Analysis - What do you want from a smartphone?

[HEXUS]

Most phones are now mini computers, but do you need, or want, all the new features being crammed into them?

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[piggeh]

I would like the following feature:

The battery to last more than one bloody day!

[Saracen]

My views on this will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me.

What do I want from a phone?

I want it fairly small and light. I want good battery life. I want good radio performance and good audio, from both mike and speaker. I want a usable phonebook and decent menu system. And I want a sensible price.

In other words, I want a good usable phone.

I don't want a games machine, GPS, camera (video or still), skins, a billion ring tones, MP3 capability, video projection, digital wallet, web interface, twitter connectivity, or all that cobblers. I don't even want SMS, for pities sake.

That's not to suggest that I think other people should want what I want, but it is what I want.

As for the Google exec's belief that a phone and cloud computing will make the PC redundant, as far as I'm concerned, dream on. I have zero interest in the cloud paradigm, and will not go that route. Period.

[aidanjt]

Saracen pretty much eloquently mirrored my thoughts. Though MP3 player capability is nice to have, saving me from carrying a second device, it's certainly not a deal breaker. Biggest thing for me is signal strength and battery life. As long as the thing can make calls and send messages, that's all a phone needs to do.

[miniyazz]

Those things (nothing except phone, except maybe text, and perhaps one or two other features as a very secondary option) are fine on a 'regular' phone - and are why the old nokias still get significant use. But this article was about smartphones

I agree that there should be more choice with 'regular' phones, with regards to having next-to-no features, instead focussing on usability, battery life, signal, and price.

To me a smartphone should be designed to do all those other things like web browsing, though. It's a jack-of-all-trades; it can do much of what a netbook can do; it also does much of what a 'regular' phone can do. It's not as easy to use as either, because it's a compromise. But it's designed to be a compromise, and that's the only thing it can be - and it needs to be accepted as that. Which doesn't mean it can't be improved by better user interface, longer battery life, etc etc.

[Hicks12]

for me i want a smartphone that can do everything but more importantly id prefer them to concentrate on the following:

Mic and audio quality
Radio (as in the signal strength)
Battery
Reliability (is this even achievable on a device like this?)
Customization

I love to edit my phone and mess around with it, so far i think it beats the pants off the Iphone and has a much better UI and so i wouldnt say it is an area that needs improvement, battery is the only real flaw i can see on the HD2 but also it would be nice to improve webbrowsing with video as that doesnt really work but i didnt get it for that .

[TooNice]

For me it's all about the applications available that I need. Every phone I've used in recent years are competent in their core purpose (make/receive call/text). No phone is going to let me make receive calls/texts underground (and I don't mean just the Tube, but underground shops, restaurant etc.).

Sony Ericsson phones I've used have the distinction of the best battery life out of other brands I've used so far, and also tend to make a competent music player and acceptable point and shoot camera. Yes, I do use those functions since I do not carry a camera all the time with me. Those phones also tend to have basic applications I routinely use such as Googlemap, basic organiser, clock/alarm, calculator and even TrackID.

There are two additional applications however that has made my iPhone entirely worthwhile. One of them can be found on other platform (PC and various smartphone), but the other one is unique to the iPhone. It's a -really- good Japanese dictionary. Of course, you'll find those in every other platform, but I've one that has the combined features and ease to use that I've yet to find in other platform. The only thing I could wish for, is a better Kanji recognition app (the IME on Windows is much better than the one built-in on the iPhone). But that it's for me. For me, it's not about filling a check-list. A phone that does -one- thing I need on a daily basis really well will be a better phone for me than one that does that does -twenty- things I never use (e.g. picture SMS, video calls etc.). No it doesn't make it a better phone for most people (chances are, no one on this thread care about a JP dictionary, yet a few still use picture SMS/video calls), but the question is what *I* want from a smartphone xD So yeah, all the listed things, plus enough battery to last at least a day (non gaming).

[R3MF]

What I want from my mobile device is not a smartphone at all, what I want is in fact a computer with voice-comms.

Given this attitude it is perhaps no surprise that i own a Nokia n900.

[RedFlames]

What do i want from a phone... 'smart' or otherwise... buttons... i do not want a touch screen [certainly not as the primary/only means of doing anything with the phone]... plus as other have said it needs to be usable as a *phone*... it can be as 'smart' as it likes but if it's unusable as a phone [which most 'smart' phones seem to be in one way or another] then there's no point imo...

in short... if i want a computer in my bag [since I've yet to find a smart phone that will comfortably fit in my pocket] I'll carry a laptop with me...

[pipTheGeek]

On my current smartphone (an HTC Touch HD), i mostly use internet, e-mail and SMS.
I sometimes use games (currently playing Meon, very good game), I sometimes use the camera, or the calculator. Today I used its GPS and maps. Although I would have survived with out it. We now have a car stereo with Bluetooth and a front line in connector so I might start making more use of it as an mp3 player. One thing that I rarely use though is the phone! I normally use about 2 of my inclusive minutes. (Yes, using it as a phone has issues. Well, one. It doesn't disable the screen so you end up pressing random buttons while talking.)

On the whole, I am happy with more features being crammed in. I would like better battery life, but if thats the price I pay then I'll live with it. I am also okay with the size of my phone, I think the HD2 might be a tad too big though.
One thing I am not keen on with the newer phones is the capacitive screen with no stylus. I like having a stylus to poke my screen with. (yeah, I like the very responsive capactive touch screens as well ) @RedFlames I like the touch screens.

[RedFlames]

@RedFlames I like the touch screens.

I have nothing against touch screens... i just don't want one on my phone... or to be more accurate... i want it to be the only way of doing things on my phone... i personally find phone touch screens a complete ball-ache to use... that and they tend to look like you've attacked it with sandpaper after a few days [or is that just me?]

[Stringent]

Good article Scott.

I want a personal computer on the go. I use my N97 for

• Calls
• Texts
• Pictures
• Email
• MMS
• Twitter
• Internets

Not in that order of priority, but those are the things I need it to do VERY well. Battery life on my N97 is quite good and I can get a day with it on connected checking email, surfing, Gravity etc. Not that I do that while I am at work because my PC does it. Will smartphones replace PCs? No way. The terminal will be here to stay. It will become a more portable device, one which you can take your PC away with you. Maybe even virtualize your own desktop on your smartphone? I don't know. Visualization is getting sophisticated now and good. Imagine that having a virtual desktop of your Windows PC on your iPhone. I'd like to see Apple pass that app...

Battery life is a good thing. Needs to run longer between charges. Also speed and fluidity. Make going to an app seamless and instant. People don't want to wait around for the thing to load.

[Percy1983]

I actually found the perfect phone a good while ago, the W880. Its small and it phones people while the battery lasts a good few days.

I keep getting a mate with an iPhone, I keep telling him mine is a better mobile phone as its a phone and it is more mobile, he won't admit I am right but I suppose he does need to try and justify his contract which costs 5x more a month.

If I want satnav I get the satnav out of the drawer, if I want games I take my DS, if I want the internet I want a usable size screen. I don't want to have to carry all these things around tacked onto my phone making it bigger and killing the battery.

[Rob_B]

I'd like a small crappy speaker which detects when i'm on public transport & automatically plays chipmunk music at a high volume without me having to press any buttons...oh no wait...

I used to love my SE K750i, great camera, light but sturdy, they don't make em like they used to but I do like having games/movies/'full' internet at my fingertips whenever I want.

[cjs150]

The biggest problem with mobile phones is not the features but the quality of reception. That needs to be drastically improved. Mobile phone makers have forgotten the mobile phones most important function is to make and receive phone calls.

After that:

1. Receiving and sending emails is good (saves me carrying a blackberry)

2. Camera is good - I always carry the phone so in an accident there is a way to record the event.

3. GPS and route finder - again I always carry the phone so this is useful

After that I am barely interested - a couple of games are fine but if I want to watch movies, TV, listen to music I need headphones and would prefer a proper device for that

[Stringent]

Also I forgot to add, I'm not sold on full touchscreen. I like the hybrid device of the N97 the keys are nicely spaced, the space bar you get used to where it is. I keep missing keys on my iPod when typing.