Sometimes progress means moving backwards. I’ve been thinking a lot about phones recently. I’ve been a loyal Nokia customer for some time, starting with an 8310e. That was replaced by a 6310i, which was in turn traded for my first genuine smartphone, a 6600. Then, seduced by the allure of the convergent smartphone, I upgraded to an E61. And I haven’t looked forward since.
Don’t get me wrong, the E61 is a fine device*. It has an excellent range of connectivity options, including 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth; has the best mobile internet browsing experience that I’ve ever come across; copes with just about whatever email system you want to access through it, including BES and Exchange via Activesync; and at the expense of somewhat increased weight and bulk, it knocks the socks off its competitors in terms of build quality. And I know that my dissatisfaction is at least in part a product of also having a shiny corporate BlackBerry which duplicates a lot of the E61’s functions.
However, I’m beginning to think seriously about taking not one, but two steps back along my upgrade path and getting another 6310i. In terms of features, it can’t compete with newer handsets. On the other hand, it does everything I need it to – basic voice and text messaging – superbly well, is built like a tank and has a phenomenal battery life. It won’t play MP3s, edit Office documents or take photographs. But I’ve got other devices that do those things better than a smartphone. I can’t help wondering whether convergence isn’t just trading quality of experience for superficial convenience.
Looking around online, I was heartened to find plenty of other people with a similar point of view, with articles praising the 6310i in The Times and The Independent. A more comprehensive, tongue-in-cheek study of the 6310i’s virtues was published last month on The Register. The final nail in the coffin of the E61 was turning to Charlie Stross’ blog and, not for the first time, seeing him articulate exactly what I feel:
What I want for Christmas . . . please can Nokia see sense and release an identical-sized replacement to the 6310i, updated with the addition of HSDPA (or at least EDGE)? I don’t need a camera, GPS, colour screen, multimedia messaging, games, memory cards, mp3 ringtones, or a pocket Transformers bot with guided missile launchers; I just want a human sized mobile telephone that can make and break calls and act as a bluetooth modem for my laptop. The 6310i, which went on sale in the ancient prehistoric depths of 2000AD, marked the climax of the mobile phone as an actual business tool for people who wanted to talk: after it came madness.
The 6310i may not be a smartphone, but it could well be a smarter phone.
* And if there’s anyone out there who disagrees with my views on convergent devices, there may soon be one for sale . . .
1 response so far ↓
1 Ev // Jan 4, 2008 at 10:20 am
Good call, divergence is the way forward.
I believe having something that tries to do everything is known as “putting all your eggs in one basket” in analogue terms. From my point of view it’s as simple as the fact that I prefer to have three devices (camera/phone/iPod) all with battery dedicated solely to their own function. From a business point of view, you don’t want your phone conking out in the middle of a call to a client because you just spent the train journey to Scotland listening to MP3s and taking photos of the lovely scenery.
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