Just a Phone? 357
LiquidCoooled writes "Vodafone in the UK have released a mobile phone which caters to those people craving a simple handset. For far too long we have been overpowered by extras we don't need; this looks to be a very nice solution. These phones feature a large format screen and buttons and a simple interface making this phone more accessible to a larger audience." I'd sure prefer better sound and simpler menus to the useless camera and gimmicks built into my current phone.
Hey Timothy (Score:2, Insightful)
it's simple, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
For example, my grandma doesn't need a camera or games, that kind of stuff just confuses her. Her eyesight isn't so great at close distances, so larger text (both on the screen and on buttons) is a plus. Also, she has mild arthritis, and a larger phone with larger buttons would be a lot easier for her to use.
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
unless a phone does not represent the habits she already has and is not really willing to change (why should she?), a menu more simple would not really help her. she never looks at the display if someone calls her
I think it's nice... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I think it's nice... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not a kid anymore, but I'm still in my twenties, thankyouverymuch, I'm about as IT literate as they come, and I still want a simple phone. My reasoning is as follows:
I currently have an old Siemans phone. It has WAP and that's it for unused features. It's been kicked around an airport, dropped down a loo and is currently held together with sellotape. It still works and I'm still happy with it.
All I really want in a phone is good transmission, txting, a mighty battery life and the ability to throw it at a wall and still have it work. Nothing to do with age of inability - just awareness of my actual needs.
Re:I think it's nice... (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, no offence taken here, (even though you put my "reasons" in quote marks), but just to show you that I'm not as daft as you think I am: excess friperies can interfere with the primary functions - ignoring the less responsive interface that comes with feature creep (e.g. anti-aliased fonts, for Bob's sake), things like colour screens can indeed reduce battery life.
Regarding the cost issues, for one, I use pay as you go here in the UK as I did some quite extensive calculations in a spreadsheet to work out what was the best deal for my usage. Consequently, I bought my phone outright instead of getting it "free" with a package. This does indeed make the difference between phones noticable. Personally I would like to see phones getting cheaper and more reliable rather than more gimicks.
More than anything, I just get angry when choice is taken away from me. I can just about still find a basic phone but it's getting harder. You can't get them in the phone shops around here. I don't like the fashion side of the mobile phone industry. To me it's quite offensive when I see an Ad. over here that shows people slinking away in shame because they have an older model. I realize that this has now gone beyond the scope of what you were saying, but that's okay - this last paragraph is a general rant, not a reply to you.
-H.
Re:I think it's nice... (Score:2)
I have one of those new "rugged" Sanyo phones. They are really nice since I have large hands and I get great reception where most of the tiny, weeny, itty-bitty flip-flop matchbooks phones are useless. They still have extra features I don't want such as internet and text messaging; I remapped the buttons to avoid accidentally turning them on.
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:3)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2)
I've actually washed it in the washing machine with my shorts before and it survived. I've dropped it and crushed it and done everything that's supposed to break it. It's virtually indestructible (except for the antenna).
It's small, the battery lasts long enough, and it has great reception.
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2, Funny)
Where do I sign up?
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
I think there is a big market for simpler (and hopefully cheaper?) phones like this. Alot of people (like my mom) carry their cell-phone in their purse anyway, so if it's a bit bigger, that's no big deal.
As the article says, these new phones are not targetted at the young-and-modern crowd who want all the features and want to be able to carry it in their pocket without
It looks a lot like... (Score:3, Insightful)
Another market for basic phones like these are people who can't carry cameraphones at work. I have friends who work at Lockheed Martin, for example, and cameraphones are strictly verboten there.
I like mine because it's simple and it does the job. I also got mine for free, first when I signed up with T-Mobile, then the second one when I re-upped. My technology-scorning musician husband has one now, with a prep
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Color (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:it's simple, but... (Score:2)
I've had it enough with phones too small to hold comfortably, buttons you need toothpick to push. The best phone I ever had was Nokia 6250, a big "armored" phone. If they were to put updated internals (with BT and GPRS) into the same case, I'd run and buy one.
And besides, the cellphone has three key functions (for me) 1. talking wi
fill the extra space with batteries (Score:2)
Perhaps for them it makes sense to have bigger phone, and fill the extra space with batteries. Wouldn't it be great if it only needed charging every two weeks? A bigger phone is also easier to hold in between the shoulder and neck to allow brief handsfree use.
Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:5, Insightful)
While I'm at it, am I the only one who wishes that directory enquiries could beam a number to your phone in a specific format, so that you could just call by viewing the text message and using a "convert to number" type option (in the UK we do get a text message, but it's a case of reading the message, remembering the number, backing out back to the main interface and typing it in)? Maybe other countries do this?
Back to the topic, why not have "Advanced user", "Normal user" and "Dimwit" settings. Default to "Dimwit", mode which would have by default two menu options "stored numbers" and "settings". If stored numbers was picked, it would show a list of 9 numbers (maximum, or whatever will fit on the display) and a prompt text telling the user to just press key 1-9 to call, or 0 to cancel. If from the main menu the user starts typing in a number, the two options are "Store number", or "Cancel". The settings menu for the "Dimwit" user would only allow a change to another user type. Probably best not to use the word "Dimwit" in the option list though I guess...
Really, it's not rocket surgery, using a phone though, and as long as the extras don't get in the way of normal functionality, who cares how many bells and whistles there are? If you don't want to use them, then don't. You wouldn't decide not to buy a car simply because it had too many gadgets, would you? Defaulting to predictive text is one of my pet hates though I hate predictive text, and always disable it, but plenty of handsets make doing so difficult or at least non-obvious.
Really? (Score:2)
Cause that would be just plain silly. :-)
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:3, Informative)
This is a feature of an individual phone's OS. Here in the US, Verizon will send you a
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:2, Informative)
There are also options for email and web addresses.
Though I bought the phone in India I imagine the software is pretty much the same as it is back home.
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:2)
The PDA software (Palm OS 5) drives the interface. As a standalone piece of software developed for a separate device, it is in fact quite quick in accessing items and databases. Some careful modification for the dialers and communications features already present in Palm OS make it a hell of a cell phone in many respects, including interface spe
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:2)
Re:Speed up the interface a bit! (Score:2)
You know... (Score:2)
THANK YOU! (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't need cameras, a million different ringtones, games, instant messenger, etc on my cellphone. All I ask of it is that it make reliable calls, have a somewhat long battery life, and be easy to read (I have a hell of a time reading the text on my LG) and use.
Cellphone companies in America, please take note.
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:2)
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:5, Insightful)
All of them expensive and all of them with tons of things that I will never, ever use. In the meantime, the one I did buy (the closest I could come to a barebones model, an LG-4020), sounds like ass, drops calls, and is loaded with bells and whistles that I don't need.
Sure, it can play Beethoven, but it can't keep me connected to my girlfriend for more than 15 minutes.
Sure, it can surf the web, but it has a battery life that, even without use, doesn't last more than a few days.
Sure, it can get on AIM, but I have to cycle through all the ring volumes to put it on silent!
My old Kyocera was the closest I've come to a really good phone. One touch could put it on silent. The call quality was pretty good, the battery life was spectacular, and it didn't have all these extra features that I'll never use.
It just seems to me that designers and engineers could have better spent their time making a better telephone rather than making a telephone become something it isn't.
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:3, Insightful)
Utter bullshit. The iPod is where it is due to good looks and great marketing. 90% of the people who bought one didn't even look at the alternatives nor did they care about the features. They wanted an iPod, which in their mind IS an mp3 player in the same way MythTV is TIVO.
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:2)
No, just being self-aware and forthright that my knowledge in that area is "provincial". Not something you'd be used to on this site, but there you go...
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:2)
Then it could be pluggable.. wireless headset? yep.. want to make a data connection? whip out your PDA or laptop.
For me the ideal phone would just make calls on it's own and have the ability to route other kinds of traffic.
I'm tired of paying extra to have a second rate PDA, a third rate camera etc all built into my phone since I tend to have all those things anyways. It all just adds an annoying level of compl
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:2)
Re:THANK YOU! (Score:2)
I used to say that, too... (Score:3, Insightful)
What frustrates me is that nobody makes a phone you can CUSTOMIZE the features on, like when you order it.
You can do this with computers, why not phones? I'd be all over the company that let me pick the phone OS, form factor and goodies.
Hmm, so, dre
Freud....? (Score:2)
And we like it that way.
Re:Freud....? (Score:4, Insightful)
And we like it that way.
I'm not gonna argue with you. If that's what you really want, more power to you. But does this count? If all you want is a simple phone, why on earth does it need an oversized display? Why will you need to send "the odd text message"?
I think the real truth is that most people really do want more than "just a phone" but they're having a hard time understanding the phone they have or they're having a hard time understanding why it cost so much. This is not so much "just a phone" as it is a simpler and cheaper alternative... which, of course, have been available from just about every provider on earth for free for years.
Go to the web sites of Verizon, Cingular and Sprint. You'll see very simple phones available for free with a contract.
Go to Wal-mart. You'll see several variety of simple, no frills pay-as-you-go phones for about $50.
Why are people arguing that they want something simple? It's a non-argument because they're available all over the place. If what you really want is to just make phone calls, buy any phone, press the numbers for the friend you want to call and hit send. Neary every cell phone on the market will then proceed to place your call. What could be simpler than that? If, however, the real truth is that you really want all the other features, but they're too complicated to make efficient use of, then please complain about that instead. You're far more likely to get what you want if you complain about the right thing.
TW
Extras we don't need? (Score:5, Interesting)
speak for yourself; i for one am quite glad to be able to run midpSSH [xk72.com] anywhere there's a tower within range!
Re:Extras we don't need? (Score:2)
Once you've used a phone with an intuitive keypad lock (a Nokia, for example), you'll begin to wonder why you ever dealt with the cheap
Re:Extras we don't need? (Score:2)
That's because the "engineering" was done almost entirely by Marketroids looking for only the flashiest features. Its rather depressing to see this happen to a company that was once a technology leader. I hope the shareholders and board members realize what thi
single button for emergencies..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:single button for emergencies..... (Score:2)
I had this happen to me riding a bike with a friend.. it happened to call another friend we were both talking crap about...
The guy riding with me was going to town... talking all kinds of crap about other person..
When we got back said friend was waiting prompty outside the guy's house wanting to fight him... haha i had to get them to cool down
Had to be the most hilarious thing ever
Re:single button for emergencies..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Perhaps the moral of the story is not to talk about others behind their backs. The cell phone was just a more direct example of how such talk can "get back to" the victim.
Re:single button for emergencies..... (Score:3, Interesting)
A KEYLOCK SHOULD LOCK THE KEYS!
For example, our emergency number in
I have accidently called 000 a few times with the phone keylocked in my pocket. It will happily ignore every other keypress except 0 - 0 - 0 (and 1 - 1 - 2, for you outsiders). What's even more annoying about this particular nokia phone is that when you press a key with it lo
Camera Phones (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Camera Phones (Score:2)
So, if there is a camera built into my phone, then as well as always having my phone with me, I always have a basic digital camera with me. Which is good, since people like taking candid snaps, so having a digital camera always with you is fun, even if it is a cheap and simple one.
Ditto phones with calendars, simple video games, ssh clients, and so on.
Re:Camera Phones (Score:3, Insightful)
How can you flog your next "money spinner" product (MMS) if no one has either a.) a camera on their phone to take pics, or b.) a phone which is capable of receiving the pics.
The next step will see full video capabilities built in as standard in all phones (unlike just the top of the range ones at the moment) for the 3G money making.
All these gimmicks are in there because without them the phone companies would have no way o
Richard & Judy (Score:3, Funny)
if you don't want the features just don't use 'em! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:2)
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:3, Insightful)
I think this is a great idea, hopefully the start of a long overdue backlash against feature creep in all electronics. I have a combined
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:2)
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:2, Insightful)
Complexity is not without costs. The extra, unused, features do interfere. Longer and deeper menus take more user time and effort to navigate. Also, the phones with more features are also the one's that are slower to respond, causing missed digits and navigation errors (e.g. I can enter the sequence to add a new phonebook # quickly and without looking, but sometimes my phones stalls, and then I end up in some different menu whe
Re:if you don't want the features just don't use ' (Score:3, Insightful)
Artists and architects talk about the concept of "negative space". An English professor of my acquaintance actually wrote a book (not yet published) with a subtitle of "Absences, gaps, and other sexy spaces".
Let me give you an example: my mom hates sunroofs/moonroofs on cars. I don't know why, but she does. When she bought a new car a few years ago, it worked out that there were two nearly identical models, one with the sunroof and one without for the same price. She chose the one without, because for
I use my phone for three vital functions (Score:5, Funny)
as a telephone to talk to people. I don't use my landline much, but haven't dropped it yet.
as a text pager. My system monitors and trouble report mail addresses all route to my phone.
tetris on the shitter
let the user choose... (Score:5, Insightful)
Users must be allowed to select what they really need and nothing else.
I applaud Vodafone. (Score:5, Insightful)
I have no need or desire for a camera in my phone. I do not have the time to waste on text messaging through a cramped interface. I think that video on a cell phone is idiotic. I don't need a game on my cell phone to exercise my brain. I don't need my cell phone to play music.
What i need is:
1. A phone that is comfortable to use.
2. A phone that can be operated easily with one hand.
3. A vibrating ringer that doesn't disturb others.
4. A speakerphone for when my hands aren't free.
5. High speed IP access (preferably via a wireless connection like Bluetooth) for my PDA and laptop.
6. A simple interface.
7. Long battery life.
8. Conservative, modern styling
9. Worldwide coverage.
10. Macintosh compatibility.
11. Good customer service.
12. and a reasonable price.
Everything else is unecessary and unwanted. I'm a business person, and I want a tool that helps me do my job and stays out of my way. I'm not a child with ADHD that needs to be constantly entertained.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I applaud Vodafone. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I applaud Vodafone. (Score:3)
Todays with ADHD (if they even actually have it), will out grow it with puberty. Todays adults with ADHD are members of a fictional mental illness created by drug marketing.
Todays adults wiht ADHD need a vacation, and a stiff drink.
Re:I applaud Vodafone. (Score:2)
Reliable, insane battery life, worldwide (well, tri-band), conservative and modern, etc
no speakerphone, but everything else that you want, i think
Re:I applaud Vodafone. (Score:2)
You may want to re-think that. The youth of (North) America commanded some $1.5B last year or before. "Children" are working part- or even full-time jobs, living on their own, paying bills and purchasing their own luxury items.
pointless? (Score:3, Insightful)
Smaller, please! (Score:2)
Why must a simple phone be so ugly? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why must a simple phone be so ugly? (Score:2)
Re:Why must a simple phone be so ugly? (Score:2)
Re:Why must a simple phone be so ugly? (Score:2)
Besides, ugly is a matter of opinion. Check out what clothes were the height of cool in the seventies...
not having sex with it? (Score:2)
Similar phone very popular in Japan (Score:3, Informative)
Why would anyone buy the £80 phone from Vodafone?
Feeping creaturism (Score:2)
Older users (Score:5, Insightful)
But is it because older people can't learn as quickly and are set in their ways, or is it because they are older and wiser and refuse to be fished in to subscription and usage fees for gimmicky services of dubious usefulness? I have noticed that the young people who are keen to fiddle with every silly bell and whistle are also more likely to fall for crap like "Forward this email to everyone you know and Bill Gates will pay you $100 for every address because he is testing out his new email system."
Sometimes you just want to be able to pick up something and use without having to study a manual and remember sequences of buttons. Imagine what life would be like if the same so-called level of innovation was applied to common household items like the kitchen faucet or the toilet.
Re:Older users (Score:2)
What, you mean your toilet doesn't have a built-in camera? Get with the times, man!
One feature (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:One feature (Score:5, Insightful)
How about a normal ring? (Score:2, Insightful)
OK, I know I sound like a curmudeon here, but how about a phone that actually *rings*? I don't need to hear a stupid off-tone rendition of anything, and the last thing I want to hear is some damn Britney Spears wannabe.
If it weren't for the size factor, I'd take one of these [slashdot.org] any day.
Re:How about a normal ring? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:How about a normal ring? (Score:2)
The "pick up the bloody phone already " synapse fires more quickly for me when exposed to proper telephone ringing sounds.
but.. (Score:2)
Please stop the madness (Score:5, Insightful)
These comments are usually brought up because the poster thinks they are being witty, pointing out something that does not exist, while in fact, they are WRONG.
Almost every carrier offers a base model phone, usually for free, for becoming a new customer. Sometimes these free phones still come with extra features which may upset the "simple phone denizens". Shame on the carriers for trying to give you more for free! They will surely pay for this!
Thats where carriers who allow you to use whatever phone you want with their SIM card come into play. I know Cingular in the US does this and I"m sure countless others do. Then you can buy whatever old phone from 1995 you want that only makes phone calls.
Even still, modern carriers still offer bare bones phones. Sure, they don't put them on the front page of their websites but they exist. I just found this phone in about 3 seconds on nokia.com and Cingular is even offering a plan with it.
http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/1261 [nokiausa.com]
This phone came out years ago, this whole "bare bones" phone thing is NOT NEWS. You really think the first cell phones were bloated with features? I remember using a Motorola Startac, and that didn't even have an LCD. So stop your whining and actually look at the products available.
Re:Please stop the madness (Score:3, Insightful)
1) It's not a flip-phone. Flipping closed isn't a convenience feature, it's a necessity in any phone that I carry.
2) Awful, hard-to-press Nokia buttons.
3) I want simple and uncomplicated, not old tech. That phone appears to use D-AMPS, which is on its way out.
Re:Please stop the madness (Score:3, Informative)
Just an Ear Phone (Score:5, Interesting)
Seems it's prepaid only (Score:4, Insightful)
The other big issue with cell phones is that NO ONE will sell you a new phone at a decent price without signing multi-year contracts. Even for people like me who've been with the same company for years (7 with sprint), they treat you like dirt.
All major companies adopting the same anti-consumer behaviour seems to be acceptable, but it feels to me somewhat like collusion. Obviously I can't prove this, but I can easily imagine major companies all agreeing to push the same multi-year contract terms at people. If they all do it, there won't be anywhere for pissed off customers to go, except to prepaid, which is also a pricey proposition as far as I can tell.
argh!
Geeks and simple phones (Score:2)
Maybe some Slashdotters' lives are already too complicated. Maybe they already have dedicated PDAs and digital cameras. Maybe they only use their phones to order pizza from their moms' basements.
I'm waiting for version 2 (Score:5, Funny)
Instant information (Score:2)
I have an LG series (Score:3, Informative)
not just a phone (Score:3, Insightful)
"Just a phone" would have 12 keys (0-9, *, #), a one-line display, a call button, and a hang-up button. Well, maybe a mechanical switch to turn off the ringer.
What's next... (Score:3, Funny)
My good old Nokia 1100 (Score:3, Interesting)
The built-in games, however... Snake II is nothing special, and Space Impact must be the shittiest Moon Patrol wannabe ever. Tetris would have been much better. Still, a good phone.
Re:Price? (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000816MD K/qid=1116699557/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/026-1337833-4 985209 [amazon.co.uk]
£20 for a basic phone. Why pay £80?
Re:Uh (Score:2)
American: Give me a ride!
British: Give me a lift!
American: What is the make of your truck?
British: What is the make of your lorry?
And so many more. What amazes me is that every party thinks it alone is right.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Features or not... (Score:2)