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Jaw-jaw no more-more as calls fall down tally of phone tasks

Talk to people on it? Don't make me laugh

You think phones are for making calls? No longer, if a poll conducted by O2 is anything to go by. Talking to people is not even in the top three activities folk spend most time doing on their handsets.

Top of the list, with a daily usage time of 24.81 minutes, is web browsing. Social networking comes in at number two; 17.49 minutes are spent looking at Facebook et al. Third is playing games, at which we spend an average of 14.44 minutes a day.

Phone users spend 12.13 minutes making calls, but even that's less than the 15.64 minutes we listen to music for.

Emailing and text messaging come straight after speaking, activities that take 11.1 and 10.2 minutes a day, respectively.

Watching video and reading books? Yes, we do those to, but only for 9.39 and 9.3 minutes a pop. On average, we spend 3.42 minutes a day taking pictures.

All of which, in part, goes to explain - but no excuse - why modern smartphone operating systems offer a generally poorer calling experience than old-style voicephones did. If you've ever had a call not come through, or failed to receive a 'you've got voicemail' mesage, you'll know what we mean.

Maybe it's finally time to stop calling the darn things 'telephones'. Any suggestions for a more appropriate moniker, folks? ®

"There is still something to be said for the simplicity of a phone that only makes calls."

Yes, and that is "What do you mean I can't send a text?"

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Is it just me, or are a good chunk of people here falling all over themselves to declare how much they detest cell phones, presumably mainly because other people like then?

I can only think this is the same phenomenon as people straining to emphasize how much they revile any music which some critical mass of other people like. Same with movies.

"Other people are stupid. Stupid people like stupid things. Therefore, I must not like anything which is popular. Separating myself (smart) from others (idiots) will raise my reputation in the eyes of my fellow misanthropes, thereby making me popular among them. This is essential, since they themselves (being arrogant and sanctimonious) are popular by dint of -not- being popular with the world in general.

The more things I hate, the cooler I am, since by definition I am cooler than someone who likes something; he has by definition joined -a group-, which is proof of stupidity. If I hate everything, my utter disdain for the entire world makes me the coolest person among those cool enough to hate things the -sheeple- (ie, people who agree with a lot of people about anything) like.

This is neccesary because nobody else can stand to be around me.

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You just wrote the definition of a hipster... the only difference being that they all own iphones to "Think Different"

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Re: monikers

Presumably you also mock those with running water and toilets as 'sheep', unable to resist the latest idiots' fad? Everyone else has them, so everyone else thinks they need them! What possible ise have they, anyway?

My shit doesn't stink; what do I need a toilet for?

And don't even mention electricity! Damnable large corporations and their charging for every last watt-hour we use! Ripping us off, and for what? Some worthless affectation we only use to look good for the neightbors! I mean, why else would -everyone- be using it, when we know most people are fools?

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Huh...

...And here I thought that facebook -was- a web site. I guess I need to re-evaluate my understanding of the basic architecture of the internet - apparently, technical descriptions of functionality are now determined retroactively by abstract end-user experience.

Ok, I'm going to go use my computer, and after I'm done using the computer I'lll use photoshop.

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