From Forbes
Excerpts from the article
Actually this is a bit of an interesting perspective. It makes Japan look like a degrading society since there is less emphasis on the culture being tied to technology. I remember when I was in Middle School and High School, I thought Japan was the greatest place on Earth because all of these technological advancements they had on the United States in the consumer technology area. Even though I still am a bit of nerd for this, I lost a lot interest in Japan because it seems they lost their momentum.
In the United States, only 60% of people actually have smart phones. People in the 18 to 30 year old group, about 10% to 13% of them are owning flip phones themselves. However, there are arguments about flip phones being Hip. I think it is superficial in thought, but then again I hold onto my father's old Commodore Vic20 because I think it is cool.
I own a flip phone myself. However, I do it because I don't see any need to actually own a smart phone. I think there are a lot of considerations in place.
a) The Bill is cheaper
I pay only $20 for my phone bill. I don't really make calls because my social circle sucks. I prefer going up to strangers and starting a conversation anyways. As it stands, I'm looking at a few plans that will help me cut it in half. But even if you needed unlimited text and calling, I could buy that for $35. To get a plan from Verizon, you need to pay a minimum of $50. That is a 42% increase in costs.
b) 95% of apps are usable without a phone feature
There are some things you obviously can't use on your phone like a GPS feature. However, as long as you have access to Wi-Fi, you can do without it.
c) You can buy Smartphone esque items that will be cheaper in the long run
If you compare the devices and their plans, it will be cheaper in the long run to buy their wi-fi only items.
Apple
iPod touch (US prices)
16GB, $199
32GB, $249
64GB, $299
iPhones (US prices w/o plans accounted, a minimum of $50/month for a plan)
iPhone 5 c
-8GB, $0
iPhone 5 s
-16GB, $99
-32GB, $149
iPhone 6
-16GB, $199
-64GB, $299
-128GB, $399
iPhone 6 plus
-16GB, $299
-64GB, $399
-128GB, $499
d) Most people hate their smart phones
It is a bit of a paradox that people would buy what they hate. It seems a lot of people now treat their smart phones as necessary evils then something to make their lives better. All of I have to do is pull out my flip phone and people gasp then comment on their old flip-phone they used to have which they loved so much. Then they explain they would own a flip phone "...if I didn't need a smart phone." It seems a smart phone is an indicator of how well you are controlled.
What are your thoughts on flip-phone ownership?
Excerpts from the article
Quote:Quote:
...upon a time Japan was the world leader in mobile phones. Long before the iPhone, Japanese cell phones had already been surfing the net for years. Japanese telecommunications giant NTT Docomo released a mobile Internet surfing service called i-mode in 1999 that were accessed by cell phones that were way advanced beyond their time. While Japanese people were playing games, surfing the web, and even watching television on sleek flip phones, their counterparts in the United States were still making calls and punching out texts on tiny screens.
Unfortunately, even up until the release of the iPhone in 2007, Japan’s advanced cell phones never really picked up outside of the country...
...Softbank , at the time a struggling mobile phone and internet service provider staked their fortune on the new “hard to type on” “will never succeed in Japan” iPhone and made out like bandits. Gradually, the iPhone became “The Phone” in Japan.
Quote:Quote:
...dumb-phones are making an unlikely comeback. 10.58 million units of flip phones were shipped out in 2014, a 5.8 percent increase from 2013. That’s also the first time in 7 years that flip phones sales increased. Smart phones, on the other hand, are not doing so well. Only 27.7 million units were shipped out last year, a 5.3 percent decrease from 2013.
Quote:Quote:
There are several ways to explain this rise. One could be the demographic changes Japan is undergoing. As is well-known, Japan has a low birth rate coupled with an aging society. And obviously old folks here would have more trouble navigating the touch screens and the various apps of a smart phone. Most only need to use two basic functions in a cell phone: calling and texting.
Another reason explaining the comeback of flip phones is that it’s simply cheaper than a smart phone. The other reason is durability. The phones are notoriously difficult to break and Delphia Putinsky, a bilingual tour guide in Japan, says she keeps her flip-phone precisely for that reason.
Quote:Quote:
Finally, there’s also undeniably one thing that flip phones surpasses the smart phone in: holding a charge for more than one day.
Actually this is a bit of an interesting perspective. It makes Japan look like a degrading society since there is less emphasis on the culture being tied to technology. I remember when I was in Middle School and High School, I thought Japan was the greatest place on Earth because all of these technological advancements they had on the United States in the consumer technology area. Even though I still am a bit of nerd for this, I lost a lot interest in Japan because it seems they lost their momentum.
In the United States, only 60% of people actually have smart phones. People in the 18 to 30 year old group, about 10% to 13% of them are owning flip phones themselves. However, there are arguments about flip phones being Hip. I think it is superficial in thought, but then again I hold onto my father's old Commodore Vic20 because I think it is cool.
I own a flip phone myself. However, I do it because I don't see any need to actually own a smart phone. I think there are a lot of considerations in place.
a) The Bill is cheaper
I pay only $20 for my phone bill. I don't really make calls because my social circle sucks. I prefer going up to strangers and starting a conversation anyways. As it stands, I'm looking at a few plans that will help me cut it in half. But even if you needed unlimited text and calling, I could buy that for $35. To get a plan from Verizon, you need to pay a minimum of $50. That is a 42% increase in costs.
b) 95% of apps are usable without a phone feature
There are some things you obviously can't use on your phone like a GPS feature. However, as long as you have access to Wi-Fi, you can do without it.
c) You can buy Smartphone esque items that will be cheaper in the long run
If you compare the devices and their plans, it will be cheaper in the long run to buy their wi-fi only items.
Apple
iPod touch (US prices)
16GB, $199
32GB, $249
64GB, $299
iPhones (US prices w/o plans accounted, a minimum of $50/month for a plan)
iPhone 5 c
-8GB, $0
iPhone 5 s
-16GB, $99
-32GB, $149
iPhone 6
-16GB, $199
-64GB, $299
-128GB, $399
iPhone 6 plus
-16GB, $299
-64GB, $399
-128GB, $499
d) Most people hate their smart phones
It is a bit of a paradox that people would buy what they hate. It seems a lot of people now treat their smart phones as necessary evils then something to make their lives better. All of I have to do is pull out my flip phone and people gasp then comment on their old flip-phone they used to have which they loved so much. Then they explain they would own a flip phone "...if I didn't need a smart phone." It seems a smart phone is an indicator of how well you are controlled.
What are your thoughts on flip-phone ownership?