# What new features do you want on your cell phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485 "2007-01-25T23:58:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/21 "2007-01-30T18:48:40Z")
Here’s one we missed 😃 [![](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pliny/b20070130.gif) ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pliny/b20070130.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/22 "2007-01-30T19:58:13Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] I would like one that allows me to shoot killer bees at people who irritate me or just for fun. [/QUOTE] Brilliant. I’ll take two dozen. I would like to be able to block particular numbers from getting through. I guess there are phones that can do this, but mine can’t. I would also like a ringtone that just sounds like a bloody PHONE and not some godawful diddle-iddle-dee musical atrocity. I would like the phone to automatically and silently administer a lethal dose of polonium-210 to any user who installed upon it any sound file featiuring the Crazy Frog. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/23 "2007-01-30T20:32:56Z")
I want to define arbitrary groups of users and modes of operation that set the behavior based on who is calling, where I am (ie, which cell towers are visible), what time of day it is, and whatever the hell else I want. I want to stop being charged $0.10 for a text message that it costs the phone company $0.00001 to send. Or at least have the option to not receive the damned things. I want voice recognition that doesn’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/24 "2007-01-31T13:41:12Z")
Another one: [personal altitude modifier](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pliny/sunshineclub20024435770131.gif) ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/25 "2007-02-03T23:45:04Z")
And just when you thought they wouldn’t get weird we hear from [Elderberries](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pliny/eld070203.gif) At least someone’s taking notes. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/26 "2007-02-04T04:33:14Z")
I want a phone that’s just like the one I have now, but with two differences: 1. It would get a signal inside my house. 2. It would be possible for me to figure out how to dial people on my contact list without having to find the manual for instuctions. seriously, why isn’t “dial/call” an option while looking at contacts? why the hell do I have a list of contacts if I can’t call them from that screen? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/27 "2007-02-04T08:31:37Z")
I want a clock that can make phone calls. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/28 "2007-02-04T09:38:20Z")
I’d like a phone that has high-quality voice recognition software for text entry. I’ve never gotten used to the weird schemes that current phones use for text entry. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/29 "2007-02-04T13:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] It should be an MP3 player, contain both an FM and AM tuner, run Palm OS, bluetooth fast networking to my laptop, function as my car key, my house key and my secure e-wallet. I want one thing that does every damn thing and it’s all I have to carry out the door. I like my 700p but it is missing a few things still. [/QUOTE] I was just updating my tower access and my 700p dumped my entire address book. 2500 names and numbers… And i changed jobs last week and it is backed up on my old work laptop which i no longer have access too… :mad: ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/30 "2007-02-04T15:22:32Z")
The only feature a cell phone should ever have is a vibrate setting, and it should be on by default. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/31 "2007-02-04T22:06:07Z")
[QUOTE=minor7flat5] Agreed. Fix all of the little annoyances of my Treo 650 and that would be my perfect phone: [ul][li]More memory (~28mb sux)[/li][li]Smaller, and with internal antenna (I’m wearing somewhat tight 501’s today, so the phone is hard to access).[/li][li]Robust standard size headphone jack instead of the teensy one that needs an adapter and gets flaky after a few months.[/li][li]Built-in wifi (Palm claims that it’s really hard to fix the network stack to work with both phone network and wifi. Right… Surely the phone companies selling expensive data plans had no influence on this limitation?)[/li][li]Unrestricted bluetooth. Currently the 650 only supports a couple of very limited profiles.[/li][li]The camera really needs work, if only to take nice pictures of the people in my contact list. It’s kind of cool when someone calls and their picture shows up, more so than you would imagine.[/li][li]A reset button that is not hidden under the battery cover. Better yet, make it so holding down the power button for 10-20sec resets it, like modern PCs.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] [Have I got a phone for you!](http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1041) Pretty much everything you want except for the hard reset–it’s a battery pull, but I can live with it. The side bar volume control sucks, but on the plus side it can be disabled or reprogrammed to do something else (mine is third party volume control on the top part, voice command software on the bottom.) EVERYTHING is programmable about this puppy and there are about 5K+ reg hacks, tweaks and programs for it–including first person shooter games that can be played multiplayer over Bluetooth and Java versions of tons of cool old games (I like Zelda, shoot me!) Form factor is incredibly nice, the rubberized paint on the back gives a comfortable and secure grip, and the keypad is easy even with long fingernails or bigass hands. It’s fun to play with, because if you brick it there’s an incredibly complicated key sequence to enter on startup that restores it back to factory ROM settings–and there’s a stunning backup program available that’s flawless and saves the image either in phone memory or on a micro SD. The screen is excellent, and I love watching movies on it ripped down to widescreen format–the headphones plug into the charger port, which is mini-USB, so you can’t recharge and use headphones at the same time, but the battery’s good so that’s a minor downcheck. Naw, I don’t like mine at all… 😉 **AHunter3** : See above! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/32 "2007-02-05T18:29:57Z")
Cute, but I don’t see anything in there about cradling it and running/managing it from the computer when parked. Also nothing about recording conversations and saving them as MP3s. Or rule-based outbound voicemail messages and how to categorize and file the recorded voicemails. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/33 "2007-02-05T20:40:31Z")
Thin, thin, thin! I hate wearing equipment on my belt, and it’s usually too warm here to wear a jacket, so I can’t always carry it there. I’m hoping they’ll come up with a credit-card sized one you can carry in your wallet. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/34 "2007-02-06T15:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Thin, thin, thin! I’m hoping they’ll come up with a credit-card sized one you can carry in your wallet. [/QUOTE] Now you’re talking. What I want is a phone that can be used as one of those “wave and go” credit cards. You already have your phone with you when you stop for gas or a fast food meal, so why dig out an extra credit card? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/35 "2007-02-06T15:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=Captain\_C] Be able to call people. Be able to store approximately 10 different numbers. Be able to accept voicemail. Have caller ID. That is all. [/QUOTE] That and a battery that lasts 2 weeks on a charge, with a universal charger port so any phone charger will work on it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/36 "2007-02-06T16:28:34Z")
It should 1)make phone calls, 2)store up to a few hundred **full** address-book entries (e.g. address/e-mail/brief text note in addition to phone number), and 3)store/display a few moderately-long text notes (e.g. a shopping list, an inventory of the DVD collection). Most of the gimcracks manufacturers install instead are brain-damaged (an MP3 player on a phone that doesn’t have a standard headphone jack) and not worth bothering with. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/37 "2007-02-06T22:37:31Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] Now you’re talking. What I want is a phone that can be used as one of those “wave and go” credit cards. You already have your phone with you when you stop for gas or a fast food meal, so why dig out an extra credit card? [/QUOTE] I’m still trying to figure out what your location is. How about letting us in on the secret? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/38 "2007-02-06T23:03:00Z")
When my phone’s in my pocket, I want it to vibrate. When it’s in the same room, I want it to ring quietly. When I’m elsewhere in the building, ring loudly. When I’m out of answering range, it should divert to voicemail. This shouldn’t need magic, just a very small transceiver unit which I could keep with me (clipped to my belt, perhaps) at all times. Fingerprint recognition would be good, to stop any little sods getting into the thing. I can lock my laptop from temporary prying eyes, why not my phone? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/39 "2007-02-06T23:07:29Z")
[QUOTE=Steve MB] 2)store up to a few hundred **full** address-book entries (e.g. address/e-mail/brief text note in addition to phone number) [/QUOTE] Mine synchronises with Outlook contacts, including addresses, emails and ‘info’ fields. Mind you, it does that annoying thing of insisting everything conforms to the American idea of “street/city/zip” address format, which means creative reformatting of some. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485/40 "2007-02-07T01:15:28Z")
Addendum to the Killer Bee Shooting Phone: It shoots killer bees out at the person to whom you are speaking too right into their ear. I’d also like to see a kinetic energy powered phone. If you don’t move enough, it don’t work. Also known as the Welfare Phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-new-features-do-you-want-on-your-cell-phone/389485.md?page=1)