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> ARE consumers "too dumb" to use mobile phones?
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Ive been seing a lot of articles lately
like this one that claim that mobile users are too stupid to use advanced features and data services on their cell phones and that phone manufacturers and service providers need to focus more on simplicity in cell phones. I want to find out what the members here on esato think about this.
Are mobile phones too complicated?
Can you use all or most of the functuons available on your mobile phone?
Which service providers and phone makers are worst at providing simplicity in their products and services?
What can be done to improve phone user interfaces and simplify the use of services offered by providers?
Feel free to answer all of the questions, or just the ones you have an opinion on.
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[ This Message was edited by: axxxr on 2004-11-18 01:43 ]
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Posted: 2004-11-18 02:31:54
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Hey, what does "Dumb" mean
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Posted: 2004-11-18 02:36:10
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SE and nokia menus are well solved on most of their models. Siemens menus were awfully difficult, but lately I think they improved. Also you can set your phone to suit you fine. Samsung quite oppositely, has simple menus, but too little possibilities to personalize it. Motorola menu is disgusting. At the moment SE menu is best balanced for me. And, there are few phone features which I don't use, but I try them all out. I could say the more options phone has (but well organized) the more will I enjoy it.
This message was posted from a T610
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Posted: 2004-11-18 03:21:45
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I think MOST of the older generations are technophobic. They're afraid to try so they normally just dismiss it as difficult. Younger generations on the other hand love to try anything new.
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Posted: 2004-11-18 03:27:15
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Well actually as people age they may really want to have the latest gadgets but their brains cant cope with the change, its like learning new languages or infact any new thing, its far easier when your young.
But in general there are two kinds if people,open minded & narrow minded, open minded people will always look for new things to make their lives easier, regardless of their age,these peoplle will also be aware & maybe into the latest music trends, but by far the most important issue is desposable income, if you have 4 kids & a mortgage, you might have to leave the 1gig memory stick on the shelf in favoiur of some groceries.
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Posted: 2004-11-18 03:42:04
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there are i few things i've observed on this topic. first, it's funny how a lot of people feel intimidated by the supposed complexities of their phones, yet they are very comfortable with working on their PC's everyday. this, i think, is partly a mental block towards the phones.
then, there are other groups of people who own symbian phones, yet all they do is call, text, and take pictures or videos. maybe that's all they're interested in. yet when you show them half the stuff their phones can do, it completely blows their minds.
then again, as we see even here on esato, most people just are not interested in reading their phone's user guides, so...
i also think that despite the GUI's, some phones can still be made more user friendly. for example, i was fiddling around with a friend's nokia 7610 and found extremely irritating the number of additional and completely unnecessary keypresses it takes to accomplish even some of the most basic tasks. (it just reaffirmed my belief that i would never buy a nokia not-so-smartphone! especially after not being allowed to do many of things you accept as being the norm on SE phones) and even for a phone savvy person, which i think i am, it took quite a bit of digging thru menus to find a lot of the features. so there is still a lot of room for improvement.
but then, at the end of the day, the question that must be asked is, are the apps and services being offered compelling enough for the AVERAGE user to make the extra effort to really learn how to make full use of their phones? i'm still not sure about that one. i think that the average users are still more simple-minded when comes it comes to their mobile needs.
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Posted: 2004-11-18 03:52:17
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I am not getting enough. Only few am not using because service provider is charging very high rates for gprs. All the rest are at full steam. Look at my wap, i am here every now and then. Mms lots. It is too simple for me. Need something more advanced.
This message was posted from a K500
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Posted: 2004-11-18 04:02:55
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I think some menus/features are just too hard to understand for some people or some people have a tendency to stick to what they already know. I agree with @pachy on the open-minded/close-minded types of consumers.
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Posted: 2004-11-18 05:23:53
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I use almost all the features of my k700i, although its a bit costly here as the operator charges r high but i think its worth it
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Posted: 2004-11-18 05:51:05
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I think the question is not whether your mobile phone is too complicated - it depends on your phone choice. Got a phone or Minicomputer with Phone function? I mean, anybody who has chosen a phone of the PXXX series (or comparable) did it either to have a status symbol or to really use it. There are people buying ferrari to stroll around and there are the ones riding that horse.. You can get familiar with your phone and its features or you just use the basic functions (but keep in mind that the basic functions of the PXXX series arenīt too extended either; itīs just the software giving you more functionality. And who would call his home PC more or less complicated because of his problems understanding its software..) - it depends on you..
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Posted: 2004-11-18 10:42:32
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