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New phone features 'baffle users'
BBC ^ | 19 January 2009 | bbc.co.uk

Posted on 01/22/2009 9:35:20 PM PST by rmarley

The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry, research suggests.

Some 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts.

Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working.

Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up.

Web browsing

Mformation spokesman Matthew Bancroft said users were frustrated by having to call an operator or look online for help.

"There is an enormous range of things modern phones are capable of doing but the paradox is that many people are not using these capabilities," he said.

Mr Bancroft said bad experiences turned people off trying to get more from their phone.

"If an application does not work once or twice, they just will not use it or try again," he said.

Some 61% of those questioned said they stopped using an application if they could not get it working straight away.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Technical
KEYWORDS: features; mobile; phone; user
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1 posted on 01/22/2009 9:35:23 PM PST by rmarley
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To: rmarley

I must admit that I at times have stooped to reading the instruction. Most of the time I can figure to to do things but they are not always designed well.


2 posted on 01/22/2009 9:39:52 PM PST by ThomasThomas ( Never mind.........it may go both ways...)
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To: rmarley

well, then again these people probably just want things handled by a government department for them.


3 posted on 01/22/2009 9:45:22 PM PST by GeronL (DAY 3, YEAR 0 - Obama and the Groupie Corps "I can't hang with ya, if yo dogs keep axin ma' stuff')
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To: ThomasThomas
I'm still mastering this.


4 posted on 01/22/2009 9:47:16 PM PST by stormer
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To: rmarley

I only want two things in a cell phone.

Large buttons that are easy to read and push and the case must be large enough that I don’t lose it in a pocket with my keys, wallet and pocketknife.

I hate those phones that have 4000 different functions and are so small you have to use a q-tip to dial them.


5 posted on 01/22/2009 9:50:56 PM PST by Dr.Zoidberg
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To: rmarley

I am a man and I can immerse myself enough into technology to reach the lower to mid levels of geek, but my old saying about computers was that if your grandmother can’t figure out how to own and use one, then it isn’t an every day appliance yet.

I grow tired of the inadequacies of these industries.


6 posted on 01/22/2009 9:52:39 PM PST by ansel12 ( When a conservative pundit mocks Wasilla, he's mocking conservatism as it's actually lived.)
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To: rmarley

Could I PLEASE get a phone that just makes phone calls? i’m not interested in any of this other stuff, and it makes the simple act of making a phone call harder with each new phone I’m forced to get (when my battery dies or something else unfixable goes wrong.)


7 posted on 01/22/2009 9:55:31 PM PST by TBP
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To: rmarley

After a year I am using all the gadgets on my phone. I can’t live without it.

Who needs a Tom Tom when I have google maps? Who needs an ipod when I download music onto my phone? Who needs a tape recorder when I can record a conversation? Who needs a digital camera when I can take high quality photos? Texting. Internet browser. Hell I even watched the Cardinals Eagles game last Sunday while watching my kids play.


8 posted on 01/22/2009 9:55:58 PM PST by egannacht
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To: ThomasThomas

One of the things that should be the easiest, assigning numbers to speed dial, takes about 12 steps on my phone.


9 posted on 01/22/2009 9:57:31 PM PST by Rennes Templar (The Messiah and the Religion of Fleece)
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To: Dr.Zoidberg

Have you heard of Jitterbug?


10 posted on 01/22/2009 9:59:01 PM PST by Rennes Templar (The Messiah and the Religion of Fleece)
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To: rmarley
I just got a new cell phone, geez it is complicated to use and doesn't do some of the things my old one did.

If I want to get my email on it, I have to their special mail program and it costs extra, I could connect my palm to my old one and get mail, this one won't connect to my palm. I also had to buy a new earpiece as my old wouldn't connect.

One of these days, I may learn how to get a new ring tone, so I can tell when my phone rings.

Yes, I have the manual and it is about as clear as the old VCR manuals.

11 posted on 01/22/2009 10:00:57 PM PST by razorback-bert (Save the planet...it is the only known one with beer!)
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To: egannacht

“After a year I am using all the gadgets on my phone. I can’t live without it.

Who needs a Tom Tom when I have google maps? Who needs an ipod when I download music onto my phone? Who needs a tape recorder when I can record a conversation? Who needs a digital camera when I can take high quality photos? Texting. Internet browser. Hell I even watched the Cardinals Eagles game last Sunday while watching my kids play.”


Way to go, before I buy something now I try to decide if I will master and/or use most of it’s features, when you do it makes for a very modern experience.


12 posted on 01/22/2009 10:07:53 PM PST by ansel12 ( When a conservative pundit mocks Wasilla, he's mocking conservatism as it's actually lived.)
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To: rmarley

http://www.howardforums.com

If you don’t know how to use your phone and you rather would read how to on the internet than the confusing book this is the place to go.


13 posted on 01/22/2009 10:08:07 PM PST by CollegeRepublican
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To: ThomasThomas

Real men never read distructions (or admit it).


14 posted on 01/22/2009 10:12:29 PM PST by TruthWillWin
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To: Dr.Zoidberg
I hate those phones that have 4000 different functions and are so small you have to use a q-tip to dial them.

A q-tip would press half the buttons on my phone. I have to use a tooth pick.

Who has fingers shaped like the point of a pin? Who are these people?

15 posted on 01/22/2009 10:15:47 PM PST by dragnet2 (Bush's legacy is Obama)
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To: TBP

Why would you not just replace the battery (assuming it isn’t integral and not user-serviceable)? I typically get cell batteries on eBay for around $10.


16 posted on 01/22/2009 10:21:39 PM PST by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: rmarley
Just got back from China. I was stunned at how many Chinese kids had iPhone-style phones. One of my favorite memories from the trip (failed to get a pic, though) was of a rural southern Chinese farmer on foot, leading his oxen down a dirt farm path... talking on a cell phone. (The farmer, not the ox, LOL.) His son was watching tv or movies on his own high-end cell phone. They walked into a house that probably cost as much as the cell phones. Amazing juxtapositions.

(Still grumpy that I failed to get that shot.)

By the way, it seems like Hong Kong is getting earlier releases of high-end tech stuff than the US.

17 posted on 01/22/2009 10:31:32 PM PST by Teacher317 (wo xue zhong wen)
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To: razorback-bert
One of these days, I may learn how to get a new ring tone, so I can tell when my phone rings.

If you want a unique ring-tone try this: Hello Infidel

18 posted on 01/22/2009 10:49:08 PM PST by voteNRA
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To: voteNRA

Oh, that is good.


19 posted on 01/22/2009 11:03:46 PM PST by razorback-bert (Save the planet...it is the only known one with beer!)
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To: razorback-bert
Thought you may like that

I have that set as my ring on my "at home" profile. I forgot to change it before a meeting last week and I'm happy to report that fortunately, my client's have a good sense of humor!

20 posted on 01/22/2009 11:12:58 PM PST by voteNRA
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