What we thought about camera phones in 2004...or how things have changed in 9 years.

[The_Other_Waldo_Pepper]

@zoid

There are still cell phones without cameras being sold. I bought one about 9 months ago.

So that would’ve been . . . April 1st?

[Max_Torque]

@Cerealbox

Oh, I remember when I first heard about texting I actually said “what are you retarded? you’re holding a phone, call them.” To be fair, when texting came out it was more expensive that calling and you had to text by entering two numbers per letter. But it still sounded like a really dumb idea. Little did I realize the value of not having to talk to someone. I thought the idea of paying for water was a joke when I first saw it popping up, too. Actually, ipods I thought were stupid as well. We already had mp3 players which I had been advocating for for a long time and no one was interested in them because you couldn’t download music on the fly, you had to load it up on a computer. So when the ipod came out and it didn’t have that feature I thought “no one is going to fall for some marketing gimmickry for an mp3 player that it more than twice what they currently sell for and doesn’t even have the feature everyone says they want in order to adopt them.” So yeah, I have a terrible track record with this.

And in the spirit of this thread, here’s something similar I dug up a few months ago: a thread from the time of the introduction of the iPod, called Apple Computer: You’re kidding, right?.

[Deeg]

@zoid

I still don’t get ipads.
What useful things can you use them for that you wouldn’t just use a laptop that has a ton more functionality?

I also derided tablets when they first came out. I think the problem is that I saw them as fitting in between smart phones and laptops–why would anyone need a tablet if they had a phone and laptop? I didn’t realize that people saw them as a replacement for laptops. I’m a software engineer and I have a desktop, laptop, and phone; tablets are too small of a niche for me to be useful. I was given a Nexus 7 and I only use it to browse from the bathroom. =D

[Chimera]

Back in 2006, I worked Armored (Loomis, but see also: Brinks, Garda, etc). We were not allowed to carry phones with cameras on them. Probably about a third of the people had them and carried them anyway, because what, you’re going to leave your phone in your locker???

Why did they have that rule? Well, because 90% of armored carrier robberies are inside jobs. Did it still make sense? Not to us. Every time some kind of incident would come up - being followed, an accident, etc, I would point out how much sense it would make to have a camera on the company phone we carried so we could immediately send pictures to the office.

Have no idea if that rule is still in place in an era when the most basic cheapo phones now ALL have cameras on them.

[Quimby]

Around that time I remember on alt.fan.Cecil-Adams I started a thread about how ridiculous it seemed to have a Camera on a phone. It just seemed so random to me. Like engineers took the first two things they pulled out of their pocket and mushed them together. I was an idiot.

[Chimera]

@Jophiel

I agree with a lot of this, although I think part of the issue is that we’re guys and unless you carry a briefcase or some other “bag”, you don’t have a place to put a 10" tablet no matter how light it is. The situation is different if you’re a woman who carries a purse large enough to handle it.

My “Man Purse”, which I carry on the bus and when I decide to take my ipad somewhere (which is almost everywhere these days, except dedicated shopping trips).

In the front pocket, there is a mesh pouch that holds my ipod shuffle and charging cord, and my ear buds; a solid pouch with velcro flap in which I keep my loose change; two pen/pencil loops where I keep a cross pen/pencil set; and loose in there are chocolates, cough drops, tums, lotion, hand sanitizer and gum.

And it fits in the glove box so I can leave it behind when I go into stores without leaving it visible.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Why do you carry an iPod and an iPad?

[Suburban_Plankton]

@Chimera

Back in 2006, I worked Armored (Loomis, but see also: Brinks, Garda, etc). We were not allowed to carry phones with cameras on them. Probably about a third of the people had them and carried them anyway, because what, you’re going to leave your phone in your locker???

Why did they have that rule? Well, because 90% of armored carrier robberies are inside jobs. Did it still make sense? Not to us. Every time some kind of incident would come up - being followed, an accident, etc, I would point out how much sense it would make to have a camera on the company phone we carried so we could immediately send pictures to the office.

Have no idea if that rule is still in place in an era when the most basic cheapo phones now ALL have cameras on them.

I can’t comment on armored car companies, but there is one other place where the ubiquity of ‘camera-phones’ has made such a change: concerts. I can recall “back in the day” that there were signs everywhere at concerts reminding us that “no photography or videotaping is allowed”. Nowadays, it seems that half the crowd at any given concert is recording it on their phone (yours truly included), and nobody bats an eyelash. The closest I’ve seen to a photography ban recently was at a Bruce Springsteen show where “professional photography equipment” was specifically prohibited.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

I suspect that has more to do with the audio quality modern consumers expect.

[Chimera]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

Why do you carry an iPod and an iPad?

When I go for a walk on my lunch hour, I only take the shuffle. I can also plug the shuffle into the car and it isn’t like I have the iPad sitting out to bang around or have to put away if I go in a store. That and I’m using the same earbuds.

[jrsone]

I assumed the camera phone would take off when I used it. The first ones were low quality but once it caught on, it caught on quick and you could hardly find a phone without it.

The IPad? Well, let’s just say I thought the Netbook was going to be much more popular than the IPad. Sometimes you just don’t call them right.

Edit: I should also note that I thought the tablet was going to be a fad but now I’d be lost without my Nexus 7,

[Chimera]

Saw a commercial last night for a Windows phone with a 41 megapixel camera.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

@Max_Torque

And in the spirit of this thread, here’s something similar I dug up a few months ago: a thread from the time of the introduction of the iPod, called Apple Computer: You’re kidding, right?.

I find that thread somewhat noteworthy in that that’s the earliest mention I could find on this board of the phrase “drinking the kool-aid” (2001).

[Nisslbody]

@Cerealbox

Oh, I remember when I first heard about texting I actually said “what are you retarded? you’re holding a phone, call them.” To be fair, when texting came out it was more expensive that calling and you had to text by entering two numbers per letter. But it still sounded like a really dumb idea. Little did I realize the value of not having to talk to someone. I thought the idea of paying for water was a joke when I first saw it popping up, too. Actually, ipods I thought were stupid as well. We already had mp3 players which I had been advocating for for a long time and no one was interested in them because you couldn’t download music on the fly, you had to load it up on a computer. So when the ipod came out and it didn’t have that feature I thought “no one is going to fall for some marketing gimmickry for an mp3 player that it more than twice what they currently sell for and doesn’t even have the feature everyone says they want in order to adopt them.” So yeah, I have a terrible track record with this.

And I still think iPads are ridiculous. Buy a goddamned laptop if you want to lug that thing around. Until they come out with cell phones were you can pull out the screen like a tapemeasurer, I ain’t buying one.

It’s funny, though, because I HAVE a laptop… touchscreen, too… and I use my little Nexus tablet WAY more often than I use my laptop.

[Spaghettifrier]

I think iPads just look–and sound-- ridiculous.

[JBDivmstr]

@standingwave

In the late 90s I got my first of several PalmPilots. I also carried a cell phone. I remember thinking how cool it would be if my PalmPilot could make phone calls because then I could ditch my cell phone. I never thought about the reverse, i.e. making the phone do pda type stuff. I just thought Palm had the perfect OS for handheld computing and maybe they did for a while. I also thought it would be easier to add a phone to a pda than a pda to a phone.

Today, I can’t imagine life without my Android. How much longer are we going to keep calling them phones?

I’ve still got a PalmPilot (a TX) and at the time, I thought it was ‘way cool’.
Of course, as time went by, it got to the point that I couldn’t even sync it with my computer. That really sucked. :mad:

Fast forward to the present… I’ve got a Samsung G3 now, and I’m thinking about getting a tablet.
My only problem is I’m not sure which one would be best suited for my purposes.

[kayaker]

A buddy was showing me his brand new iPhone (5s?). It does slo-mo video. Way cool.

[cmkeller]

Cerealbox:

To be fair, when texting came out it was more expensive that calling and you had to text by entering two numbers per letter. But it still sounded like a really dumb idea. Little did I realize the value of not having to talk to someone.

I still don’t get the appeal. Why communicate in a way that occupies your eyes and hands when you can communicate with your mouth and ears while still being able to look at other stuff with your eyes and do other stuff with your hands (with a hands-free headset or speakerphone)?

[standingwave]

@cmkeller

Cerealbox:

I still don’t get the appeal. Why communicate in a way that occupies your eyes and hands when you can communicate with your mouth and ears while still being able to look at other stuff with your eyes and do other stuff with your hands (with a hands-free headset or speakerphone)?

1. Because a text doesn’t demand that you pick up the phone right freaking now. I might be driving or otherwise occupied at the moment.

2. It’s more efficient, especially if it’s a brief message like, “running late, be there in 5” or “remember to pick up eggs.” Plus, I can read a text faster than listen to a voice mail. And if it’s something like a grocery item, there’s a record so I don’t forget.

3. You know how annoying it is when people walk around talking on their phone in public? Texting gets around that too.

I’m not saying it needs to replace all voice calls but it certainly has its place.

[Kevbo]

@zoid

There are still cell phones without cameras being sold. I bought one about 9 months ago.

There are people who work in secure areas that need them. Not just government but many tech companies are adamant about no cameras allowed.