Are Consumers "Too Dumb" to use Mobile Phones?

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.wacom-components.com/english/news_and_events/nw0022.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.wacom-components.com/english/news_and_events/nw0022.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"85 per cent of consumers admit to being 'too dumb' to access or use mobile services due to increasing device complexity, finding mobile phones more complex to use than 2 years ago. Nearly three quarters feel that handsets have become too difficult to navigate around. ...200 mobile phone users were surveyed over a two week period during October 2004 in the run-up to Christmas. The research revealed that although 78 per cent of consumers now own handsets through which they can access data centric mobile services such as games, ring tones and information services only a third of consumers are using them. 76 per cent of respondents were not using them as they were too complex to access and operate, with only 10 per cent citing cost factors for lack of use and only 6 per cent lack of interest in the type of mobile services that are currently on offer."</i><br /><br />Is it too dumb, too lazy, or just don't care? A lot of people don't need the wide range of functionality that their phone offers. If you asked my mother how she would go about checking email on her cell phone, she wouldn't be able to answer. Does that mean she's too dumb, or just that she doesn't need that feature?

[pjtrader]

As a software designer, I can relate to this issue. We continue to be asked my a vocal minority to add features to a product. The "we want more" syndrome even as we know the majority will not use the features.

Does that make them any less desirable? No. But it's not cost feasbile to have several versions of a product - the streamlined no-nonsense version and the feature packed one. And, of course, you have to recover your development costs with the more costly version.

A casual person like me really doesn't NEED to check their email every four and a half minutes. Today's culture is teetering on the edge of information overload and expectations that people are always immediately available through devices such as these. Do I occasionally WANT the capabilty? Of course!

There are a lot of issues you raise here. Everything from the costs involved in data connectivity vs. voice connectivity to the expectations of a connected culture. No easy answers though.

Cheers,
Pam

[altden2002]

The link is broken.

[Mike Temporale]

The link is broken.

Both links seem to work fine for me. It could be a problem with your ISP. Which one is causing you a problem?

[allenalb]

i think when people are admitting they are too dumb, what there are really doing is rationalizing the fact that the phones are too tedious. since i have an ipaq and and mpx200, the only thing i use the mpx200 for is wakeup alarms in the morning and phone calls. it just takes too long to wade through the menus to get the phone to do anything useful.

sure, you could rearrange the shortcuts so the most frequently used ones are in front, but the most frequently used apps on my ipaq take up 4 tabs on cLaunch. there just isn't a good way to do it on the smartphone.

maybe if they start making them with a touchscreen, and include a couple of those fingertip stylii it will get better :)

[Jerry Raia]

They dont seem to mention SmartPhones or note if they were included or not. I think most people who buy SmartPhones know what they are doing for the most part. I've been in stores watching salespeople pitching the camera/email/sms phone to the person with the 'deer in the headlights" look on their face. They don't however have to use all that stuff to make phone calls. Since there are no more "StarTacs" as long as all the extra stuff is there but out of the way for those who don't need it things will be fine.

Then you have us in here editing home screen xml pages and hacking the registry trying to make the phone fly or change into a car.

I ask you....
who is dumb? :silly: