Waste Of Space or Still Quite Useful?
Published by Tzer2 at 4:05 UTC, November 12th 2008
Have you ever looked at a feature on your phone and wondered why the heck it's there? In an editorial on the topic, All About Symbian takes a look at five functions that are perhaps no longer needed on modern handsets, yet continue to be added to new models.
Waste Of Space or Still Quite Useful?
The most remarked-upon thing about mobile phones in recent years is the explosion in the number of features they contain. Even the cheapest models may have dozens of different uses, and indeed one of the biggest complaints from some people is that it's impossible to buy a phone that is just a phone any more.
But practically all of us use our phones for a little bit more than calls, we all glance at the display to see the time for example, and texting is almost universally used. So it's not a question of wanting to get rid of every non-call feature, it's simply getting rid of the features we don't use. The trouble is, different people use different features, so it's often simpler and cheaper to just include lots of features as standard.
However, if you were asked by a manufacturer, which features would you tell them to get rid of? Here are five that are arguably surplus to requirements, though there are arguments in favour of keeping them too.
1) Infrared Ports
A long time ago, before the days of HSPA, GPRS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the only way to transmit data wirelessly between devices was an infrared port. You lined the two devices up with their IR transceivers facing each other, and they would transmit whatever data was required.
IR offers very little advantage today, as Bluetooth does practically everything IR can do plus much much more, and can even do it without a direct line-of-sight. IR port hardware also takes up valuable space within the handset which could be devoted to other things. Yet there are IR ports on some very new Symbian devices such as the Nokia E71. Is anyone actually still using this feature?
On the other hand... Infrared also left a heck of a lot of legacy devices out there, especially in the business community. If IR ports cost very little to add to a phone, and a manufacturer wants to guarantee as much connectivity as possible on their business models, why not include them? Floppy disk drives survived in PCs long after the development of flash and optical memory for exactly this reason.
2) Visual Radio
Way back in 2004 Nokia launched a venture in association with HP called Visual Radio, which as its name suggests allows graphical content to be downloaded to phones in sync with transmissions on selected FM stations. You select the station in the phone's FM tuner application, and images relevant to the station's current output (including information such as "song now playing" and interactive content such as competitions) appear on the screen.
In real life the number of countries and number of FM stations within each country which support Visual Radio is fairly small. What's more, you often have to have the right network operator in order to access VR content, so the odds are stacked against being able to use the service at all. This writer had even worse luck: with the exception of the 5320 XpressMusic they could not get Visual Radio to work on any other phone, despite having the right station, right location and right phone network.
Even when it does work, the advantages of the service are no longer clear in an age where more and more phones have high quality web browsers capable of displaying ever more complex radio station websites. Even those stations that do support Visual Radio often just have a placeholder graphic showing the station's logo, presumably because they don't feel it's worth the effort of adding content to VR right now.
At the time of writing the official Visual Radio website was down, with a link to Nokia's own site as the only content. Have they pulled the plug on the service?
On the other hand... Visual Radio obviously costs very little to add to a phone, it's essentially just a simple pre-written application that accesses the FM tuner hardware and displays simple content downloaded from the internet. There probably wouldn't be any cost savings by getting rid of it, and maybe it could achieve some kind of useful critical mass over time if it's included in enough models? The market on cheap phones without advanced browsers might be significant, especially in the developing world where radio is more widely listened to anyway.
3) Videophone cameras
How many people actually use their phone's video call function? Videophone ability is available on a very wide range of phones now, even on cheaper mid-range models, but it's still relatively rare to see people using it in public. In many ways videophones have been doomed since their first tentative beginnings on many many episodes of Tomorrow's World, as video calls lack the privacy and convenience of voice calls or texts, and it's quite hard to make a video call while walking down the street or wandering round a shop.
On the other hand... Videophone do indeed require a bit more privacy than normal voice calls, but perhaps people use it more at home, in a similar way to PC webcams. And, more importantly, videophones have a huge potential for deaf users who may use them to communicate through sign language (this writer saw someone doing just that in a railway station recently). On top of all that, videophone cameras serve a useful second function as a self-portrait camera/camcorder, albeit with a lower resolution than the main camera.
4) 2.5mm headphone sockets
Ahhh, the oldest of old chestnuts in the mobile music world: they look like ordinary headphone sockets, they work like ordinary headphone sockets, but by golly you can't use normal headphones with them because they're 1mm too narrow. 2.5mm sockets were originally intended for use with mono headsets in the pre-music phone age, but now that practically every model is MP3 compatible and has an FM radio the case for 3.5mm is much stronger. 3.5mm gives you the option of using practically any audio attachment you want, including top-of-the-range headphones and even full-size external speakers, while 2.5mm audio accessories tend to be much rarer and lower quality.
On the other hand... 2.5mm sockets are physically smaller than 3.5mm ones, so they allow the phones to be physically smaller too (though that seems to be rather undermined by svelte feature-packed models such as the Nokia 5310 including 3.5mm sockets).
The 8600 Luna was the first Nokia phone to dump the charging socket back in 2007, and receives power entirely through its microUSB port. The Symbian-based N85 has followed in its footsteps, but so far USB charging remains rare on Nokia devices.
5) Dedicated charging sockets
It's been possible for some years now to recharge a mobile device through its USB port. This allows it to draw current from practically any computer or laptop, which means you only have to carry one cable with you for both power and data transfer. Even if you prefer charging devices the traditional way with mains electricity, that's also possible through a charger with a suitable USB plug on it. There really is no need for a separate charging socket on most portable devices any more, as the USB socket is there anyway. Why have two sockets when one will do?
On the other hand... Being specific to one company, there are a heck of a lot of Nokia chargers out there, and you can't use USB charging if you don't have access to a computer or USB-socket charger (though that is undermined somewhat by Nokia's replacement of the old thick charging socket with a thinner one a couple of years ago, if they changed once they could change again).
Categories: Comment, Hardware
Platforms: General
Feature Discussion
The radio needs the headphones as an aerial, so rarely gets used.
But my biggest two waste of space features on all of my S60 phones are:
IM, cause no bugger supports it, you can make it work using a 3rd party gateway but it tends to be unreliable.
PTT, no network in the UK supports it, so in the UK at least, pointless
Other things I can suggest are:
1) Infrared Port - no one uses it now. All prefer either bluetooth or the data cable. Plus IR is the slowest.
2) Lifeblog - Dont think anyone has ever used it
1) Nokia should make something like IR Remote built into the phone so that you can control AV equipment..
2) secondary camera originally is meant for video calls which many people do not use simply because of the cost factor. what would resurrect the use of this if IM programs like MSN can use it over WiFi for video conferencing.
3) Dedicated Charging - mainly the fact that USB ampere is too low to be really "decent" in charging anything (you cannot fast charge through USB in comparison to a proper dedicated charger). Yes its good to have a standard "one size fits all", but
yeah.. visual radio needs to go.. not sure about 2.5mm sockets given theres some converters for it.. PTT needs to go too (useless)..
Have you ever been to a conference or an expo and wanted to transfer a business card? Have you tried doing it over Bluetooth? If you have, you'll know what a pain in the backside it is. With so many people around, it takes forever for your phone to search for Bluetooth devices. Bluetooth was never designed to be operated with hundreds of other Bluetooth devices in range.
IR is simple and works quickly in these kind of situations.
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Originally Posted by bchliu
2) secondary camera originally is meant for video calls which many people do not use simply because of the cost factor. what would resurrect the use of this if IM programs like MSN can use it over WiFi for video conferencing.
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If you don't want a feature on a phone, DON'T BUY A PHONE WITH THAT FEATURE ON ! (Duh).
Thank you.
Kill it, burn it, and nail it to a wall, or at least let me uninstall it :)
Although I have fond memories of controlling TVs in shop windows using irRemote, I barely use IR and wouldn't miss it if it eventually disappears. For those that still want it, perhaps some clever peripheral company will come along and make a Bluetooth or microUSB IR transmitter that you can connect to your phone.
Also, I totally agree that a microUSB socket is all you need. It's true that there are lots of Nokia chargers out there, but all you need is for someone to make a Nokia-to-USB adaptor cable and you're sorted. They could even bundle it in the box with new phones (just like they did when they introduced the smaller sized Nokia charger plug a few years ago).
The neat thing is that (bog-standard-/mini-/micro-)USB is standardised so any phone or gadget manufacturer can use it (and several already do). Imagine that - some day you might be able to take a single charger with you on holiday and use it to charge all your gadgets!
Having said all that, it's inevitable that people will not always use all the stuff in their phones. People's interests and requirements are too diverse for manufacturers to make perfect phones tailored to each individual. You need to find some kind of best fit. However, I think that's where neat UIs come into play. For example, I think S60's ability to re-arrange the app menus is an incredibly useful (and under-reated) feature. One of the first things I do on a new S60 phone is shift everything around so I get quick, easy access to the stuff I like and hide away the stuff I don't. (I always make a special folder at the bottom which is a dumping ground for useless apps or things I'll use once and then never again like: PTT, Help, About, operator add-ons, Tutorial etc. etc.)
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
If you don't want a feature on a phone, DON'T BUY A PHONE WITH THAT FEATURE ON ! (Duh).
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Originally Posted by cirrus
Also, I totally agree that a microUSB socket is all you need. It's true that there are lots of Nokia chargers out there, but all you need is for someone to make a Nokia-to-USB adaptor cable and you're sorted. They could even bundle it in the box with new phones (just like they did when they introduced the smaller sized Nokia charger plug a few years ago).
The neat thing is that (bog-standard-/mini-/micro-)USB is standardised so any phone or gadget manufacturer can use it (and several already do). |
I agree on IR, 2.5mm, and the Visual Radio. However, being in the States, I've found a better use for the front-facing camera - MMS photos/videos. It records just the right length, and at decent quality, considering it's going to be sent over MMS. I send little videos all the time to Mrs. Guru, it's greatness.
I've been saying we need some company, ANY company to break video calling free of the carriers and allow us to use it over 3G or WiFi for a long time, but to no avail.
And yes, Dear God PLEASE, dump that stupid little 2mm power plug and move to something....ANYTHING that I'm not liable to break so friggen easily.
I've never really figured out what that IM app is doing there, because I've never managed to set it up for any of the common IM services, which all seem to have their own mobile clients anyway. Then, of course, there's the ones that could be good but aren't implemented in most countries, like PTT. The GSM interactive services are also expensive old hat; I don't know anybody who uses them, and certainly not on a smartphone where there are better alternatives, so what's it doing there in S60? "My Nokia" was also half-baked from the very start but can't be uninstalled. And yes, Lifeblog was somebody's 'two-point-oh' wet dream and should be removed. I once looked at that 'Presentations' thing that's in Gallery; it seems to be a clever idea but I've never once actually come across standalone .svg files, except as examples; shouldn't it be (/isn't it) just part of the browser?
The general clutter and confusion of S60 is one thing I can't and won't defend from criticism by iPhone fanboys.
Have you never used IrRemote? That's so incredibly useful!!! :o
That feature is the camera, I work with many companies who have corporate policies against cameras due to security concerns and you'd be hard pressed to find a good and feature laden smart phone that doesn't have a camera and that includes the Nokia E-series phones. Even the "venerable" enterprise mainstay Blackberry's now all have cameras!
1. 3D tones
2. The default bookmarks in the browser (the folders). They're seldom filled with anything, and when they are, it's a single link (I've checked across multiple devices). Why put one link into a folder?
3. Streaming links in the Gallery - does anyone use this, and for what? With Nokia Internet Radio built-in to the newer phones, and Mobbler available, what on earth is this for?
4. What's the difference in 'Music Tracks' and 'Sound Clips'?
just to name a few
It's just terribly under-marketed. No box stickers, no online ads, no softbutton assignments for quick and direct access.
On PC: How can anyone deny a usefulness to see all the phone's content in one go? Even when the phone is lost (I mean the PC Lifeblog app)? Searchable? Backed-up? No?
On Phone: How can people endure thru tons of clicking to look up thru all new SMS first, then new calls, then new photos taken etc?
LifeBlog is also under-integrated.
Left out are Notes, Sound Recordings, Calls.
If it was developed further it would have been possible to fully backup, transplant, upload, maintain whole digital life of the phone, with help of a PC.
PC Suite vanes in comparison with such possibilities.
PC Lifeblog provides a way for two-way sync of media, for instance - many geeks still crave about that, unknowing.
Heck, this have become a part of Ovi, how can you people denounce it? :) even if the removed on-the-phone app, the PC part and sync profiles would still be needed for Ovi Photos. And Photos is just a name change with more featuritis instead of tighter integration.
For more thoughts related pls see my blog http://cubeover.blogspot.com.
1. Nah, I like 3D tones. I just had to change my ringtone yesterday because my PHB has bought an iPhoney and set it to one that was very similar to mine. So I chose a really freaky one and set it in 3D ringones to sound like it's in a forest. I'm such an ageing hippy.
2. Hell yes. And you can't get rid of them.
3. Yes, I use streaming RealPlayer links but I don't know what they're doing in Gallery; why not in 'Music'? I have all the BBC live radio feeds (not available in shoutcast atm) set up there, and NASA TV: sometimes I sit in bed watching a live feed of an astronaut fumbling around with a spanner - brilliant.
4. Aren't "sound clips" the ones that you make with "recorder" and "tracks" opens the music app?
Basically, the whole UI needs rationalising, but I didn't go into it in too much depth because the theme of Steve's feature was about old, redundant things. We could spend a week pointing out how S60 needs to be simplified and rationalised.