I bought my first muzik(that's how they spelt it) phone in 2006 for INR 18000 :). Yeah that was a lot of money at that time, probably from my first few salaries. It was a music phone craze at that time. I remember the joy of listening to "Chand sifarish jo karta hamari" on my first music phone.
This thing came with first of its kind in-ear earphones and a unique twisting camera. I used to clean it with the cleaning cloth of my spectacles :). I also remember keeping its plastic wrapper (the one that came with the packing) on for a long time. After all, it was precious, my precious.
As time passed, the caring got sidelined but I still enjoyed listening to music on that phone and flaunting it as a precious possession. But eventually as some more time passed, all sort of interest in that phone was gone and in a matter of couple of years, the phone was literally treated like a stone, thrown here and there when not used for calling. Yeah, headphones were gone and listing to music on this phone? huh.. no way. I needed an iPod.
So, after this phone was gone, spending another INR 18000 or so on a new phone, just in a couple of years was not an option. Budget was reduced and I went for a phone from another brand for a price of around INR 8000. Man! it felt cheap to go down on the INR stuff. That's the thing with style, standard and expenses :). Going down the ladder is a tough call.
I did not enjoy anything with that phone. Eventually, I bought the latest and greatest smartphone putting myself back in the front row of technology and smartphones. (Technically not, because I did not own the coveted phone from a great company named after a healthy fruit).
This new phone is great and has been with me for almost 5 years now. I must admire its make and the durability. But the truth remains. It never gave me the joy I felt when I bought my first phone. This phone is now the most outdated phone in the universe and is dying and I must buy a new smartphone. I wish to find a way so that my new smartphone buying experience will be as exciting and thrilling as it was back in 2006.
With a myriad of smartphones now available in the market, I was baffled. I had no idea which one to choose. I did what we do for almost everything now a days.Yes you are right, I searched on Google something like this: "smartphone buying guide". I got a bunch of results. Yes a bunch of results but no answer to my question. I was not looking for the smartest phone available in the market. I was rather looking for a phone that would make me feel as proud as I felt when I bought my first phone.
Disclaimer: Even if you buy the latest smartphone on the market, gold plated and bordered with diamonds, it will feel outdated and worthless in less time than you think. Hence, it should never be the source of your true happyness. I know there is an i in Happiness. :D
I also came across a few interesting quotes about smartphones:
"I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." - Albert Einstein
"Be smarter than your smartphone."Not that they reflect my opinion about smartphones, but they were intriguing. Both these quotes got me thinking. Don't let your smartphone become smarter than yourself. So I thought should I buy an average phone? But how would that be any exciting? Sure I will save on some green stuff and that would feel good for some time. But eventually I will be stuck with a dumb phone for another five years or so. That should really be fine if I am not really into all this smartphone gig. I or anybody need not buy a smartphone to prove that they are smart or just because a bunch of companies are building them. It should always be my choice. So what if I challenged myself to be smarter than the smartphone I want to buy because that's how I feel. That sounds exciting. But is it feasible? Can I ever be smarter than a smartphone? Lets see.
I went on analyzing a few smartphones and I figured that all of them do the following things seamlessly one being better at something than another.
- Contacts organization.
- Taking pictures and videos.
- Helping you navigate around the world.
- Durability, sturdiness and lightweight
- Social Media, games and entertainment.
- Screen resolution or the quality of what we see on the phone.
So, if I could become great at doing these things or if I could improve my human traits that resemble these smartphone features, I would be a compatible owner for that smartphone. And yeah, that will feel great. Most importantly, even though I will definitely keep growing smarter even after five years, while my smartphone eventually becomes dumb as compared to me, that would still feel great.
Therefore I decided, if I could achieve the following characteristics, I will call myself eligible for the smartphone of my dreams and I would buy it.
Contact organization.
The smartphones today are capable of keeping contact information seamlessly organized and available at the touch of a finger. The human brain that developed these so called smartphones is definitely smarter than them. But what about me? If I could remember 25 most important contacts in my contact list in and out, and am able to recall them effortlessly, I will call myself smart enough.
Taking pictures and videos.
When it comes to taking pictures and videos, trust me we are already smarter than the smartest phone on the market. When our brain and eyes work together to capture the beauty around, what emerges and gets stored in the back our our heads is simply amazing and no still image or video can match that. But capturing that image and showing it to someone else who can also appreciate what you saw is an art not everybody can claim.
So what if you chose photography or sketching or painting? That's something you can improve.
As I already have some interest in sketching...I am still a beginner, I chose it as a trait to focus on and improve. So if I can draw a few sketches and if I feel reasonably good about it, I am done.
Helping you navigate around the world.
This one is interesting. Navigation is at the heart of humanity. We have been navigating since I don't even know when. And the techniques that helped us navigate have evolved from the pole start to the current GPS technologies. But with these great advances in technology, somehow we have lost our own navigational capabilities that sometimes we find it difficult to even indicate the basic four directions.
So I thought why not work on some navigational skills. I decided to read and follow the paper map to navigate through a city instead of using the one available on my smartphone. I along with my friend did it while we were in New York and trust me it was a lot of fun. The sense of achievement we get is far greater than the Maps on our smartphones guiding us precisely through each step.
When I am comfortable reading a map of a new city reasonably quickly, I will call myself compatible to the smartphone world out there as far as navigation is concerned.
Durability, sturdiness and lightweight
A good smartphone is one which is durable and sturdy. But what good is it to have a sturdy smartphone in your hand when you can't even lift your grocery bag. :).
That was a little far fetched. But the idea is to achieve some challenging physical fitness goal. Once I have achieved my goal, I can check mark this trait.
Social Media, games and entertainment.
With the latest smartphones in everybody's hand, the world is now a community truly connected. With all the social media sites and various apps, we can instantly connect to anyone and even find our lost and forgotten contacts to reconnect and reunite.
But sadly its all virtual.....
Even though we are constantly connected to each other on social media, we have lost our true human nature of social gathering. With the smartphones and all the smart devices, we hardly talk to strangers any more. Even couples have to plan to take out time for each other let alone strangers.
This does not seem to be good. Your breakfast should not be done looking at what your friend in Prague is eating in his dinner. Nor should your dinner be done looking at the pictures of your virtual friend whom you have not seen in the past 10 years enjoying his/her honeymoon.
Here my goal is a bit simple. I want to refrain from the social media apps and websites as much as I can, so that I can connect with my friends and family much like it should be. Personally. Period.
I guess in this case, the best idea is to fall back to the primal capabilities of a phone. Yeah, a simple phone call to a friend is far more enriching to the relationship than the thousand likes to the posts and shares on facebook.
Screen resolution or the quality of what we see on the phone
The smartphones today bring photos and videos to life like never before. Video calls on today's phones are so crisp and clear that we feel like we are together. But still its a virtual feeling and goes away just by a touch of a finger.
What if our lives became as lively as the the screens of our phones. :) . I guess if we try to improve our own smart features rather than dreaming of buying the smartest phone on the market, our lives will definitely brighten up.
My smartphone should always be an aid to my own skills and capabilities not the crutches I use to navigate my life..... don't beat me for that :P
Now I feel like buying a smartphone. But I gotta do a lot of homework for that, So, I will whatsapp you or send you a facebook message, or instagram my selfie from my latest smartphone once I have one. :)
So if you like this article, grab your smartphone and hit like and share with friends. See, I know, you already have one.
As usual, comments/appreciation/criticism(a constructive one of course) everything is most welcome and appreciated.
Until then,
Happy Learning!
Banyan Bat
So if you like this article, grab your smartphone and hit like and share with friends. See, I know, you already have one.
As usual, comments/appreciation/criticism(a constructive one of course) everything is most welcome and appreciated.
Until then,
Happy Learning!
Banyan Bat
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