to avoid moisture leaking into the intricate systems. Inevitably people will tend to be more cautious with this to the point they become paranoid every time they use it.
There is no disputing the fact that smartphones are amazing devices. However, manufacturers need to focus more on the fundamentals by developing more robust phones which can actually serve the purpose of making calls!
Faizan Ahmad About the Author:
This article is posted by Faizan who is the Author and Founder of TechSenser. He is a Professional Blogger from India and a passionate writer about Technology, Gadgets, How-to-Guides, etc. You can connect him on Google+.