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Smartphones–It is more than just hardware
There is a lot of talk amongst the smartphone community at the moment about the speed at which new devices are being launched. Only 5 minutes after you purchased your last phone and there is a new and improved version. There are not huge differences, but slight tweaks as the technology is not either there or users do not demand the new technology yet.
Take NFC, it has been around for a couple of years in the UK but it is only just starting to become popular, but it is still a few years away from mass consumer adoption.
It does now seem that manufacturers are slowly realising that it is not helping them, as they have more devices to support and their customers do not necessarily want or require a new phones every 3-6 months, but every 12-24.
So this is good news for consumers as your phone wont be out dated so quickly but what we have started to see is that it is not always with hardware differences manufacturers are differentiating their devices with.
Take HTC they put a lot of time and effort into Sense, Samsung have TouchWiz, Sony Timescape and Motorola MotoBlur. They do this for good reason, it differentiates the devices and although you may not realise, it alters quite heavily how you interact with a phone. Switch brands and realised that the new phone does not do it in the same way as your last one?!
All are designed to improve the way you interact with the device but also get you hooked on the way of doing something so you desire it, the hardware on occasions is secondary to the software.
You could have the exact same operating system and customisations on a 1GHz processor device or on a dual-core 1.4GHz but because it works just the same on either it makes no difference to the user that its a dual-core processor.
Now a technical user may argue differently, but not that I wish to make a sweeping generalisation, but think about your mum or nan using technology they are often not bothered because what they have works.
BUT its often the things that you do not notice. When you look at a new phone, how much time do you spend considering the software customisation (Timescape v HTC Sense) in comparison to the hardware and design, I bet it is a lot less time?
So when you get your new phone how much time do you spend finding out how it does something or wishing it did it like your old phone?
Ever considered the position and size of buttons? Wondered why one screen attracts fingerprints and the other doesn’t?!
Did you know that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has an Oleophobic surface and that the Motorola RAZR is splash resistant….you might not have but these are just two examples of small things that when paired with others makes a big difference to your overall experience.
The point I am trying to make here is that manufacturers are putting time and effort into software for which they do not always get credit. Samsung may have the ‘technically’ best phone but the HTC may be the most suitable for you because of the other less noticeable tweaks.
Just consider your phone now and the bits that you really like and see if the device you are considering as a replacement has those facilities…the new device might not be quite so desireable/
Clove Technology’s Blog – for the latest news, reviews and advice on smartphones, tablets and accessories.
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