smartphones
Things you could never do without a smartphone
The smartphone is probably the most underestimated digital gadget ever. Not because of people’s otherwise great track record of properly forecasting the often huge impact of new technology on the world. It is not so great. But because the smartphone still is widely considered just a luxury good; a mobile version of the PC, allowing people to do what they also could do on their PC, just on the go, on a smaller screen, with certain limitations and added flexibility, personalization and convenience.
It is true that the smartphone enables us to perform many of the tasks that we previously only could do when sitting at our Desktop PC and notebooks.
But the big deal about smartphones is that they let us do so much more. Tasks that have not been imaginable in a pre-smartphone world. These are the actual superpowers of smartphones. Superpowers with dramatic, life-altering consequences.
Below I tried to compile a list of examples to prove this point. Try to do any of this without utilizing smartphones. Continue Reading
Do you want to be the guy or girl sitting at the café playing with your watch?
The presentation and upcoming launch of the Apple Watch has put a major spotlight on the smartwatch category. There still are many questions about the market potential of the category overall as well as about the potential of Apple’s new gadget, which the company tries to position against classic high-end and luxury watches instead of other smartwatches.
According to some comments I have read in the wake of the Apple Watch presentation, one of the alleged benefits of mini-computer watches is that this new kind of product frees us from our smartphones. Smartwatches in general and the Apple Watch specifically would reduce the need to pull out the phone. This would save people time and give them back some awareness about their environments, since they would just perform brief glances on their watch, instead of being glued to their smartphone displays for extensive amounts of time. Continue Reading
3 months with the iPhone 6+
3 months ago I purchased an iPhone 6+. Since then, several people have asked me whether I am happy with my purchase and how the increased size (5.5-inch) has impacted my mobile life, in both good and bad ways. Even though I do not want to focus too much on gadgets here on meshedsociety.com I believe that a quick Q&A style list of impressions and thoughts might be appreciated by some. After all, mobile devices are becoming the main way in which billions of people connect with each other. There is no meshed society without usable smart mobile devices.
As a context: I switched to the 6+ from an iPhone 4S. Thus the noticed improvements in display size and performance are more significant for me than for somebody upgrading from an iPhone 5S or device with similar dimensions. In addition to the 6+ I also own an iPad Mini.
And a note: This is neither a detailed hardware review, nor will I comment on performance or the quality of iOS. My intention is to provide people with possibly helpful information about what kind of smartphone size they should opt for.
Let’s get started:
Do I think I made the right choice by purchasing the big iPhone 6?
Yes. I have not regretted my choice once or thought that I should have opted for the smaller version.
Do I think that the 6+ is the best choice for everybody?
Definitely not. It is perfect for me but actually I believe that most users would be better served with the regular iPhone 6.
Who is the 6+ for?
In my eyes, it is mainly for people who do a lot of reading on their mobile device. That applies to me. I spend several hours every day reading on a mobile device. Until the 6+ came I had never enjoyed doing that on a smartphone. On smaller screens, the overall reading experience simply sucks, even if you increase the font size. There is a reason why books and e-readers do usually not come with these tiny dimensions. With the 6+ however I for the first time have come to a point where I fully enjoy reading on my phone. The display is still small for that purpose, but after a quick period of getting used to it, it does not feel anymore like a bad compromise. I did a couple of flights in the past days and, to my own surprise, witnessed myself leaving the iPad Mini in my bag. That never happened before.
Is there a point of owning an iPhone 6+ and a 7-inch tablet such as the iPad Mini?
I am not sure yet. There are some general benefits of using multiple devices, such as a reduced risk of being completely out of battery on all devices one carries (e.g. on a lengthy trip). Also, if one watches lots of movies or videos or likes to write texts such as blog posts, a tablet is still the better choice. However, if one even has a lightweight notebook, that one might do these jobs better than the tablet. So Iet me put it that way: If somebody owns an iPhone 6+ and a state of the art notebook, a 7-inch tablet definitely loses a part of its purpose.
Who is the 6+ not for?
For people who have small hands. For people who want to be able to type fast with only one hand or while walking without risking to drop the device (which is really hard with the 6+) and for those who do not spend extensive amounts with reading text on their smartphones. For short e-mails, texting, social networking, messaging, casual gaming and the occasionally YouTube video, I believe that the display-related gains in user experience are smaller than the added discomfort due to the size.
Does the 6+ fit into an average pocket?
Yes, but it might stick out a bit in certain seating positions. I never felt it was an issue, but it is noticeable.
Is there anything else worth mentioning about the 6+?
The battery life is fantastic. My enthusiasm here might be influenced by the fact that my old 4S’ battery had gotten extremely weak. But proper tests also show that the 6+ has a stronger battery life than the 6.
That’s about it. If there is anything else you are wondering, feel free to post your questions in the comment section.