| Author |
ARE consumers "too dumb" to use mobile phones? |
axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
PM, WWW
|
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.
_________________
WHITEHOUSE
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, suffering leads to isolation, isolation leads to imagination, imagination leads to genius.
[ This Message was edited by: axxxr on 2004-11-18 01:43 ] |
|
|
pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
PM |
Hey, what does "Dumb" mean 
Reminder; milk, sugar, crisps, post letter. |
blayv
Joined: Oct 24, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Srbija
PM |
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 |
blackspot
Joined: Sep 06, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
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.
resistance is futile. |
pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
PM |
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.
Reminder; milk, sugar, crisps, post letter. |
senninha
Joined: Jan 05, 2003
Posts: > 500
PM |
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.
|
govigov
Joined: Jul 30, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Back home - Cochin
PM |
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 |
blackspot
Joined: Sep 06, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
PM |
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.
resistance is futile. |
vineet_d
Joined: Apr 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: MumBhai
PM |
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 
|
fetzi
Joined: Oct 26, 2004
Posts: 230
From: currently warsaw
PM, WWW
|
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..
Pop! Goes The Hamster... And Other Great Microwave Games |
DeLa
Joined: Jan 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From:
PM |
Most advanced phones *are* complex.
The problem arises when you buy a phone for its looks or battery or any reason axcept for the features, then you are faced with options you don't want.
All that is the main reason that operators want to make their own firmware and 'burn' the settings into the phone so that it is all ready for use. |
spagnet
Joined: Nov 18, 2004
Posts: 25
From: Kolkata, India
PM |
@ axxxr
Q. Are mobile phones too complicated?
A. No, individual user finds ease in locating functions relevant to him/her. Rest may or may not interest their inquisition.
Q. Can you use all or most of the functuons available on your mobile phone?
A. Yes, but most features are not relevant or superfluous.
Q. Which service providers and phone makers are worst at providing simplicity in their products and services?
A. All or none, depends on your point of view.
Q. What can be done to improve phone user interfaces and simplify the use of services offered by providers?
A. Remove unnecessary features, uniform interface, customization for advanced users...........and the list goes on |
knight4led
Joined: May 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Califonia, USA
PM |
I think its pretty obvious that the community here is very tech friendly and easily figures out how to use the majority of features on any phone, no matter how complicated the interface.
I think that most manufacturers have made it almost amazingly simple to do all the basic tasks on phones like making calls, browsing contacts and viewing received messages. Many manufacturers fall behind in making the advanced features easy to use. I had a very difficult time enabling bluetooth on several phones recently. Still I am patient and savvy enough to figure it out.
Mainly I agree that any inability to use advanced features on phones is due to some block on the users part. They just aren't willing to put in the time to read the manual, search for the feature, or perhaps fiddle with it until it works. Some people may find these features very compelling once they figure out how to use them, but they don't want to bother trying. I really don't think that they are too complex to use, every person is capable of remembering which menus lead to which features. |
namal
Joined: Nov 07, 2004
Posts: 279
PM |
For the question raised, are people too dumb, u have to agree that it depends. But complexity dont always make phones irritating. It depends on the structure of menus, graphical interface, etc. Take a nokia with square screen and plain colors, it makes doing complex tasks sometimes boring. Do the same thing in advanced se or windows mobile phone, things get much more interesting! Quickness is the other thing. If you have to go to java menu, select app, then go to another menu and select open app, it cant be much helpful. But if u can assign a button to launch app, its really usable!
This message was posted from a WAP device |
pinolo77
Joined: Jan 17, 2002
Posts: 390
From: Lugaggia, Switzerland
PM |
I wouldn't use the word "dumb". I think most consumers are "lazy". And by lazy I mean that most of us (maybe not here at esato but in general) don't spend their life reading instructions for everything they buy. Some people are "gifted", or more experienced, and learn by using. Other are not...
I recently met someone who didn't know t610 had profiles... I took myself five minutes to explain and the person is now using them daily. There are many functions, instruction resemble more and more Tolkien books...............
I think a shop would make a fortune (and also the service providers would) if they would explain "live one to one" the functions of a phone. Countless people complain about their phone, and most of them do so because they cannot use it at its full potential.
So, rather than "dumb", I would label most consumers as "lazy" (not in a bad way of course!!) |
|
|
Posted: 2004-11-18 02:31
