Are Phones Getting Too Complicated To Use?

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7833944.stm' target='_blank'>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7833944.stm</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry, research suggests. Some 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts. Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up."</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>And we're not even talking about smartphones here - even most 'dumb' phones now have the ability to access email, browse the web, access on-line services, and handle third-party applications. The problem of course is that (<em>pace</em> Apple) there has been little progress in terms of making phones easier to use. Even enthusiasts can stumble on what should be relatively simple settings, much less some of the more obscure network settings (Confession: I still haven't figure out how Windows Mobile makes a distinction between "My Work Network" and "Internet" connections, and which one is used when). Back in the day, it took me a couple of hours to set up a GPRS connection on a dumb phone, and that was with automatic settings sent by my carrier as well as telephone assistance. Things have gotten better since then, but troubleshooting can still be a nightmare for the less-technically inclined. I'd like to ask our readers: do you agree with the research here? Would you use more services if they were less complicated to set up? Let us know!</p>

[Reid Kistler]

In a way, new phones are much like Microsoft Word: The basics are reasonably easy to use, customization is more difficult than it should be (partly because of a lack of clear explanations), and there are more features than the Vast Majority of users will ever need - but those features are There, and the user KNOWS that he/she is not utilizing "everything" the system can do - and so they become Frustrated: What "goodies" am I missing? How could this be better used? (Easier; Faster...).

Personally place part of the blame on the demise of the Printed Manual - or even ANY Manual: often all you get now is a Help System, and these vary wildly as to usefulness!

But manuals of any sort are Expensive to put together, and actually providing a printed copy ups the ante, so am not holding my breath for a widespread return :(.

[Lord_Zelo]

As great as having a manual around sounds, most people just get their phone out of the box, put the manual back In the box and put the box up on a shelf somewhere and forget about it. So even though most phones do come with manuals, no one looks at them.

I learned many a useful feature from reading the manual to my phone. Some great features will always be burried inside the device never to be discovered because the manual for the phone is collecting dust in a deep dark corner of the closet.

If you don't have the time and a pretty good deal of patience, I recommend not getting new feature crazy devices. Keep it simple and stick with what you know, learn everything about that and then move on. It's much less frustrating learning about something similar to what you already have than learning something totally different.

[Pony99CA]

One thing I like to do with any new phone (feature phones, at least) is go through all of the menu items and see what's there. If I find something that I don't understand, I either try it or check the manual (or search online).

That's a little harder to do with smart phones because of all of the applications they can have.

Steve