Wednesday, October 19, 2011

What is a smart phone?

Recently, my kids started pushing me to buy a new mobile phone for myself. Not that the kids really care about what I am buying, they want the old one as hand-me-down. They want to use the old mobile phone as gaming device. Anyway, as I am being pushed, I am looking into the market of smartphones. But what is a smart phone...?

Is it a phone that shuts down after enough work hours and tells me "family time"? Does it support "social integration", i.e., so that I talk with other people next to me and not just with folks on the phone (do you happen to enter rooms where everybody is talking, but only on the phone and not with each other)? Does it have an intelligent camera to enjoy a scenery live and not just as picture (there was a beautiful sunset over the Alps on a recent flight)? What happens when I press the "home" button? How well works the navigation assistance with a long shopping list in a crowded mall? And does it work without recharging for a whole week?

We'll see what phone I find. Any recommendations? My kids are pushing...