[centerchannel68]

I have to design a phone for school, so give me your input here. I'll be using this information in my research, so help influence my designs by giving me your answers.

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

8. Anything you feel like mentioning that I missed.

[faragbre967]

1. I prefer a flip phone, it makes talking on it seem much more natural.

2. Reception, looks, battery life, camera, integration (both windows and mac), ringtones, games, program expandability.

3. Current phone is Verizon's Krazr. It doesn't work with Windows Vista, at all.

4. I like the sleek design of it. It's a beut to look at and it's battery is excellent for its features.

5. No way, seems dangerous somehow.

6. Why not options across the board. I prefer silver or black but it's all the same really. Whatever floats your boat.

7. Yes, I would use bluetooth if it worked correctly with Vista. I would love to have my phone sync my contacts, etc when I walked in my room.

8. I bigger screen on the inside of the flip would be nice. Something high res enough to make it touch sensitive and not leave marks. A better interface than arrows or pen-guided seems to be the next big step.

[IceEnclosure]

duh, it should do everything well. there's a lot of phones that do.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure 

duh, it should do everything well. there's a lot of phones that do.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[mduell]

1. Candybar.

2. Do you mean preference? Number one is camera; there can't be one. If there is, the phone is useless to me. After that I'd take reception, battery life, full keyboard, screen adjustability (brighter and dimmer!), third party software, and network performance (gimmie HSPDA and WiMAX!).

3. Reception, but that's more about the network (GSM instead of CDMA) than the phone, although better phone antennas do help. Also the interface can be convoluted when it comes to more advanced features, like configuring the per-application/per-port firewall.

4. Full keyboard, battery life, and tetherability.

5. Sure. But I have a '95 that can't be upgraded with remote unlock, so it sounds pretty useless.

6. Black with a rubberized grip.

7. Yes, to sync contacts. It would be nice to use for short tethering sessions too (long ones would kill the battery).

8. RIM has pretty much nailed the external design with the 8700 for me. Only hardware changes would be a (mini)SD slot and a newer radio. Some parts of the software (user interface) could use a lot of work.

[butterfly0fdoom]

1. I don't really care what the form factor is, but I personally prefer flip or slider phones where the open mechanism can double as an "accept call" mechanism and all the keys are automatically locked when the phone is physically closed.

2. Assuming preference: reception, battery life, looks, ringtones (if it accepts MP3s as ringtones, then it automatically wins my heart), camera (nice to have) and I don't quite care for the rest

3. Current phone is a Sony Ericsson W600i. It tends to turn itself off occasionally, and I'm not a fan of the jackknife opening mechanism

4. It's a Sony Ericsson-- great interface, great design, great quality

5. That's why my Prius has the Smart Key

6. It depends on the design of the phone. Some phones look great silver, some phones look great black, some phones look great two-toned, some look great rubberized

7. Yes, especially since my car has Bluetooth integration

8. A phone that's better than the iPhone? That's subjective. To me, the iPhone embodies a lot of great ideas. Many find flaws with the iPhone, but that's the whole nature of competition.

[mindwaves]

1) Candy bar phone with a slide-out keyboard

2) looks, mac integration, reception, camera quality, battery life, program expandability, games, ringtones

3. bad reception and slow UI (SE 710a)

4. Candybar looks, UI, overall good system

5. No

6. Black or silver or maybe green

7. Yes, I use BT to transfer files from my camera phone and use iSync for my contacts.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

Don't really care. Bar needs some sort of cover though if you're going to do surface as a screen. See the Tungstan T3.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

Mac Integration, Reception, Program Expandability, Battery Life, Looks, Games, Camera Quality, Ring Tones

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

Botched Verizon software (Razr V3, now flashed). Limited software. Menu design.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

Form factor, bluetooth syncing.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

I'd rather that like a keyfob there was a button on my phone that would let me lock/unlock.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

I like shiny and smooth, not matte. Any color goes.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

Yes, Sync with my computer is extremely important to me. Like, No, I will not buy your phone if it won't sync to my computer important.

[IceEnclosure]

Originally Posted by King Bob On The Cob 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

imagine if we were sitting in a bar, and you did that? tighten up, freak!

go ahead, say it loud.

There really are a handful of phones that do many things well, and satisfy a bunch of people.

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

Candybar. Sliders and flipphones have a mechanism that wears out. Sliders are somewhat cool but unreliable. When I went out to buy my last phone a few months a go I was set on getting some Nokia slider. The guy in the store told me not the get a slider phone because they have tons of issues with them, and not only Nokia sliders. If it has to be a slider then i'd make something like the Nokia 8800 or the old Nokia from the maxtrix (8110).

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

You'd want build quality. My €400 Nokia POS makes a cracking sound when picking it up and while pushing the keys. It drives me mad. It feels like a €25 phone.

Also the OS is incredibly complicated, all the little apps are stored inside of a bunch of folders and most of them are in illogical places. It's also slow. If they want to put in a complicated OS then they better put in a powerfull CPU as well.

The battery sucks as well, **** 3G an all that if you can't even get decent battery life. Standby time and talk time is for me one of the most important things along with weight and size. Reception is irrelevant over here since every phone has 100% reception everywhere over here.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

Yes all the time, with my Bluetooth Pioneer headunit in the car to make hands free calls and with my iMac to sync contacts/calendar.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure 

duh, it should do everything well. there's a lot of phones that do.

Doubtful. I am goign to design a phone with fewer features, that will do them 'better' than the iPhone. I don't like it when devices try to do too many things, they just become sorta convoluted and not very good at any of them.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by goMac 

I'd rather that like a keyfob there was a button on my phone that would let me lock/unlock.

Heh, that's my real idea. I just didn't want to give it away or go into detail about it yet. There's lots of cool things you can dow ith car integration.... your alarm goes off... you get a phone call. You scream into your phone.... it plays through your cars radio. Lots of neat things.

[G4ME]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Heh, that's my real idea. I just didn't want to give it away or go into detail about it yet. There's lots of cool things you can dow ith car integration.... your alarm goes off... you get a phone call. You scream into your phone.... it plays through your cars radio. Lots of neat things.

sounds expensive

i will take a phone that

makes calls
has great recption
great battery life
durable, I want to be able to throw it at a wall and still have it work.

oh wait I already have that phone

[Mrjinglesusa]

Most important feature of a cell phone is RECEPTION. Otherwise, what good is it? Oh, BATTERY LIFE. My Treo can go 3-4 days without a charge. And that's with Bluetooth on full time, moderate call making, email checking and playing Suduku.

For me, next up is Mac integration. I want a phone that seamlessly interacts with and syncs with my Mac, preferably through Bluetooth.

Black is slick looking.

Bar or flip - I go back and forth and have had both types. Current is a Treo 650. A bit too bulky for my tastes after having it for awhile. Before that was a RAZR. I think a bar phone with a slide-out keyboard that is THIN would be perfect.

Lastly, a camera is nice if the resolution is decent. With todays cameras I think at least 2-3 MP is the minimum requirement in a cell phone if you are going to use it to take decent pictures. Most people probably don't use their cell phone cameras that much but would if the resolution were higher - I known I would.

Wirelessly unlocking your car when you get near it would be a cool feature.

[olePigeon]

Something that looks like the 1st gen Black Nano (but doesn't scratch.) The same size, too.

[jokell82]

Everyone who doesn't list reception as the highest priority on their list has obviously never had a phone with bad reception. It is a complete deal-breaker. Right now I have a KRZR with Verizon and it doesn't work at my house - doesn't matter how great I think the phone software is I'm ready to throw it out the window and switch to any company that will provide me better service.

Anyway, here are my answers:

1. Flip, but I don't have a problem with candybar phones either.

2. RECEPTION, battery life, mac integration, looks. The rest rank equally at the bottom.

3. The crappy reception I get at my house. Oh, and Verizon's UI is a total piece of garbage.

4. The size

5. That would be cool, as long as I could configure it.

6. Black

7. Yes, but I don't own a bluetooth headset.

[shifuimam]

1. Style?

Flip. Candybar style leaves everything unprotected, and the slide-out models I've seen thus far tend to have number buttons that are way too small.

2. Performance factors: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

Reception, battery life, looks, camera quality, program expandability, ringtones, games, mac integration.

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

It's Verizon, so it sucks that I have to hack it to put on my own ringtones and download camera pics from it.

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

I have a Moto V325. It's got a mini-USB connector for power, which means that I don't need to by a special cable to connect it to my computer. It's also sexy.

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

No. I wouldn't trust something like that with something as important as my car.

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

I like colors, but I love the rubberized feel. The Moto Pebl is awesome with it's rubberized casing in different bright colors. Too bad it's T-Mobile only...

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

No. Nothing I own has bluetooth besides my PocketPC.

8. Anything you feel like mentioning that I missed.

I miss being able to customize the softkeys on my V325. I could do that with my old Siemens S46 phone, back when I was still with AT&T. Also, the side buttons on my phone let me change the ring volume using loud, soft, vibrate, vibrate then ring, silent, or alarm only. Very convenient. Most phones I've played with don't do that.

[imitchellg5]

1: Flip. It makes a slick phone that can easily fit in your pocket.
2: Mac integration, reception, looks, battery life, camera quality
3: I have a Moto RAZR. I hate Verizon's retarded restrictions.
4: I ( like the guy above) love the USB connector. It makes it easy to connect to my Mac. I also love the sleekness of the RAZR. It still looks beautiful after years of being on the market.
5: I guess it'd be cool, but I probably would never own a car cool enough to do stuff like that.
6: I like silver. Matches my Power Mac and PowerBook
7: I love Bluetooth. It's great as long as your carrier doesn't lock it like Verizon.
8: Side buttons are nice. Also MP3 controls on the outside as well as full stereo out.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I have a Moto V325. It's got a mini-USB connector for power, which means that I don't need to by a special cable to connect it to my computer. It's also sexy.

I love that on my RAZR. Charge from computer is definetly a plus.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by goMac 

I love that on my RAZR. Charge from computer is definetly a plus.

Yeah...it seems like Motorola is the only company that has caught on with the versatility of USB instead of proprietary connectors. I think my next phone is going to be a KRZR because of that very feature. Unless LG or Samsung or someone starts using USB, I'm sticking with the Moto line.

[andi*pandi]

candybar.

priorities: reception, nationwide, battery life, then cross-platform/address-syncable without additional software, then coolness factor. Camera must not suck or cost .25 per picture to download.

buttons you can feel without looking to make sure you are dialing correctly, or voice-dialing that doesn't suck.

colors/textures/whatever works.

[zerostar]

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

Flip Phone, I had 1 bar phone everything else has been a flip phone.

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

Reception, Battery Life and Quad-Band are the 3 most important things to me.

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

Moto V635 -- Nothing, it's the best phone I have ever owned.

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

A great overall phone that has great reception and talk time.

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

I'd like the option, sure.

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

I like my metal phone, feels rugged I guess?

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?

Just for transferring ring-tones and photos back and forth. I had a headset but was more trouble then it was worth.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

Flip phone, but slider is okay too. Pretty much anything except for candybar. I like the fact that the RAZR doesn't make a huge bulge in my pocket.

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

Reception, battery life, Mac integration, program expandability, looks, ringtones, camera quality, games

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

The seal isn't air-tight, and dust can get in the screen, requiring the screen cover to be removed to clean it.

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

Original RAZR V3 - The reception is good, and the form factor is small.

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

No, because it could malfunction and unlock for someone else, or I might be in the car and want it locked.

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

I like black, but it's not a big deal

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

All the time, but then I know how to use the Terminal so I guess I don't count.

[centerchannel68]

K, I compiled the results, and did some cool graphs of all the responses, but I don't have those online yet. Here's some rough sketches, and I have to finish the ****ing model TONIGHT. Meaning, the model is going to be crap. Ugh. So much to do.

[abbaZaba]

all your sketches don't seem to be very friendly. they seem very stout in a bad way.

[Buckaroo]

Hmmm. Anything better than this.

[centerchannel68]

Friendly-ness was not what people on this forum requested. But they're just ideations, so you can't be too hard on them.

[Buckaroo]

I don't believe I was being rude. I thought I was trying to be funny. If my post was understood as rude, I apologize.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Friendly-ness was not what people on this forum requested. But they're just ideations, so you can't be too hard on them.

[centerchannel68]

I'm responding to Abazakabaksaz-istan, above you.

[monkeybrain]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Hmmm. Anything better than this.

That old phone is great. How do you slam down a mobile phone?

[G4ME]

if its built properly you can throw it at the wall

thats what i do

[andi*pandi]

my phone makes a satisfying "SHUNK" noise when I close it.

[sek929]

I am a basic phone user so take my preferences with some salt.

1. I prefer flip phones, but I don't have any good reason.

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception and battery life are my only concerns, if I were going for an iPhone-type device camera would be third.

3. My current phone's OS can be painfully slow at times, no need for that IMO.

4. It;s simple, the battery can last for 6-7 days, and the reception is money.

5. I would avoid anything that relied on a cell phone, but that's just me.

6. I like anything styled well, I really don't have a preference here.

7. I've never had a need for bluetooth, nor will I.

8. I think phone interfaces need to get simplified. They are nice and all, but 80% of the phones I use have sluggish fancy OSes that make the process of quickly doing anything a pain in the ass.

[centerchannel68]

Sorry Sek, I'm long past collecting information.

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

1. Bar phone or flip phone or something trick like the one that slides open? What do you prefer?

Flip - closed with concealed buttons means more durable. Must have a little display on the outside for caller ID, date, time, battery, reception, etc.

2. Rank in order of performance: Reception, camera quality, games, ringtones, battery life, mac integration ( contact lists, mp3s, photos, etc), program expandability, looks,

reception, sound quality, battery life, mac integration (address book, calendar), good UI, switch for silent mode (like the treo has) that absolutely never makes sound.

3. What pisses you off the most about your current phone?

There's no way to put it to silence mode without it making noise. It should have a silent switch.

And the horrible, horrible UI. (Motorola)

4. What do you like best about your current phone?

good battery life, lightweight, durable.

5. Would you support some sort of integration with your vehicle that would unlock your car as you got near it, and locked and armed it when you left, built into your phone?

No, because I wouldn't like to rely on it - battery could go dead, etc. The only think I would like is bluetooth speaker phone integration, that would mute the radio during calls.

6. What color do you like your phone? Silver, black, rubberized? Whatcha dig?

black rubberized - it doesn't need to be flashy.

7. Do you actually use bluetooth?* *anybody who has a ponytail or knows how to use terminal is excluded from this question, I already know you do.

If my phone had it, I would use it for synching. I wouldn't use those bluetooth earphones though.

8. Anything you feel like mentioning that I missed.

Primarily, it should be a great phone. I'm not one for cameras, MP3s.

[centerchannel68]

Again, no more responses.

[centerchannel68]

The model is turning out really well, I'll post pics tomorrow. Think really nice digital camera, but also functions as a phone. No annoying controls, as both have their own controls.

[centerchannel68]

Finished the model today, and I'm almost done with the boards. Here's what I came up with, a flip phone that converts from a 'bar phone' into a potent digital camera, huge battery, SD card storage, mp3 abilities, 5mp camera, and most importantly it's more of a camera with the added features of a phone, instead of the other way around. Also, the twin LCDs share a common backlight to save energy and space. Few other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Thank you all for your input!

[centerchannel68]

PS: they're all under 100k, so no bitching about image size please.

[analogika]

How is it "better than an iPhone"?

Is the thing fold-out? It looks like it's doubled-up.

[Gossamer]

The pics are too small, I can't really see any detail.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by analogika 

How is it "better than an iPhone"?

Is the thing fold-out? It looks like it's doubled-up.

Who knows. I was looking for information on what people wanted on their phones, what the biggest problems were, and what they'd think would be cooler than an iphone. Personally, I think the iPhone, while cool, is a bit much. And not really fold out, it folds completley over. The two sides together one direction = a full functional camera, similar to a canon SD10 or SD40. Fold it the other way it's similar to any bar phone with a built in MP3 player. It's also slightly bigger than either, but takes up less space than having both, so I think it's a good solution. I haven't finished my last board which shows more details.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

The pics are too small, I can't really see any detail.

FREAKING CHRIST! I post pics, people bitch that htey'er too big. So I resize them to under 100k, and post more pics and now you people bitch that htey're too small. WHAT THE HELL!?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Who knows.

You're supposed to. You're the designer. That was your stated design aim.

So let me rephrase:
Do you think you've achieved your goal? How so?

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

FREAKING CHRIST! I post pics, people bitch that htey'er too big. So I resize them to under 100k, and post more pics and now you people bitch that htey're too small. WHAT THE HELL!?

I was kidding!

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by analogika 

You're supposed to. You're the designer. That was your stated design aim.

So let me rephrase:
Do you think you've achieved your goal? How so?

No, my design aim was to design a handheld device that I'd consider buying. I never said I'm going to design the 'iphone killarrr!!111!1!!" Reread my original post in this thread.

Have I achieved my goal? Definitely. I wound up with a very very feasible product (I purposely built it a LITTLE big just for the sake of detail) that does not require any future voodoo technology. Given the large volume of the battery pack, it should have fantastic battery life, and I left plenty of room for the camera lense and mechanism, so that's doable also. I dislike the Motorola ROKR microSD storage solution, regular SD cards are pretty dang small anyway, and they're getting pretty great storage capacities now. There'd probably even be room for two cards, but that'd be weird. I dislike camera phones because they're primarily cell phones with a camera tacked onto them. They're getting better, but the lack of real camera capabilities makes htem a joke to me, I don't see the point in them. They take ass pictures that you can't print, and the res is so bad it looks horrid on your computer. So, I first and formost set out to think the other way.... start with a camera, and how could i make it into a phone. Flipping it around worked great. If it were to go into production one side would have small magnets inside it that would make it pleasently 'stick' to the otherside, so it woldn't be all floppy/willy nilly.

Successful? Sure. I'd get one today, especially since my canon is dying. A decent camera with decent controls and manual capabilities, a cell phone, and an MP3 player with a cheap, plentiful storage solution.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

No, my design aim was to design a handheld device that I'd consider buying. I never said I'm going to design the 'iphone killarrr!!111!1!!" Reread my original post in this thread.

:: looks at thread title ::


...


:: gently clicks back to Lounge to browse other threads ::

[centerchannel68]

Yes, there are some things BETTER than an iPhone, namely, the camera. But that wasn't my point. Read the first post.