Mobile Phone Users Struggle With Hardware Adoption

Ian Lamont writes "A Google executive speaking at the Emerging Technology conference has described a problem that mobile phone carriers and manufacturers have been struggling with over the last few years: Users aren't taking advantage of many phones' hardware-based features. Rich Miner, Google's group manager of mobile platforms, stated that 80% of mobile phones being sold today have cameras on them, yet the number of people who actually know how to use them or get the images off the phones ranges between 10% and 50%, depending on the model. Miner listed several reasons for this state of affairs, including bad UIs and small screens, but added that the participation of companies with software expertise — including Google — would help increase usage of such features."

Comments

I don't @*&!! want a camera in my @*&! pho

[keraneuology]

The Samsung i730 non-camera PDA/smartphone is exactly what I need and want, but I need a replacement as it is showing the wear and tear. I want a smartphone just like this but WITHOUT A *&!*&@ CAMERA! I go in and out of courtrooms and secure facilities all the time. I want to keep my phone with me and I don't want to leave it out in the car where it could be stolen or - even worse - ring without me being there to answer it. Verizon refuses to sell me the phone I want claiming that Samsung and Motorola told them that such phones can't be made. I had an email exchange with Motorola about this issue: Me: I want a bluetooth-enabled smartphone/PDA without a camera. Verizon says that you are refusing to make one. Them: We don't sell cellphones. Talk to Verizon. Me: I did talk to Verizon. They say you won't produce the phone I want to buy. Them: We make cellphones very happy good. Me: I will give you money if you give me a cell phone that has the features I want. Them: ?Script_error

Re:Cell phone companies to blame?

[samkass]

My guess is that this article is just flat-out wrong. I know when I plug my iPhone into my Mac it backs it up, syncs all my contacts, music, and apps, and shows me a preview of all the photos on the phone and asks me if I want to download them in iPhoto. My guess is more than 50% of folks know how to click the "Import" button. It's true that most iPhone users are Windows users, but even there it's pretty easy to sync.

I think Google has selective attention that completely excludes the iPhone right now.

Re:People don't care

[hedwards]

I don't know about that, the real problem is that it's difficult to get a decent phone without a lot of extraneous features. I didn't want most of the features my phone came with, but there weren't really any decent choices which didn't have them.

I don't need or want a camera, mp3 player, date book/calendar or java interface is my phone, and I wouldn't have gotten a phone which had most of those features if not for the extremely limited options without.

But in a sense worse is that the camera, mp3 player and calendar are included but at least with motorola you're stuck paying for additional software if you actually want them to be at all useful.

Re:Cell phone companies to blame?

[fiannaFailMan]

My guess is that this article is just flat-out wrong. I know when I plug my iPhone into my Mac ...

My guess is that he wasn't talking about iPhones. I use a Samsung..... something or other and I've yet to figure out how to get photos off the damn thing or how to lose that annoying 'ringback tone' that I had no idea what it was when I got it and now people don't like when they call me. Nor can I manage my image folders, there's no way to rename them or add new folders. And there's no quick way to delete the dozens of black pictures that it keeps taking on the inside of my pocket.

And when I go through the laboriously slow process of reading email on the damn thing, it won't let me see pdf or doc attachments. Bottom line: I hate the damn thing and I'm getting an iPhone.