SMJ Solutions

Ideal Cell Phone

June 9th, 2006

The company I work for is changing cell phone providers so I get to choose new cell phone. What a frustrating process! I was extremely disappointed with the cell phones I had to choose from, and they were all the latest models. Today’s cell phones seem to be trying to be the one true convergence device. I don’t want a convergence device, I want a mobile phone.

Here are my requirements for a good cell phone:

Must have features

• Make and receive calls

Most of my phone calls on my cell phone are relatively short and to the point. It’s not my only phone, as I will use a landline if one is available. However with the long distance deals and nighttime minutes, I occasionally use it to talk to far-flung relatives.

• Storing phone numbers

I don’t have a million contacts; I’m not a salesman nor a socialite. I have anywhere from 30-60 names of friends, family, and co-workers along with their phone numbers programmed into my phone.

• Clock

I don’t wear a watch, so when I need to know the time of day, I look at my phone.

Optional features

• Bluetooth

It would be nice to have this capability to make a connection to my computer to transfer files or edit my contacts. However, my commute is only about 20 minutes, so a bluetooth headset isn’t very practical. Since bluetooth has more capabilities and seems more widely supported now than infrared, bluetooth would be a nice to have for my cell phone.

• Text messaging

I rarely send text messages; I average 5 to 10 text messages per year, mostly replying to text messages from my little brother. However, I have sent a couple messages surreptitiously during long meetings mainly to relieve boredom or to tease another coworker who is stuck in the same meeting.

• Camera

This is a very optional feature for me, but camera phones are ubiquitous now. I have very little occasion to take pictures with my cell phone — I have a regular camera for that. However, if I were in or witnessed a car wreck, a camera would be nice to have. If I were shopping for a house or car without my wife and wanted some pictures to show her when I got back, a camera would be nice to have. Unfortunately, the reasons for having a camera on my cell phone aren’t very compelling, so it would be a feature I’d be willing to lose, especially since the camera features tend to require extra buttons, size, and weight.

Useless Features

• Video Camera

I don’t need to take crappy 15 second video clips with my phone; I can’t even imagine a time where having that capability would come in handy.

• Music player

I don’t need my phone to play mp3s; I have an iPod for my music. Taking out the music play means you can remove the flash memory cards — who needs 512MB cards for holding additional contacts? The internal memory will already hold 1000, 950 of which I don’t need.

• Videos and Games

I don’t need to have video highlights downloaded to my phone; I have a TV for that. I don’t need gaming on my phone; I have an xbox for that. I would appreciate having that bandwidth to improve the call quality instead.

A phone that met this criteria would work for me. Removing all of the useless features that so many of today’s phones include would leave a phone that was just the right size for my pocket, had great battery life.

So, which phone did I choose? The Motorola E815 — probably the most feature bloated phone in existence. But, it was free. If my ideal phone exists, I haven’t seen it yet. Do you know of an ideal phone for me? What is your ideal cell phone?

Entry Filed under: Hardware