Smartphone research.

Deformat · Defense Minister **Joined**: 17 Sep 2007

I'm curious to see for what you're using your smartphones (those who own one.) and I'd really, really appreciate if you would help me out. Just check the stuff you're really interested in.

First of all:
-no touchscreen (the classic 12 buttons or Blackberry style?)
-touchscreen with more than 4 buttons
-touchscreen with 1-4 buttons
-full touch (google nokia n9, it has no buttons except the ones for volume.)

Do you use it for:
-Internet
-Games (and please specify your level of hardware desires: Low (e.g. under 600 mHz processor, under a quarter gig of RAM), medium (600-800 mHz, half a GB) or high (over the values mentioned earlier.).
-Business stuff (aka organize stuff.)
-Media (please specify the amount of GBs you'd like for media/use for music.)
-Camera (and specify what features the camera should have.)

Do you really care for:
-weight
-size
-type of display (please specify if you prefer current screens such as AMOLED or have absolutely no problems with those made up 5-6 years ago.)
-bluetooth
-multiple SIM card support

OS/ app support: Which ones do you prefer out of those below?:
-Android
-iOS
-Symbian
-Other (please specify; you can specify multiple options. I'm serious.)

Processor:
-monocore or dual core? what type do you prefer?
-do you care if it is mono/dual and it has the same amount of mHz.

Mobility:
-tablet size (fitting the hand) or phone size(fitting the pocket)?

And the ultimate question: Would you prefer to have all these features of a smartphone....without the actual phone feature (and be some sort of MP4 player/tablet)?

Many thanks for having the interest of helping me out. Even helping me out partially is welcomed.

daTS · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject:

As of right now, I'm using the Samsung Epic.

-It's full touchscreen with a sliding keyboard underneath.
-I use it primarily as a phone (calls, messaging, ect), but I do use the GPS quite often, and lots of games and internet when i'm not busy doing other things. The camera is negligible, but when I had my HTC EVO, I used the camera as it was an 8MP one.
-The Epic is a fairly heavy phone, when compared to some of the others i've used. It's also a little on the large size, but I don't mind, because it has an AMOLED screen. I've never had a problem with it other than when using a blackberry charge cord (same plug design), in which the screen doesn't respond. The bluetooth is great when syncing to my computer.
-I use Sprint, so I don't use SIM cards, but rather CDMA networks.
-I love the Epic because it can multitask like the iPhone 4G (use phone and internet at same time), but I do miss the EVO's Snapdragon processor.
-Mobility? It's a phone it fits my pockets well, although when I'm wearing gym shorts, it has a habit of pulling them down when running due to it's weight.
-Ultimately, I wouldn't even care for it if it wasn't a phone. I could just grab an iPod Touch 64GB for the same price

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"Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there." -Adam Young

Clazzy · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:50 pm Post subject:

I have the (very dated) HTC Hero. Best phone I've ever owned but it shows its age compared to other smartphones, especially since processor speeds took off about six months from when I bought my phone.

When I bought it I used it for all of what you mentioned (web-browsing, games, organising, media and camera) but when I went to America I bought a Nook Colour and rooted it into an Android tablet. I tend to carry that with me to work and when I go on journeys and it's extremely good for browsing and games. I still use my Hero as an MP3 player, for checking emails and taking the odd photo though. A 16GB card is enough for my for all my music (plus space for anything extra) although when my contract runs out I'm considering moving to a network with unlimited usage (I only have 500MB/month right now) and upgrading to a Spotify premium account.

I have no issues with a phone being heavy, but after having my Hero for so long I'd like my next phone to have a larger screen. Bluetooth isn't something I care about and neither is the option of dual SIM cards.

As for operating systems, Android is fantastic and, despite some flaws (particularly the inconsistent interface) it's extremely flexible and open, which means lots of fun rooting and installing new ROMs. However, I do love the Harmattan interface that is running over MeeGo on the N9. If they actually sell it in the UK (it doesn't look like they will) I will give it a play and if I like it enough I'll buy it. Ultimately, I have my Nook for fun Androidy things and my N9 for everything else. Even though I have my Nook, I still like having a smartphone. I don't always have my Nook and (more importantly) don't always have access to Wifi. Being able to bring up Google Maps in the middle of a street or find out what a song is in a pub/bar/club/whatever is great and I wouldn't want that taken away.

No issue with what the processor is right now since a 1GHz Snapdragon will do the job in most situations. Android can't fully utilise two cores yet and the only thing that will actually use all that processor is games.

Out of curiosity, why do you want to know all about this? Are you still pondering about your next phone or is there another reason?

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Deformat · Defense Minister **Joined**: 17 Sep 2007

I gave myself an assignment. I have to come up and design a smartphone/tablet from scratch, and it has to be different than all the other stuff out there. For this to happen, I have to know people's needs, and even if I'm not going to get more than 5 people in this thread post, its going to be somehow sufficient, since I can't make a uber giant research.

Banshee · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:13 am Post subject:

At the moment, I'm using Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

First of all:
-touchscreen with more than 4 buttons

Do you use it for:
-Internet
-Games high (over the values mentioned earlier.).
-Business stuff (aka organize stuff.)
-Media (8gb or more)
-Camera (8mp)

Do you really care for:
-weight: No
-size: Yea
-type of display: no
-bluetooth: yes
-multiple SIM card support: no

OS/ app support: Which ones do you prefer out of those below?:
-Android

Processor:
-dual core
-do you care if it is mono/dual and it has the same amount of mHz: no

Mobility:
-phone size

And the ultimate question: Would you prefer to have all these features of a smartphone....without the actual phone feature (and be some sort of MP4 player/tablet)?
No, phone is useful.