Do you think smartphones have too many functions? What percent of the functions on your smartphone or cell phone do you use?
Have Your Say ( 10 )
JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
In an OECD survey of 36 nations on people's perceptions of their living conditions, Japan ranked 21st in terms of quality of life; Australia, Norway and the U.S. were the top 3. What do you think of that?
( 12 )
-
The Fukuoka mayor is banning public servants from drinking alcohol for a month; the Osaka mayor has declared war on tattoos on civil servants. What do you think of all this?
( 21 )
-
Why do you think Facebook's stock failed to live up to the hype in its trading debut?
( 13 )
-
Which sport, when played well, do you think is the most exciting to watch?
( 62 )
-
What's the difference between an average burger and a great one?
( 12 )
-
- Business Teaching Positions - Part-time - Kanto Region
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥3,000 ~ ¥5,000 / Hour
-
- National Relief/Substitute Teacher - summer start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥275,000 ~ ¥300,000 / Month
-
- 営業パーソン
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tochigi
- Salary: ¥240,000 ~ ¥350,000 / Month Negotiable
Order by Time Order by Popularity
10 Comments
Login to comment
1
NetNinja
I don't think they have enough. Smartphones are awesome. For those who are more tech savvy than others there are so many ways you can tweak them.
I worry about Japanese older women though. They got so used to button smashing that they can't adjust to touch screens.
We have to remember that for a decade now Japan's society has gotten used to everything being laid out for them. Told what they can do and what they can't do. It's simple, it's easy. It requires no brain work at all.
iPhones and smartphones in general offer possibilities. They are near limitless. The only limit is your imagination and Japanese people when it comes to their phones haven't been using their imaginations at all. They have depended on Sony, Panasonic and other companies to do all the imagineering work for them. (That's a funky word I know)
I think it's just Japan though. Americans and Europeans have always been curious as to what's "Under the Hood". You see this culture in movies like "Transformers" where Shiaf LeBouf and Megan Fox lift up the hood of the car to see what going on in there. At that point, Megan Fox proceeds to explain the inner workings of the engine. She knows her stuff.
Japanese women and some men don't seem interested in what's under the hood of their phones. "How does this thing work?" "What kind of chip is that?" "How can I adjust this or tweak that?" This is not the case.
iPhone is a status symbol and nothing more. Japanese prefer the rich luxury of passive voice and service.
Now, lets be clear!! This is by no means says that Japanese are not intelligent enough to do such things are discover or imagine. They are just as creative as we are and at times could be more. I'm saying they are not encouraged to "check under the hood". They are locked into the system. They guy sitting behind me has a 3G phone, plus a smart phone, plus a WiFi device, plus his Internet service at home, and of course his provider. 5 different Internet bills.
Ignorance is expensive isn't it? GPS System in your car. 300,000yen Bike Computer - 15,000yen Computer Dictionary 25,000yen Monthly Wifi Device (3G) 5,000yen Monthly IPhone (3G) 5,000 yen
I could go on and on. It only supports my argument that Smartphones are awesome and they are more of a gift than you know. Thanks Steve Jobs. For the open-minded, flexible and creative people, you can save a lot of money. If you want to follow Japanese communications giants and electronics manufacturers, get ready to pay at every corner. They've got separate devices for everything you want to do. It's going to cost you.
Learn our way, Japan. Stop wasting money in the name of culture.
0
Gurukun
LOL! Classic. That was funny, but true.
0
taj
I use probably 60% of the functions and apps I have on my phone in a given month. With my previous (stupid?) phone, I used the phone, camera, and address book only on a regular basis and text on occasion. The manual was over 1 cm thick so I assume there were plenty more functions but I couldn't be bothered.
With the iPhone (and I assume Android-based phones), it's all dead easy. And they're not pre-loaded with so much crap you don't need. Instead you download what you want.
0
smartacus
I use about 5% of the functions on my cell phone, maybe even less. I use it just for making and receiving calls. I think I have sent only about two emails this year. So, yes, I'd have to say they have too many functions for me.
0
Foxie
I find that with all these great features of my cell phone I never use anyway I can still not send a simple SMS with mine. I use mail, the camera, the thermometer and the countdown timer.
1
JapanGal
The last phone call I made was in March. Much cheaper and easier to send a quick message.
I am going to erase this weekend about 90% of my apps. Never ever use them, so do not want the clutter.
I have Pro Photo Equipment and Photoshop CS5 for business so no use for those bad cameras on the phones. I do like the movie feature though on my iPad2.
Skype and texting are my most used apps. Besides mail an dreading the news.
0
John Becker
Speak for yourself, taj. Here in the States, Verizon loads down its smart phones with bloatware that can't be deleted. (Unless you hack the thing, which I'm not interested in doing.)
I use mine for phone, text, and web. I also use Gmail and Google calendar, which integrate perfectly with my Android phone. Additionally, I have downloaded a few photography apps that come in very handy (depth-of-field calculator, and an app that shows me the position of the sun at any day and time). The beauty of the smart phones is that they can be as simple or as complex as you want, and you can customize them in a million different ways.
-1
johninnaha
My iPhone and iPad have become essential to my daily life and not only as a phone.
One of the functions I couldn't do without is the guitar tuner, Cleartune. It is brilliant. Remote also comes into a lot of use, as I can control iTunes from it, load and play music/playlists, adjust the volume, etc. And it's wonderful to have the whole American Heritage dictionary in my pocket, much faster to search for a word with the electronic version than paper.
I've never used another smartphone so I can't comment, but the iPhone has the perfect number of functions. In that, as taj points out, if you want to add functions you just download the apps.
0
choiwaruoyaji
As long as the functions are there, I take comfort from that fact... even if I never use them.
I just want them to be there.
0
kurisupisu
Siri has to be the one -I never get lonely with him/her and I love it when my French works too!
Back to top