RANDOM RANTS | Technologically blunt

Yasir is skeptical that smartphones, with all their glorious abilities, are fit for everyone or if everyone is fit to own one.

(Credit: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla)

Fifteen years ago I had the coolest gadget ever, it was not totally mine, it was shared between me and my brother and was absolutely amazing.

I could actually put it in my pocket, go out and talk with friends from anywhere I wanted, for it was a cordless telephone! It was so cool it even changed colors when seen from different angles! Since those times phones had been rapidly advancing, they started getting smaller, thinner and more functional. People started bragging about things like: my phone has a colored screen, mine can play music, mine has a good camera and so on. I remember i was once proud about my “abo lamba”; my phone has a flash light!
Then things started to get confusing.

Smart phones entered the market creating a technological revolution. They made lives easier and more fun. Thousands, maybe millions, of applications about anything you want; news, maps, videos, voice commands, books and social  networking applications were available. Some software developers ran out of ideas and started making strange things: a talking cat, gun sounds, broken screen wallpaper and who knows what’s next, maybe they will make a “how to make shawerma” app or a “where to go if you get attacked by a dog” app.
These additions are pretty useful, but they are not made for everybody. This was a conversation with a friend who is a “why do you want to buy this? Because I can” type of person. He is also an Apple freak.
Him: I want the iPhone 4S®.
Me: why do you want it?
Him: it is very good.
Me: define “very good”.
Him: it is better than the last one, it is stronger, faster and has more functions, plus the camera is fantastic.
Me: but you never use the functions, you only use it for calling and texting and you never complained about speed. You don’t even use the camera and you don’t even know how to use the apps.
Him: no, it is good. It even has LTE
Me: LT what?!
Him: I don’t know but they say its very good!
Me: alright I give up, you are right.. just go and buy it.

What’s really unnerving is that such people are fine being broke and missing meals to own a Super AMOLED Quad Core LTE  phone, with a name longer than my social security number. They will probably never understand or utilize it fully. The era of putting phones in the middle of the coffee table for show is over. Chinese manufacturers faked the iPhone 5® before it even reached China. I know an almost-homeless Chinese neighbor who is carrying a Samsung Galaxy S3®. Fake, but if you give it to Mr. Samsung himself he would not be able to tell the difference. The conclusion is: if you can’t use it optimally, don’t buy it!

It is not fascinating anymore, it is dumb!

Featured image: World Bank