With all these things that phones can do nowadays, it doesn't seem fair to call them "phones" anymore. A telephone is something which can call another phone, simply that, while calling on a smartphone is just one tiny fraction of its abilities. It'd be just as fair to call...

-92 With all these things that phones can do nowadays, it doesn't seem fair to call them "phones" anymore. A telephone is something which can call another phone, simply that, while calling on a smartphone is just one tiny fraction of its abilities. It'd be just as fair to call it a camera, or an mp3 player, or a portable video game, or a planner, or even just a small computer. Just because it can make calls shouldn't make it a phone, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think the advent of the word "smartphone" covers that difference. And in any case - it's primary function remains distance communication. The very word "telephone" literally means to speak from a great distance. So, the very essence of the word remains quite true. I think the modification to "smartphone" is highly apt, since the device is so much more capable than the humble dialling bricks of the 1990s, hahaha.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah!!! Phones deserve rights and shouldn't be discriminated against!!

by Anonymous 11 years ago

But...calling it a camera or whatever wouldn't make sense. We call them phones BECAUSE they make calls. How many other devices make calls?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Wed call them cameras BECAUSE they take pics and videos. Same logic

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Technically making calls IS still the main purpose of phones.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It started out as a phone. Sure it has added features like an mp3 player and camera, but it's still a phone. If a device that started out as a camera was upgraded to have calling abilities then it would still be a camera.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I NW'd at first, but he actually makes a good point. The points is especially clear with the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iTouch can do a shitton of stuff, but add //one// more function, and that overshadows everything else. On the other hand, the primary function is to call, so it's a phone that does computer stuff. The features were added to a phone, so the core is a phone. Btu we call it smartphone because it's so much more, but is still primarily a phone. Back to the first hand, a smartphone, smartcamera, smartmap and smarthandheldgame would alld stuff added to it.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

*would all be the same thing with different original devices

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think this post is silly, but I still see the OP's point. There's a commercial on TV now where some guy is trying to sell another guy on a sweet phone, he lists all the cool shit it can do, like a "pick up line generator," and the other guy is like, "can I make calls with it?" and the first guy's just like, "Nope" Phones these days are so concerned with being packed to shit with technology that their primary function is forgotten.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

By that logic, we should call our computers 'calculators' and our houses 'doors'.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

That's exactly what I'm saying though, calling is no longer the main purpose of the "phones" it's just a little part of it so it's as logical as calling a house a door. People make calls far less than using apps.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yeah! They should call them "electronic multitools".

by Anonymous 11 years ago