Month: September 2010

As I continue the process of deciding whether or not to get a smartphone, there are a few sites that have expressed some similar sentiments, mostly in the form of humorous rants.

The funniest of the bunch is PleaseShutUp.com, which has a hilarious collection of graphics and videos on the craziness that comes with inappropriate cellphone use.  It gives some graphical “advice” on using text messaging instead of a live conversation in critical moments e.g. giving your marriage vows, sitting on the toilet or hanging from the rings in gymnastics.

A recent post on the ZNet blog entitled “Smartphones Are Turning Us Into Idiots” is a colorful rant on the bad habits we are developing by paying more attention to the little screen on the phone than the people, or environment, around us.

They are both funny, in a smart, insightful way, and without saying it they ask the question: “Is there no end in sight?”

According to a recent survey carried in the New York Times, the number one use of smartphones is to play games.

Number 2 is to check the weather.

As you may know, I have been scratching my head wondering whether or not I should buy a smartphone, because I cannot clearly see where they have been designed for the purposes of boosting people’s productivity.

Apparently, I’m not alone — “productivity” ranks a lowly 10th on the list of smartphone uses with a puny 22%, right below “Sports.”

Clearly, the manufacturers are giving people what they want.

Or are they?

Obviously, I’m not getting what I want and neither are those companies who are buying them for their employees, who must look at research like this and wonder what the payback is for the US$100 a month they are paying in subscription fees.

Would a more intelligent design make a difference?

The article can be found here: How Do People Use Their Smartphones?

Here’s the graphic from the article.