Devices, Media, and Human Interaction

Sean Illing interviews Susan Matt, the co-author (with Luke Fernandez) of Bored Lonely Angry Stupid , a book which explores how our emotions are shaped by media and the devices we use to interact with media.

I find it ironic that the advertisement coincidentally placed above this interview was for a smartphone.

-DD

Smartphone Apps for Daily Living

Bree Fowler shows how to access functions of the latest smartphone operating systems , including text magnification, hearing aid compatibility, tracking screen time, scheduling the sending of text messages, and keeping tabs on an elderly parent.

-DD

Smartphones Are Ubiquitous

P. J. Bednarski reports that smartphones are becoming as ubiquitous as television, with 87% of households have at least one.

-DD

Smartphones and Mental Focus

Mike Elgan reports that smartphones disrupt mental focus, resulting in a 10%-25% decline in attentiveness at work. A study commissioned by Kaspersky Labs indicates that employees who do not bring their smartphones to work are 26 percent more productive. Just having a powered-up phone is distracting -- Jill Elish reports on a Florida State University study showing that cell phone notifications approach the distraction factor of reading a text message.

For more information on this issues, Elgan recommends Sherry Turkle's book, Reclaiming the Conversation, and mentions additional books on the topic will be published later this year. Elgan interviewed Turkle in 2015.

Elgan also highlights two firms, Siempo and Light Phone which are preparing to distribute limited-feature phones for corporate use.

-DD

Smartphone Keyboards

Daniel Dern reviews four keyboards for smartphones . The reviews suggest what to seek in a small keyboard for a phone powerful enough to serve as a wearable computer.

-DD

Smartphone Security

Spencer McIntyre evaluates "Which Smartphone Is the Most Secure ?" His conclusion is that all phones have weaknesses, and that users need to be aware of potential threats.

-DD

Mobile Marketshares

Comscore has prepared a white paper on mobile marketshares

that was mentioned by OCLC. -DD

A Slow Memory Card Can Slow A Smartphone

Lucas Mearian, ComputerWorld reporter, authored an article titled "Slow Smartphone? It's Not the Network, It's NAND Flash." According to the provided chart, upgrading from a class 4 SD card to a class 10 card can roughly double mobile performance speeds if apps write a significant amount of data to the phone.

-DD

Smart Phone Market Share

I observe smart phones increasingly appearing in the hands of office personnel, a demographic that appreciates having information always available (and with the financial resources to pay the monthly contract charges). According to Rodger Entner's March 26 NielsenWire post, "Smartphones To Overtake Feature Phones in US by 2011", smartphones now comprise twenty percent of US cell phones, and will be fifty percent of the phones in service by 2012.


-DD

Smartphones

A technologist at my university was showing his new smartphone, which he said allowed him to accomplish many of the tasks that formerly required a desktop computer. The sticking point for many is that data and application fees for a smartphone typically tally near $100/month. These fees are especially daunting because they are a new, continuing household expense that typically does not eliminate Internet service to a home desktop computer or laptop.


Because smartphones do provide mobile workers with tools they can use outside of the office, some employers are considering subsidizing smartphones, or providing such phones to their professional staff. An excellent article on the issues involved for a corporation was Who Should Own Your Smartphones? by Galen Gruman, which appeared in NetworkWorld online March 24.

-D.D.