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| posts about #sonyericssonw995a more → |
Dumb Cellphones Must Die |
Sony Ericsson W995a: Walkman Cellphone with Geo-Tagging 8.1MP Camera |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Gizmodo 
06/05/09
Just wow.
Reading Comprehension=EPIC FAIL
It genuinely feels like 90% of the comments missed the actual point of the article, so let me break it down for you all nice and simple:
Really Cheap Phone that makes good calls and not much else=GOOD
Smartphones with an integrated UI and a vibrant 3rd party developer base=GOOD
Everything in between=USELESS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
If you have a "Feature" phone that does 90% of what a smartphone does, but costs more to make, sells for more, and doesn't excite the user base without massive subsidies from the carriers (which we want to get rid of, people. Don't forget that. We WANT the carriers to become dumb pipelines) then your product is a failure. SE should have just taken this hardware, licensed WinMo or put Android on for free and sold a smartphone.
Jesus' point was that there's no good reason to pay 120% of the cost of a smartphone for 80-90% of it's features.
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06/05/09
"Some will say that there should be cellphones for everyone. True. Cheap dumb cellphones for $10 a pop are great. But this thing costs $600. Other similar phones from other companies cost about the same without a contract. In 2009, I can't find any excuse to buy something like this."
06/04/09
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06/04/09
True, I only have to charge my dumbphone once a week!
06/04/09
06/04/09
But anyway, I agree with you. Unless smart phone prices decline to around $50 or less, most people in the world won't be able to afford them, or just won't buy them. A vast majority of Nokia's sales are outside of the US, where the iPhone, Palm Pre and other smart phones are not its natural competitors.
06/05/09
Yes, your mom needs a $10 SIMPLE DUMBPHONE.
Your mom doesn't need a $600 COMPLEX DUMBPHONE.
This is all in the article.
"Some will say that there should be cellphones for everyone. True. Cheap dumb cellphones for $10 a pop are great. But this thing costs $600. Other similar phones from other companies cost about the same without a contract. In 2009, I can't find any excuse to buy something like this."
Christ alive people. Learn to read.
06/05/09
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I would like a smart phone. But many, and I daresay most people don't need or want them. This dumbphone is extraordinarily expensive because it's off plan, and it's an SE phone. Fact is there are so many dumbphones at much lower prices that most people buy those. Then you get the associated savings of no data plan, no visual VM, no nothing. Voice, 100 texts, and that's all- $45/month on a $40> phone. I bet your plan is substantially more than $45/month.
We're nerds- we need that extra stuff. But again, many people don't. So no need to hold up this $600 piece of garbage and cry about old school cell phones. They have a place, and they will for a long time.
06/04/09
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06/05/09
Yes, your mom needs a $10 SIMPLE DUMBPHONE.
Your mom doesn't need a $600 COMPLEX DUMBPHONE.
This is all in the article.
"Some will say that there should be cellphones for everyone. True. Cheap dumb cellphones for $10 a pop are great. But this thing costs $600. Other similar phones from other companies cost about the same without a contract. In 2009, I can't find any excuse to buy something like this."
Christ alive people. Learn to read.
06/05/09
You still didn't answer my question.
only in the USA are high end featurephones offered exclusively at full price. For quite a few of us, this is a non-factor.
The problem here is that you're generalizing on a global scale, while the conditions you lay out are market specific.
06/05/09
And your question still doesn't matter, no matter how cheap a device like this Sony or any Nokia or Moto can get, the UI is clunky and bad as hell, requires a steep learning curve for any new user (change brand and see), and they seem to be designed to make the life of consumers impossible.
06/04/09
That said - SonyEricsson is doomed if this is part of their "flagship" lineup. They need more of the X1 and less of the W995a. Even the uber-stubborn Nokia realizes this.
06/04/09
The beef seems not to be about dumbphones but phones of said type that are laden with features and insanely expensive but still little more useful than a $30 pre-pay phone.
06/04/09
Remember, this phone is only expensive for those of us in countries where subsidies on phones suck, and the lineup of phones is equally bad (ie. Canada and the USA).
Everyone else will get this thing for free - and in that case I'd say it's a good bargain.
06/04/09
1) I go to a phone store and buy any phone
2) I go to a telecommunications store and buy any SIM card
3) It just works
There's usually no stupid contract system like in the US. Any phone is compatible with any carrier as long as they have the right signal. You would not get a cell phone for free in another country, since you typically don't have to sign a contract. It would, however, be cheaper than the $600 quoted above.
06/04/09
06/04/09
Some people just don't need a cellphone. It's also important to remember that back in 2002 cellphones were JUST cellphones. You called people and that's it. For many people they don't need to be able to call someone else or be called at any time of the day. A house phone would suffice.
06/04/09
06/04/09
Dumb phones have all of these features and functions in addition to being a phone, but nobody seems to use them because it's a pain to do so. If the W995a was as easy to use as the iPhone it would blow Apple out of the water because you're right, most people don't want or need to pay for the crappy data connection that they're forced to buy with their smartphone. They'd rather get a dumb phone and a standard contract, but only if it's as intuitive as the iPhone. I think it speaks volumes that so many people are willing to pay for data contracts that they don't really use just so they can get their hands on a phone that is pleasurable and intuitive to work with.
And before anyone flames me for touting the virtues of the iPhone, I'm no Apple fanboy - I have a WinMo phone.
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