# Why are they called smart phones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232 "2020-02-20T10:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/41 "2020-02-22T05:21:32Z")
I think Robardin was making that exact point—that we miss the good old days not because they were good, but because they were old. He did it sarcastically, but I suspect the two of you agree. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/42 "2020-02-22T05:33:40Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > [The OP may be] pining for the days when analog-based, truly “full duplex connections” were the norm (instead of digitally time-sliced, simulated two-way duplex connections, I suppose). I fully agree with your post—with one tiny exception. I’m not so sure the OP objected to discretized full-duplex communications. Rather, I suspect the OP was on speakerphone (at either end or both) without realizing it. Most speakerphones (including those on most mobile phones) are inherently half-duplex. Both of my parents—yes, boomers—have problems with this. They both know that sometimes the other person can’t hear them or they can’t hear the other person, but neither of them connect the phenomenon with speakerphones. My dad was a TV reporter and producer, but his understanding of the distinction between full- and half-duplex is is nearly as weak as his grasp on the distinction between Newtonian mechanics and general relativity. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/43 "2020-02-22T19:17:16Z")
Because they don’t fork over a thousand bucks every couple of years to get themselves one of the latest people. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/44 "2020-02-23T14:43:26Z")
I’m sure the OP goes ballistic when someone tells him to “dial” a number. 🙂 When texting first came out, I thought it was the stupidest idea ever. Why would I want to type something out on my phone and send it to someone? I have a phone right there in my hand! Just call them! Order pizza through the computer?!? Just call them and tell a human being what you want on your pizza! Why go through all of those clicks? Yeah, those were pretty poor predictions on my part. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/45 "2020-02-23T14:57:52Z")
Well, until they removed all the pay phones, I almost never needed a phone in my pocket. I first bought one of these gadgets when the tree promised mobile email. That i later upgraded to a device that also made phone calls was just a bonus. I’ve always cared more about email and internet than phone. And i now find text very handy. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/46 "2020-02-23T15:11:02Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I first bought one of these gadgets when the tree promised mobile email. Is that a nickname for some company, an autocorrect error, or an admission of insanity? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/47 "2020-02-25T01:01:00Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I recently upgraded to [a flip phone]. Previously, I did have a truly dumb phone, designed around 1996 or so. When the battery started to go, I couldn’t find another for sale. I see [Warren Buffet just upgraded from a flip to a smart phone](https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/24/21151414/warren-buffet-apple-iphone-flip-phone-upgrade-change-gone). Gad! These young kids jumping into every fad that comes along! He’ll probably go broke paying for all the extra charges they’ll tack on his phone bill! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/48 "2020-02-25T01:13:41Z")
Cell phones used to be called ‘Handies’ in Europe. Not sure if that’s still the case. My Wife and I have canceled our landline at home. Mostly because it was so unreliable. It would go out for weeks at a time in the winter. I have put up an antenna on the roof for our cell phones as we live rural. The antenna connects to a signal booster inside. Works pretty we,. :shrug: things change. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/49 "2020-02-25T01:17:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You have access to the sum of the world’s knowledge, every book ever written, every song ever sung, every TV show or movie ever made, every painting ever painted, _in your pocket_. > > And you’re complaining about terminology? That shit is either boring or paywalled. You should really check out the world’s lies and heresay! ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/50 "2020-02-25T01:32:53Z")
Create a need, then fill it. Smart! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/51 "2020-02-25T02:02:34Z")
I don’t have live internet on my phone. On rare occasions I will use Wi-Fi but it’s a rubbish cheap phone and most wi-fi around here is terrible, so I don’t do it often. It’s just a phone and podcast ipod for me. I guess it still tracks where I travel to, but yay, hundreds of journeys back and forth to the shops, how useful for the hacker who finds that. I se the usefulness, I see the burden. It’s whatever you want it to be. Do that with it. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/52 "2020-02-25T02:10:00Z")
Because they do what they fucking want. Set it to NEVER dim the display, and it will still dim the display when the battery gets low, making it useless to me for slightly longer. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/53 "2020-02-25T17:29:19Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Gad! These young kids jumping into every fad that comes along! He’ll probably go broke paying for all the extra charges they’ll tack on his phone bill! I remember reading an article when cell phones first came out – to be installed in your auto unless you wanted to lug around an attaché-sized case – that mentioned a lot of people would make brag calls (Hey, Rich! Guess were I’m calling from. My car!) until they got their first monthly bill for around $300. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/54 "2020-02-25T18:15:45Z")
> [@Dr.Crap](#): > > That shit is either boring or paywalled. You should really check out the world’s lies and heresay! (reads post) (looks at username again) OK this checks out. Carry on! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/55 "2020-02-26T23:08:44Z")
> [@Yakamaniac](#): > > I have to carry the World Wide Web on my hip if I want to be able to communicate with someone, while selling my privacy. Advertising aimed at my profile will connect with my palm top when I am approaching a business that subscribes to a media service. My movements are tracked because of that palm top. Too bad that the palm top can not warn us when we are about to walk into a post. I interviewed for a job with a company, practically still a startup at that point, that would latch onto your smartphone and send targeted advertising while you walked around a store or mall. I’m not sure, but I suspect I didn’t get hired because I mumble something about not wanting to help immanentize the eschaton. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Your objections are based on a lack of knowledge and failure to RTFM. Yours came with a manual? I mean, one that is not all disclaimers? Enter the Now, woman. We Now People don’t need no stinkin’ manuals! ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/56 "2020-02-26T23:30:42Z")
The OP’s mistake is getting a cell phone at all. Life is better without a leash. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/57 "2020-02-26T23:41:33Z")
Yes, you are only truly free when you do all your communications via carrier pigeon. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/58 "2020-02-26T23:47:02Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yes, you are only truly free when you do all your communications via carrier pigeon. There are definitely no excluded middles here. Or there is nothing _but_ excluded middles. Definitely one or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/59 "2020-02-27T00:07:49Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > There are definitely no excluded middles here. Or there is nothing _but_ excluded middles. Definitely one or the other. You started it. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232/60 "2020-02-27T00:51:22Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You started it. Meh, I just expressed the opinion that if the OP is _that_ bothered by his espionage rectangle, he should just just do without it. This could involve carrier pigeons, hitting up the nearest person or business and asking to use _their_ phone, or just waiting until you’re near a landline or can speak in person. The latter option, of course, being what _cool_ people like me do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-called-smart-phones/848232.md?page=4)