How do you use your phone? We are determined to find out

2021-05-05

A large part of our job as phone reviewers involves judging of whether a particular compromise made by the designers is beneficial to the handset"s target audience or not. To do this properly we rely on our experience as well as on all the feedback you are giving us - we try to make sure those thousands of comments and emails each day are put to good use.

But we thought it would be nice if we simply asked you about it. You know, just to confirm that we are on the right track. Naturally we"d also be sharing the results with you as we believe they will make an interesting read for the average user and that they will be useful to anyone in the industry. The feedback of such a huge group of people with keen interest in and deep knowledge of cell phones like you just cannot be overlooked.

We will be publishing the real poll next week, asking you how often you use the following features of your mobile phone.

But before we get there, we"d like YOUR OPINION on the content of the survey. So consider the following list of important cellphone features as a proposal to you.

If you feel we are missing something important, then by all means drop us a line in the comments section and we"ll look into it. That"s the whole purpose of this article today so don"t be shy, go on and drop us a line. Even if you think the list is alright as it is, we"d still like to hear it from you.

We"ll be publishing the finalized survey and opening the voting next week and you are all welcome to participate. Oh, and thanks for helping.

Call and text message

  • Make video calls
  • Send SMS
  • Send MMS

Email

  • Send/receive email

Socialize

  • Chat on an IM network (Skype, MSN, GTalk, WhatsApp, etc.)
  • Engage in social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
  • Share photos and videos online

Capture

  • Take photos
  • Shoot videos
  • Use special shooting modes (Panorama, Time-lapse, etc.)

Listen

  • Listen to music
  • Listen to radio
  • Listen to audio books
  • Listen to podcasts
  • Use music recognition services

Watch

  • Watch movies
  • Watch online videos (YouTube, etc.)
  • Stream content over DLNA or TV-out

Play

  • Enjoy mobile games

Browse

  • Web browsing
  • Get info updates (news, sports, weather...)

Explore

  • Use as a digital map
  • Use for GPS navigation
  • Organize trip itineraries
  • Discover new places of interest: restaurants, cafes, attractions, etc.
  • Augment reality with local info apps

Personal assistance

  • Manage your time with calendars, reminders
  • Use as alarm clock
  • Use the calculator, unit converter, etc.
  • Put down notes or tasks
  • Use as a flashlight
  • Use as a weight-tracker, calorie-counter, exercise logger
  • View or edit office documents

Read

  • eBooks
  • Magazines and newspapers

Connect

  • Use a mobile internet
  • Use phone for tethering (mobile hotspot)
  • Transfer files over Bluetooth