Very few of us might be using feature phones today as these are treated as outdated models with limited capabilities. Unlike in the past where mobile phones had only basic functionality for calling and text messaging, now-a-days they are available with many added features for music, multi media and internet. Today, we can say these feature phones are low price alternatives for smartphones with features midway between basic and smartphone models. People who cannot afford high-end smartphones or those who think advanced features are complex to operate, feel comfortable using a featured phone.
How featured phones have been replaced by smartphones?
Before the evolution of high-end smartphones, the expectations of the consumers were different. Users were not expecting assorted features like camera & internet in a single device. Even color screen was considered as high-end feature back then. The screens were basically in black, white and grey. Most of these old models had antennas with a bulky walkie-talkie look which we don’t see in today’s modern mobiles. There were low-end models for basic usage and premium featured phones with better features, design and quality components. Initially when the premium featured phones were newly introduced into the market, they were made for nominal functionality like camera & music. It was in the year 2000, Motorola introduced first black and white touch screen phone, and later in 2002 Nokia 7650 model was the first phone to integrate camera with full screen color display. With the technology advancements there were many enhancements to the existing attributes along with the addition of new features including email, internet, and multimedia.
Before Apple iphone got introduced into the market in 2007, some of the mid ranged featured phone models by Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung & LG were extremely popular. There were also some high end smartphones like Blackberry & Palm at that time, but people considered these mobiles as niche that are meant only for business purpose. While the low-end basic phones still exist in the market today, the premium featured phone models were replaced by the smartphones due to the fact that at the price of an high-end feature phone, a smart phone is available.
Apple iphone was the first advanced touchscreen smartphone which had high-end features with built-in operating system and own App store. Further the introduction of third party mobile operating systems like Google Android and Windows mobile channelized a drastic change in the mobile history, making smartphones gain wider acceptance with the general public. With the vast change in technology day-by-day, consumer expectations are also changing rapidly. Only few people opt to use featured phones these days, because the minimum set of features preferred by the consumers are not present in these phones.
Smartphones vs featured phones
Apart from the functional features, the major difference between these two is the ability to run third party applications. While iphone has its own integrated Apps, many other smartphones allow users to download third party applications that can make the device more useful. On contrary, featured phones have limitations on the usage of third-party softwares and can extend support only through certain platforms like Java ME or BREW. Even though some mobiles are classified as featured, they have higher attributes like touchscreen, high quality screen resolution, advanced multimedia etc almost competing with few models of smartphones. Basically, it is the personal choice to choose the right one among these mobile devices based on the need and purpose.
Why featured phones are still being used?
There is a specific segment of people who still realize featured phones are more comfortable to use than smartphone devices. Despite its low capabilities, featured phones are still preferred by some people because they think they may not fully utilize the advanced comprehensive features of smartphones. Most of the smartphones are technology innovations and these advanced features may look like little overwhelming for those who seek basic communication devices. While few consumers have less necessity for high-end features, others find it as too complex to operate the high-tech capabilities. Smartphones may have many features, but in terms of cost, durability, simplicity & battery life featured phones are comparatively much better than smartphones.