Are We Asking Our Phones to Do Too Much?
There has to be some middle ground between this guy and one device.
In the midst of the iPhone 6 announcement, Apple quietly discontinued the iPod classic. It was only a matter of time really. So few people use stand alone MP3 players anymore, that it can’t be profitable for Apple to still make the device. And with 128GB iPhones available, people don’t even go for the storage argument anymore. After all, who wants to carry around multiple devices?
I do. I’m starting to wonder if we’re getting to the point that we’re asking our phones too much. It’s a camera, it’s a computer, it’s a media player, it’s a phone. And to get all of that in a slim, attractive package we’re sacrificing quality. A phone will not play music or take photos as well as a music player or a camera. The iPhone does these best in my opinion, but it’s not as good of a computer as an Android phone (I haven’t tried iOS 8 yet, so maybe that’ll change my mind.) Even then, the iPhone doesn’t play music as well as my iPod.
I’m new on the separate gadget bandwagon. After I started collecting music and using the download cards, I started enjoying how much easier it was just to put the files on my iPod Nano and take them to work that way. No longer did silly things with work interfere with my music quality (software testing can take a lot of bandwidth and processing power, degrading the Spotify stream). I also recently picked up a point-and-shoot camera. And I’m enjoying that too. I can take high quality photos, with crazy zoom, easier than I could with my phone.
Of course, it’s easier for me to carry multiple gadgets. I carry a purse, and have room in it to carry these things. (I’m really surprised with phones and tablets that the man bag hasn’t taken off though.) And photos and music are both important enough to pay for another device, and carry it. It may not be worth it for you. But with Samsung investing in their Galaxy Camera line, and Sony reintroducing the stand alone Walkman, and the hype around Pono, I get the feeling I’m not the only one. So if you have an old MP3 player laying around (don’t we all) give using it again a test run. You might realize you’re happier with it too.
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Nicole is a Software Quality Engineer, music collector, and chronic project starter. In her free time she enjoys reading trashy romance novels, catching up on her game backlog, and bourbon.
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I completely agree. Even though I do carry two phones (though hopefully one will be gone before too much longer), I only use them as an “all-in-one” because of funds. As you said, no matter how many megapixels they SAY the newest phone has, it’s not going to do the job as well as an actual camera. Not being an audiophile, I don’t notice much difference in music between my iPhone, my Android, or my Sansa Clip, but I enjoy carrying the clip because it doesn’t suck down the battery of the phone, and I don’t have to worry about WiFi, since most of my phone music is through Google Music, and not downloaded.
Also, are you planning on doing a review on your new camera? I was looking at the Samsung cameras at Best Buy over the weekend, and I was wondering what you thought?
I hadn’t been planning on it, but I suppose I could. I like it so far, but I’ve only used it a couple times. Basically, it’s the same as the Galaxy Camera minus the Android OS and the screen is smaller. I didn’t find it necessary to spend an extra $100 to get the Galaxy Camera because I can pair it to my phone and get the Android features that way.
I carry one phone… ZTE Awe 800 (Android) and it does everything I need it to do plus be an actual PHONE. 😉 A programmer free of mine carries two smartphones and a tablet and laptop around all the time… which is NUTS. 😉 I do have a Nexus 7 (2013 model) 32Gig that since purchase took the place of MANY of the apps and things jammed into the phone thus freeing up tons of room. I use Spotify or other options for music, so I rarely use any of the 32Gig SD card space in my phone anymore. I don’t do pictures EVER… I enjoy the experience and people that I am with and stopped the Instagram/Facebook posting bullshit that goes on today. LOL. If I ever do take a picture it is often for my own amusement and it is cloud-synced to my Google account and never takes up space. If someone is a photographer/designer/film maker… great, I totally get it… BUT too much of our lives is spent documenting EVERYTHING, and often very poorly too… which really serves no purpose other than ignoring the folks and memories around us.
So your use case is good for a phone. 🙂